A new Indigenous television channel featuring programming that's entirely in the Inuktut language is set to launch on Monday.
Billed as the first Indigenous-language channel in Canada, Uvagut TV will broadcast a variety of content including children's series, award-winning films and live programming.
Uvagut TV, created by Nunavut Independent Television Network, will be available nationally to Shaw Direct customers, and to Arctic Co-ops Cable subscribers in Nunavut and the Northwest Territories. It also streams online at Uvagut.tv.
Lucy Tulugarjuk, NITV chair and executive director, said in a news release that seeing the Inuit language full time on television is a "dream come true."
Tulugarjuk, who is also director of the Inuit-language children’s film "Tia and Piujuq," said Uvagut TV is part of the "fight against time" to keep the Inuit culture alive.
Programming at launch includes Inuit Broadcasting Corporation's children's series "Takuginai"; a slate of films including "Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner"; daily live information show "Welcome to My Qammaq"; and planned live coverage of events such as the Nunavut Impact Review Board public hearings into the Baffinland Iron Mine Phase 2 expansion.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 14, 2021.
The Canadian Press
