Avataq Cultural Institute

Published purpose

Avataq recently acquired the archives of Janet and George Diveky, two educators who devoted their careers to working with Inuit and Dene communities in Nunavik, Nunavut, and the Northwest Territories starting in the 1960s. The Diveky collection at Avataq contains documents produced and collected by Janet and George when they lived in Kuujjuaq and Inukjuak in the 1960s, and in Kimmirut, Kugaaruk, Kugluktuk, and Kangiqliniq in the 1970s. It includes audio recordings of interviews with Inuit, original documents and publications pertaining to Janet and George’s educational work and anthropological research, nearly 1 000 photographs, and dozens of artifacts. This project aims to fully process and digitize the audio and textual records to ensure their long-term preservation. By doing so, it will make these invaluable resources accessible for the first time to Inuit community members, responding to the strong interest expressed by Nunavimmiut.