Arts/Review Modern North makes case for - more control by Arctic’s Inuit THE MODERN NORTH: People, Politics and the Rejection of Colonialism. By Kenneth Coates and Judith Powell. $16.95, paperback. Available at People’s Co-op Bookstore. Written in a scholarly and academic fashion, The Modern North is a study of the organizations and movements, developed Chile week upcoming Sept. 11 is the 16th anniversary of the U.S. backed coup which over- threw the elected government of Sal- vador Allende in Chile. Several events are taking place in Vancouver to mark that event and the struggle fora return to democracy in the South American nation: Chilean human rights activist Juan Pablo Letelier headlines the list of events for Chile Solidarity Week at La Quena coffeehouse in Vancouver. Letelier is the son of the former minis- ter of external affairs of the Allende government, Orlando Letelier, who was assassinated by agents of the Chi- lean junta in 1976. Letelier will speak on the present situation in Chile on Thursday, Sept. 7. Other events include a concert by the Andean music group, Ancient Cul- tures, on Sept. 9; the film, Chile, I Do Not Take Your Name in Vain, on Sept. 10; and a slide show on Chile by B.C. teachers who recently toured the country, on Sept. 14. All events, co-sponsored by La Quena, IDERA films, the Chilean Community Association and several other groups, begin at 8 p.m. La Quena is at 1111 Commercial Dr. Meanwhile, the Vancouver Folk Music Festival presents Winnipeg- based Chilean singer-songwriter Hugo Torres in concert at the Vancouver East Cultural Centre. Torres, a repre- sentative of Chile’s Neuva Cancion (New Song) movement, performs with accompaniment on Sept. 10, 8 p.m. Tickets are $10, phone 254-9578. * * * Tube talk: KCTS public television presents Treblinka’s Ivan the Terrible: The Demjanjuk Dossier on Sept. 18, 10:50 p.m. This documentary, which runs for one hour and 10 minutes, covers the trial and conviction of John Demjanjuk in an Israeli court for the deaths of 874,000 people in the gas chambers of the Nazi’s Treblinka death camp. KCTS also features “Secrets of Easter Island” and “Legends of Easter Island” on the program, Nova. The first, which examines the riddle of the island’s famous stone statues, airs on Sept. 13, 12 noon and Sept. 19, 8:05 p.m. The latter, which speculates on the rise and decline of Easter Island’s indigenous society, runs Sept. 19, 9 p.m. and Sept. 20, 12 noon. Meanwhile, Knowledge Network presents the National Film Board’s Zarico, an account of the traditional music of the black French-speaking communities in southern Louisiana. It traces the origins of the music in Africa, the Caribbean, and Acadia (present-day Nova Scotia). It runs Sept. 18, 8 p.m. and Sept. 20, 10 p.m. 10 e Pacific Tribune, September 4, 1989 by the Dene, Metis and Inuit peoples, who are, this book states, “‘struggling to cast off the chains of colonialism and define their own future.” “The Native people are determined to protect the integrity of their land,” write authors Kenneth Coates and Judith Powell. “Although the headlong rush to exploit the region’s resources has been partially offset by increased environmental awareness, there is the ever present fear that renewal of southern interest in northern oil and gas will overwhelm environmental considerations.” However, I was surprised that these authors, in discussing environment, never really mentioned the colossal destruction created by the military across the North. Actually, I feel that their criticism is very low key. For instance, in speaking of the various regional centres which offer policing educa- tion and so on, they give as an example Frobisher Bay (now Iqaliuat), which was a traditional hunting and fishing ground (which they call a “‘harvesting site’). This community was developed around a U.S. military base constructed during the Second World War. “This base and associated ser- vice,” they write, “provided opportunity for wage incomes for the Inuit, who left their hunting camps to find work.” What kind of work? The authors them- selves admit that most workers were, and still are, flown in from the south as the Native people do not have the technical skills for most jobs and only perform the most menial tasks. The reality is that many of the Inuit people were simply moved from a migratory and nomadic existence which they had been following for thousands of years and placed down in settlements of the government’s choosing. That is what hap- pened to the family of my daughter-in-law, who is Eskimo and still lives there. The authors document, with careful research, the growth and emergence of Native organizations in the Yukon and Northwest Territories. * The Indian Brotherhood of the Territo- ries was formed in the late Sixties, as the people became more and more angered by the lack of consultation by the federal government. The Metis and non-status Indians formed an association and the Inuit, who are widely scattered over the region, developed a number of their own organizations such as The Committee for PARENTHOOD. Directed by Ron How- ard. Starring Steve Martin, Jason Robards, Tom Hulce, Rick Moranis, Mary Steenbur- gen. At local theatres. This movie looks like fun