Decolonial interruptions of settler time in Tanya Tagaq’s art
This article discusses two texts by the Inuit musician and writer Tanya Tagaq to demonstrate the need for honoring Inuit relationships with other-than-human beings through decolonial interruptions of settler time in Canada: a well-publicized photograph Tagaq posted on Twitter in March 2014 of her in...
| Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | article |
| Publication Date: | 2025 |
| Country: | España |
| Institution: | Universidad de Alcalá (UAH) |
| Repository: | e_Buah Biblioteca Digital Universidad de Alcalá |
| Language: | English |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:ebuah.uah.es:10017/65369 |
| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/10017/65369 https://dx.doi.org/10.37536/ECOZONA.2025.16.1.5315 |
| Access Level: | Open access |
| Keyword: | Tanya Tagaq Political strategy Decolonization Split Tooth Inuit seal hunting Estrategia política Decolonización Caza de focas inuit Literatura Medio ambiente Literature Environmental science |
| id |
ES_d56e2ab2fe84c2a885c7ba91afaa0200 |
|---|---|
| oai_identifier_str |
oai:ebuah.uah.es:10017/65369 |
| network_acronym_str |
ES |
| network_name_str |
España |
| repository_id_str |
|
| dc.title.none.fl_str_mv |
Decolonial interruptions of settler time in Tanya Tagaq’s art |
| title |
Decolonial interruptions of settler time in Tanya Tagaq’s art |
| spellingShingle |
Decolonial interruptions of settler time in Tanya Tagaq’s art Castor, Laura Tanya Tagaq Political strategy Decolonization Split Tooth Inuit seal hunting Estrategia política Decolonización Caza de focas inuit Literatura Medio ambiente Literature Environmental science |
| title_short |
Decolonial interruptions of settler time in Tanya Tagaq’s art |
| title_full |
Decolonial interruptions of settler time in Tanya Tagaq’s art |
| title_fullStr |
Decolonial interruptions of settler time in Tanya Tagaq’s art |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Decolonial interruptions of settler time in Tanya Tagaq’s art |
| title_sort |
Decolonial interruptions of settler time in Tanya Tagaq’s art |
| dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv |
Castor, Laura |
| author |
Castor, Laura |
| author_facet |
Castor, Laura |
| author_role |
author |
| dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv |
Tanya Tagaq Political strategy Decolonization Split Tooth Inuit seal hunting Estrategia política Decolonización Caza de focas inuit Literatura Medio ambiente Literature Environmental science |
| topic |
Tanya Tagaq Political strategy Decolonization Split Tooth Inuit seal hunting Estrategia política Decolonización Caza de focas inuit Literatura Medio ambiente Literature Environmental science |
| description |
This article discusses two texts by the Inuit musician and writer Tanya Tagaq to demonstrate the need for honoring Inuit relationships with other-than-human beings through decolonial interruptions of settler time in Canada: a well-publicized photograph Tagaq posted on Twitter in March 2014 of her infant daughter beside a freshly killed seal,and the genre-crossing book “Split Tooth”. Using Walter Mignolo’s approach to decolonial gestures, I explore the #sealfie photograph and the novel as textured evocations of the Inuit worldview that was rendered invisible in much of the commentary on Twitter about the #sealfie picture. Both the #sealfie controversy and the book have larger ramifications for how the difficult process of reconciliation between Inuit communities and Canadian settlers is understood. Tagaq’s development of form, word, and image allow for reader responses within what Mary Louise Pratt calls cultural “contact zones” (1991) where small shifts in awareness of the continuity and dignity of continued Inuit presence on the land, despite colonization, are possible. In the first part of the article, I discuss recent historical and theoretical contexts, introducing Mark Rifkin’s approach to “settler time” as a theoretical lens. I then consider the #sealfie issue, focusing on how Tagaq transformed the attacks on her political stance and personhood as an Inuit mother. In the third part of the article, I expand my discussion to show how Tagaq transforms the epistemic terms of the debate through storytelling and poetry in “Split Tooth”. |
| publishDate |
2025 |
| dc.date.none.fl_str_mv |
2025 2025-01-01 |
| dc.type.none.fl_str_mv |
journal article http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501 NA http://purl.org/coar/version/c_be7fb7dd8ff6fe43 |
| dc.type.openaire.fl_str_mv |
info:eu-repo/semantics/article |
| format |
article |
| dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv |
http://hdl.handle.net/10017/65369 https://dx.doi.org/10.37536/ECOZONA.2025.16.1.5315 |
| url |
http://hdl.handle.net/10017/65369 https://dx.doi.org/10.37536/ECOZONA.2025.16.1.5315 |
| dc.language.none.fl_str_mv |
Inglés eng |
| language_invalid_str_mv |
Inglés |
| language |
eng |
| dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv |
open access http://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_abf2 Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ |
