“Branding the North” by Melissa Webb from Silatani Newsletter An article about overcoming Inuit stereotypes. Have you ever stopped to ponder the impact your indigenous group has on Canadian society as a whole? More often than not when I stop and think – and I mean really think – about being Inuit I gleam with pride. How phenomenal a thought to know that through decades of history we’ve stemmed from adaptations of Pre-Dorset, Dorset, and Thule, having survived the extremely harsh temperatures of the north while relying solely on the land as a resource for food and shelter, to where we are today. However, unfortunately not everyone holds this same perspective. For as long as I’ve fully understood the definition of the term stereotype I have been one. What I didn’t understand nor realize was, to what extent these stereotypes were being utilized as shortcuts for “information”. To elaborate, in a general sense stereotypes are a way of categorizing objects and people that sometimes help simplify and systematize information. My first eye-opening observation of stereotypes in action was when my cousin and I traveled to Ottawa in the tenth grade to partake in the Forum for Young Canadians; a political youth exchange. We had met a First Nations individual from British Columbia who questioned if we still lived in igloos and if our main mode of transportation was by dog sled. If this was not disappointing enough, we had also met an individual from St. John’s – yes, from the same province – who very delicately asked the question if we used e-mail, or if we even knew what the Internet was at all. I’m sorry, my family and I were too busy riding the backs of polar bears trying to harpoon the nearest seal that we missed the age of technology altogether. Once I moved to Halifax in September of 2009 to attend Saint Mary’s University to finish my undergraduate degree in psychology, I was met face to face by stereotypes from all different walks of life. Interestingly enough, most times I was able to sit in on conversations completely revolved around stereotypes as if I were a fly on the wall, where my fair skin, green eyes and red hair doesn’t fit the description of what anyone would consider to be even the slightest bit Inuit. “Those Natives” they’d say “They take advantage of the system and still want more; they’re a burden to our economy.” Their words coating me like a heavy blanket. It wasn’t until I attended a course at Saint Mary’s entitled “Native People of Canada” that I realized what role education was playing in keeping these awful misguided stereotypes alive. Having arrived at the Inuit component of the course the Professor decided she was going to show the entire class an educational film depicting modern Inuit living. The black and white images that flashed before my eyes astonished me. First, an Inuit male standing before a seal hole holding a harpoon while his trusty dog team and sled awaits his kill. Next, it showed a whole Inuit family cooperatively working together to cut out blocks of snow with the use of a snow knife to assemble into an igloo. Lastly, a wooden and animal hide constructed kayak being ushered into the shore line. By first glance you would think this form of transportation could hold three people at a maximum – wrong. After all was said and done if I recall correctly there was a family of approximately 15 that unloaded from this antique pleasure craft. Enraged that this was still being taught as “modern day” Inuit living, I left the class without saying a word. So the real question in all of this is what can you do to inform the misinformed? What is the best and most efficient way to spread awareness? How do we go about informing those of our distant past, yet educating them of what is actually our modern day reality now? I knew I could not allow for a sad ending for these students who were being largely misinformed. Our professor reminded us all that presentations were due in a matter of weeks on any Indigenous topic of our choice - this was my chance. Once the floor was mine, once I had all tools and resources at my fingertips and my entire class silent before me, I began. We’re a special group of individuals; we come from a long lineage of strong willed people who, with all odds stacked against them – inclement weather conditions, disease, hungry wildlife awaiting the next feeble human being, and the list goes on – they still survived. We’re ethnocentric, but only because we believe in ourselves and our ethnicity in its entirety. We are the North; we fish, trap, hunt yet don’t forget to sit back in awe of the abundance of wildlife and miraculous scenery that surrounds our being. We appreciate those that are willing to give a helping hand only because we know we would do the exact same. We prevail, despite all common misconceptions, all the adversity displayed about us in the media, we’re widely educated and have a hunger to learn more, and we will continue to navigate our lives for the better until the sound of our footsteps across this terrain cannot be ignored. We are Inuit. - Melissa Webb
Posted on: Sun, 30 Mar 2014 00:15:26 +0000
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