- An Inuk filmmaker takes a close look at the central role of seal hunting in the lives of the Inuit, the importance of the revenue they earn from sales of seal skins, and the negative impact that international campaigns against the seal hunt have had on their lives.
- Seal hunting, a critical part of Inuit life, has been controversial for a long time. Now, a new generation of Inuit, armed with social media and their own sense of humour and justice, are challenging the anti-sealing groups and bringing their own voices into the conversation. Director Alethea Arnaquq-Baril joins her fellow Inuit activists as they challenge outdated perceptions of Inuit and present themselves to the world as a modern people in dire need of a sustainable economy.
- In her award-winning documentary, director Alethea Arnaquq-Baril (Inuk) takes on misconceptions of commercial seal hunting, introducing us to the individual Inuit hunters and communities fighting to retain their ancestral rights and earn a living in today's international monetary economy, by focusing on her own relatives, friends, and community.—Caroline Schimmel
- In Kimmirut, Nunavut Territory, Canada in the Spring of 2008, A boy and his grandfather are seal hunting on the edge of the flow. The grandfather shoots a seal, retrieves it in a boat, and skins it. The hide is washed in the nearby waters. The meat is cut up and transported to the village. The woman cut the seal harvest into pieces and call in friends and relatives for a feast of raw seal. They are relatives of the documentary creator, Alethea Arnaquq-Baril. Iqaluit is the capital city of the Nunavut territory. There are many who have never visited the Nunavut Territory would criticize seal hunters as evil greedy people. Though trained as a lawyer, Aaju Peter is a seal skin clothing designer. Her mittens and coats creations allow her to stay home to work and raise her children. The market for her products is being shut down by animal rights activists. Most activist propaganda focus on the spring hunt of seals in and around Newfoundland. However, most seal hunters are Inuit and hunt in the Artic regions. The Inuit culture values personalities who are calm and reasonable, and not argumentative and loud like the protesters. The chairman of the Hunters Association in Kimmirut describes how the seal is hunted and that the meat is distributed to the community for free. He says he has never encountered a seal hunt activist in his community but would most certainly like to have a face to face talk with one should the opportunity arise. Sealskin preparation is hardly a major textile factory industry. Most seal skin is prepared by women working in their homes using hand tools and manual labor to create usable fabrics. The Canadian government provides for a wildlife officer to buy skins from the hunters throughout the year. All the skins purchased are then combined and sold at an International auction allowing the Inuit to participate in the international market. In 1983, the European Union band seal skin sales for white coat harp seal pups. Even though the Inuit people do not harvest this type of seal, the ban crashed the seal skin market causing a great depression in their economy. Arnaquq-Baril goes Pangnirtung to seek out Lasaloosie Ishulutak who lived through the depression. For years, he lived out in the land and hunted for food. The seal provides his people's food and clothing. Since the depression, many Inuit have had to move to towns. They Sell carvings or whatever else they could find to sustain their way of life. Lasaloosie is willing to meet those who condemn his way of life for a face to face discussion. For the Inuit people, suicide rates have become the one of the worst in the world since the 1983 mandate. A further ban is proposed against all seal products in the European Union. In the winter of 2009, Aaju Peter and others head to Europe to represent the Inuit concerns. Animal activist groups like International Fund for Animal Welfare arrive well ahead of the Inuit. Their lobbying efforts are well funded and organized. With the Inuit hand out pamphlets, the IFAW distribute white seal dolls to create sympathy for their cause, even though such hunts have been banned for 30 years. Parliamentarians mention that the Inuit are exception from the legislation but do not understand that seal hunting is the way the Inuit participate in the world economy. Hunting seals is a commercial enterprise and not merely for subsistence. The European Union overwhelmingly votes to ban all seal products in May, 2009. Greenpeace and others find it easy and profitable to raise money using the seal hunters even though seals are not on the endangered species list. Paul Watson, a former Greenpeace organizer admits this in an interview. Since the ban, Inuit are selling less than half the number of skins at about 1/10 the price compared to the time before the ban. The Inuit economy is harshly effected. 7 out of 10 Inuit live in poverty. Seal meat is easily the cheapest healthiest way for Inuit to feed their people. Common foods for southern Canadians cost several times more in Inuit regions. The money the hunters make is best spent on gasoline to power their snowmobiles for future hunts. The Canadian government has proposed seismic testing along the coast of the Baffin Island to find oil and gas deposits. The underwater explosions have been proven to harm the hearing of sea animals like seals and whales. and worth. Aaju is leading a group on Inuit students to Europe who go on a speaking tour that advocates Inuit concerns. In Brussels, the students impress two members of the EU parliament. The members now understand the alternative to a sustainable seal skin hunt is fake fur which an oil-based product made from a non-renewable resource. Aaju speaks to others about the geography of the Inuit people. She emphasizes that the world has left the guardians of the natural resources there out of the conversation. Alethea Arnaquq-Baril thinks that the so-called Inuit exemption in the law makes it harder to fight the anti-seal movement because they only view Inuit seal hunt as subsistence rather than the way they participate in the world economy. In 2013, Arnaquq-Baril joins others in planned counter protest in Toronto. There she hopes to meet Sheryl Fink from IFAW to ask her some questions. The students from the European tour also are busing to Toronto. They extol the prejudice of banning seal ski, but not leather or sheepskin. Further, they proclaim the nutritional value of seal meat. Because of the Inuit arrival, IFAW cancels their protest. The European Union courts dismiss the Inuit lawsuit. Their decision is not based on animal welfare or conservation standards, but on moral grounds. Seal hunting apparently offends EU residents. Alethea Arnaquq-Baril knows they need to use social media to change minds of a billion people. An Ellen DeGeneres star-studded selfie raised $1.5 million for the Humane Society just as anti-sealing protest season was gearing up. Then A young Inuit female sent a video directly to Ellen that drew media attention. Arnaquq-Baril creates #sealfie, which shows the Inuit people hunting, eating or wearing seal. The hashtag receives many vile and repulsive responses from anti-sealers. Aljazeera invites Arnaquq-Baril and Rebecca Aldworth, executive director of the Canadian Humane Society to speak on the same show. A day before the show, Aldworth cancels. Fink makes video statement that the IFAW does not oppose subsistence hunting. Greenpeace, however, actually apologizes for whatever efforts they have made that harmed the Inuit economy. A former IFAW official brokers a deal with seal hunters for a full use hunt where skin, oil, and meat are all used. For her efforts, she was fired from the organization. She concludes the organization has no interest in actually solving the controversy when it is so effective to use for their fund raising. The little boy hunting with his grandfather is now 13 years old and a hunter in his own right. It is for such youth that Alethea Arnaquq-Baril continues her advocacy.
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