"Crazy white man" was a term that was tossed around freely in the Mackenzie Delta when I was there in the mid 60's. It was thrown back and forth . White people used the phrase as well as aboriginal and when both groups were together. I'm sure that crazy white man was used in other circles in hatred.
I have no idea of the origin of the term but there were many situations that could have brought up it's origin. There would be a long history . European explorers came first, then whalers, missionaries, traders and government. All of them showed examples of not knowing how to cope and taking advantage of the original people.
One example of crazy will stay in my memory forever. I was not involved in this incident but have read and heard much about it. The Canadian government decided in the early fifties that Inuit in northern Quebec would be better off if they relocated some of them. The government decided that game was becoming scarce in the area and that relocation of some families from Port Harrison ,Quebec, would ease the situation on game.
So they choose 10- 12 families and moved them to Resolute Bay. These people were moved against their will. They were dropped off in Resolute Bay by ice breaker at the end of September with tents and a supply of food to get them started. Resolute Bay is one of the coldest locations in the Arctic. There is little game there. The modern Inuit had never been that far north.
These people suffered great hardship.
The real reason these people were moved was to be land inhabitants to claim sovereignty to the Arctic Islands. The early fifties was at the time of the cold war and Canada didn't want to find Russians inhabiting arctic islands. The Inuit called themselves human flagpoles.
I'm sure you would agree that this was a completely loony and heartless move by the Canadian government and it would deserve the term crazy whiteman.
Now there are countless more examples of what white people did to earn the label "crazy whiteman".
Showing posts with label Inuit. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Inuit. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 22, 2020
Friday, February 12, 2016
Yesterday a Tear Came to my Eye
Now there are certain things that can bring a tear to my eye. I don't look at it as a bother or a weakness. Sometimes a situation overwhelms me and a tear or two fall. Yesterday something happened that brought a tear.
As you know I spent 5 years in the Arctic and I've often said it was a life changing experience. I left the Arctic in 1969 but it's always remained close to me so I've read widely and gained much more insight about the people and the land. Experiences that happened long ago suddenly take on more meaning or a different meaning.
In all too many cases the Inuit were moved without their consent or awareness as to what was happening. The part I was involved in was moving children 1000's of miles away from their homes so that they could go to a residential school. Communities were moved to where the white man wanted to build a town. Families were moved to isolated areas because the white man thought there was better hunting and trapping in an area. Many Inuit were brought south for medical reasons and some died and were not returned to their loved ones . More than that it seemed that records of these people were lost. In my settlement a toddler was murdered and the body taken to the south for a coroner's inquest. A year later one of the leaders asked me where the baby's body was. I couldn't tell him. I did refer him to those responsible and I'm not sure what he found.
Before the 1900's Inuit were taken on trading and exploring ships as workers or pilots. Sometimes these people were taken back to their homes and many times they were just dropped off before the vessel returned to Europe.
Yesterday, I listened to a radio interview about Inuit who were taken to France and exhibited as if they were in a Zoo. People payed to see an Esquimaux. Inuit today remember these people and continue to feel the loss of family and ancestors. At one point in the interview the Inuk was unable to continue and tell the feelings of his loss. There was a TV documentary on this event on the Nature of T
hings.
The interview continued and at the end the inuk said "nakuriik" Which is thankyou. That is when the tear dropped. To hear the language again from an inuktitut speaker brought back so much of what I had experienced.
As you know I spent 5 years in the Arctic and I've often said it was a life changing experience. I left the Arctic in 1969 but it's always remained close to me so I've read widely and gained much more insight about the people and the land. Experiences that happened long ago suddenly take on more meaning or a different meaning.
