Alirza Quluncu - May 8, 2017
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| Angry Inuk (2016) |
Inuk filmmaker and director of the documentary Angry Inuk, Alethea Arnaquq-Baril, shared a question on her Facebook page: "Inuit, What Do You Do to Decolonize?"
Alethea answers her own question: "I struggle with the decisions made by others on my behalf, even before I came into this world, and I try to reverse them. On the other hand, I imagine that if our interactions with Europeans were as equal partners, how would our society evolve? Naturally, we would have changed too. But this change would have been under our conditions."
Alethea's question also sparked responses from other activists, artists, and academics.
In response, Inuk musician Nancy M wrote:
"Among the many things I do, I try to teach my non-Inuit partner and others how they can join us in decolonization. [I tell them] Even if you're not Inuit, you can still contribute meaningfully to this process. We can move forward together with the understanding that 'every community has its own path' and 'oppression should never be an option.' As someone who is not Inuit, you must recognize that Inuit people, like you, are smart, skilled, and part of the same human family."
Papatsi Kotiyerk, another Inuk, highlights the significance of names:
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| Decolonization is about changing how colonized people see themselves and how others view them while reclaiming their lands, communities, cultures, languages, and traditions lost through oppressive policies. |
Many who responded to Alethea's question admitted they had been unaware of the broader community struggles while working to fight colonialism. Artist Chantal Powell expressed: "I strive to learn about aspects of my community that I was not given the opportunity to learn, and I continue to research more about what I have been taught."
Inuk activist Saithoki Jovanas also emphasized the importance of focusing on ways in which both as individuals and collectively as a community, to reconstruct themselves, saying: "We should focus on ourselves and our community. Many who write about decolonization discuss how to reclaim what was lost under colonization. We must rebuild our Inuit identity from the ground up."
Teacher Jamie Harcharick discussed how she teaches her students about colonial history, focusing on how colonization imposed the term "Eskimo" on Inuit people and the impact this had on Inuit identity.
Moreover, artist Sara Veilin Lan commented that, at every opportunity, she strives to initiate conversations about the experiences Inuit people have gone through. To ensure these conversations remain healthy and respectful, she makes a strong effort to learn and read as much as she can.
Legal scholar Jenna Joyce-Bromfield said, "I try to think critically and question everything that I find to be wrong. When I feel there is a fight for our decolonization, I try to be a part of it, support it, and raise our voice. I will think about how to do more. But I enjoyed creating a list like this. By doing so, we can learn a lot by understanding how others approach decolonization."
More than 70 Inuit responded to Alethea’s question, including young students who shared their thoughts and reflections on how to engage in decolonization.
One response from Emily discusses how she started working on culture-related topics as an elementary school student: "I began this at the end of my tenth grade. Whenever I take on a project at school, if I have the chance, I prefer to focus on a topic related to my culture. I’ve promised myself that I will use these opportunities to learn more about my culture."
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We Turks, too, have not done less work in our struggle for decolonization. However, there is a lack of scholarship on colonialism and decolonization in our case. As a result, we sometimes accept terms imposed on us by others through the conditions of coloniality—shaping our historical interpretations and ways of thinking—under the guise of being scientific or academic. Even worse, we internalize these ideas.
To address this issue, we could start by translating the "decolonization research" that is being conducted globally into Turkish.
For sure, there are issues that are specific to our context. However, still, there are issues that continue to be a matter of struggle for us, similar to those societies that have encountered colonialism. By studying and examining their experiences, and if they have solutions, we can learn from them to accelerate our push for change.
Meanwhile, as we ask "Turk, What Do You Do to Decolonize?" to our friends and those around us, let us not forget to learn from each other's experiences and approaches.
Footnotes:
The people we refer to as Eskimos should be called "Inuit." "Inuit" is the name for the entire group, while "Inuk" refers to individual members.
The term "Eskimo" is outdated and often seen as a derogatory. In Canada, the term "Inuit" is preferred when referring to the people and their culture, while "Inuk" is usually reserved for specific individuals or groups.
Angry Inuk (2016) is a Canadian documentary film that has won several festival awards. It focuses on Inuit activism and the environmental and cultural struggles they face.
- The opinions were taken from Alethea Arnaquq-Baril's Facebook page.
- Original Text in Turkish