Lawrence Hall, HSG
Snowmobiles,
Horses, and Chocolate Bunnies
Midway through his journey of life a friend in
Newfoundland did not find himself in lost in Dante’s darksome wood or even in a
darksome St. John’s television studio, but at age 50 for reasons best known to
himself took a hiatus from reporting news for the Canadian Broadcasting
Corporation and flew to Natuashish on the east coast of Labrador to teach
school children for the winter term.
Anthony keeps the twooter interesting with his posts. One
of my favorites (or favourites) is a recent posting with children launching a snowmobile:
AnthonyGermain (@AnthonyGermain) / Twitter
The three-year-old piloting the thing asks, in her
language, “What’s holding us back?”
In truth, I don’t think anything will ever hold that
child back.
The video clip was made within the last week; winters in
Nunatsiavut are loooooooooooooong.
An argument can be made that the snowmobile is not part
of the Inuit heritage, but that would be an error – no people or culture exists
in stasis, as a sort of museum.
Labrador Inuit (Labradormiut) (first-nations.info)
There were no horses in North America until the Spanish
brought them. Within a short time the Comanche, more than any other First
Nation, adapted to the technology of the horse and became possibly the world’s
finest light cavalry.
The Comanche – Horsemen of the Plains – Legends of America
How Horses Transformed Life for Plains Indians - HISTORY
For the Inuit the snowmobile is now as essential to travel,
commerce, and hunting as the horse became to the Comanche.
The essential thing is that after the Comanche the Inuit appropriated
and adapted the technology of others they did not then passively hold it in
their hands and stare at it. Okay, neither a horse nor a snowmobile can be held
like a MePhone, but the point stands – technology properly used does not
disconnect any culture from its heritage, but rather enriches it and pushes it
forward.
And there are chocolate bunnies for all.
Life is good.
-30-
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