In all too many cases the Inuit were moved without their consent or awareness as to what was happening. The part I was involved in was moving children 1000's of miles away from their homes so that they could go to a residential school. Communities were moved to where the white man wanted to build a town. Families were moved to isolated areas because the white man thought there was better hunting and trapping in an area. Many Inuit were brought south for medical reasons and some died and were not returned to their loved ones . More than that it seemed that records of these people were lost. In my settlement a toddler was murdered and the body taken to the south for a coroner's inquest. A year later one of the leaders asked me where the baby's body was. I couldn't tell him. I did refer him to those responsible and I'm not sure what he found.
Before the 1900's Inuit were taken on trading and exploring ships as workers or pilots. Sometimes these people were taken back to their homes and many times they were just dropped off before the vessel returned to Europe.
Yesterday, I listened to a radio interview about Inuit who were taken to France and exhibited as if they were in a Zoo. People payed to see an Esquimaux. Inuit today remember these people and continue to feel the loss of family and ancestors. At one point in the interview the Inuk was unable to continue and tell the feelings of his loss. There was a TV documentary on this event on the Nature of T
The interview continued and at the end the inuk said "nakuriik" Which is thankyou. That is when the tear dropped. To hear the language again from an inuktitut speaker brought back so much of what I had experienced.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Finally Success in Internet Search
This week I finally found success in a search that I have been pursuing for a few years.
I had written in a previous post that I had taught in an isolated Inuit community from 1967 -1969. There were less than 200 people in the community. It was a two year period that had a tremendous impact on my life.
At the time the settlement was called Wakeham Bay. Today it is called Kangiqsujuaq which means large bay. It is 1500 miles north of Montreal. We flew 1200 miles to an administration center and then another three hundred miles on a bush plane which banged along a 100 mile an hour. We landed on the sea and the idea was to hit the top of the swell and bounce to the top of the next swell until speed was reduced enough to settle into the water. That was one of many things that contributed to the impact.
For a few years after I left in 1969 there was some limited contact and then everything dried up. So for the last few years I have been searching the Internet. It was easy to Google and get a map and pictures, but I wanted to find out about the people. I thought that they probably weren't on the Internet so I didn't really dig. What happened to my students?
This week I finally made a hit and that led to many other leads. It was extremely gratifying to find that some of my former students had assumed significant leadership positions. One former student is the mayor. Some had excelled in business and others in the arts. I was very surprised to find out that they had been responsible for making a series of TV programs for the Inuit. It was also sad to learn that some of the older people had died. I had come to highly regard the adults at that time so to find the they had passed away was sad.
In 1967 when I arrived the school had been open for five years. These people had only recently moved off the land into a settlement. They were still excellent and successful hunters. I was given some of the wild game and will remember the taste as well as their kindness and generosity. I had seal, arctic char, caribou, ptarmigan and mussels. I didn't like the mussels as they were very coarse but who could resist when some little kid with a runny nose showed up at the door with a pail of mussels. They always knew they would get fifty cents.
The adults spoke only a few words of English. I used an interpreter. These people were talented
sculptures with soapstone. Each day after school they would bring carvings which I bought for the Government. I always watch for carvings from that area.
One fellow who I will never forget was the oblate missionary. He was Belgian and had a very French accent. Pere Dion had to be extremely independent as the church support he received was limited. His parish was 10 to 20. He had been in the area for 12 years and knew all people well. It was fascinating to find that Pere Dion is still there and continuing the mission at age 89. About the only thing different is that he has a brilliant red sporty KIA. When I was there there were no roads and no vehicles.
So this week was exciting as it took me back to some very fond memories. Even though I left Kangiqsujuaq 43 years ago the memories and influence are always with me. I still have some more searching to do.
I had written in a previous post that I had taught in an isolated Inuit community from 1967 -1969. There were less than 200 people in the community. It was a two year period that had a tremendous impact on my life.
At the time the settlement was called Wakeham Bay. Today it is called Kangiqsujuaq which means large bay. It is 1500 miles north of Montreal. We flew 1200 miles to an administration center and then another three hundred miles on a bush plane which banged along a 100 mile an hour. We landed on the sea and the idea was to hit the top of the swell and bounce to the top of the next swell until speed was reduced enough to settle into the water. That was one of many things that contributed to the impact.
