Executive Summary
What are the connections between Inuit language learning and community engagement in Alaska? Social science research shows that cultural education—including language acquisition—is a key driver in civic engagement and active participation in cultural events. But it is not clear how language learning can effectively drive political and community engagement, especially among youth.
To answer these questions, we conducted an online survey of 127 Inuit language speakers and learners in May and June 2022. We advertised the survey via Facebook, LinkedIn, and local news media between 6 May 2022 and 3 June 2022. Questions were fielded via the online survey platform Qualtrics. We received 127 initial responses and 67 fully completed surveys, which were then post-stratified by age and gender for generating weights to resemble a representative sample of residents in Inuit-speaking parts of northern and northwest Alaska. The design was approved by UCSB IRB protocol #2-21-0701 and #2-22-0299 for questions about IRB, contact hsc@research.ucsb.edu.
We identify five key findings:
1. There is rich variation in language comfort levels across surveyed respondents. Roughly 38% of respondents can understand a few words of either Inupiaq or Yup’ik, with an additional 39% able to carry a basic conversation. About 12% identify as fluent and 11% as proficient, defined as “can understand and speak but not fluent.”
2. Self-study is one of the top sources of learning, suggesting a clear motivation for Inuit language acquisition. Roughly one-third also learn in schools or language programs, indicating considerable room for growth and funding for increased opportunities for Inuit language education.
3. There is a positive statistical relationship between learning an Inuit language and community engagement. Language learners play a more active role in cultural and civic life across a variety of different activities.
4. Advanced language learners on average feel more connected to their community. Statistical models show that language acquisition correlates with stronger community ties.
5. The connection between language use and civic engagement exists irrespective of language comfort levels. Frequency in language use is the key stepping stone: beginners using an Inuit language daily or weekly are just as actively engaged in civic life as fluent speakers.
The rest of this report dives into more detail across these five general findings and concludes with an overview of the need for more research on the role of language learning in civic and cultural engagement across all Alaska Native languages.
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REPORT
The survey primarily targeted Inupiaq-speaking areas, with the unweighted sample comprising 83% who speak or are learning Inupiaq. Roughly 15% speak Yup’ik, St. Lawrence Yupik and Cup’ik languages.
When asked to describe one’s overall comfort level with an Inuit language:
o Roughly 2 out of 5 people say they know a few words. An additional 2 out of 5 can carry a conversation or get a sense of what’s happening.
o About 23% feel comfortable speaking and understanding an Inuit language or self-identify as fluent. An additional 3% of individuals responded that they had no comfort with Inuit language but did not complete demographic questions needed for survey weighting and stratification and were therefore left out of the final analysis.
o But only 10% of those ages 18-35 feel comfortable speaking or identify as fluent, with the plurality (45%) understanding a few words.
o Respondents aged 36-64 are likely to either understand a few words (40%) or get a sense of what’s happening (33%).
o Language comfort levels are higher among those 65 years or older, with 62% of these respondents identifying as fluent.
When asked how one learned an Inuit language:
o The top three sources of learning are Elders (55%), self-study (45%), and from family or at home (40%).
o Self-study is particularly popular among those who can have a conversation (68%) or get a sense of what’s happening (55%).
o Just over 35% report learning a language at university and 24% learned in K-12 classes.o Roughly 23% use a community language program and 13% at immersion school.
Overall, there is a clear motivation to learn and speak an Inuit language across all age groups and from a variety of learning sources.
Inuit language speakers are more likely to participate across a broad range of cultural and civic activities.
We asked respondents how often they participate in cultural and civic activities during non- COVID years and combined the responses into three indices. Cultural activities include: helping family members with chores cooking, fishing, or hunting for someone outside the family participating in community, cultural, or school events volunteering at events leading events and attending church. Civic activities include: attending an organizational, Native Corporation, or tribal government meeting serving on a council or committee contacting a tribal leader submitting a letter of interest helping someone running for office voting in tribal or Native Corporation elections and voting in city/borough/state/federal elections.
Statistical models analyzing these indices show that respondents with greater language comfort are more engaged in cultural and civic activities overall.
