| Inuit Games is one of the videos in the National Film Board's 13-part series, My Brand New Life. In this series, each participant explores personal prejudices as he or she is challenged to explore another culture. Eric is a teen athlete from a middle class family in Montreal. He has the opportunity to travel to Kangiqsualujjuaq in northern Quebec and participate in the Inuit Games. Eric is introduced and he explains that his chosen sports are soccer and cycling. He and his friends try to say the Inuit village name Kangiqsualujjuaq. Because they cannot pronounce it they laugh and make jokes. The flight to the small village in northern Quebec is a memorable one for Eric as he tries to maintain his composure during the turbulence the plane experiences. Eric is welcomed by his Inuit hosts and village youth. This is a totally new experience for Eric. He is introduced to the community, his tiny motel room, the restaurant, and the community centre. Here Eric is shown several Inuit sports such as the arm pull, the one-leg high kick, knuckle hop, and airplane. Coach Silas gently explains the sports and his patience with Eric is evident. Eric has seven days to master the sports. Silas explains the origin of each sport and how it relates to Inuit hunting culture. Eric is amazed that these simple games require strength and skill to master. In fact Eric calls the games stupid. The event begins with a northern-style parade. A small airplane performs a fly-over and a cavalcade of 4-wheelers precedes the athletes. Because there are no teams, each participant tries their best at each challenging event. The crowd cheers each athlete including Eric's feeble attempt. At the end Eric is rewarded with a medal of appreciation. He has learned that these Inuit games are in fact a great deal more challenging than meets the eye. He acknowledges that he has learned a lot from this experience and he will be forever influenced by this visit to Canada's North. The video is shot with a video diary style with narrated footage. This keeps viewers interested during the 23-minute film. The viewers are introduced to the northern landscape, the houses, the people, the sports, fishing for Arctic Char, and digging for mussels. Interspersed throughout the video are short clips of student quotes. This video contains a valuable lesson not only about four Inuit sports but also about appreciating cultural differences. Inside the video cover there are suggested discussion ideas as well as pre-screening and post-screening activities. Suitable for grades four to eight health, physical education, social studies, and geography. This video is also available in DVD format. |
