The Anaana’s Tent children’s series is airing an English version of its Inuktut show on APTN this fall.
Rita Claire and Celina Kalluk on the set of Anaana’s Tent, an Inuktut and English children’s show.
The series, now available in both languages, will introduce cultural traditions and language to unilingual children across Canada, said director Roselynn Akulukjuk in an interview.
“We thought it would be very important to have a TV show that was based in an Arctic setting and in Inuktut,” she said.
“It’s very important that children know there can be tv shows” with relevant geography, culture and language, she said.
The English version is peppered with Inuktut words, and incorporates animation, reading segments and educates viewers on flora and fauna that can be found in the Arctic.
“They are education-based and we wanted to do it both in Inuktut and English,” she said.
“They can learn Inuktitut at a very early age. But there are children that don’t speak Inuktitut so we have the English version,” she said, adding that it teaches some Inuktitut words.
“It prepares children in their preschool years for school,” she said.
The Inuktut version aired in May on APTN and the English version premiered for the first time over the weekend.
“A lot of the other segments and animations are narrated using the same bilingual voice actors,” she said.
Uliaq’s amazing animals has an animated boy talking about different animals facts, allowing the viewer to interact with basic terminology.
The show teaches simple words, including names for household items, buildings and nature.
“There aren’t that many Inuktitut shows for children to watch,” said Akulukjuk, adding that many TV shows for children are made in the south.
The translated version is an opportunity for cross-cultural learning, said Akulukjuk.
“Kids from the south of Canada who haven’t seen anything from the North will be able to watch it and understand what they’re watching, but also learn about the Arctic and some simple words,” said Akulukjuk.