Pigott v. Nochasak: Providing Language and Culture to an Inuit Child

Peter Scott Vicaire

Here’s a very interesting child custody case out of the Newfoundland and Labrador Supreme Court that might rankle some ICWA aficionados. 

Pigott v. Nochasak involves a non-Inuit father and an Inuit mother.  However, both parents speak Inukitut fluently and the non-Inuit father has a Master’s degree focusing on the language.  He also engaged in writing an Inukitut dictionary.  After the parents were separated and joint custody was awarded, the mother left home and attended school in Halifax and Ottawa and often spoke to the child in English, while the (non-Inuit) father remained in Newfoundland and spoke to her solely in Inukitut. 

Both parents claimed they would be a better provider of Inuit cultural interests.  The judge granted sole custody to the…

…father.

One thought on “Pigott v. Nochasak: Providing Language and Culture to an Inuit Child”

  1. Mark Dodd July 7, 2011 / 10:36 am

    I understand why some will be upset with the court’s rational for granting sole custody of the child to the father, but this should not bother “ICWA aficionados” since ICWA does not apply to custody cases between parents.

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