Respect Inuit or Leave

 

 Christi Belcourt, artist 

The elders and hunters are reporting that the iron ore mine called “Baffinland” is causing the water and land to turn red (see photos in my comments) and the fish, the caribou, the seals and the whales are becoming scarce. They are sounding alarm bells that it isn’t right, and they are saying if anyone doesn’t respect the knowledge, the land, and the culture of Inuit, they must leave Inuit lands.

The words on this poster are from the Elders and it’s by request that I made it. So please feel free to share. #inuitblockade

Once again Indigenous people are protesting the intrusion of a resource extraction company into traditional lands. An iron ore company called Baffinland on Baffin Island wants to double production at their mine and local Inuit who have been there for time immemorial are blocking the airstrip near Mary River to object to the expansion. The promise is that there will be considerable economic benefit for locals but they are maintaining that culture is more important than money. Other Inuit in the territory have joined in with the protest. 

The local Inuit say that increased shipping has already resulted in seals and whales being harder to find and the snow is often bright red with iron ore dust. They feel that creating a rail line to service the mine will affect the caribou population. 

We should be concerned about where this will lead. In the past couple of years peaceful Wetsuweten pipeline blockades in British Columbia have resulted in SWAT team arrests of protesters. Recently all charges were dropped against these protesters but there is a "might makes right" reality which enlists militarized police to uphold the interests of corporations while disregarding those who have lived on the land for generations. Why do we accept such a show of force in these situations while police shrug at violent white protestors in Nova Scotia?

Surely this is a matter of justice for the Inuit in a part of Canada we tend to ignore and disregard in the south. As Groundling Christians who care about the fragile ecosystems of these areas we can also ask why extraction trumps protection and balance again and again.