The True North is Calling
Arctic-set CBC series could serve as compass for other storytellers
POSTMEDIA NETWORK Layer up, Canada. The Canadian Arctic almost falls off the map when it comes to mainstream pop culture, but a new CBC docu-series hopes to make the North a landmark.
premiering Feb. 17, promises a rare, intimate look at our country’s North and the resourceful, compelling Canadians not just surviving — but thriving — amidst the unforgiving, breathtaking terrain. They include a young family of sustainable farmers, a third-generation fisherman and an Iqaluit TV producer shooting an Inuktitutlanguage comedy series. Each northerner combines traditional knowledge and modern savvy to keep their personal, family and community’s dreams alive.
“They are all incredibly resourceful and inspiring,” executive producer, Allison Grace, says of her cast. “They all want to sincerely create a better future for the North. They would not want to live anywhere else.”
Kylik Kisoun Taylor is a case in point. The 30-year-old operates Tundra North Tours in remote Inuvik, N.W.T. The CBC crew embarks on one of his tours alongside Inuvialuit reindeer herders.
He hopes the show delivers a realistic, non-dramatized portrayal of northerners — showing not only “how they live,” but “why they live there.” Beyond showcasing the region’s wild beauty and cultural richness, he believes can help dispel some stereotypes.
“People have asked me if I live in an igloo,” Kisoun Taylor laughs. “We have houses. We have hospitals. We have libraries. We wear the same clothes you do. Everything is the same it’s just colder.” He just happens to also know how to build an igloo, shoot a bow and paddle a traditional kayak (or qayaq.)
“The misconceptions are that the North is dangerous, that there is nothing up there, that there are only Inuit,” he says. “There are people from all over the world making the North their home.”
None of this comes as a surprise to McGill University professor Marianne Stenbaek, an expert in Canada’s northern regions and Nunavik literature. “A lot of people still see it as this great, white nothingness and they think of Inuit, if they think of them at all, with very negative stereotypes,” she says, adding mainstream news coverage of the North is often limited to issues like alcoholism, suicide, housing shortages and the seal hunt.
She thinks a major network series focussed on northerners’ ingenuity and diversity is long overdue. While the CBC show touches on the social problems afflicting northern communities, its overall theme is one of optimism. From ground-breaking artists to sustainable food advocates, it showcases people re-defining the North.