GNED 101 Weekly Lessons

Week 05 exercise

Kusugak reading and discussion exercise (5 marks)

Read "On the side of the angels" by Jose Kusugak. When you have finished choose one or two passages in the reading that stuck out to you and write a little something about why you found them memorable.

There is no wrong way to do this assignment, but here's one example of something that has stuck with me.

Since Inuit have an oral history and communication, lying was a “deadly sin,” because it could lead to the death of someone. (p. 102)

This really drew my attention. It reminded me of Clifford's ideas about social responsibility and brought home how far from "Western" cultural norms the lives of these Inuit might be. Imagine if lying were a "deadly sin" in our world. Imagine if everyone who was found to have lied about anything important were castigated - shunned by the community, looked down on, given no power. What would our world be like if we held each other accountable, instead of the world where we assume everyone is lying and that is normal and we let them off when it is discovered. I'm reminded of an old cliché: in old Western movies the "Indian" character would often say "White man speak with forked tongue." What if part of the Euro-American culture we have inherited is a dangerous and immoral acceptance of lying as part of what it is to be human? What if it's not actually "natural" for us to mislead each other, but just an aspect of this culture we've created?

That's just an example of one thing that drew my attention, and how it made me think. You don't have to agree with or support Kusugak's perspective; just talk about something in the reading that strikes you or sticks with you.

Consider reading other people's posts and coming back to see what people have been saying. Feel free to reply to their posts with your own thoughts about what they've said. I will also reply to at least some of the posts, though probably not until they've all been made. If I (or anybody else) replies to your post, you should definitely read what they have to say.