EU gives Inuvialuit sealskin green light
Certification process will free European tourists to buy Inuvialuit sealskin products
Stewart Burnett
Northern News Services
Thursday, March 16, 2017
INUVIK
The potential customer base for Inuvialuit sealskin products just got a lot bigger.
Duane Smith, president of the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, says working with sealskin is part of Inuvialuit identity. The IRC has been accepted as a recognized body under the indigenous exception to the EU seal products prohibition. - Stewart Burnett/NNSL photo
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After lobbying by the Government of the Northwest Territories, the European Union on Feb. 14 exempted Inuvialuit sealskin products under the indigenous exception in its sealskin prohibition.
That means Inuvialuit sealskin products can now be sold to the EU market, and a certification process is on the way so harvesters can sell to European travellers here.
Barb Memogana has been working with sealskin her whole life.
"We're so used to making our own clothing with whatever we use to trap and hunt," she said. "Sealskin was what we used a lot for mitts."
She said there's been a lot of interest in seal products from tourists lately.
"A lot of the surrounding communities have been doing sewing programs," said Memogana. "Sealskin is mainly what they use, along with beaver and other hide they can find or afford."
Duane Smith, president of the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, sees this development as a potential boost for the future of sealing in the North.
"The market has been gone so long, but when it was active and vibrant it was quite significant and lucrative to the harvesters that were involved in that activity," Smith said.
"We hope that it stimulates our coastal communities to become active again so that they're generating income and revenue for themselves, their families and their communities so they're becoming more self-reliant again."
Smith said capitalizing on cruise ship activity is a goal for the IRC, as well.
"The Inuvialuit people have a very close relationship to the ecosystem, the environment and especially to the wildlife that we depend on for our nutrition, our culture and sustainability," said Smith.
"It's a part of our culture, it's a part of our identity. We have folklore stories in relation to seals and other activities. Some of our communities practise taking the younger people out so that they learn that part of our culture and how to harvest these animals on a sustainable basis and to show them respect at the same time."
He said it has always been the practice of the Inuvialuit to harvest seals sustainably, efficiently and effectively, with as little suffering for the animal as possible.
"We see ourselves as part of the ecosystem and we have to make sure we treat it with respect," said Smith.
"Anything that affects the ecosystem negatively is going to eventually affect us as well."
Smith said popularity in sewing classes in the region show the large demand to work with sealskin.
Inuvialuit seal products will be marketed under the Genuine Mackenzie Valley Fur brand.
"This is a considerable achievement under the GNWT's mandate, which will bring valuable economic opportunity and priceless support to important cultural practices for the Inuvialuit people," stated Wally Schumann, minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, in a news release.
"We look forward to executing on the promise of this new market - the second-largest economy in the world - for the benefit of all seal harvesters and their families."
Smith said the next thing to work on is getting pelts tanned in the North.
"This hopefully will become a sustainable, viable economic pursuit where it generates products made in the NWT made by the Inuvialuit people," he said.
