Representing north: Inuit identity and the paradox of culture, communications and self-determination
Date
2000
Authors
Heck, Angela
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Abstract
This thesis examines the relationship of identity, cultural production, communications and self-determination to reveal the complexities of lnuit-Canadian relations. By studying the politics of naturalization and cultural production in the work of feminist theorists, the Frankfurt School and writers such as Michael Shapiro, it is shown that the process of Canadian state domination of the Inuit is related to symbolic control. Specifically, Inuit art and the mass media are sites where we can observe the often-paradoxical relations of domination and resistance in which the Inuit people are involved.
Despite the fact that the production of Inuit art and mass media is primarily a colonialist enterprise, there is nonetheless room for resistance and/or authentic artistic expression within the framework offered by this activity.