Nowhere Land
This short documentary serves as a quiet elegy for a way of life, which exists now only in the memories of those who experienced it. Bonnie Ammaaq and her family remember it vividly. When Bonnie was a little girl, her parents packed up their essentials, bundled her and her younger brother onto a long, fur-lined sled and left the government-manufactured community of Igloolik to live off the land, as had generations of Inuit before them.
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directorRosie Bonnie Ammaaq
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writerRosie Bonnie AmmaaqAlicia Smith
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producerAlicia Smith
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executive producerDavid Christensen
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narrationRosie Bonnie Ammaaq
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director of photographyNate Smith
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sound recordingChristine Fellows
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music recordistChristine Fellows
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sound designChristine Fellows
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picture editorErika MacPherson
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sound mix engineerHoward Rissin
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on-line colouristAndrew Shire
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truck rentalTerry Uyarak
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driverTerry UyarakJoey Ammaq
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polar bear moderatorTodd Ammaaq
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translatorSuzie Napayok-Short
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production coordinatorFaye Yoneda
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production supervisorMark Power
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program administratorBree BeachGinette D'Silva
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centre operations managerDarin Clausen
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director generalMichelle van Beusekom
A documentary that features a family’s connection to land and resistance to government-manufactured communities. This film is ideal for generating discussion on the social conditions Inuit face in both the present and past. What was the intent of permanent government-controlled land bases (i.e., permanent settlements and reserves)? What are the short- and long-term social implications of forced relocation? What and why did Ottawa apologize for in 2019? What is forced relocation and how is it a tool of oppression and genocide? Why would a family choose to leave government-manufactured communities? Living off-grid is a new concept for some, but consider how the concept of off-grid living may have deep-rooted connotations for Indigenous people.