The Canadian state is a murderer

Inuit have cried out for so long, pinched against a tidal wave of systematic victimization, and some not-so-well-intentioned assimilation tactics as described in some Inuit “history” books.

The one trait Inuit have traditionally held, that of acceptance, tolerance and diplomacy is one that I am starting to question. I am getting so tired of living in a system that does not recognize my culture, in all its sophistication.

We will never be integrated. Until such time when we move from the “something-needs-to-be-done-about-suicide-and-our-social-problem” speeches, I myself will have probably thought about ending it all.

In the end, we will have realized that maybe something could have been done a lot sooner. You see, we don’t want to change the world – we just want our rightful place in it. And the easiest part is that we simply want it back.

But it seems we need to assimilate non-Inuit ways to assert ourselves as a people within a system that might not do anything about it for us otherwise.

We need not look so far around the world to see that a fire in one is a fire in all when it comes to oppression of a people. When the pressure valves start blowing, that’s when there’s violence and bloodshed.

In the case of our Inukness, we simply kill ourselves, while the “debate” continues along with diplomatic negotiations and its processes.

If we could prosecute the State each time our friends, neighbours and family members committed suicide, it would be indicted for cultural genocide and sent to prison, for the maximum allowable punishment of about 130 years.

A lot of these people are victims of social workers and police officers who exercise their mandate for the State, a mandate that is utterly foreign to us, with its policies and procedures wreaking havoc on our culture.

Am I angry? You bet I am! Deranged? No. Just caught in a radical transition, triggered by needless and preventable loss that has gone on far too long with nothing being done to alleviate the current injustice.

As far as I am concerned, the State is a murderer, in its unrelenting search for power, greed and riches.

Iglulingmiutaq
(Name withheld by request)
Igloolik