Our North - SSE Policy Update Megathread

[GR66]

In terms of food security - it is probably easier to transfer the skills necessary to raise caribou and ptarmigan so that the locals can eat the meat their bodies are designed for than it is to teach their bodies how to eat Coco Puffs.

Importing, or even cultivating, carbohydrates that the caribou, the geese and ptarmigan, or even some fish can exploit and convert into food that the Inuit need, to my mind, makes a lot of sense.

There is a lot of literature and practical knowledge available on domesticating animals like elk, reindeer, deer generally, geese, ducks, salmon and sheep. The musk ox is just a really big sheep.

Keep in mind that most Northern communities have extremely small populations. In Nunavut for example where the total population in the almost 2 million square km territory is just 41,000, Iqaluit has about 7,500 people and nothing else is over 3,000 people. If you're talking about significantly increasing infrastructure and resource extraction, etc. in the territory you're likely to see the population expand greatly...and these new people will primarily be Southerners who will have little interest in eating Inuit Country Foods.

 

[Kirkhill]

Keep in mind that most Northern communities have extremely small populations. In Nunavut for example where the total population in the almost 2 million square km territory is just 41,000, Iqaluit has about 7,500 people and nothing else is over 3,000 people. If you're talking about significantly increasing infrastructure and resource extraction, etc. in the territory you're likely to see the population expand greatly...and these new people will primarily be Southerners who will have little interest in eating Inuit Country Foods.

I agree. How many southern immigrants will the northern culture tolerate?

In the meantime two things are happening to the Inuit that echo historical trends.

1. The Inuit population is becoming more sedentary - they have to bring food to town rather than follow the food
2. The Inuit population is expanding - more people have to be supplied with food

And thus the conversion of the nomadic hunter to the farmer (skipping the nomadic pastoralist step).

 

[daftandbarmy]

Curious....how many young Inuit want to eat the same diet as their grandparents did? Might want to ask that question before you go and start dictating their menu choices. Genetic research is one thing...personal choice is another.

As I recall, the 'Northern stores' offered a pretty wide selection of Muktuk and other native meats. The local villages were also decorated with hundreds of drying arctic char hanging on lines, animal skins, and butchered seal and other game.

I'm thinking their traditional food choices aren't going to change much.

 

[Furniture]

As I recall, the 'Northern stores' offered a pretty wide selection of Muktuk and other native meats. The local villages were also decorated with hundreds of drying arctic char hanging on lines, animal skins, and butchered seal and other game.

I'm thinking their traditional food choices aren't going to change much.

I think that the trends of young people moving out of the small communities runs counter to that narrative. In Ontario the Inuit population went from 100 in 1987 to over 3800 in 2017.

I suspect that the young Inuit aren't that much different from the rest of us, and want to enjoy the modern world and experience new things. I know I'd be pretty annoyed if a bunch of people in Ontario tried to force me to eat and live the same way my grandparents did back on PEI in the 1950s.

 

[dimsum]

I think that the trends of young people moving out of the small communities runs counter to that narrative. In Ontario the Inuit population went from 100 in 1987 to over 3800 in 2017.

I suspect that the young Inuit aren't that much different from the rest of us, and want to enjoy the modern world and experience new things. I know I'd be pretty annoyed if a bunch of people in Ontario tried to force me to eat and live the same way my grandparents did back on PEI in the 1950s.

I can’t remember which documentary I was watching, but what struck me was that the Inuit family in that episode was eating muktuk with soy sauce.

So while yes, it’s not a bad thing to know about traditional foods and methods, it’s not always “better back in the day”.

 

[dapaterson]

I think that the trends of young people moving out of the small communities runs counter to that narrative. In Ontario the Inuit population went from 100 in 1987 to over 3800 in 2017.

I suspect that the young Inuit aren't that much different from the rest of us, and want to enjoy the modern world and experience new things. I know I'd be pretty annoyed if a bunch of people in Ontario tried to force me to eat and live the same way my grandparents did back on PEI in the 1950s.

You don't look good in a red wig?

 

[lenaitch]

or even dwellings.

Yup. We should suggest that to them. That'll make us popular.

 

[daftandbarmy]

I can’t remember which documentary I was watching, but what struck me was that the Inuit family in that episode was eating muktuk with soy sauce.

So while yes, it’s not a bad thing to know about traditional foods and methods, it’s not always “better back in the day”.

There are pros and cons, of course:

Inuit cuisine​

Traditional Inuit diets derive approximately 50% of their calories from fat, 30–35% from protein and 15–20% of their calories from carbohydrates, largely in the form of glycogen from the raw meat they consumed. This high fat content provides valuable energy and prevents protein poisoning, which historically was sometimes a problem in late winter when game animals grew lean through winter starvation. It has been suggested that because the fats of the Inuit's wild-caught game are largely monounsaturated and rich in omega-3 fatty acids, the diet does not pose the same health risks as a typical Western high-fat diet. However, actual evidence has shown that Inuit have a similar prevalence of coronary artery disease as non-Inuit populations and they have excessive mortality due to cerebrovascular strokes, with twice the risk to that of the North American population. Indeed, the cardiovascular risk of this diet is so severe that the addition of a more standard American diet has reduced the incidence of mortality in the Inuit population. Furthermore, fish oil supplement studies have failed to support claims of preventing heart attacks or strokes.

Inuit cuisine - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Underway]

Arctic policy update with CDA.

Overall good work to develop an appropriate Arctic policy, keep working on those negotiations and building relationships. This is a win for the Government of Canada. Now to fund and follow through.