When Governor-General Mary Simon visited Windsor Castle last month, she may have taught Queen Elizabeth a new word: ajuinata, roughly pronounced aye-yoo-ee-nah-tah.
In fact, this is not a new word at all, but a very old one, Simon later told Adrien Arseno of the CBC.
“Adjuina means that if you face difficulties or things that are difficult, you move forward, you don’t give up, and you have to make a commitment to keep making changes,” said Simon, the first native to run the office.
It is a word used by Simon to applaud indigenous delegates after Pope Francis apologized for the Catholic Church’s role in Canada’s housing school system.
Queen Elizabeth welcomes Governor-General Mary Simon and her husband, Whit Fraser, to tea in the oak room at Windsor Castle on 15 March. (Steve Parsons / Associated Press)
It’s also a word she uses when making “random calls for kindness” to community leaders and other change makers, a habit she said was inspired by a recent segment in CBC’s Ottawa Morning.
Ottawa Morning17: 04 Why the Governor-General Decides to Use the CBC’s Kindness Calls in Different Countries
Back in December, Ottawa Morning did a segment called “Random Calls of Kindness,” where listeners nominated people who thought they could get a little up, and we recruited some Canadian VIPs to give them a surprise call. One of them was Governor-General Mary Simon. She enjoyed the experience so much that she decided to start making her own version of Kindness Calls across the country. Robin Bresnahan met her at Rideau Hall to hear more. 17:04
In December, as part of CBC’s Project Give, Ottawa Morning hosted surprise calls from Canadian VIPs – including Simon – to people nominated by listeners as needing a lift.
“I’ve always used that word for my own work, so now I use it in Rideau Hall,” Simon told host Robin Bresnahan earlier this week.
Governor-General Mary Simon explains the message behind “ajuinata”
While on a benevolent tour of Canada, the governor-general shared the term inuktitut to help inspire. She explains its origin. 1:03
She explained that the term was so prevalent in Inuit culture that it was difficult to come up with an English word to capture its full meaning.
“It’s hard to translate almost because it comes from language, from culture,” Simon said. “Before we had communities, we were out a lot and sometimes things got tough, so we always said ‘adjuina’ – never give up, let’s move on.”
“Adjuina … means don’t give up, never give up, be committed to what you believe in,” Simon said. (CBC / Arctic Blue)
There are dialectical differences. Simon, a native of Nunavik, uses ajuinata or ᐊᔾᔪᐃᑕ, while in Iqaluit, for example, many people would say ajuinaqta or ᐊᔪᐃᓇᖅᑕ. Elsewhere in the north, they may use a completely different word.
Whichever option is used, the feeling behind ajuinata is universal and can be applied today in all situations, from the war in Ukraine to the ongoing pandemic of COVID-19.
Manitock Thompson, CEO of Inuit Broadcasting Corporation, explained that while the term is deeply rooted in the struggle for survival against the harsh elements of the North, it can easily be used in a variety of contexts.
It will be translated into any culture. This is something that is needed all over the world now. ”Manitock Thompson
“It simply came to our notice then. This is something that is needed now all over the world. These are very strong words that you have to keep [to]and that you have to pass it on to young people because it’s a different world now, “Thompson said.
“Today, this is something that should be heard everywhere about nurses, doctors, patients, people, adults, children, young people, mothers, fathers – these words are very powerful in our culture because we the survivors. “
‘[Ajuinata has] very deep meaning … for people who have struggled with the environment, with the need to look for food, clothes that need to be hunted and prepared. You don’t have a Canadian Tire down the street, “said Manitock Thompson, CEO of Indigenous Broadcasting Corporation. (Submitted by Manitock Thompson)
For Joanna Ava, the current host of the television news program Igalaaq in the language of the CBC North Institute, the concept of ajuinata has deep personal significance.
“When I had a child with special needs, I said ‘ajuinata’ because I couldn’t refuse to take care of her,” said Ava, whose daughter Jenna lives in a care home in Ottawa.
Jenna’s visit became even more difficult during the pandemic, Ava said.
“It’s like a mental exercise where instead of just raising your arms, which is very easy to do, you had no choice but to keep going, even though you’re facing a lot of challenges.”
Ava said that in Iqaluit, where she now lives, people always call themselves “ajuinata.”
“Because we had water problems, fuel problems, our landfill has recently caught fire – our community was facing these challenges, but we came together and said, ‘We can do this.'”
Joanna Ava sailed near Devon Island during the Students on Ice expedition in 2019. The host of CBC North said that the concept of ajuinata is “the main thing we live with all the time.” (Submitted by Joanna Ava)
Ava also agreed that there was no short English equivalent, probably because the experiences of the two cultures were so different.
“There is not a single English word that fits, because it has a very ingrained meaning in our lives before, before colonization, where we essentially lived in the harshest environment and had to survive every day,” she said.
Thompson said she would like to see English speakers accept ajuinata and suggested another phrase to add to her dictionary, which she wrote aniguniaqmijuq.
“This is very common when counseling people who are about to give up, who are having difficulty,” she said. “That means it will pass, too.”
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