This idyllic scene based on a photograph by documentarian DouglasWilkinson was featured on the now defunct $2.00 bill as part of the Scenes of Canada series. It depicts a group of six Inuit men preparing their kayaks for a hunt. Lucie Idlout, the granddaughter of one of the men says the story behind the photo is a complicated one.
In the 1950s a number of struggling Inuit families from Inukjuak (Quebec) were relocated by the Canadian government to the communities of Resolute Bay and Grise Fiord - hundreds of kilometres to the north. Ostensibly done to improve their standard of living, these families were thrust into a much harsher way of life in the far north.
The truth is that the Inuit were basically used as human flagpoles so the Canadian government could assert sovereignty over the High Arctic and in 2010 the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development issued an apology to Canada's Inuit people.
More at CBC Radio
Hindsight, especially when the actors are long gone, leaves us to guess at motives. I’m sure there were a lot of people involved in this relocation, and I’ll bet their motives for support were varied and far ranging. Yes, I know the natives got screwed on many fronts, but that doesn’t prove this theory was the prime motivation for this relocation.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard for me to imagine that life in the High Arctic would be anything but incredibly difficult.
ReplyDelete