Anne Lucas chose an awfully bleak title for her discussion of the legal battles that the Inuit are undertaking. The fact that "there has been a growth of activity in the area of indigenous rights to cultural self-determination" has given me hope for the Inuit and other peoples. It shouldn't be taken for granted that they are taking action to secure the rights that they are entitled to, and I hope that they will keep seeking out ways to fight for themselves until there is a remedy. I stumbled upon the footage of Sheila Watt-Cloutier, who was mentioned at the end of "No Remedy for the Inuit" as a prominent activist, and chose it as my clip (sorry it was so long!) because it reminded me that people in a disadvantaged position are neither helpless nor hopeless. It's easy to forget that peoples like the Inuit already have a strong voice. We don't have to give them one, we just need to listen to it.
Cloutier spoke again at a hearing this past March: "Inuit activists hope a hearing on Arctic climate change by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights will lead to reduced emissions and will help to protect the culture of the northern native people. "In the Arctic, things are happening first and fastest and it's a way of life that's being jeopardized here," said Canadian Inuit activist Sheila Watt-Cloutier, who submitted a petition for a hearing on how climate change infringes on Inuit human rights to the commission in 2005 on behalf of Inuit in Canada and Alaska. The commission, which is an arm of the Organization of American States, rejected Cloutier's request to rule on the rights violations caused specifically by U.S. emissions, deciding instead to hold a general hearing on March 1 to investigate the broad relationship between climate change and human rights. Officials at the Washington-based commission said it will be the body's first such hearing."
(http://www.unep.org/indigenous/pdfs/
Climatechange-and-Inuit-rights.pdf)
It's too soon to tell what the outcome of this particular hearing has been but, whatever it may be, thankfully people like Cloutier will never give up easily.
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Thanks for posting this more recent information on the the climate issues that are affecting the Inuit and other peoples. Reading about the issues outside of our assigned classroom readings really show just how prominent and current these issues are. Especially when the reading is slightly out of date, I always find myself wondering, what's happening now. It's refreshing to be reminded that even people that are have been greatly marginalized and have had so much power taken away still have a voice. This can remind everyone that they each have the ability to make a difference. I think a lot of times people stay silent because they think that their opinion doesn't matter, and ask, what can one person really do? But if everyone thinks this, nothing will get done.
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