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Trilingual campaign hits hard at littering

Inuit-produced messages emphasize Nunavik's natural beauty

JANE GEORGE

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A public awareness campaign is encouraging Nunavimmiut to clean up the land and water. (FILE PHOTO)

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Keep Nunavik clean - that's the message in a new Kativik Regional Government-sponsored campaign to encourage Nunavimmiut not to litter.

And that's the message on trilingual posters and cloth bandannas that were developed and designed by Arqsaniit Productions, Nunavik's sole privately owned, Inuit production company.

"The posters, 150 in Inuttitut and 75 each of the other languages, and bandannas, perhaps 250, will be distributed to the communities," said Bobby May Jr., owner and founder of Arqsaniit.

May produced three one-minute trilingual public service announcements for television that are intended to bring the message home visually, as well.

"It explains that Nunavik is one of the last unspoiled wilderness areas in the world. It goes on to show how people are polluting," May said. "I've got some shots of where I was out hunting and summer fishing where people put all the garbage on a small island ... so there's a great shot of the mountain and the water and all this garbage.

"It's the ominous part of the piece, then we go in the lighter side, showing people coming back from canoeing, carrying their garbage off the boat. It ends with kids picking up garbage that I shot during the spring clean-up ... it ends with a real nice sunset and the title "Nunavik - let's keep it clean."

During his research into litter, May discovered that trash decomposes even more slowly in the North than in the South. The length of time it takes for common, throw-away materials to break down is shocking enough: aluminum can, 80 to 100 years; rubber boot soles, 50 to 80 years; leather, up to 50 years; nylon, 30 to 40 years; plastic bags, disposable diapers, 10 to 20 years and cigarette butts, one to five years.

"With the warmer days, people start going out more, so the timing for this campaign is good," May said. "The poster emphasizes that it's our land, let's be proud of it, let's keep it clean and let's bring back our garbage when we come back."

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