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G7 to get taste of Inuit culture
last update: Feb 04, 2010 10:10 AM
From various articles: The G7 finance leaders are meeting this weekend in Iqaluit, Nunavut and some Inuit say they hope international leaders will learn more about their culture, one that includes seal pelts and meat.
The Nunavut captial expects the group of Seven finance ministers and central bank governors from Canada, Japan, Germany, France, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States on Friday. On Saturday evening, to conclude the meeting there will be a community feast that will include Inuit games, music and step-dancing, along with a feast of seal meat, Arctic char and other traditional foods. They will also be given gifts, made from seal skin.
Emily Karpik of Pangnirtung, a community on Baffin Island, said "They'll get to see the traditional side of how we live, you know. Like, that's very important. They need to see who we are and learn from us, so it's good that they're coming."
The Canadian government has filed a complaint with the World Trade Organisation, at the same time Inuit organisations in Canada and Greenland are taking the European Union to court over its seal import ban.
Karpik and others hope the Iqaluit meeting will help G7 officials and others understand the importance of the seal hunt to Inuit, who have relied on seals for food and clothing for generations.
Read more:
CBC News, 3 February 2010
Wall Street Journal, 3 February 2010
Reuters, 3 February 2010
