Painting by: Daphne Odjig
Title: The Creation of the World
There are approximately 65,000 Inuit in our vast and beautiful country, living in 4 regions that encompass 51 communities. The majority of Inuit reside in Nunangat, which is in the Northwest Territories. The other 3 regions include Nunavut, Nunavik (Northern Québec), and Nunatsiavut (Northern Labrador). This sprawling homeland for Inuit occupies 35% of Canada’s landmass and approximately 50% of it’s coastline. Additionally, more than 1/3 of the 51 communities in Inuit Nunangat have populations of less than 500 (Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, 2019). These 4 regions are “collectively known as Inuit Nunagat, which is a Canadian Inuit terms that includes land, water, and ice, of our homeland to be integral to our culture and our way of life” (Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, 2019).
Inuit harvest (hunt) country foods (Inuit food) such as seal, narwhal, and caribou to feed families and communities. The Inuit have hunted seals for more than 3000 years (Farquhar, 2020), and so seals are inherently an element of Inuit identity, culture, spirituality, and economy. Seals are a vital and essential source of food for Inuit, as they are “high in protein, minerals, and vitamins and very low in fat” (Ejesiak & Flynn-Burboe, 2005). “Inukitut vocabulary designates specific objects made from seal bone, sinew, fat, and fur used as tools, games, threat, cords, fuel, clothing, boats, and tents” (Ejesiak & Flynn-Burboe, 2005). Other sources of food are excessively expensive and scarce. “For Inuit, seal hunting is not just a source of cash through fur sales, but also a keystone in their culture” (Ejesiak & Flynn-Burboe, 2005).
Furthermore, the historical, legal and socioeconomical disadvantage for Inuit is that they have a high propensity to experiencing higher rates of poverty and violence than do other Canadians. It is estimated the life expectancy among the Inuit is “10 years lower than other Canadians. Rates of infant mortality, unemployment, illness such as diabetes, violence against women, youth suicide, and overcrowding housing” are also higher as compared to other Canadians (Ejesiak & Burboe, 2005).
Seal hunting in Canada first became a highly contentious practice in the 1950’s, where the majority of sealers were from fishing communities in Québec, Newfoundland, Labrador, and Nova Scotia. By the 1970’s, a strong anti-sealing animal rights activism followed (Farquhar, 2020). Inuit sealers invariably became targets for anti-sealers and animal rights activism groups, such as Greenpeace. The simple notion that Inuit sealers were merely hunting for their food source and to produce items to sell at market value was not taken into consideration; they “failed to distinguish the Atlantic seal hunt from the Inuit seal hunt (Farquhar, 2020). The Inuit have historically been marginalised and in an exceptionally “vulnerable position because of food in security and climate change” (Farquhar, 2020).
Following public outcry, in 1983 the European Economic Community (EEC) banned importing of seal skin and furs for 2 years. Animal rights activists’ groups lauded this small victory. The Inuit, however, suffered greatly from the downfall of the market for seal pelts (Randhawa, 2017). Within the span of the two-year ban, the “average income of an Inuit seal hunter fell from $54,000 to a mere $1.000. Additionally, the government of the Northwest Territories estimated that 18 out of 20 Inuit villages lost a staggering 60% of their communities’ income (Randhawa, 2017). As if this was not enough of a blow to Inuit, a second seal ban by the European Union in 2010 ravaged the regions across northern Canada.
While animal rights activist groups are important in “educating the public and also in encouraging government policies that promote a more sustainable future for the planet” (Randhawa, 2017), there also comes a sense of responsibility to the public. In 1985, and then again in 2014, Greenpeace publicly apologized to the Inuit people for causing them “40 years of grief and hardship”. Other activist groups, like People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), the international fund for animal welfare (Ifaw), and the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society all continue to campaign and champion rights for animals and vilify sealing, even for the Inuit (Randhawa, 2017). Animal rights activists’ groups typically hold “ethnocentric assumptions concerning the environment, animals, Indigenous Peoples and technology, which tend to legitimize their aims to forcibly stop Indigenous hunting practices such as sealing” (Thornton, 2019), and what a grave insult to Inuit, who live in a symbiotic state with the seals, hunting can only be viewed as an essential to maintaining such relationships between Inuit and seal.
The “cessation of such activities would mean that animals would leave, social relationships would crumble, and their whole culture could be lost” (Thornton, 2019). Moreover, “western society has found it necessary to create specific ‘animal rights’ as a response to its treatment of animals, while most indigenous peoples have always known that animals, like humans, are sentient beings which should be respected” (Thornton, 2019). Inuit will argue that “an animal will only offer you its body as a gift if the current treatment has been given to them, while western society and animal rights groups see hunting as a purely violent, irrational, and ‘primitive’ practice” (Thornton, 2019). Unfortunately, the Inuit voice is silenced due to imperialism and colonialism.