For a few years after I left in 1969 there was some limited contact and then everything dried up. So for the last few years I have been searching the Internet. It was easy to Google and get a map and pictures, but I wanted to find out about the people. I thought that they probably weren't on the Internet so I didn't really dig. What happened to my students?
This week I finally made a hit and that led to many other leads. It was extremely gratifying to find that some of my former students had assumed significant leadership positions. One former student is the mayor. Some had excelled in business and others in the arts. I was very surprised to find out that they had been responsible for making a series of TV programs for the Inuit. It was also sad to learn that some of the older people had died. I had come to highly regard the adults at that time so to find the they had passed away was sad.
In 1967 when I arrived the school had been open for five years. These people had only recently moved off the land into a settlement. They were still excellent and successful hunters. I was given some of the wild game and will remember the taste as well as their kindness and generosity. I had seal, arctic char, caribou, ptarmigan and mussels. I didn't like the mussels as they were very coarse but who could resist when some little kid with a runny nose showed up at the door with a pail of mussels. They always knew they would get fifty cents.
The adults spoke only a few words of English. I used an interpreter. These people were talented
sculptures with soapstone. Each day after school they would bring carvings which I bought for the Government. I always watch for carvings from that area.
One fellow who I will never forget was the oblate missionary. He was Belgian and had a very French accent. Pere Dion had to be extremely independent as the church support he received was limited. His parish was 10 to 20. He had been in the area for 12 years and knew all people well. It was fascinating to find that Pere Dion is still there and continuing the mission at age 89. About the only thing different is that he has a brilliant red sporty KIA. When I was there there were no roads and no vehicles.
So this week was exciting as it took me back to some very fond memories. Even though I left Kangiqsujuaq 43 years ago the memories and influence are always with me. I still have some more searching to do.
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Experience with Inuit Soapstone Carvings
One of the more interesting experiences that I bumbled into in my life was to be in a position to buy soapstone carvings from Inuit carvers. As I've said before I spent five years in the Arctic. It was an experience that was a major influence in my life .
In one remote settlement I was teacher, school principal and local administrator for the Canadian government. One of the jobs as administrator was to buy soapstone carvings from Inuit carvers. A program had been established before I arrived and I just carried on. I had a single signature bank account from the government which allowed me $1000.00 per month to buy carvings. Single signature because there was nobody else to sign besides my wife.
Each week day I had an hour after school where locals could come to see me about Govt. business. Each day people would bring carvings. Now I had a crash course from the previous administrator on how to "evaluate" carvings. I looked at such basic things as size, finish, detail, shape and artistic expression. I was quite the judge! In the late 1960's most carvings were in the $12.00 to 16.00 range. Little seals and birds which were numerous and were about two bucks. So you see the producer of the carving received very little as you are familiar with retail prices in stores.
Some carvers had some artistic talent as they could look at a piece of stone and see something in the stone. Others tried to create something that was representative of some aspect of their cultural background. But many carvers just worked hard to produce something which they could sell to get some cash. When I arrived there was a pile of stone in front of each house. This stone had been brought in by ship and had come from a nickel mine at Sudbury Ontario. There was local stone but it was of rougher quality. It was harder and not easy to work with. I had one stone mining project while I was there where men went out for a week and by hand mined local soapstone. Tough work!
So most of the project was basically a handcraft production. It was meant to give the people some opportunity to earn some money. As I said before some of these people had artistic talent.
Much of what I learned was taught to me by the carvers. They were somewhat competitive. They didn't like to see someone play tricks on me. To polish the stone and make it shiny some people rubbed it with lard. I was told how to watch for this. You could smell it. Others polished with silver paper that was in cigarette packages at the time. They were quite interested to watch as I bought the carvings as I think they maybe had side bets with each other as to how much would be paid for each carving. Keep in mind these people did not speak English. I had an interpreter too help me.
