In the 50's and 60's, our Inuit people were told to assimilate into the communities that were being built by the Hudson Bay Company and RCMP (Government of Canada) closest to the largest population of the region so fur trade can commence so much easier than the RCMP (Government of Canada) and Hudson Bay Company going out and getting the fur themselves. We were told that we have to send our children to far away schools with locations unknown to the parents for they haven't travelled to the locations themselves. We were told to drink the water and eat the food that was provided by the Hudson Bay Company for it was conveniently available.
We assimilated into the communities built by the Hudson Bay and RCMP (Government of Canada) of the time. We still have the houses in our communities built at the time and all of the houses that still stand are being used with little to no maintenance, even if evidence shows that these same houses would be condemned anywhere else in the southern part of our country.
We sent our children to far away schools against our mother's wishes for fear of repercussions by the RCMP, even though they were "OUR CHILDREN". When our children went to school they were told never to speak their own language even though that is all they knew. Now the next few generations suffer this loss of language because the "TEACHERS" said so. A lot of the children were abused by the "TEACHERS" both physically & mentally and those that weren't have lived lives most envy. The ones I have heard of that haven't been mentally and physically abused were of prominent families within the communities they came from. "COINCIDENCE," I think not.
With the water and food conveniently available at the Hudson Bay's trading post our people's diet drastically changed and has become irreversible. We were told that we need Bread, Fruit & Vegetables, Meat and Dairy products to have healthy foods in our lives. 1) We had/have the most nutritious milk available to mankind, breast milk provided by our mothers. 2) We have the most nutritious fruits nature can provide, i.e. Wild Blueberries, Cloud Berries, Raspberries, Cranberries, etc. 3) We have the most nutritious meat mother earth can provide, i.e. Tuktu (Caribou), Umingmak (Musk-Ox), Nattik (Seal), Iqaluk (Fish), Tingmiak (Geese), etc. 4) Now for our bread - I am still to figure out what our ancestors relied on but what comes to mind are seaweed, sweet leaves.
Nature provides the freshest water in the world, it is mankind that dilutes, "Purifies", contaminates our water. Our people would find fresh water to drink and set up camp closest to these locations. By the way, doesn't Canada have the highest concentration of fresh water available to the world?
Now with the above statements, I am not saying that I am 100% accurate with the facts, these are what I have personally observed in my short life on earth. My points from above are to show our peoples resilience to rely on mother nature over the thousands of years of existence to sustain life. It is also a sub-conscience effort to show our dependability on our government to provide and who made that decision for us.
Well, I think their (Government of Canada) plan has worked and it has worked tremendously. We are reliant on our Government to ensure we have healthy foods in our lives, roofs over our heads (Social Housing), our children are taught the academia closest to the region instead of what we used, to sustain our lives, without government intervention.
I commend/envy those who are trying/succeeding at keeping apart of our culture alive today. We have only been assimilated into this new lifestyle within the last couple of generations. We have also succeeded in accepting this new lifestyle of ours. We are proud to be called Canadians when met by other Nation's. But can I ask you demand more from this Government of Canada if you want us to proud by your side, i.e. More Social Housing, More Social programs for our children to grow their intelligence and knowledge, cheaper Healthy Foods within our stores so we aren't living pay check to pay check to provide for "Our Children".
I am a proud Canadian but when I see our Government donating billions to other countries in need, I often wonder why am I proud to call myself a Canadian. Are our people of the North not that important you have to let us continue to live in poverty. We have the most needed housing within the country, have the lowest median income in the country, highest prices for store-bought healthy foods available in the country, highest prices of airfares in the country - Most of our communities are so remote you can only fly-in and fly-out. Should I go on, Nah I think you get the idea?
We "Youth" in the north are in a very unlikely but highly visible situation, we have the highest population in the north, have these situations to live with but nobody is willing (except a select few) to step up to the plate and say "Enough is Enough!!!"
I have a couple of children myself and encourage them with their education, provide them with a roof over their heads, food on the table and clothes on their back. I will also continue to encourage them to speak the truth no matter how hurtful it may be because that is what I was taught.
Now imagine if we "Youth" decided to speak as "One Voice!!!!" Do you think we would be heard then, or are we going to continue to just accept our lives as "Status Quo"?