The Nunatsiavut Government is accusing the NunatuKavut Community Council of “cultural appropriation” by offering virtual Inuttitut lessons.

Nunatsiavut Language, Culture and Tourism Minister Roxanne Barbour says she is appalled to learn that NCC is planning to hold virtual language lessons beginning next week.

Barbour, who is responsible for the protection, promotion, and advancement of Labrador Inuttitut, or Nunatsiavummiutut, calls the news “very upsetting.” She says the NCC maintains, based on research, that “the Inuit of south and central Labrador had a different language system than those in northern Labrador.

Barbour calls that harmful, offensive, and “nothing more than cultural appropriation.”

The Nunatsiavut Executive Council does not recognize NCC’s proposed land claim. The Nunatsiavut Government says it recognizes that some members of the NCC have some Indigenous ancestry and background, but that they are not entitled to Inuit rights, and have no viable claim to land in Labrador.