Inuit reply to Criticism of Hunting Practices (in Newsweek)

31 March 2002

Dear Editor,

On behalf of the 152,000 Inuit in Russia, Alaska, Canada, and Greenland, I must set straight the unfair record that you paint in your interview with Danish journalist Kjeld Hansen on 11 March.

"Killer Inuit", you say? I believe that Newsweek, in this article, is following an increasingly unacceptable and disturbing practice of journalists interviewing journalists, and deliberately ignoring first-hand sources for fear of spoiling a good story. The article also feeds into the hands of those animal rights fanatics who aim to discredit our indigenous culture.

One aspect that the Journalist Kjeld Hansen must have forgotten to take into account in his crusade against the Greenland Inuit, is the climate change. Biologists and other scientists with knowledge of the ecosystem and the
constitution of the food chain in our regions, state, that the consequences of the climatic change in Greenland and the Arctic region still need to be determined. I believe it is far-fetched to presume that the climate and the ecosystem is the same as it was 50-100 years ago and blame the Inuit for all
the negative effects of the state of the eco-system.

The paternalistic tone in this new 'crusade' sounds all too familiar. In the 70s 'concerned' environmental groups made a crusade against seal hunting with devastating economic effects to the Inuit peoples. The killing of baby seals, conducted by Europeans off New Foundland's coast, was successfully
stopped. Ironically, this meant an enormous increase of the seal population. And now Kjeld Hansen sees it as grotesque that Inuit hunters living in this harsh climate, with no other means for economic income than selling skins from an abundant seal stock, have to receive subsidies in order to make a living.

Greenland is not in denial, as Mr. Hansen claims. We do not think of our past or our present as "idyllic", as he tries to imply. We acknowledge that Greenland Inuit are human and make mistakes. But all Greenland Inuit -- and the social, political, and economic institutions through which we express
ourselves -- know that our living resources are the backbone of our existence. As such, we want to protect them and use them sustainably. And yes, we selectively use new technology as equal members of the peoples of this planet.

Mr. Hansen is very selective about the third-party data he uses to confirm his thesis. And he does not verify the data by undertaking his own first-hand research. Newsweek commits the same error by giving no voice to those who live the indigenous hunting life, but only to those who want to disgrace it.

When we refer to killers, we are talking about the brutal colonizers that killed off the indigenous peoples in many parts of the world. Therefore your reference is deeply offending.

I think you owe Greenlanders and all Inuit an apology.

Yours truly,

Aqqaluk Lynge
President
INUIT CIRCUMPOLAR CONFERENCE
Head Office
P.O. Box 204
3900 Nuuk, GREENLAND

Phone +299 32 36 32
Fax +299 32 30 01
www.inuit.org

Inuit Circumpolar Conference (ICC) is the UN-affiliated international human rights- and environment organisation representing Inuit from Russia (Chukotka), USA (Alaska), Canada and Greenland.
In 1988 ICC won the UN Environmental Programme's Globe 500 Award for its Inuit Regional Concervation Strategy and the Environment PriZe of the Nordic Council in 1996.

This letter has been copied from www.inuit.org - homepage of ICC