Friday, February 25, 2022 - 6 to 7:30 P.M.
As part of the exhibition Ashoona: Enduring Art Stories, La Guilde is proud to invite lecturer Goota Desmarais, a member of the Ashoona family, to introduce Inuit culture. During her presentation, she will use artifacts, artworks, images, and storytelling to share the different aspects of the culture. She will show clothing, ingenious technologies, and traditional Inuit games, as well as some Inuktitut words. Don't miss this exceptional opportunity to interact with this teacher who has been sharing her love for her culture in schools for over twenty years!
Originally from Kinngait (Cape Dorset, NU) and Arctic Bay, NU, Goota Desmarais has been living in Sherwood Park (AB) for thirty years. Daughter of sculptor Kumwartok Ashoona, she founded her company Inuit Connection, which aims to share knowledge about Inuit culture in schools, universities, cultural organizations, and festivals. Goota Desmarais is also involved in the Walking Together: Education for Reconciliation Project of the Alberta Teachers' Association. She is a member of the Inuit Edmontonmiut Working Group, which aims to create a sense of belonging in the Edmonton Inuit community. Through frequent trips to Kinngait and Arctic Bay, where she spent her childhood in traditional camps in the summer and modern Inuit settlements in the winter, she maintains a valuable connection with her culture and northern communities. She is now working for Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada, where she manages the missing and murdered Inuit women and girls file.