Day Eight: "Broken Promises"

The death of one of the community elders has put many events on hold but last night we still had a potluck with the Global Warming 101 crew at Lesley and Dawn’s. The food was excellent: broiled char, some Minnesota wild rice and a variety of tasty salads (and dessert was just as good; even ice cream!)

Here's the dinner-dessert-movie crew. From left to right, back to front: Abby Fenton, Ed Veisturs, Lesley, Dawn, Jeff, Allison (me), Sam Branson, Chris, Will Steger, Mr. Johnson and Elizabeth Andre. Not pictured is Gerry S. our wonderful photographer.

After dinner, we watched a documentary called “Broken Promises.” It was about the Inuit relocation programs of the 1950’s. The remote northern arctic was a prime location for a nuclear stronghold during the Cold War and Canada was seeking to populate as much of its northern regions as possible to strengthen their sovereignty of the region. At the same time many Inuit communities were put in an economic crux. The families’ main income was trading furs for store credit but as the prices of furs fell and the stores extended credit they fell deeper and deeper into debt. The hard times drove the government to start relief programs but they were reluctant to put too much money towards relief funds. So, in an effort to solve two problems the government came out with a statement claiming the best way to get the Inuit to be an active and beneficial part of the Canadian economy was to put them back in their traditional lifestyles. This was achieved by relocation into the most northern islands of Canada. The Inuit were lead to believe that the place they were to be moved to was even better than their current home with more game and resources. But Grise Fiord and Cambridge Harbor are in the high arctic; there was less game to hunt, 24-hour darkness during the winter, much colder conditions and no store from which they could purchase supplies. The relocation program stated that at the end of the year any family wishing to return could. The families did but the reports claimed that everyone was content except for the group’s leader who was upset by the fact that he couldn’t see very far outside his tent during the winter. While the communities were later strengthened with the development of a school and other programs a statement at the end of the movie claimed that no official apology from the government was ever given.
Here's a "little" after dinner entertainment...Mr. Johnson on the mandolin!