My New Year kicked off with one hell of a lot of firecrackers and some good old fashioned drunken debauchery, so I can't complain too much.. I'm struggling to get back into the swing of things at work and it's pretty crazy to think that my time in Denmark is already coming to a close pretty soon. Time sure has a knack for going by way too fast when you're enjoying yourself. 2010 is supposedly the Year of the Inuit in Canada. I haven't seen much evidence to show that this will actually mean anything, but I'm trying to be optimistic!
>> ^schmawy:
Thanks, Jesse, it's been good so far. It's been a mix of arduous toil and reckless creative and amorous pursuit. I've reestablished NefFlix's faith in my finances and am padding out my queue with JesseoftheNorth fare. So far I've added 101 Reykjavik but need to go back and find some of the others you've posted. Thanks for the tips!
How's the Scandinavian New Year treating you?
In reply to this comment by JesseoftheNorth:
Hey, thanks Schmawy, Happy New Year! How have you been?
>> ^schmawy:
quality

^Deathcow: No, the natives had already been displaced prior to the building of your home. Kinda like me saying it's ok to wear clothing made through child labour because I didn't put them in the factories.

'as far as I can tell' - I'm sure you've been trying real hard.

'Did their tiny population...' - Collectively, yes they did. Either them or the Klinkit. I know it's easier to pretend that that land didn't belong to an indigenous people prior to European contact, but that would be naive.

Look at how ^Dag is much more respectful and tactful in getting his point across.

^Dag: Very well said. The same issues exist for Inuit (Inupiat are Inuit) across Canada and Greenland today. I have a pretty good idea of what you would have experienced and witnessed up there (many of my teachers in high school were fresh out of University and were shocked at much of what they saw).

I believe a culture is responsible for it's own survival (mine included) if it's given enough time to adapt to the world it finds itself in. I grew up hunting with snowmobiles and with rifles, nothing wrong with that. It is folly to think that a culture must remain static or become assimilated. Adaptation is the key to cultural survival and success.

I agree on the status quo too - I relentlessly rail against the status quo back home, and of the dangers of complacency. I understand perfectly well what you (and deathcow) are trying to say about the feasibility of small populations trying to acquire a 'modern' lifestyle in the Arctic, while preserving aspects of their culture. Believe it or not, IRL I'm not the flippant, immature person I can come across as on VS, and I spend a large portion of my time thinking about ways to address these kinds of issues.

Drop me a PM sometime - I'd be interested in having a mature discussion about your experiences in Barrow.

>> ^deathcow:
These people have lost all touch with reality now in Alaska. They still want to live in their remote villages, but they dont want to live the lifestyle that goes with it. So they bitch and moan that they pay $6 for a gallon of gas, $9 for a gallon of milk, etc. They want roads and infrastructure and airports and sewer systems, and regular flights to support their microscopic communities. I say if their historical lifestyle is dead, and their diet is now white bread and pepsi, they need to get the hell out of the arctic desolation and move to a city.


Sounds very similar to where I come from, except that I would be the one bitching about $9 milk (more like $14 where I come from).

Are they not deserving of the same infrastructure as you? Do they not pay taxes the same as you do?

How very thoughtful of you, I presume of European descent, to bitch about the folks whose land you now live on. Something must be wrong with THEM, right? Inuit were living quite happily before your ancestors moved in. It's kinda like you crashing my party and then complaining I don't stock the type of Gin you like.

'Lost all touch with reality'? That's a bold statement - so bold in fact I think it's worth pointing out to you that the city you want them to move to was built in the very Arctic 'desolation' they call home.

This is exactly why Inuit hunt them. Not for food (that's just what we want you to think), but as a crusade against satan.

Completed a college-prep program focusing on our Land Claims Agreement and Inuit history.

Currently working on Polisci undergrad.

Other assorted training (Statistics, International Indigenous Rights Program, Health Research Masters Courses).

