Nuka Fennell, a 24-year-old gay Inuk, gambled on a new life when he left his home in Iqaluit at 16 and moved south. He had struggled to find acceptance in Canada’s Far North, where many have been taught that homosexuality is incompatible with traditional Inuit culture.
“I chose to be homeless in Ottawa as opposed to going back home because I just felt like it was the only way I would be able to survive,” Fennell says in a new documentary exploring the complexities of being both queer and Inuit.
“People treated me like my identity was a condition,” he adds, explaining he was the victim of discrimination and violence in high school before moving away.
Fennell is one of the subjects of Two Soft Things, Two Hard Things, the documentary making its premiere at Toronto’s Inside Out LGBT Film Festival. The film focuses on Iqaluit’s attempt to re-establish Pride celebrations in 2014 after a hiatus of several years. It also examines how some residents are actively “unshaming” themselves and learning to bridge the gap between their sexual and cultural identities.
The documentary’s title alludes to non-normative sexual identities in Inuit history: according to Jesse Mike, an Inuit woman profiled in the film, “two soft things rubbing against each other” is the literal translation of an Inuktitut term for lesbian relationships, while “two hard things rubbing against each other” signifies gay male sexuality.
One theme that emerges strongly in the film is the influence of the Catholic Church in Canada’s Far North, and the impact it has had on attitudes towards sexual diversity.
“The people who have a problem with it are really religious,” says Joshua Komangapik, a 22-year-old gay Inuk who does not appear in the film. He had some misgivings about moving back to his birthplace of Iqaluit because of his sexuality.
“There’s people who tell me it’s not right, but they say it’s against God and Jesus.”
The film makes clear that many believe one legacy of colonialism in the territory has been homophobia. Prior to the growing influence of the church in the 1950s, which occurred in tandem with a federal program of forced relocation of Inuit communities, many say that polygamous marriages and same-sex relationships were accepted in Inuit culture.
“I’ve talked with elders and they’ve told me that traditionally (gay sexuality) happened,” says Komangapik.
Bringing up such issues can be challenging. “I think what surprised me the most was that being critical of Christianity struck me as equally, or more taboo, than discussing LGBTQ issues,” says Mark Kenneth Woods, who co-directed Two Soft Things, Two Hard Things with Michael Yerxa. “I had expected that the community would embrace traditional Inuit spirituality alongside Christianity, but it seems that even looking back to those spiritual traditions is somewhat taboo.”
But there is evidence that attitudes towards LGBT people are changing in the region.
A 2002 study by Dr. Madeleine Cole at Baffin Regional Hospital reflects this shift, showing that 85 per cent of Inuit high school students surveyed at three schools on Baffin Island responded that homosexuality was natural and acceptable.
Still, widespread acceptance is not yet common. When a local politician raised a Pride flag at Iqaluit City Hall in 2014 in support of LGBT athletes at the Sochi Olympics, a heated public discussion ensued.
When the newly formed territory of Nunavut was about to implement its human rights act in 2003 (at a time when same-sex marriage was just being legalized in Canada), sexual orientation was missing from the legislation. Local politician and folk hero Jack Anawak took to the floor of the Nunavut legislative assembly to fight for its inclusion.
“Because we function in the most challenging environment in the world, I believe our ability to be flexible, accommodating, adaptable and progressive under our conditions formed the foundation of our success and that these were the keys to our very survival,” Anawak said while addressing fellow legislators. He called upon traditional Inuit values in urging the inclusion of LGBT people in the legislation, arguing back against those who claimed being gay was in direct opposition to those values.
Meanwhile, other LGBT Inuit have found quiet acceptance in northern communities.
“I never really came out. I just grew up with it,” says Dwayne Nowdlak. “My family always accepted me for who I am.”
The 28-year-old gay Inuk is originally from the small hamlet of Pangnirtung but now lives in Iqaluit with his fiancé and 6-month-old adopted daughter. “Everyone loves my daughter, so they don’t really judge our relationship,” he says of his family.
He also thinks that living in such a small city works to his advantage. “Everyone knows everybody, so you can’t really be bad to someone because you know where they live.”
While this lack of anonymity helps Nowdlak, it’s also why some LGBT people in Nunavut may struggle with fully embracing their identity.
In a territory where the largest city, Iqaluit, has only 7,000 people, word can travel fast about your personal life.
“In a small town, that kind of stuff spreads like wildfire,” says Nuka Fennell in the documentary.
Alex Drossos, a psychiatry resident at McMaster University, regularly travels to Nunavut to practise.
“When we have both — being Inuit and someone who identifies as being LGBTQ — identity issues become even more complex,” he says.
Drossos notes that severe isolation and the lasting effects of intergenerational trauma caused by colonialism are major factors for those trying to reconcile their identities.
Even the concept of a Pride celebration may be difficult for a queer Inuit person to embrace.
As the documentary explains, pride is not an attribute that is traditionally fostered in Inuit culture. Instead, humility is taught as a core belief, creating a schism for some between a traditional sense of self and an expression of sexual identity.
“I think it’s good to have LGBT celebrations … but to call it ‘Pride’ has been difficult for a lot of people because I think pride has a totally different meaning (in Inuit culture),” Jesse Mike says in the documentary.
Joshua Komangapik says he sees a shifting of interpretation that makes it possible to embrace both traditional and modern values.
“To me, pride is belonging to a sense of community,” he says. “Growing up in the south, I was able to find comfort in the fact that I was part of an LGBT community. It was almost like being up here, where you’re part of your family and your friends.”
In an interview, Fennell says he’s finally ready to return to Iqaluit and show his husband where he’s from. He credits the work of both elders and youth in the community for creating a safer space for LGBT Inuit.
“Though things are not perfect,” he says, “I am very optimistic and excited for Iqaluit’s future.”
Two Soft Things, Two Hard Things screens at the Inside Out Toronto LGBT Film Festival on June 3. For more information: insideout.ca.
