The Eskimo dog--the Qimmiq--has been an integral part of northern Canadian life for almost two thousand years. Archival photographs and film footage illustrate how this hard-working purebred was used for hunting, pulling sleds and keeping polar bears at bay. However, by 1975, the breed, decimated by a changing northern lifestyle, was all but extinct. This inspiring documentary shows the dedicated efforts of biologist Dr. William Carpenter to revitalize the strain and how, with support from local Inuit societies, his breeding project has resulted in a growing and once again thriving Qimmiq population.
This feature documentary offers an overview of the changes experienced by the Inuit from 1950-1970 with their loss of sled dogs and semi-nomadic lifestyle. A controversial issue at the time, many Inuit still believe that their dogs were deliberately killed by the RCMP as part of government policy to force them off the land and into "civilization." Qimmit: A Clash of Two Truths explores how and why the sled dogs disappeared, a mystery that has left deep wounds across Canada's Arctic.
This short docu-fiction film illustrates how traditionally dogs were used by the Netsilik Inuit, in winter and summer. We see puppies and sled dogs used as pack animals. Eskimo dogs were also used for hunting, being particularly skilful at sniffing out seal blowholes when deep snow covered the winter sea ice.
This feature documentary tells the story of 2 Inuit communities of the circumpolar north—one on Canada’s Baffin Island, the other in Northwest Greenland—that are linked by a migration led by an intrepid shaman. Navarana, an Inughuit elder and descendant of the shaman, draws inspiration and hope from the ties that still bind the 2 communities to face the consequences of rapid social and environmental change.