In this animated short, a self-important colonial explorer emerges from a sailing ship and plants a flag on the Arctic ice, as a bemused Inuit hunter looks on. Then the explorer plants another, and another, and another, while the hunter, clearly not impressed that his land has been “discovered,” quietly goes about his business.
In this charming and humorous re-imagining of first contact between Inuit and European, Jonathan Wright brings us the story of a savvy hunter and the ill-equipped explorer he outwits.
Ages 6 to 9
Study Guide - Guide 1
Diversity - Diversity in Communities
Geography - The Arctic
History and Citizenship Education - European Expansion (1500s-1700s)
Indigenous Studies - History/Politics
Students should consider the historical significance of early contact. What would they do if someone knocked on their door and announced that they were moving into their house? Why is the European man depicted like a house when he is planting flags? Why does the Inuit man use a bear to scare the European? Who are the students rooting for and why? What are cultural differences and why should we respect them?