1. Tanya Tagaq Gillis
I have shown my love for her music before (here and here), and I will again because she is a beautiful Nunavut throat singer. Her haunting sounds and modern vibe comes across best live, but definitely check her out on My Space.
2. Inuit Filmmakers
Zacharius Kanuk (Journals of Knud Rasmussen, Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner), Arnait Video Productions (Before Tomorrow), and Andrew Okpeaha Maclean (Sikumi ~ On The Ice) are all amazingly talented Inuit filmmakers.
3. Mukluks
They were made by the Inuit and were sometimes made of sealskin, fur and reindeer hide and adapted by subarctic Indian tribes by using caribou or buckskin instead. My Manitobah Mukluks are as pictured above and keep me warm and snugly when it is cold outside.
4. Lucie Idlout
She is a rocker chick that you should know. Just releasing her second album this year, she is a joy to watch perform and has even opened for The White Stripes. Check her out on My Space.
5. Inuit Legend Barbie
Now I know it is still a Barbie, but for me it is an attempt at bringing Inuit culture to the forefront. The Ryerson University student, Christy Marcus, who won a design competition is of Inuit descent and was inspired by Inuit artist Kenojuak Ashevak. It is now no longer in production and a collector's item, which I found online for $250 - for serious collectors only.
Posts
....why is the inuit barbie living in teepees on the tundra??
ReplyDeletei might be completely wrong but i thought that was a plains thing.
Peruchito- OMG you are so right! Cultural appropriation at it's finest for sure . . . I guess it is better than igloos to perpetuate the myth that all Inuit live in igloos? Hmmm, not so sure. I know the barbie is not PC, but I still heart her anyways :).
ReplyDeleteI have been interested in Inuit culture for a while and I would love to travel up North to experience it a bit. Fascinating people, especially to me, a French!
ReplyDeleteI have seen quite a few Inuit movies lately, and I will check out the singer you mentioned.
the logistics is what stumps me on it. where did inuit barbie get the long sticks to build the teepee when she is above the tree line. never mind insulation problems in arctic weather. though i suppose she could have at one point came in contact with her plains brethren and through trade, acquired the teepee, along with the hair dye to make her hair blondish. style over comfort? i met a girl that swore by that. i guess it could be applied here.
ReplyDeletenext up. aztec barbie, with llamas and a chuyo. did they make a china barbie with a kimono and samurai sword?
i hope this pic was taken back in the 80s when people were ignorant...
I added Lucie on MySpace. Nice music. I showed this post to a couple people and long story short, we had conversation about Barbie Dolls and their facial features in regards to various ethnic groups. We ended up googling pics to see if the features were similar to that of real people versus Barbie Dolls just slapping a tan on Skipper and giving her some new clothes. Anyhow, that's one of the coolest Barbie's I've seen.
ReplyDeleteKaren - Lucie is cool, she lives in the Toronto area so I have seen her perform a few times and she is great live. Thanks for sharing this post, I appreciate it. The Barbie issue is one that can be dissected for a long time, and I have read more than a few academic papers on it. I choose to see the positive in things and look at the benefits of having 'ethnic' Barbies to make children happy.
ReplyDeletehmm, blonde hair, a tipi and ballgown with what looks like psychadelic mushroom doodling, quite a multicultural barbie. Is the little collar supposed to keep her barely clothed neck warm since all the fur is busy with trimmings?
ReplyDeleteWell since I am not the designer that created the Barbie or Mattel, perhaps you should take up your issues with them. As stated previously, there are many issues with Barbies in general, never mind "ethnic" Barbies but I thought it was cool too see at least some diversity. Also a Ryerson Fashion Design graduate of Innu descent was chosen for her designs for this Barbie so that is fantastic as well. But you know if you don't like "her doodling" maybe you could contact her directly and let her know how you feel ...
ReplyDeleteI know Christy and know that she used Inuit art and her relationship with her inuk grandmother as inspiration. However, she wanted to create something unique that would appeal to barbie collectors. Also, she was not involved in creating the print on the skirt, the photography, or the marketing of the product. This was done at Mattel in the USA. Just thought that should be mentioned.
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