Northern Delights is an initiative of Avataq Cultural Institute. Avataq is a non-profit organization, created in 1980, dedicated to the protection and advancement of the language and culture of the Inuit of Nunavik (Northern Quebec). Avataq’s headquarters are located in Inukjuak, in Nunavik, and its administrative office is in Montreal. Avataq receives its operating mandate from the Inuit Elders Conference of Nunavik. Every two years, the Elders elect five Inuit to make up Avataq’s Board of Directors.
Avataq operates a range of linguistic, heritage and cultural programmes designed to preserve and strengthen Inuit culture for the benefit of this and future generations. Today, Avataq speaks for Nunavik culture to the rest of Canada and abroad.
In addition to being a source of pride for the Inuit community, Northern Delights is an important source of revenue for Avataq’s programmes. Nunavimmiut (people of Nunavik) are employed in all phases of the tea project, which serves to promote Inuit culture to the four corners of the world and helps finance the efforts of Elders to pass their culture on to Inuit youth. Before the project was launched, we carried out environmental impact studies and consulted the communities of Nunavik to make sure that our tea project would reflect Inuit values. Northern Delights is one way for the Inuit to profit from the flora of their region, while sharing a part of their unique cultural heritage.