At the end of the year I had a small warehouse of carvings which I had to wrap and box up to be ready to load on the ship and send to Ottawa.
I got to know each carver very well and appreciated the effort they had to expend to make a carving. I once tried to carve a little seal, but I gave up. So you can see that with the intensity of this experience I was deeply influenced in several ways.
I did not buy very many carvings for myself. I have regretted not buying more. I did buy carvings to give to my family for Christmas. I'm always surprised when I visit relatives and see a carving I sent them . It's like meeting an old friend after a long absence. When my step Mom and Dad died they gave me back the carving I gave them. I was really pleased to get the carving back.
In one remote settlement I was teacher, school principal and local administrator for the Canadian government. One of the jobs as administrator was to buy soapstone carvings from Inuit carvers. A program had been established before I arrived and I just carried on. I had a single signature bank account from the government which allowed me $1000.00 per month to buy carvings. Single signature because there was nobody else to sign besides my wife.
Each week day I had an hour after school where locals could come to see me about Govt. business. Each day people would bring carvings. Now I had a crash course from the previous administrator on how to "evaluate" carvings. I looked at such basic things as size, finish, detail, shape and artistic expression. I was quite the judge! In the late 1960's most carvings were in the $12.00 to 16.00 range. Little seals and birds which were numerous and were about two bucks. So you see the producer of the carving received very little as you are familiar with retail prices in stores.
Some carvers had some artistic talent as they could look at a piece of stone and see something in the stone. Others tried to create something that was representative of some aspect of their cultural background. But many carvers just worked hard to produce something which they could sell to get some cash. When I arrived there was a pile of stone in front of each house. This stone had been brought in by ship and had come from a nickel mine at Sudbury Ontario. There was local stone but it was of rougher quality. It was harder and not easy to work with. I had one stone mining project while I was there where men went out for a week and by hand mined local soapstone. Tough work!
So most of the project was basically a handcraft production. It was meant to give the people some opportunity to earn some money. As I said before some of these people had artistic talent.
Much of what I learned was taught to me by the carvers. They were somewhat competitive. They didn't like to see someone play tricks on me. To polish the stone and make it shiny some people rubbed it with lard. I was told how to watch for this. You could smell it. Others polished with silver paper that was in cigarette packages at the time. They were quite interested to watch as I bought the carvings as I think they maybe had side bets with each other as to how much would be paid for each carving. Keep in mind these people did not speak English. I had an interpreter too help me.
At the end of the year I had a small warehouse of carvings which I had to wrap and box up to be ready to load on the ship and send to Ottawa.
I got to know each carver very well and appreciated the effort they had to expend to make a carving. I once tried to carve a little seal, but I gave up. So you can see that with the intensity of this experience I was deeply influenced in several ways.
I did not buy very many carvings for myself. I have regretted not buying more. I did buy carvings to give to my family for Christmas. I'm always surprised when I visit relatives and see a carving I sent them . It's like meeting an old friend after a long absence. When my step Mom and Dad died they gave me back the carving I gave them. I was really pleased to get the carving back.
This carving was done by Ningiuk. He was a hard worker and wanted to support his family. However , all his carvings were mostly the same.
Masiu carved this piece. He was more artistic and had great skill. However , he didn't produce many pieces. He was an excellent hunter so spent much of his time hunting seals. His wife helped him in the finishing of a carving.
This carving was different than many pieces produced and showed great skill in using the piece of stone.
Monday, November 29, 2010
Snow Houses:Igloos
Since I'm on the "cold" topic I might as well make it three in a row: Polar Bears and Cold Snap and Snow Houses. Since I have been thinking about my polar bear experience it brought back watching the Inuit build snow houses.