• Within cultural activities, speakers are more active in attending cultural events like potlatches or gatherings, fishing/hunting for non-family members, and attending church.
• Within civic activities, speakers are especially more active in attending Native Corporation meetings, tribal government meetings, contacting leaders, and helping someone run for office.
• Proficient and fluent speakers are also more likely to vote in tribal or Native Corporation elections, but so too are language learners who can get a sense of what’s happening in basic Inuit language conversations.
Each of these indicators highlights a positive connection between learning an Inuit language and community engagement, with language speakers playing a more active role in cultural and civic life across a variety of different activities.
Language learners are likely driven to be more culturally and civically engaged because of a feeling of greater connectedness to the community.
We asked respondents about the level of confidence in participating in community activities and feelings of connectedness with the community.
Statistical models show that language speakers and learners on average feel more connected to their community.
• A person who identifies as proficient or fluent rates their community connection approximately 3 points higher on a 10-point scale (7.9 out of 10) than a person who understands a few words (5.0 out of 10).
• Those who can get a sense of what’s happening also feel more connected—on average 7.7 out of 10—suggesting that new learners already perceive greater community connection.
• By contrast, there is little difference in confidence in participation across different levels of language learning. There is no statistical difference in confidence for participating in civic activities on a 10-point scale between fluent speakers, non-fluent speakers, or those who understand a few words.
When asked about the potential impacts of learning a language, respondents with greater language comfort levels do feel that learning an Inuit language impacts participation in civic and community activities.
Frequently speaking an Inuit language is tied to greater civic engagement, whether already fluent or starting to learn basic conversation.
We also asked respondents about how frequently they speak an Inuit language, ranging from rarely or never to a few times a week or daily.
• Using statistical models, we see that people who speak or use an Inuit language more frequently are more active in everyday civic events like attending organizational meetings, participating in Native Corporation events, contacting tribal officials or elected leaders, or submitting a letter of interest. Importantly, the connection between language use and civic engagement exists irrespective of language comfort levels.
• The data shows that people who speak an Inuit language daily or weekly participate in civic activities more often, whether they understand a few words or can carry a basic conversation or whether they are fluent or proficient.
Conclusion
Learning and regularly speaking an Inuit language have positive benefits for greater engagement in civic and cultural life in Alaska Native communities.
Our survey reveals that language speakers are more likely to attend cultural events such as potlatches and tribal gatherings, as well as participate in civic activities like Native Corporation meetings, tribal government meetings, contacting leaders, and helping someone run for office. But we also find that using Inuit language daily or weekly tracks with greater engagement, even among those who do not identify as fluent or proficient speakers.
One factor that drives this higher engagement among language speakers is a feeling of greater connectedness to the community. Beginners also perceive stronger community ties and feel more connection to their communities.
While less than one-quarter of surveyed respondents identify as fluent or proficient speakers, just under half are learning a language through self-study, showcasing the clear motivation and desire for greater language acquisition.
Extending this work beyond Inuit-speaking regions to all Alaska Native communities will help to establish greater generalizability of these findings. It will also aid in understanding in more detail the mechanisms that underpin many of these connections. We hope to conduct this research going forward with future surveys, interviews, and focus groups.
Together, these findings suggest that there is a strong appetite and demand for greater opportunities for language learning—such as through increased funding for community language programs, immersion settings, and greater resources for teaching languages in K-12 schools and colleges as well as self-study. These investments will not foster broader Inuit language learning, they will also establish stronger foundations for deeper connections to and greater cultural and civic engagement in Inuit communities.
About this report
This report was prepared by Prof. Paasha Mahdavi at UC Santa Barbara in collaboration with Ukallaysaaq Okleasik of Northwest Planning, LLC, in Nome, Alaska. We acknowledge Iḷisaqativut / Sivunniuġutigiit Members for their generous feedback and contributions to the survey design and survey pilot.
For complete results of the survey, please visit this link. For the raw anonymized data, please visit this link. All survey responses are fully anonymized: respondent location, age, and gender are removed for privacy.
For information on how to replicate the statistical findings in this report, please contact paasha@ucsb.edu. All data and results, including this report, are open source and may be used or reproduced without restriction.
