Inuit gather in Canada’s eastern Arctic for pro-sealing, anti-Ellen ‘sealfie’
More than two dozen people in Iqaluit gathered at the Four Corners in the city’s downtown to shoot a “#sealfie” in reference to Ellen DeGeneres’ Oscar selfie, and to protest revelations that DeGeneres made a donation to the Humane Society of the United States based on retweets of the photo.
The website for the Ellen DeGeneres show calls sealing “one of the most atrocious and inhumane acts against animals allowed by any government.”
Alethea Arnaquq-Baril is a filmmaker in Iqaluit, the capital city of Canada’s eastern Arctic territory of Nunavut.
She posted a “seal-fie” of herself on her Facebook page, in an effort to bring positive attention to indigenous seal hunting.
She says “”That we’re big fans and I think we’re on the same page and if she just took a little bit more time and a bit of effort to understand where we’re from, she’d realize Inuit are the ultimate animal rights activists and environmentalists and we need to find some common ground.”
The idea for the #sealfie came from Iqaluit resident, Nancy Mike, who plays with the Iqaluit band Jerry Cans.
Related Links:
Canada: Inuit leaders blast EU seal ban as appeal underway in Geneva, Eye on the Arctic
Greenland: What the EU seal ban has meant for Inuit communities in the Arctic, Eye on the Arctic
