Qimmit: the Canadian Inuit Dog
2024 01 19
Photo by cyan on Freeimages.com
@cyan, Quebec 2004
One of the stereotypical images some of us have of people in the Arctic is of a sled being pulled by a team of dogs. This is of course more of a historic image because in today’s world, transportation in Arctic conditions is achieved with snowmobiles and other specialized vehicles. However, the Canadian Inuit Dog (which is distinct from the more commonly known Siberian Huskies and Alaskan Malamutes)[1] remains an important symbol and part of the unique history of Canada’s northern territories.
The Canadian Inuit Dog as a distinct breed is currently threatened with extinction. In the 19th century and early 20th century, this breed was still in demand for polar expeditions, and approximately 20,000 dogs lived in the Canadian Arctic in the 1920s. However, the breed had declined significantly by the 1960s. The decline was due to massive changes in lifestyle for the Inuit people who were at times forcibly relocated and experienced their traditional ways of life (like transportation) displaced by modern means and had their economy replaced by market driven forces.
In the end the people were put in a position where their dogs were now more of a burden then they were an asset. The forced changes drove the Inuit into poverty, and they could not maintain a healthy situation for their beloved dogs. Through an additional series of events the packs were culled and moved to the brink of extinction.
Today, the Canadian Inuit Dog is currently used in sled dog teams that entertain tourists and for commercial polar bear hunting. Interestingly, by law, polar bear hunting in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut must be conducted by dog team or on foot. The requirement is partly for safety reasons; the working dogs can better sense when a polar bear is around, whereas the sound of a snowmobile motor might on the on hand scare off a bear or on the other hand mask signs of its presence. It also provides a certain exclusivity which rightfully belongs to the Inuit with respect to hunting activities in their traditional lands.
On May 1, 2000, the Canadian territory of Nunavut officially adopted the "Canadian Inuit Dog" as the animal symbol of the territory, thus sealing the name of their traditional dog (qimmit or qimmiq) in the Inuktitut language.
Changes in the Arctic lifestyle for the Inuit brought on by forced relocations, a reduction in traditional activities and the advent of motorized transportation reduced the dependency on sled dogs and led to the depletion of their populations. Unfortunately, by the 1950s and 1960s the populations had not only thinned but had become vulnerable to various diseases. This led to the controversial culling of the dog population at the hands of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Sûreté du Québec.
Considering the myriad of ways that Inuit people have depended on these dogs, the story of qimmiijaqtauniq—meaning “many dogs (or dog teams) being taken away or killed” and frequently translated now as the Mountie Sled Dog Massacre or, more simply, “the dog slaughter”. It is not fully known how many dogs were killed by the police (estimates range from 1,200 to 20,000) but what we do know is that the reduction in numbers was significant and contributed greatly to endangering the breed. Moreover, the killing remains as a point of contention between the Inuit people and Canadian authorities precisely because it contributed to and symbolizes the elimination of their way of life.
For the Inuit people the Inuit Dog was not seen as an animal per se but as an element of their own existential reality. The symbiosis between the Inuit Dog and the Inuit people is much more than just a relationship between humans and their pets. It relates to how the people define their relationship with the environment around them. Hence why the Inuit cling to their narrative with respect to the meaning of the culling of the packs at the hands of the police.
Between 1950 and 1970, the RCMP and the Surete du Quebec engaged in the slaughter of Inuit Dogs. The rationale behind this was that the dogs were vulnerable to disease and the people were incapable of protecting the dogs from suffering. The communities however came to believe that the actions of the police were part of a deliberate campaign to disrupt their way of life and to intimidate the Inuit. This narrative was further supported by the actions of the police who failed to follow their own protocols when dealing with the dogs. The police were required to first capture the dogs and then notify the owners of the impending killing of the animal. The police were required to justify why an animal needed to be culled. However, the RCMP and Surete du Quebec often ignored these vital steps and simply exerted their authority to kill the animals.
