Reclaiming the Inuit roots I was forced to suppress - Lives Less Ordinary, BBC World Service

Tanya Tagaq is an Inuk throat singer from Cambridge Bay whose life story spans residential schools, cultural suppression, controversy over Inuit traditions, and an accidental rise to international fame through touring with Björk. Click here to subscribe to our channel ?? https://bbc.in/3VyyriM Born and raised in the remote Arctic community of Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, Tanya’s parents were among Inuit families forcibly relocated by the Canadian government to the High Arctic in the 1950s as part of a strategy to claim that disputed region as part of Canada. Many, including her family, were pressured to reject their language and traditions. At 15, in 1990, Tanya became the first in her family to attend a residential school, an institution designed to “Europeanise” Indigenous communities. She describes this as a deeply challenging period of her life that led to her attempting to take her own life. After being taken out of school by her parents, she completed her studies via correspondence. Four years later, while studying fine arts in Halifax, homesickness set in. Her mother sent a cassette tape of traditional Inuit throat singing from home which inspired her to experiment with the sound herself. Singing in the shower, she adapted the traditional duet form into her own solo style. An impromptu performance at a festival caught the attention of Björk, who invited her to join her tour in 2001 — launching Tanya’s international career. Today, Tanya Tagaq is an award-winning musician, performer, and author, honoured for her contributions to art and Indigenous culture. If you are suffering distress or despair and need support, you could speak to a health professional, or an organisation that offers support. Details of help available in many countries can be found at Befrienders Worldwide: www.befrienders.org. Presenter: Jo Fidgen Producer: Marcia Veiga and Julian Siddle Video Producer: Beatrice Guzzardi Photo: Sebastian Buzzalino 00:00 Coming up in this episode 00:52 Introduction 01:52 Being an Inuk woman and the art of throat singing 04:11 Demonstration: sounds of Inuit throat singing 06:20 The Arctic exiles: what the government did to her family 12:15 Suppression of Indigenous culture and residential school experience (TW) 15:42 Learning and practicing throat singing 17:08 Performing and touring with Björk 18:27 Criticism of her throat singing style 20:19 Why throat singing became controversial 21:45 Defending Inuit traditions and backlash from animal activists 24:29 The role of seal hunting in Inuit culture 27:00 The Canadian government apology 28:18 Passing on Inuit traditions to the next generation 28:48 Making music and standing up for herself 29:45 Outro Watch more from Lives Less Ordinary on our YouTube playlist ?? https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLz_B0PFGIn4fxldjnO2SAJ-Lg-owG7RR_&si=sw23069eN__UaEmf ---------------- This is the official BBC World Service YouTube channel. If you like what we do, you can also find us here: Instagram ?? https://www.instagram.com/bbcworldservice Twitter ?? https://twitter.com/bbcworldservice Facebook ?? https://facebook.com/bbcworldservice BBC World Service website ?? https://www.bbc.co.uk/worldserviceradio Thanks for watching and subscribing! #BBCWorldService #WorldService