Armand Tagoona and the Arctic Christian Fellowship : the first Inuit church in Canada

Armand Tagoona (1926–1991) was born in Naujaat (Repulse Bay, Northwest Territories) in 1926, from an Inuk mother and a German father. Born as a Roman Catholic, he converted to Anglicanism. In 1969, he founded a new independent religious group affiliated to the Anglican Church in Qamani’tuaq (Baker L...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Polar Record
Main Authors: Laugrand, Frédéric, Laneuville, Pascale
Format: Other/Unknown Material
Language:English
Published: Cambridge University Press 2020
Subjects:
Arctic
Inuit
Tagoona
Christianity
Inculturation
Shamanism
Religious movements
Armand
Arctic Christian Fellowship
Inuits > Religion
Pluralisme religieux > Christianisme
Nunavut
Northwest Territories
Canada
Repulse Bay
Naujaat
Arctique*
Baker Lake
inuit
inuits
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11794/66478
https://doi.org/10.1017/S0032247419000226
Description
Summary:Armand Tagoona (1926–1991) was born in Naujaat (Repulse Bay, Northwest Territories) in 1926, from an Inuk mother and a German father. Born as a Roman Catholic, he converted to Anglicanism. In 1969, he founded a new independent religious group affiliated to the Anglican Church in Qamani’tuaq (Baker Lake, Northwest Territories): the Arctic Christian Fellowship (ACF). In this paper, we examine his life briefly as well as this very first “Inuit church” he created. We argue that Tagoona played the role of a mediator encompassing various religious traditions and various cultures at a time when solid boundaries separated all these institutions. In bridging them, Tagoona’s church turned to be very innovative and aimed at more religious autonomy, while being fundamentally guided by the words of God. Tagoona’s church carries conversionist, reformist and utopian aspects at the same time.

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