The movie "Broken Promises: The High Arctic Relocation" aims to document the history and opinions of Quebec Inuit during the military relocation of the 1950’s (National Film Board of Canada [NFB], 1995). The film begins by conveying the historical groundwork for the introduction of the Inuit relocation project. Canada and America, both tense from the Cold War, begin to see Canada's northern regions as an important line of defense against Soviet influences. Discussions with the Canadian government resulted in the decision to relocate Quebec Inuit families 1400 miles further north to Resolute Bay and Grise Fiord. There, the government made promises of better housing and more resources in what Inuit were told would be an optional 2-year occupancy away from
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Many of them remember the unimaginably cold nights spent under buffalo skins. Even upon integration into the military outpost, many of these children would be forced to watch their parents fall into heavy alcoholism and abuse at the hands of the military. The most telling scene is shown multiple times throughout the film: the Inuit families singing English Christmas carols to the military troops stationed at Resolute Bay. They exchange knowing glances as their eyes dart to each other, a clear power dynamic on display, raising questions whether their performance is voluntary or rather an appeal to authority. This is punctuated by polio survivor Anna Nungaq speaking of the Inuit and their fearful respect of white people, treated as people who are strict and must be obeyed. Near the end of the film, survivor Tommy Iqaluk connects his experience to that of African Americans of the time who experienced similar problems in the past. He finds solace in the fact that despite the abuse, one can be confident in their self and sense of self. Alcoholism discussed in the film is a complex issue with multiple facets that reach through
Many of them remember the unimaginably cold nights spent under buffalo skins. Even upon integration into the military outpost, many of these children would be forced to watch their parents fall into heavy alcoholism and abuse at the hands of the military. The most telling scene is shown multiple times throughout the film: the Inuit families singing English Christmas carols to the military troops stationed at Resolute Bay. They exchange knowing glances as their eyes dart to each other, a clear power dynamic on display, raising questions whether their performance is voluntary or rather an appeal to authority. This is punctuated by polio survivor Anna Nungaq speaking of the Inuit and their fearful respect of white people, treated as people who are strict and must be obeyed. Near the end of the film, survivor Tommy Iqaluk connects his experience to that of African Americans of the time who experienced similar problems in the past. He finds solace in the fact that despite the abuse, one can be confident in their self and sense of self. Alcoholism discussed in the film is a complex issue with multiple facets that reach through