As I said in my last post I spent two years in a remote arctic community. The community had only been established as a settlement for Inuit six years before I arrived in the late sixties. Inuit had lived and hunted in this area for thousands of years. An air radio station had been established in the late 1920's when cross ocean flying first began. Flights from North America went to Wakeham Bay and then across Hudson Strait to Frobisher Bay, across to Greenland , over to Iceland and I'm not sure where after that.They had to use this route so that they could refuel.
But I got off the topic. When I arrived in this community the people were still actively hunting. One dog team was still in use but all the others had begun using skidoos. These people still were using and familiar with traditional hunting patterns. When they went out on the ice for several days they used snow houses rather than tents. Snow houses were warmer than tents and you didn't have to carry a tent.
The first time I saw a snow house built was an unforgettable experience. I was not prepared for what I saw. First, the main tool was an ordinary hand wood saw. A large knife (machete) was used in the trimming of the blocks. They first look around for the right amount of snow which has the proper consistency. The snow has to be fairly hard. Then they start cutting blocks out of the snow with the saw. After half a dozen blocks or so they begin setting them up. The bottom of the block is slightly beveled so that it tilts inward. They continue this pattern in a spiral . When the second course is laid they make sure that the blocks overlap the bottom joints and again the blocks are slightly bevelled. The layers continue until one piece of snow can be cut to fill in the last hole in the top. All this is done from inside so you see the blocks of snow do not get that high. Any spaces between the blocks are filled with little chunks of snow. They cut the door out from inside. The test for success of your house is to be able to stand on it! My fellow teacher tried his hand at building snow houses and was very successful.
Again I have pictures which are still slides and not changed to digital. I have a project ahead of me.
These houses are surprisingly comfortable. You have to be careful not to warm them up too much or the inside walls ice up and then they are not comfortable. I once had a soapstone mining project where they went out for a week to mine soap stone . At the end of the week the inside of the snow houses were iced up. They used Colemann stoves which would throw off too much heat.
These were wonderful houses and I'm glad I got to see them even though I didn't spend a night in one.
As I said in my last post I spent two years in a remote arctic community. The community had only been established as a settlement for Inuit six years before I arrived in the late sixties. Inuit had lived and hunted in this area for thousands of years. An air radio station had been established in the late 1920's when cross ocean flying first began. Flights from North America went to Wakeham Bay and then across Hudson Strait to Frobisher Bay, across to Greenland , over to Iceland and I'm not sure where after that.They had to use this route so that they could refuel.
But I got off the topic. When I arrived in this community the people were still actively hunting. One dog team was still in use but all the others had begun using skidoos. These people still were using and familiar with traditional hunting patterns. When they went out on the ice for several days they used snow houses rather than tents. Snow houses were warmer than tents and you didn't have to carry a tent.
The first time I saw a snow house built was an unforgettable experience. I was not prepared for what I saw. First, the main tool was an ordinary hand wood saw. A large knife (machete) was used in the trimming of the blocks. They first look around for the right amount of snow which has the proper consistency. The snow has to be fairly hard. Then they start cutting blocks out of the snow with the saw. After half a dozen blocks or so they begin setting them up. The bottom of the block is slightly beveled so that it tilts inward. They continue this pattern in a spiral . When the second course is laid they make sure that the blocks overlap the bottom joints and again the blocks are slightly bevelled. The layers continue until one piece of snow can be cut to fill in the last hole in the top. All this is done from inside so you see the blocks of snow do not get that high. Any spaces between the blocks are filled with little chunks of snow. They cut the door out from inside. The test for success of your house is to be able to stand on it! My fellow teacher tried his hand at building snow houses and was very successful.
Again I have pictures which are still slides and not changed to digital. I have a project ahead of me.
These houses are surprisingly comfortable. You have to be careful not to warm them up too much or the inside walls ice up and then they are not comfortable. I once had a soapstone mining project where they went out for a week to mine soap stone . At the end of the week the inside of the snow houses were iced up. They used Colemann stoves which would throw off too much heat.
These were wonderful houses and I'm glad I got to see them even though I didn't spend a night in one.
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