| dc.rights.openaire.fl_str_mv |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
| rights_invalid_str_mv |
open access http://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_abf2 Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ |
| eu_rights_str_mv |
openAccess |
| dc.format.none.fl_str_mv |
application/pdf |
| dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv |
Universidad de Alcalá |
| publisher.none.fl_str_mv |
Universidad de Alcalá |
| dc.source.none.fl_str_mv |
reponame:e_Buah Biblioteca Digital Universidad de Alcalá instname:Universidad de Alcalá (UAH) |
| instname_str |
Universidad de Alcalá (UAH) |
| reponame_str |
e_Buah Biblioteca Digital Universidad de Alcalá |
| collection |
e_Buah Biblioteca Digital Universidad de Alcalá |
| repository.name.fl_str_mv |
|
| repository.mail.fl_str_mv |
|
| _version_ |
1869420701815930880 |
| spelling |
Decolonial interruptions of settler time in Tanya Tagaq’s artCastor, LauraTanya TagaqPolitical strategyDecolonizationSplit ToothInuit seal huntingEstrategia políticaDecolonizaciónCaza de focas inuitLiteraturaMedio ambienteLiteratureEnvironmental scienceThis article discusses two texts by the Inuit musician and writer Tanya Tagaq to demonstrate the need for honoring Inuit relationships with other-than-human beings through decolonial interruptions of settler time in Canada: a well-publicized photograph Tagaq posted on Twitter in March 2014 of her infant daughter beside a freshly killed seal,and the genre-crossing book “Split Tooth”. Using Walter Mignolo’s approach to decolonial gestures, I explore the #sealfie photograph and the novel as textured evocations of the Inuit worldview that was rendered invisible in much of the commentary on Twitter about the #sealfie picture. Both the #sealfie controversy and the book have larger ramifications for how the difficult process of reconciliation between Inuit communities and Canadian settlers is understood. Tagaq’s development of form, word, and image allow for reader responses within what Mary Louise Pratt calls cultural “contact zones” (1991) where small shifts in awareness of the continuity and dignity of continued Inuit presence on the land, despite colonization, are possible. In the first part of the article, I discuss recent historical and theoretical contexts, introducing Mark Rifkin’s approach to “settler time” as a theoretical lens. I then consider the #sealfie issue, focusing on how Tagaq transformed the attacks on her political stance and personhood as an Inuit mother. In the third part of the article, I expand my discussion to show how Tagaq transforms the epistemic terms of the debate through storytelling and poetry in “Split Tooth”.Este artículo habla dedos textos de la escritora y música inuit Tanya Tagaq para demostrar la necesidad de valorar las relaciones de los inuit con los seres-no-humanos a través de interrupciones decoloniales de tiempo de colonos en Canadá. Es el caso de una fotografía, de amplia difusión, que Tagaq publicó en Twitter en marzo de 2014. En ella se veía a su hija bebé al lado de una foca que acababan de matar, y la novela “Split Tooth” [Diente roto]. Utilizando el enfoque teórico de Walter Mignolo sobre gestos decoloniales, examino la fotografía “#sealfie” y la novela como evocaciones textuales de la visión inuit del mundo que fue invisibilizada en gran parte de los comentarios de Twitter sobre la fotografía “#sealfie”. Tanto la controversia “#sealfie” como el libro muestran diversas ramificaciones sobre cómo se entiende el difícil proceso de reconciliación entre comunidades inuit y colonos canadienses. La evolución de la forma, la palabra y la imagen de Tagaq permite reacciones lectoras dentro de lo que Mary Louise Pratt llama “zonas de contacto” culturales (1991), donde pequeños cambios en la consciencia de la continuidad y dignidad de la permanente presencia inuit en la tierra, a pesar de la colonización, son posibles. En la primera parte del artículo discuto contextos históricos y teóricos recientes, introduciendo el enfoque de Mark Rifkin sobre “tiempo de colonos” como perspectiva teórica. Luego examino el caso del “#sealfie”, enfocándome en cómo Tagaq trató los ataques sobre su postura política y persona como madre inuit. En la tercera parte del artículo, amplío mi discusión para mostrar cómo Tagaq transforma los términos epistémicos del debate a través de la narración y poesía de “Split Tooth”.Universidad de Alcalá20252025-01-01journal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501NAhttp://purl.org/coar/version/c_be7fb7dd8ff6fe43info:eu-repo/semantics/articleapplication/pdfhttp://hdl.handle.net/10017/65369https://dx.doi.org/10.37536/ECOZONA.2025.16.1.5315reponame:e_Buah Biblioteca Digital Universidad de Alcaláinstname:Universidad de Alcalá (UAH)Inglésengopen accesshttp://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_abf2Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 Internationalhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessoai:ebuah.uah.es:10017/653692026-06-18T11:13:07Z |
| score |
15,812429 |