Another Canadian Apology for Alleged Wrongs – the Slaughter of Inuit Sled Dogs

There seems to be a never-ending series of apologies being issued by our government for real or imagined wrong-doings of our ancestors, those being the people of European ancestry. The latest one caught my attention as it related to a period of time with which I am probably more familiar than the average Canadian. The following is a letter which I wrote to the CBC journalist who wrote the story about the Canadian apology and 45 million dollar payout. I also copied it to several federal political leaders as well as MPs of the Nunavut and northern Quebec jurisdictions. 

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2024 November 30

The recent story (https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/step-closure-feds-apology-nunavik-dog-slaughter-1.7392062) about the Canadian government apology and compensation of $45 million to the Inuit for the “slaughter” of over a thousand sled dogs through the 1950s and 1960s peaked my interest. My father, Dr. Otto Schaefer (recipient of the Order of Canada), together with his young family lived and worked in the Arctic during the 1950s. I was steeped in Inuit culture all my life, growing up mainly in Edmonton during the 60s and 70s. We loved the stories, the home movies, the slideshow evenings, the Inuit artwork which filled our home, and our frequent Inuk guests from the north. 

Something that I remember from what our parents told us was the fact that many Inuit were buying snowmobiles as those became available, because the people found them to be convenient and easy, compared with maintaining sled dogs. I remember that my father was not at all happy about that change, and he encouraged the Inuit to stick with their traditional way of life as he recognized the many advantages to travelling with sled dogs. Many did exactly that, but there were of course others who enjoyed the modernization of their travel and hunting excursions. Rifles and skidoos seemed easier than spears, harpoons and sled dogs.

Another memory I have is of the toddler whom my father put back together again through several hours of painstaking surgery, many dozens of stitches to the head and face, after this youngster had been attacked and severely mauled by a dog. The parents were extremely grateful to my father for having done such an excellent job which enabled that child to recover quite well. I do not know what happened to that particular dog. But if it was indeed shot, is that one of the slaughtered dogs for which the Inuit are now receiving an apology and compensation?

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Post Script: It must be noted that this apology to the Inuit comes during a time when the Canadian people have been flogged with false guilt for the so-called genocide and alleged unmarked graves at the former Indian Residential Schools, in particular in Kamloops BC. In spite of millions of dollars and several years time to investigate, no evidence has been found to substantiate their claims.

There is no question that there is a larger agenda being played here. False claims and accusations, apologies and reparation pay-outs, the UNDRIP (United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples), Critical Race Theory, imposed White guilt, open borders, where does this all lead? Are they aiming to dispossess us of our lands?

I dedicated an episode of “The Flip-side with Monika” to this unfolding saga in Canada of the “mass graves” and drew some parallels to the creation of that holy cause from WW2 which we are not allowed to question, but which similarly has no evidence to back up the official story. You can listen to that episode in the archives at RBN here: https://www.republicbroadcastingarchives.org/the-flipside-with-monika-august-10-2024/ This is certainly not the last of it. I will be talking about these issues again.