in the promo- tional clips featuring Steve Martin doing sight gags with children. Well, don’t judge this film by its Hollywood hype. Uncharac- teristic of movietown, this film goes much deeper. Martin, playing a father of three young children, has sworn not to repeat the mis- takes of his own father (Jason Robards) by ignoring his children. Other characters include Martin’s broth- ers, sisters-in-law and sisters, all parents. Yes, Martin is funny, the script has some very funny lines and Ron Howard’s direc- tion and photographic eye are beautiful, as usual, but don’t think you are going to walk out of the theatre feeling great. If there is to be a chronicle of the tragedy of the Eighties, this film might be it. Many of the young children have been aban- doned, one by both his mother and his father (he was left with the colourful grand- Original Peoples’ Entitlement, the Baffin Region Inuit Association, the Kitikmoer’ Inuit Association and the Inuit Tapirisat of Canada (which means Eskimo Brother- hood). Thomas Berger’s Mackenzie Valley Pipe- line inquiry in 1974 was a direct response by the federal government to the loud protests from the northern peoples. “It is clear that the Berger Inquiry represented a watershed for the Canadian North. After decades of neglect, Canadians had just begun to pay attention to their North land. However, they did so with the motivation of self inter- est. The Mackenzie Pipeline inquiry changed that perception,” Powell and Coates contend. Much has happened in the years since the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline Inquiry, they write. In 1975, delegates attending a Native Indian Association meeting at Fort Smith enthusiastically endorsed the Dene declara- tion that ‘We, the Dene, of the Northwest Territories, insist on the right to regard our- selves and the world as a nation.” The statement demanded recognition of aborig- inal sovereignty and explicitly addressed the : need for land. claims. Coates and Powell observe that all the territorial governments have been outraged over the Meech Lake Accord, in which they were allowed no participation. Formerly, the federal government had sole authority to create new provinces. Under the Meech Lake amendments, the approval of all the provinces is required. The two authors, who are obviously very sympathetic to Native sovereignty, feel that the last two decades have shown many pol- itical gains for the peoples of the north. The federal government has negotiated with The Committee for Original Peoples; frame- work agreements with the Dene/Metis and the Council of Yukon Indians are under consideration. The authors therefore state, with some confidence, that “Never again will the Native people be pushed to the political and administrative periphery in the Yukon and Northwest Territories. Their voting power, aided by the favourable dis- tribution of legislative seats, will ensure Native representation in the assembly.” However, the benefits and changes are still at the administrative and legislative level. The communities remain in consider- able crisis, and these authors have discussed in detail the overlap of proliferation of parents). A young teenaged boy (Leaf Phoenix) is suffering from his parents divorce and reacting to living with his mother (Diana Wiest) and older sister (Martha Plimpton) who often have conver- sations about how awful men are. The older sister, a high school cheer- leader, has married her boyfriend and they are secretly living with mom. Mom, now a single parent since dad has remarried and has a new family, is totally unable to figure out what is happening with her children.. Martin and his movie wife (Mary Steenbur- gen) are told by their son’s teacher that public school won’t fill the needs of a child with emotional problems. They rush the child to a psychiatrist, the first solution they can think of. By now, this film doesn’t sound like so much fun anymore. It is the picture of human relationships here and now in our neighbourhoods. The little tragedies which cross economic, religious and political lines have created a national tragedy. Perhaps it’s telling us it’s time to pay more attention to human beings. — May Rialto well, reviewer Rankin’s daughter-in-law and granddaughter, in an old photo. Martha Toka, a Spence Bay resident, is seeking an MLA’s seat in upcoming terti- | torial elections on a platform of greater | | | Martha Toka and daughter Toka Otte- | Inuit representation in the Northwest Territories. government services, and the heavy bureau- | cracy which has developed with department headquarters remaining in Ottawa, and regional and federal officesin southern cen- | tres. “Land claims and self government may be the long time answers, but the current pain in the communities must not be | ignored. There is no indication that the north “will be completely accepted into the Canadian community as partners” but the authors see a time when “territorial authori- ties can legitimately claim to govern their own affairs.” All things considered, one wonders why they would want to be a part of Canada at all. — Jonnie Rankin A plea for caring about people STEVE MARTIN AND CHILD IN PARENTHOOD...under faughs, film has serious message.