“Tillitarniit is an opportunity for (non-Indigenous) people to take a moment and get to know us a little bit better,” says Asinnajaq.
“It’s always important to remember that as Inuit, we also live in the city — we are a part of Montreal — and that we’re here and we’re contemporary.”
This year’s festival features Elisapee Inukpuk, a month-long exhibition on Inuit dolls and stories, as well as musical performances, Inuit games, traditional foods, storytelling and films made by Inuit.
The focus is on stories that Inuit have told for centuries and how today’s Inuit artists, storytellers and filmmakers are reinterpreting them.
“What’s important about these stories is that they usually have some kind of meaning in them that was important to transmit. It’s important to keep telling them so we can keep gaining their wisdom,” says Asinnajaq.
“It’s always important to keep links and ties with our ancestors and to make sure that the generations after us can also have that link.”