Pay attention to the critiques of New York Times' visit to Nunavut. Piece provides little historic or political context for poverty/death, uses the phrase "fume-sniffing teenagers," inadvertently helps stereotypes about Inuit. Lots to unpack.
I’ve re-read @nyimes piece and it doesn’t sit right. You can’t discuss the North without talking about Canada’s attempts at erasing Inuit culture/language, it’s exploitative to open the piece on a scene of domestic violence without talking about inter generational trauma.
We’re not that far removed from a time when Inuit traditions were outlawed, where generations of sled dogs were slaughtered by RCMP so Ottawa could keep Inuit under their thumb, living in state-sanctioned squalor.
And why would art be the economic engine to save Cape Dorset or any community? Mental health services, appropriately funded education and housing, easier access to the south all strike me as priorities.
Also, Canada is not “consumed” with reconciliation. Getting your uncle to stop referring to Indigenous people as “the natives” is not the high water mark for fixing generations of land theft, government-funded abuse schools and dispossession.
Also, Inuit are not helpless children that need saving. The best solutions and political leadership come from these communities. A woman from Baker Lake is going to Parliament, FFS, Tanya Tagaq is one of the most avant-f**ing-garde and sought after artists out there.
There's a role for journalism that bridges the NYT's audience and Nunavut but maybe -- when you have the resources and reach of the NYT -- hire someone with experience in this community or FROM Nunavut.
Reporting has to go beyond cocktail party anecdotes in Rosedale. If people in Nunavut (and young ppl in particular) see themselves represented this way in what has to be their only appearance in the NYT, what does that say about how the outside world sees them?
...and how does that affect the way they see themselves?
Elements of this story are written from inside that bubble where people ask you "what's your alma matter" and if the answer is "I'm a truck driver" they look you like you're not wearing pants. Burst the bubble, I guess.
Elements of this story are written from inside that bubble where people ask you "what's your alma matter" and if the answer is "I'm a truck driver" they look you like you're not wearing pants. Burst the bubble, I guess.
Just be better. Try harder. Think “would the people I’m writing about be cool with me saying this to their faces?” If the answer is no, check yourself. If the answer is yes, double check yourself. Be thoughtful.
