Entering into Relationship
What does a decolonial practice of acknowledging, or honoring, relationships look like in a context of Inuit and non-Inuit encountering each other?
And,
"Is 'polite' refusal ultimately a colonizing action?[1]"
Keavy Martin ties these questions up with the ethics of hunting and the matter of eating of animals questions of responsibility with the matter of . She explores
She links the bodily matters of hunting, sustenance and survival - with renewal of life.
"We are reliant upon the bodies of others", and our bodies are always transformed in the process of such sharing, whether it is one body giving itself to another - or one body giving birth to another[2]. Sharing is life.
Although such bodily sharing has been part of my experiences in the communities of Gjoa Haven and Coral Harbour through the consumption of Seal meat, Arctic Char, Caribou and Muktuk, for me, this landmark insight refers to a less consumptive engagement.
Entering into relationship also means partaking in the reciprocal customs of gifting and sharing, and allowing yourself to be transformed by those processes.