Traditionally, the Inuit way of life revolves around hunting (seals, caribou, whales), fishing, and gathering, for subsistence and craftsmanship— hides being used to make clothing and bones to make tools. Beyond the 55th parallel, the Inuit occupy the vast and majestic Nunavik region of Quebec, which currently consists of 15 villages. The Inuit call this territory “Inuit Nunangat,” which means “the place where the Inuit live.” It consists of four regions: Inuvialuit (Northwest Territories and Yukon) Nunavik (Northern Quebec) Nunatsiavut (Labrador).

Inuktitut ᐃᓄᒃᑎᑐᑦ is a member of the Inuit language family spoken across the Arctic, from Alaska (where the language is called Iñupiaq) to Greenland (where the language is called Kalaallisut). The speakers themselves have different names for the language according to their dialects. It is called “Inuttitut” in Nunavik (Northern Quebec). The Inuktitut syllabary, which is known as titirausiq nutaaq (ᑎᑎᕋᐅᓯᖅ ᓄᑕᐊᖅ) or qaniujaaqpait (ᖃᓂᐅᔮᖅᐸᐃᑦ) —is primarily used in Nunavut (ᓄᓇᕗᑦ), where Inuit make up 85% of the population, and in Nunavik (ᓄᓇᕕᒃ), in northern Quebec. The Inuktitut syllabary is made up of a limited set of basic characters, each of which represents a different vowel sound depending on its orientation.