Rhythm of the Tides: my arctic experience

Last Words

Spending two weeks in Iqaluit is not the same as spending two years traveling in Nunavut getting to know Nunavuttiums and their culture. Accordingly, my account of arctic life in the preceding chapters is necessarily constrained by the brevity of my stay. It's nothing more than a snapshot of what I saw and felt during the time I was there.

Moreover, my experience was affected by my own personal biases, and I'm certain that if Don, my friend and travel companion, had been writing this book it would differ significantly. Although we agreed on many things that we saw and discussed, his take on them would be different than mine. Nevertheless, I tried to be objective and factual.

The arctic is a distinct and unique piece of Canada, where the climate has forged a way of life that is unlike anywhere else. In a country where we celebrate our differences, the Inuit are one of the prized flowers in the multicultural tapestry we call our homeland. I believe that we should be doing everything possible to protect this remote area of our country and nurture it so that Inuit culture has a chance to thrive again within the Canadian family. This is my personal view; and it has coloured everything that I have read, seen and wrote about.

What I saw there, and learned before and after going, affected me significantly. Even though I went there with the idea of writing about my trip, when I got there I became even more determined to do it. The plight of the Inuit is below the horizon of most Canadians and anything we can do to raise their visibility can only help their cause. We owe them a big debt and I feel obliged to remind people of that.

During the last century, the Inuit of Canada where hit by three powerful forces that they were unprepared for: the church, the government and modernity. All three have played havoc on their families, societies and value system. They are still struggling to find their identity in the modern world. Eventually, they will find the right balance between the old world and the new, but it's a tough struggle for them and an uncooperative federal government attitude isn't helping.

It's clear to me that their struggle would be lessened if the federal government fulfilled its obligations under the Land Claims Agreement. In this accord, the Inuit gave up claim to their ancestral lands in return for social services from the government, which includes things like health care, housing and food security, to name just a few. Nunavuttium are still waiting for the government to deliver on their promises. They feel cheated and neglected and they are bitter about it, and with good reasons. We would feel the same way if we bought and paid for something and the other party failed to deliver.

The Inuit have a right to be masters of their own house, but the power brokers in Ottawa are not ready to let go of the strings. There is far too much natural wealth located in the arctic for that to happen. And that is the sad reality. There are less than sixty thousand people living there: a small voice in a country of nearly forty million. Those in power know how to exploit the politically weak without remorse because that's what they do best. And that's another sad reality.

On the other side of the coin, my feeling is that the current Inuit leadership has become too bureaucratic, at a time when their people are suffering from so many social ills. Furthermore, such an approach to governing less than forty thousand people can stymie the territory. Iqaluit cannot emulate Ottawa. It needs to be proactive. And if I have been overly critical it's because after eighteen years of autonomous government, it is blatantly clear to me that very little has been done to lessen the suffering of Inuit people.

Sadly, while the rest of us celebrated our country's sesquicentennial, the Inuit of Canada had little to celebrate about. Perhaps, their situation will be much improved before the bicentennial in 2067. I sincerely hope so.

Although I hope and pray that Ottawa changes its attitude towards all indigenous people, I believe that wind, not the federal government, is their greatest hope. Nunavuttiums need to put all their energies in harnessing the arctic wind because it can be a significant source of sustainable electrical energy, which can help break, or reduce, their dependence on the south. And, in my view, the more independent they can be from the south, the more Inuit they can remain.

When I started planning my arctic trip, I saw the north as a barren place where nothing grows. Now I see it as a place of great potential. I'm convinced that farming is part of the answer to food security and economic growth in Nunavut. Wind and vegetable farms not only have a place in the north, they can help today's Inuit break the shackles of dependency and become self-sustainable, as were their ancestors before the Canadian government interfered with their lives. The future is in their hands, and to me it looks a lot brighter than it has ever been!