In Denmark if you call an Inuit for Eskimo, it's usually slightly derogatory. Most of them certainly don't like it. I think it was norm to call them that like 20-30 years ago, but it's changed to Inuit now.

A biologist travels to the far north to conduct a land-survey of the effects of climate change on Arctic ecosystems. He hires a local Inuit guide to take him out onto the tundra, and they set off on a dogteam.

After a few hours, they stop to have some tea and warm up. The biologist walks over to the nearest hilltop to get a better look at the scenery. He is completely lost, and asks the Inuit guide to come up to the hilltop to show him some landmarks. As the guide gets up there, he sees a Polar Bear not 30 feet from them on the other side of the hill. He pulls out a Swiss Army Knife, and tells the biologist to slowly back away towards the dogteam, and not to panic.

They retreat to safety, and travel for another hour before stopping for some tea. The biologist turns to the guide and says "You only had a Swiss Army Knife back there. Could you really kill the Polar Bear with it?"

The Inuit guide laughs and responds "No, I wouldn't have killed it if it attacked. All I'd have to do is stab you in the leg."

Awesome, I didn't know you were Inuit and Canadian. Keep up the great posts, polls and spirited comments. Congrats.

I hear the inuit have only one word for "awesome sifting" and that is: Throbbin
Congrats!

Have you ever heard of Inuit kung fu?

No? That's because no one ever lives to talk about it

^Interestingly enough, in the Massey Lecture "A Short History of Progress" (2004), Ronald Wright suggests that if and when the proverbial shit hits the fan and worldwide civilization collapses, Inuit will be among very few societies that survive because we have maintained our traditional skills and practices (such as building the igloo).

It's been nice knowing y'all.

Awesome clip.

I hope there was a guide with the camera crew. If Inuit came across trapped belugas, they would kill them out of mercy - otherwise they would starve to death, a long and agonizing death.

>> ^HaricotVert:
I involuntarily dry heaved at the frostbitten penis.


As opposed to voluntarily?

I heard about this when they were filming it (The Inuit intelligence network is nothing if not efficient).

I found it interesting they imported a white woman to run the dog team, which would've involved flying her and her team into Resolute Bay, at a cost of thousands, when they could have just hired a local Inuk. I'm crazy like that.

Also, cold-weather training in the Austrian Alps is just not smart for preparing for the Arctic. All jokes aside, we are taught to have complete and sullen respect for the Arctic winters - it can kill you for the slightest of mistakes.

And finally, I found it fitting that they all wore Gore-tex, and complained about the cold. A snuggly caribou parka, and they would have been sweating all the way to the pole and back.

>> ^imstellar28:
^Ignorance personified.
Doctors have recognized and classified cancer, diabetes, etc. for thousands of years - but they were extremely rare...like 1 in 100,000...as described as recently as the the last couple centuries by frontier doctors working and living in Africa. Indigenous populations with almost zero incidence of these diseases, and populations living in cities eating a western diet with mortality rates similar to western countries. Same with Australian aborigines, North America Inuit, American Indians, etc...I could go on all day. Today, if you live in America, you have a 1/3 chance of dying from heart disease, cancer, or diabetes.
1/100,000
...
1/3


First of all I thought I should point out that type 1 diabetes is an auto-immune disease while type 2 diabtes (the most common type) is more or less a lifestyle disease.

Also, I would like to see some objective sources for your claims, imstellar.

^Ignorance personified.

Doctors have recognized and classified cancer, diabetes, etc. for thousands of years - but they were extremely rare...like 1 in 100,000...as described as recently as the the last couple centuries by frontier doctors working and living in Africa. Indigenous populations with almost zero incidence of these diseases, and populations living in cities eating a western diet with mortality rates similar to western countries. Same with Australian aborigines, North America Inuit, American Indians, etc...I could go on all day. Today, if you live in America, you have a 1/3 chance of dying from heart disease, cancer, or diabetes.

1/100,000

...

1/3

Your life, your choice. I could care less whether you believe me. The world is overpopulated enough as it is