Offensive material removed from Iqaluit schools

PATRICIA D’SOUZA

An elementary school workbook that says Inuit collect welfare and lack the skills to hold permanent jobs was pulled from a Grade 3 classroom at Iqaluit’s Joamie School last month, after a parent complained to the substitute teacher in charge of the class.

“Most Inuit do not make a living from full-time jobs that pay money. Usually there are no jobs available because the people lack the job skills,” reads a page called “Work in Nunavut” from Let’s Visit Nunavut, a soft-cover workbook produced by S&S Learning Materials of Napanee, Ontario.

“Non-Inuit workers have permanent jobs in major centres such as Iqaluit, Rankin Inlet and Cambridge Bay. These people hold jobs that require special skills such as teaching, nursing and running businesses,” it continues.

A page on “The People of Nunavut” was photocopied and distributed to Grade 3 students by a teacher covering a maternity leave placement.

“Over the years the Inuit people have had to change their way of life enormously. Their lifestyle that had worked for generations was no longer the right way to live,” the page reads.

“The government gave the people pensions, family allowances and welfare payments. This undermined their sharing values,” it continues. “There were very few opportunities for teenagers to become successful and they often became very frustrated and turned to alcohol, violence, crime and suicide.”

Members of the Iqaluit District Education Authority discussed the offensive workbook, aimed at students in Grades 2 to 4, during their regular meeting on March 31.
“My child took this home and I threw it in the garbage,” said IDEA member Annie Ford. “I said I’m not reading this to my child.”

Another parent of a Grade 3 student showed the page to Caroline Anawak, a member of the IDEA and executive assistant to Cathy Towtongie, president of Nunavut Tunngavik Inc.

The matter was handled quickly and quietly.

David Serkoak, the principal of Joamie School, removed eight offensive pages from the book and Michael Luedicke, his counterpart at Nakasuk School, did the same.

Luedicke called S&S Learning to report the problem and that was that.

“There wasn’t an outcry about this and I’d like to keep it low-profile,” Serkoak said during an interview this week.

But it is the fact that there hasn’t been an outcry that makes the incident so alarming.

The book, published in 1996, sold well during the creation of Nunavut, said Lisa Solski, the director of marketing for S&S Learning and daughter of Ruth Solski, retired founder of the company and author of Let’s Visit Nunavut.

The company reportedly made “a good penny” from sales of the book, though Lisa Solski would not specify how many copies have been purchased. What she did say, however, is that Luedicke’s complaint, or “comment,” was the first the company had received in connection with the book or any of its materials relating to Nunavut.

The fact that children across Canada may be learning in school that Inuit lack the skills to work is frightening in itself. But the fact no one has said a word in the seven years the book has been on the market is simply heartbreaking.

Lisa Solski said the company is reviewing the material to determine whether it is indeed offensive. “If necessary we will be making changes to it to change the message,” she said. “If it is offensive, we have to have a look first ourselves, and if we feel that it is then of course we’ll make the change.”

Naullaq Arnaquq, the assistant deputy minister of education for the Government of Nunavut, said while the GN supplies a list of recommended texts, schools across Nunavut are allowed to purchase their own materials.

“Children are impressionable, so we have to make sure that whatever material that teachers give out to students are accurate and appropriate and respectful,” she said.

The GN’s curriculum department is in the process of developing standardized materials, but it will be at least 10 years until they are ready to be implemented in schools. Until then, teachers must rely on what is available.

Serkoak said he would speak to the Grade 3 students next week to address the harmful effects of the offensive passages and explain Inuit culture “the way I see it.”

But if S&S Learning decides to revise and reprint the workbook, he may get some help. Lisa Solski said the Iqaluit schools would receive a complementary copy of the new texts as a reward for pointing out the misstatements.