In 2005 after years of complaints by people from various Inuit communities the RCMP conducted an internal study which concluded that the killings were not part of an overall policy to disrupt the Inuit people but also found that the practices were often arbitrary and significantly flawed. This study did not satisfy the people and subsequent independent reports were developed at the request of groups such as The Qikiqtani Inuit Association and the Makivik Corporation. The original internal investigation was found to have been tainted by the fact that out of over a hundred witnesses interviewed, only eight were Inuit. The independent reviews did corroborate RCMP studies and concluded that there did not seem to be a deliberate policy to disrupt the Inuit themselves, however, did find that the killings were not always justified by concerns regarding animal welfare but often were done simply because the police were afraid of the dogs.
The independent reports ultimately lead to settlements to compensate the people for the loss of their dogs ($20 million to The Qikiqtani Inuit Association and $7 million to the Makivik Corporation) and to help fund certain restoration activities such as the sponsoring of annual dog sled events. However, the dog slaughter is just another example of Canada’s dark history with respect to the relationship between the indigenous people and newcomers (referred to as Qallunaat).
The reality is that the killings were just part of a larger problem created by the displacement of indigenous people from their traditional ways of life. The Inuit Dog would have been endangered regardless of the actions of the RCMP and the Surete du Quebec. The displacement of the people and the disruption of their way of life ultimately impacted the existence of the Inuit Dog. In fact, the endangerment of the Inuit Dog provides an important lesson in demonstrating how profound the impact of colonization has on any indigenous group.
A similar story unfolded in Western Canada where for thousands of years, a breed of white, woolly dog played an important and cultural role for Coast Salish people. A recent study has found that this breed went extinct when colonists moved in. The last of this breed died out towards the end of the 19th century. The animal's thick woollen undercoat was shorn for weaving blankets and textiles, but increasing settler colonialism forced the decline of the textile manufacturing tradition in the 19th century and the Indigenous dog population was lost.
No single factor lead to the extinction of the woolly dog though the introduction of blankets through trade with the colonists was an important contributor. Other factors included: the struggle for survival of the Salish people which reduced their capacity to manage the breed. Salish survival was tenuous due to exposure to diseases, increased cultural upheaval and expanding colonialism, and forced displacement of the people.
Amongst the Salish people there are stories that suggest there was a deliberate effort by the government to get rid of the dogs. Through traditional practices, the dogs were handed down through matrilineal lines. During the 19th century Indian agents acting under the authority of the Indian Act forbid the ownership of these dogs and contributed directly to the rapid end of the breed towards the end of that century.
There is hope that the Inuit Dog population can be restored and the breed does not have to face extinction. The Canadian Inuit Dog is one of five dog breeds recognized by the Canadian Kennel Club as uniquely Canadian. The current population is slightly over 300. Of the five recognized Canadian dog breeds, one is extinct: the Tahltan Bear Dog. The remaining four breeds are the Canadian Inuit Dog, the Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever, the Newfoundland Dog and the Labrador Retriever.
The Salish Woolly Dog was extinct before the CKC could recognize it as an official breed. Though recognized by the CKC, the last Tahltan Bear Dog died in 1979 and the breed is now extinct. The Bear Dog was raised by the Tahltan people of what is now British Columbia, to hunt bears. Despite its relatively small size these crafty hunters were capable of taking down much larger animals. Unfortunately, due to factors like relocation, economic displacement and changes in lifestyle, the dogs succumbed to changes in diet and neglect. These stories may resonate in a different way with some Canadians who may well be unaware of how colonization impacted so many aspects of indigenous life and had profound effects that in some ways remain unimaginable, though they are quite real. The loss of Indigenous fauna in Canada is an aspect of colonization that often is not part of the dialogue but deserves our attention.
While we cannot recapture what has been lost through the extinction of the Salish Wooly Dog or the Tahltan Bear Dog perhaps we can all support efforts to ensure the continued existence of the Inuit Dog.
[1] It is believed the Canadian Inuit Dog and the Greenland Dog, which are a common species is descendant from dogs brought to North America by the Thule people from Siberia more than 1,000 years ago.