Respecting the flesh

Anyone who follows the news in Canada will no doubt have heard the recent flurry of news/uproar/vilification/praise over Governor General Michaëlle Jean's recent consumption of seal at an Inuit ceremony in Rankin Inlet. For those of you who have had your fingers in your ears and your eyes closed while yelling "lalalalalalalalalala" for the past week: our über-cool and highly respectable Queen's representative was visiting Inuit communities in the north and, as GGs are wont to do, attended a cultural ceremony. So what, you say? This one happened to be the celebration of a seal harvest during which the freshly caught seals are skinned and partially eaten, raw. The most important parts of the seal and eaten right away: elders first, dignitaries second, etc. So, when the elders had been served and Michaëlle (if I may use her first name) was offered a piece of the heart from the seal she was learning how to skin and gut, she did what any woman of respect and manners would do in such a situation and accepted the kind and generous offer. And she said she enjoyed it.

Well. As one could imagine, that's when all hell broke loose. Somehow, this act of participating in a ceremony that shows great respect for the animals who are sacrificed to keep a people alive, and that shows equally great respect for the history and culture and collective wisdom of that people, has been interpreted by Europeans and animal rights activists as barbaric and cruel. Now, anyone who knows me will know that (1) I am a huge defender of the sanctity of all sentient beings (i.e. I recently hand-picked several hundred red wiggler worms out of a defunct vermicompost pile to avoid throwing them out with the ill-fated semi-composted waste material), and (2) I don't think having respect for life demands the vilification of the seal hunt, sealers, and those who depend on them for culture, livelihood, or food.

I'll try to contain my ranting on the matter and leave you to follow the Globe and Mail reports. But I must pass comment. Michaëlle was well aware that her actions would be interpreted as a support of both the Inuit and the Newfoundland seal hunt. She was also aware that the seal hunt is an essential part of both cultures, and that if done in a respectful manner it is no worse than any other form of hunt. By fully participating in the post-hunt ceremony, she was making a very clear statement to the Inuit (remember them? the people who really matter in all these shenanigans) that their way of life, their culture, and their way of eating is okay. It's good. It's right. Imagine the importance of this message to a people whose culture and way of life was nearly destroyed by the Canadian settlers, a people whose food supply has been contaminated with methylmercury and persistent organic pollutants by the actions of more southern cultures, a people who are trying to preserve what they can of their traditions in the face of western culture and its social fallout, a people who survive on what is available in their very harsh environment. Imagine then, the message that she would have sent had she refused the seal heart. In the simple phrase "no, thank you" she would have been telling the Inuit people that their way is not good, that their food is not good enough, and they should change to be more like the people who created so many of their current challenges. She would have been offensive and rude to her hosts. That is not the role our Governor General.

I have one final question for those who would have the GG's head, or heart:
Would her participation in the ceremony be interpreted as such an act of evil if it were a deer, or if chickens or cows were a common ceremonial beast of the Inuit? I think not.