On the June 26, 2022 KCNext participants gathered for a workshop with Taalrumiq King, an Inuvialuk and Teetl’it Gwich’in cultural holder and tiktok influencer. While teaching us how to be successful social media content creators during this 2022 Arctic Art Summit the conversation moved to a lively topic that I knew needs to be understood more widely–Indigenous people are and have always been contemporary.
In a room full of inspirational, trailblazing Inuit artists, the discussion that poured out was focused on our natural adaptability and the Inuit core value of innovation. However there is a truth that many non-Inuit continue to have tunnel vision, and an outdated set of standards and beliefs imposed on Inuit in every aspect of our lives, whether that be intentional or not. How is this STILL ongoing?
When in a room full of Inuit I always revel in the reality of our expansive creativity and resourcefulness. There has never been a time where I left feeling like I went back in time to ogle the past, so it is strange that others have and continue to have that reaction. This brings up discomfort and issues for Inuit when it happens.
To set the tone of the beginning of this summit, whether you are attending in person or reading reflections online, I challenge participants to expand their world view on Inuit, and any other person for that matter. Allow us to exist in the present, because we continue to be active influencers in all aspects of our lives and reach non-Inuit around the world every day.
I have grown up knowing this to be true, which is why I am always in awe of my culture and the brilliance of Inuit worldwides.
The Arctic Arts Summit’s Knowledge Creators Next program brings together northern Indigenous post-secondary students, young activists and emerging professionals to attend the Summit. Participants in the Knowledge Creators Next (KCN) program will be sharing their daily reflections—in the form of tweets, photographs, poems, sketches, videos or other short responses—on the Arctic Arts Summit’s digital platform and across social media.
