I watched CBC News North for the first time in a long time yesterday. I saw a lot of things that bothered me, not in terms of actual content, like headlines and stories, but things like: the reporters, the people they chose to interview and also the fact that it was all in English. I know! I know! We have CBC News Igalaaq, but that’s entirely in Inuktitut. A lot of Inuit, younger Inuit especially do not speak Inuktitut well enough to really understand the program and it delivers news from a purely inuit point of view –not that there is anything wrong with that, but CBC News North is more rounded in the kinds of stories it tells, it’s like, a more holistic approach to informing northerners. I know, translating CBC News North into Inuktitut would mean having to translate it into other northern indigenous languages.. I am fairly ethnocentric though, I mean.. I can only write from my own perspective right? I’ve only known life as an Inuk. But that’s not the point of the post. Just a little tidbit that I thought should be mentioned.. Anyway.. back to main points.
One of the reporters they have in Iqaluit, says IKALUIT. That, to me, is unacceptable. People say it wrong already, we don’t need the media to be pushing the wrong pronunciation just because it’s easier. Way not cool CBC. Enough people in Canada (and probably within your staff) are able to say it properly, get someone who does.
And the last thing: CBC News North did the story on the changes to the Food Mail Program. Northern retailers can now benefit from the program directly, rather than going through Canada Post. Yes! Hooray! I’m all about eliminating the unnecessary middle-man, but that does give an unfair advantage to larger retailers. Smaller, locally owned business do not order the same kinds of quantities as larger chain retailers do, giving them the shorter end of the food mail stick. It’s going to cost them more to compete with NorthMart and Coops and such. They interviewed three Iqaluit business owners who would be hit hardest by this change in policy. Now here’s what i really wanted to talk about.. the three people they interviewed were *drum roll please* all Qallunaaq. They painted a media picture of Iqaluit as a place where the only shop owners are Qallunaat; as if Inuit were not going to benefit or not from this policy change. I mean, I know Iqaluit has a LOT of Qallunaat, but seriously. If you look at the media attention that Inuit get, it’s usually because they are outstanding at something or complete failures. An amazing artist, for example get’s a lot of media. The statistics on suicide and infant mortality get a lot of media. The regular person, the shop owner, the beneficiary of the food mail program does not get any media attention.
There’s no such thing as neutral Inuit in the broader Canadian context. We’re either exotic and mysterious or disgusting and unworthy. It’s all people want to hear. We’re like the pride and joy of Canada because of our beautiful mysterious cultural differences, but at the same time it’s like, Inuit are still wards of the state and no one will let us forget that. What about regular people? You know, your cousin that works at Quickstop, or your ex-boyfriend’s sister in law with the really cute kid. People can’t comprehend the notion that we are just people, living our lives. I know this seems pretty far removed from the food mail program, but CBC’s interpretation of it ties it all together perfectly. Does Canada want regular Inuit? Or does Canada feed on the age old image of smiling exotic Eskimos? (and what can we do to change that?)....
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