The Experimental Eskimos

The Experimental Eskimos (2009)

May 9th, 20091h 10min

Documentary
60%

Overview

In the early 1960s the Canadian government conducted an experiment in social engineering. Three young Inuit boys were separated from their families in the Arctic and were sent to Ottawa, the nation's capital, to live with white families and to be educated in white schools. The consequences the experiment would have on the boys, their identity and culture was brushed aside. The bureaucrats did not anticipate the outcome. The three grow up to be political activists and leaders - often at odds with the government that brought them south. They establish aboriginal rights in Canada and are instrumental in the creation of Nunavut, the world's largest self-governed aboriginal territory. But it all comes at a tremendous personal cost. Peter Ittinuar, Zebedee Nungak, and Eric Tagoona recount their stories, achievements and challenges in this film about an attempt at assimilation, empowerment, and the triumph of the human spirit.


Make sure to check your pop-up blocker!!

Trailer

Similar Movies

Eskimo Artist: Kenojuak

Eskimo Artist: Kenojuak


Released on: 1964-01-01
Documentary

This documentary shows how an Inuit artist's drawings are transferred to stone, printed and sold. Ke...

The Living Stone

The Living Stone


Released on: 1958-02-04
Documentary

The Living Stone is a 1958 Canadian short documentary film directed by John Feeney about Inuit art. ...

Nanook of the North

Nanook of the North


Released on: 1922-06-11
Documentary, Drama

This pioneering documentary film depicts the lives of the indigenous Inuit people of Canada's northe...

Netsilik Eskimo Series, I: At the Autumn River Camp

Netsilik Eskimo Series, I: At the Autumn River Camp


Released on: 1967-01-01
Documentary

It is late autumn and the Eskimos travel through soft snow and build karmaks, shelters with snow wal...

Netsilik Eskimo Series, II: At the Caribou Crossing Place

Netsilik Eskimo Series, II: At the Caribou Crossing Place


Released on: 1967-01-02
Documentary

The time is early autumn. The woman wakes and dresses the boy. He practices with his sling while she...

Netsilik Eskimo Series, III: At the Spring Sea Ice Camp

Netsilik Eskimo Series, III: At the Spring Sea Ice Camp


Released on: 1967-01-03
Documentary

Two Eskimo families travel across the wide sea ice. Before night falls they build small igloos and w...

Netsilik Eskimos, VI: Building a Kayak

Netsilik Eskimos, VI: Building a Kayak


Released on: 1967-12-23
Documentary

Now it is July - summer. The run-off is in full spate and open water shows offshore. Ice cakes melt ...

Netsilik Eskimos, VII: Fishing at the Stone Weir

Netsilik Eskimos, VII: Fishing at the Stone Weir


Released on: 1967-12-23
Documentary

Full summer, and the tundra is bare; skin tents are up and it is time to attend to the fishing as th...

Netsilik Eskimos, VIII: Jigging for Lake Trout

Netsilik Eskimos, VIII: Jigging for Lake Trout


Released on: 1967-12-23
Documentary

More signs of winter's end as more wildlife returns. The family makes an excursion for fresh fish fr...

Netsilik Eskimos, IX: Stalking Seal on the Spring Ice

Netsilik Eskimos, IX: Stalking Seal on the Spring Ice


Released on: 1967-12-23
Documentary

The family is on the shore of Pelly Bay in May-June. A seal basks beside its hole under a warming su...

Inuuvunga: I Am Inuk, I Am Alive

Inuuvunga: I Am Inuk, I Am Alive


Released on: 2004-01-01
Documentary

In this feature-length documentary, 8 Inuit teens with cameras offer a vibrant and contemporary view...

Bering. Equilibrio y resistencia

Bering. Equilibrio y resistencia


Released on: 2013-05-01
Documentary

This documentary closely follows a group of people living in the Bering Strait and delves into the f...

Kivalina

Kivalina


Released on: 2016-02-01
Documentary

The rarely seen lives of an Arctic tribe who try to continue to honor their way of life 80 miles abo...

How to Build an Igloo

How to Build an Igloo


Released on: 1949-01-01
Documentary

This classic short film shows how to make an igloo using only snow and a knife. Two Inuit men in Can...

Inuit Languages in the 21st Century

Inuit Languages in the 21st Century


Released on: 2020-12-31
Documentary

Ulivia explores what is accessible via the Internet in relation to Inuktitut. A complex language wit...

No Turning Back

No Turning Back


Released on: 1996-01-01
Documentary

This film follows the aftermath of the Oka crisis, which brought Indigenous rights into sharp focus....

If the Weather Permits

If the Weather Permits


Released on: 2003-06-10
Documentary

Director Elisapie Issac's documentary is a sort-of letter to her deceased grandfather addressing the...

Martha of the North

Martha of the North


Released on: 2009-01-23
Documentary

In the mid-1950s, lured by false promises of a better life, Inuit families were displaced by the Can...

What Belongs to Inuit

What Belongs to Inuit


Released on: 2009-01-01
Documentary

A group of Nunavut elders travel to five museums in North America to see and identify artifacts, too...

Exile

Exile


Released on: 2009-01-01
Documentary

Zacharias Kunuk tackles the subject of the High Arctic Relocation from an Inuit point of view in the...