Starting Fire with Gunpowder revisited

Inuktitut New Media content creation in the Canadian Arctic

Bibliographic Data

ID3165665
AuthorsTimothy J Pasch (University of North Dakota), Timothy Pasch (0000-0002-6014-8942, University of North Dakota, corresponding author)
Year2011
Volume34
Issue2
Pages61-80
Publication date2011-06-16
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueÉtudes/Inuit/Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0701-1008 • E-ISSN: 1708-5268
PublisherConsortium Erudit (PUBLISHER • CA)
DOI10.7202/1004071ar
OpenAlexW2169226072
LanguageEN
Citations received8
References cited18

In 1991, the Canadian documentaryStarting Fire with Gunpowderwas produced, focusing in part on the history of early media productions by the Inuit Broadcasting Corporation (IBC). It examined how the creation of Inuktitut media content could be an effective means of creative improvisation, linguistic and cultural preservation, and transmission of traditional knowledge. Almost 20 years later, the Internet serves as one of the primary communicative methods for young Inuit in the Canadian Arctic. However, it remains to be seen whether the quality of Inuktitut media online can compare with the example of linguistic and cultural preservation set by the visionaries of the early IBC. This article challenges prevailing critical approaches to the Inuit as linguistically and culturally vulnerable. It views Inuktitut New Media content as an embodiment of the wordairaq('edible roots'), used here as a model of strength, resilience, and adaptability. It concludes that the creativity and prolificacy of the early IBC productions should set the standard for a new generation of Inuktitut content creators online

Archaeology · Art · Gunpowder · Improvisation · Resilience (materials science · The Internet · Visual arts · World Wide Web · Arctic and Russian Policy Studies · Computer Science · History · Indigenous Studies and Ecology

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