Reclaiming the Inuit roots I was forced to suppress - Lives Less Ordinary, BBC World Service

Key Concepts

• Katajjaq: The traditional Inuit practice of throat singing, historically performed by two women as a playful, competitive game of call-and-response.
• Arctic Exile: The 1950s forced relocation of Inuit families by the Canadian government to the High Arctic to assert sovereignty over the Northwest Passage.
• Residential Schools: Government-funded, church-run institutions designed to assimilate Indigenous children by suppressing their language, culture, and traditions.
• Inuktitut: The language spoken by the Inuit people.
• Cultural Appropriation vs. Preservation: The tension between evolving traditional practices and the desire to protect them from colonial erasure.

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1. The Art of Katajjaq

Tanya Tagaq, an award-winning Inuk throat singer, describes her practice as "fortifying tradition." While traditional katajjaq is a structured, competitive game involving two women testing lung capacity, breath control, and mental agility, Tagaq’s modern interpretation is a solo, experimental performance. She emphasizes that her work is not a museum-piece recreation but a living, evolving expression of her identity. She notes that the sounds—often perceived as "primal" or "otherworldly" by outsiders—are simply natural, modern expressions of her culture.

2. Historical Trauma and the "Arctic Exile"

Tagaq details the systemic destruction of Inuit culture by the Canadian government:

• Forced Relocation: In the 1950s, her mother’s family was moved from the abundant, peaceful outpost of Autlattivik to the High Arctic under false promises of housing and food. They were left in an inhospitable environment, forced to build shelters from military dump scraps, leading to near-starvation.
• Identity Erasure: The government replaced Inuit names with identification numbers to facilitate colonial administration.
• Systemic Suppression: The suppression of traditional dog teams and the forced transition to sedentary life were calculated moves to break the nomadic nature of Inuit society.

3. Residential School Experience

Tagaq recounts her time in a residential school as "feeling like jail." The environment was characterized by:

• Regimentation: Strict schedules, chores, and punishments.
• Cultural Shame: The schools were explicitly designed to "Europeanize" Indigenous children, forcing them to adopt Christianity and English.
• Mental Health Impact: Tagaq highlights that the combination of historical trauma, poverty, and the loss of traditional "codes of conduct" created a "petri dish for trauma," leading to her own struggles with suicidal ideation.

4. The "Seal Selfie" Controversy and Cultural Hypocrisy

In 2014, Tagaq faced a massive backlash from animal rights activists after posting a photo of her daughter next to a seal.

• The Context: For the Inuit, the land is their "grocery store." Due to the extreme cost of imported food in remote northern communities (e.g., $50 for a watermelon), hunting is a necessity for survival, not a sport.
• The Argument: Tagaq labels the outrage as "hypocrisy" and "racist," noting that Western critics who consume factory-farmed meat often ignore the environmental destruction caused by their own lifestyles while targeting Indigenous subsistence practices.

5. Career Trajectory and Artistic Philosophy

Tagaq’s career began by chance after she recorded throat singing on a cassette tape sent by her mother. Her unique sound caught the attention of Björk, leading to a 2001 tour.

• Reception: Her work initially faced criticism from within the Inuit community, which she attributes to the understandable, protective desperation to preserve a culture that has been systematically stripped away.
• Current Work: Her album Saputjiji (meaning "Protector") reflects her role as an advocate for the environment and her people. She describes herself as "soft" in her personal life but fierce in her defense of the earth and her culture.

6. Synthesis and Conclusion

Tagaq’s narrative is one of resilience against colonial erasure. She argues that reconciliation in Canada remains incomplete until there are tangible improvements in the judicial system, healthcare, housing, and food security for Indigenous peoples. Her music serves as a bridge between the past and the present, proving that tradition is not a static relic but a dynamic force that can be "fortified" through modern expression. As she states, "I’m here and I’m alive and I’m who I am... the world is just going to have to deal with that."