Voices of Thunder
Voices of Thunder
A community-created animated graphic documentary, in which Inuit hunters and elders from the community of Gjoa Haven share how they have been impacted by polar bear management policies in their region over the past two decades.
Polar bear management policies in the last two decades, including a polar bear hunting moratorium, have disproportionately impacted Gjoa Haven compared to other Nunavut communities. For two generations they have hardly been able to practice their tradition of hunting polar bears, as a result of exclusive international pressures and scientific monitoring surveys. Gjoa Haven hunters argue that science could better integrate the knowledge of Inuit themselves and seek recognition for the loss of income, cultural-, and intergenerational knowledge transfer. They want their stories to finally come out - They want their voices of thunder to echo everywhere.
This film was scripted, recorded, drawn and directed by the community members of Gjoa Haven themselves, assisted by a PhD researcher, none of them are professional filmmakers.
The video was produced as part of a Genome Canada polar bear research project; BearWatch.
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James QitsualikDirector
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William AglukkaqDirector
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Saskia de WildtDirector
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James QitsualikWriter
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William AglukkaqWriter
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Saskia de WildtWriter
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Gjoa Haven HTAProducer
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Saskia de WildtProducer
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Peter van Coeverden-de GrootProducer
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hunters and elders from Gjoa HavenKey Cast
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Jacob KeanikInterpretation and translation
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Tuppittia QitsualikInterpretation and translation
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Danny AalukArt
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Jeroen HogersMotion Graphics
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Janet AglukkaqThroatsinging
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Kathy KeknekThroatsinging
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Project Title (Original Language):Kaluqaqtut Nippain
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Project Type:Animation, Documentary, Short, Student, Web / New Media
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Genres:Human rights, social justice, environment, polar bears, wildlife, Indigenous, Inuit, Nunavut, Canada, academic, ethnography
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Runtime:15 minutes
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Completion Date:April 11, 2023
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Production Budget:10,000 EUR
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Country of Origin:Canada
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Country of Filming:Canada
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Language:English, Inuktitut
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Shooting Format:n/a or digital
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Aspect Ratio:16:9
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Film Color:Black & White and Color
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First-time Filmmaker:Yes
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Student Project:Yes - Queen's University
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Toronto
Canada
December 5, 2022
screening at conference
Arctic Science Meeting
James Qitsualik is the Vice Chair of the Gjoa Haven Hunters and Trappers Association (HTA).
William Aglukkaq is a boardmember of Gjoa Haven’s Hunters and Trapper Association
Saskia de Wildt, is a PhD Candidate at Queen’s University School of Environmental Studies
‘We want our voices of thunder to echo everywhere. We want everyone to know what happened to us. We seek acknowledgment and apologies for suffering the consequences of the quota regulations; a loss of culture and knowledge, as well as increased danger due to the rising number of polar bears around our communities. Inuit knowledge in terms of accuracy and inherent value needs to be recognized and better acknowledged. We want better integration of Inuit knowledge in survey research, like for example accounting for seasonal changes. Scientific monitoring surveys have limitations, we ask that researchers will recognize and take Inuit observations more seriously’.