The reality is that the success of animal rights crusades illustrates how strong emotions and opinions based on an assumption of universally shared esthetics and ethics affected public policy, threatened human rights, and created environmental refugees” (Ejesiak & Burboe, 2005). The Inuit speak of a reciprocity between themselves and the seals; in that the seal gives itself when it has been treated properly. If seal hunting were to end completely, the relationships Inuit have with the seals will breakdown and result in a loss of Inuit culture, “because for them [the Inuit], ecology, hunting, and culture are synonymous” (Thornton, 2019).
Inuit statistics and social determinants of health
· Poverty in the Inuit Nunangat is absolute and perpetuated by social inequities regarding employment, income, and the high cost of living (Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, 2019).
· Less than 48% of Inuit in Inuit Nunangat are employed (Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, 2019).
· The median individual income for Inuit is just $23,485 (Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, 2019).
· 49.6% of adults have an annual income of less than $20,000 (Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, 2019).
· An Inuit family of 4 people spend $395 to $460 a week to purchase nutritious groceries (Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, 2019).
· The excessive cost of food is compounded by high living expenses, including energy, transportation, housing, and clothing (Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, 2019).
· Education gaps contribute to disparities in health and income. 58% of Inuit do not have a post-secondary certificate, diploma, or a degree (Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, 2019).
· The most common reason for not completing post-secondary education was due to personal and familial responsibilities, lack of confidence, or time constraints (Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, 2019).
· 52% of Inuit live in crowded and precarious housing (Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, 2019).
· 31.5% Inuit live in homes which are in a state of disrepair (Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, 2019).
“Food insecurity is commonly defined as ‘limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate and safe foods for limited or uncertain ability to acquire acceptable foods in culturally appropriate ways’” (Ready, 2016). Conversely, food security is defined as “access by all people at all times to enough food for an active, healthy life” (Ready, 2016). There have been many studies conducted which focused on how food security should be defined for Inuit population, and “identifying possible threats to food security posed by environmental changes such as global warming, habitat loss, or sea ice reductions and social changes which include a loss of traditional knowledge” (Ready, 2016).
Health outcomes due to food insecurity
· Food insecurity is known to make individuals more susceptible to malnutrition and infection, as well as contribute to chronic health illnesses such as obesity, anemia, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, stress, and depression (Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, 2019).
· For children, there may be deficits in their cognitive, academic, and psychological development (Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, 2019).
Initiatives to address food insecurity
· Nutrition North Canada Program (NNC) – the only federal program geared towards making nutritious food more accessible and affordable to resident in northern isolated communities (Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, 2019).
· Canada Prenatal Nutrition Program (CPNP) – a community-based program run by the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), which provides support to improve the health and wellbeing of pregnant women, post partum mothers and babies; the intended goal is to increase the rate of healthy birth weights, promote and support breastfeeding, and to increase supports for vulnerable pregnant women and new mothers (Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, 2019).
· Aboriginal Diabetes Initiative (ADI) – aims to reduce type 2 diabetes among Inuit by supporting health promotion and preventative measures to reduce the risk factors which contribute to diabetes (Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, 2019).
References
Ejesiak, K., & Flynn-Burboe, M. (2005, May 8). Animal rights vs. Inuit Rights. Boston Globe.
Farquhar, S.D. (2020). Inuit Seal Hunting in Canada: Emerging Narratives in an Old Controversy. Arctic, 73(1), 13-19. From https://doi.org/10.14430/arctic69833
Ford, J.D., & Pearce, T. (2012). Climate change vulnerability and adaptation research focusing on the Inuit subsistence sector in Canada: Directions for future research. The Canadian Geographer 56(2), 275-287
Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (2019). An Inuit-specific approach for the Canadian Food Policy. From https://www.itk.ca/wp -content/uploads/2019/01/ITK_Food-Policy-Report.pdf
Kerr, J. (2014, June 24). Greenpeace apology to Inuit for impacts of seal campaign. From https://www.greenpeace.org/canada/en/story/5473/greenpeace-apology-to-inuit-for-impacts-of-seal-campaign
Randhawa, S. (2017, November 17). Animal rights activist, Inuit class over Canada’s Indigenous food Traditions. Gulf News.
Ready, E. (2016). Challenges in the assessment of Inuit food security. Arctic, 69(3), 266. From https://doi.org/10.144304579
Thornton, J. (2019, September 12). Animal rights, Imperialism, and Indigenous hunting. Indian Country Today
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