Saviors, “sealfies,” and seals: strategies for self-representation in contemporary Inuit films
The legibility of the inter-relationships between human and seal is what is at stake when Inuit present themselves within administrative discourses at international assemblies in defense of their ontology and the right to hunt seals. In the language of administration and in the narrative practices o...
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| Tipo de documento: | Artículo |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2014 |
| País: | España |
| Institución: | Universidad de Alcalá (UAH) |
| Repositorio: | e_Buah Biblioteca Digital Universidad de Alcalá |
| Lenguaje: | Inglés |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:ebuah.uah.es:10017/20862 |
| Acceso en línea: | http://hdl.handle.net/10017/20862 |
| Nivel de acceso: | Acceso abierto |
| Palabra clave: | Animal Rights Inuit Inupiat "Sealfie" Self-representation Food security Derechos de los animales Autorepresentación Seguridad alimentaria Literatura Medio ambiente Literature Environmental science |
| Sumario: | The legibility of the inter-relationships between human and seal is what is at stake when Inuit present themselves within administrative discourses at international assemblies in defense of their ontology and the right to hunt seals. In the language of administration and in the narrative practices of international animal rights, seals can only appear in a predetermined categorical framework for what constitutes human ethical responsibility to nature. The seal in animal rights discourse is one type of object that needs saving in the form of protective measures to keep her safe from the rapacious greed of capitalism. However, in Indigenous cultural practices, the seal is another relative, a relation whose presence makes all certainties about hierarchies, use-value, moral exemptions, and human exceptionalism impossible. Using the trending social media phenomenon of the “sealfie” and three contemporary northern Indigenous films, this essay argues that the Inuit use of these media formats showcases their cultural and economic dependence on seal hunting and restructures debates around authority, self-representation , and one-sided environmental protection activities. |
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