The territorial governmentSA国际影视传媒檚 introduction of a hide-tanning program last month has spurred criticism due to a lack of consultation with local communities, artists and entrepreneurs.

SA国际影视传媒淚n an attempt to help address hide price, availability and quality to NWT artists, the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment (ITI) is working with International Fur Dressers in Winnipeg to purchase and prepare six moose hides from the south, before they are shipped to the NWT to be finished,SA国际影视传媒� states a post from ITI in June. SA国际影视传媒淭his program will assist with the labour-intensive process of scraping the hides, but once finished, still leave the hide with the look, feel and smell of a traditionally-tanned hide.SA国际影视传媒�

ITISA国际影视传媒檚 website promotes this pilot project, as conceived by the GNWT and NWT Arts, as a means to SA国际影视传媒済et more skin in the game.SA国际影视传媒�

A basic tanning process is described, stating that SA国际影视传媒渢anning workshops remain essential to ensuring the entire traditional tanning process is preserved for generations to come, but this program will help improve access to the increased demand for affordable traditional hides for NWT artisans to create with.SA国际影视传媒�

But some artists and entrepreneurs from Denendeh contend that such programs are not only SA国际影视传媒渘ot enough,SA国际影视传媒� they are quietly damaging SA国际影视传媒� harming a delicate ecosystem of community-based relationships and practices exercised during the process of tanning a hide. Preserving the actual tanning process is far from the only focus of retaining these practices, says Jeanne Morrison, member of the Tulita Dene First Nation and owner of Aurora Emporium.

SA国际影视传媒淭he whole process of scrapping and tanning is a cultural thing,SA国际影视传媒� says Morrison. SA国际影视传媒淚tSA国际影视传媒檚 not just about scrapping and tanning so that they can make something and make money SA国际影视传媒� itSA国际影视传媒檚 a process of bringing people together, and working together in a collaborative effort to achieve something, and that is who we are as a people.

SA国际影视传媒淭he problem comes in, not only in the marketing of these hides as authentic NWT products, but also in the outsourcing of this labour, as opposed to supporting the in-community practices of cultural continuation that are already taking place in communities around the territory,SA国际影视传媒� she says. SA国际影视传媒淲hen you take that away and bring it south, then a part of the economy is going down south, and theySA国际影视传媒檙e going to benefit from this and then theySA国际影视传媒檒l bring that back up here and then theySA国际影视传媒檙e going to smoke it and try to pass it off as if it is a traditional hide that is tanned by our people, and itSA国际影视传媒檚 not.SA国际影视传媒�

Violet Blondin-Camsell, Tlicho Elder and president of the NWT Status of Women Council, pointed out that these are non-traditionally tanned hides.

SA国际影视传媒淵ou donSA国际影视传媒檛 bring them to the bush. They say the animals sense and feel that, and they wonSA国际影视传媒檛 come back. ItSA国际影视传媒檚 like a piece of their body has been betrayed for another image. So, they say youSA国际影视传媒檙e not going to be lucky and theySA国际影视传媒檒l stay away. There are some comments from harvesters that when they go into the bush they use traditionally-tanned products, rather than commercially tanned, to respect the spirit of the animal SA国际影视传媒� and that information has been passed down from generation to generation.

SA国际影视传媒淟ike footwear, or mukluks or mitts, I donSA国际影视传媒檛 know if they make hats out of them SA国际影视传媒� thatSA国际影视传媒檚 what they say. You donSA国际影视传媒檛 do that. You donSA国际影视传媒檛 put SA国际影视传媒榗ommercially tannedSA国际影视传媒� on any clothing, YouSA国际影视传媒檙e going to wear it in the bush to harvest or to work in the bush. It is not authentic Dene products.SA国际影视传媒�

Yellowknifer asked ITI to explain the process behind selecting International Fur Dressers (IFD) to supply the partially-tanned hides to tanners in Denendeh. Johanna Tiemessen, the GNWTSA国际影视传媒檚 manager of the NWT Arts Program and Traditional Economy, said ITI chose to work with IFD because they SA国际影视传媒渁lready had contracts in place with them,SA国际影视传媒� and so they were chosen for this pilot because it was SA国际影视传媒渃onvenient.SA国际影视传媒� International Fur Dressers has received $675,000 from ITI over the last three years to buy their skins and furs wholesale to sell back to artists in Denendeh.

When asked if the department had researched any alternatives to buying from IFD, like Simpcw and Mohawk/Scottish-owned hide-wholesalers Tribal Spirit Music, Tiemessen said ITI SA国际影视传媒渉ad not even considered it.SA国际影视传媒�

She also emphasized that the intention behind the hide-tanning program is to support the practices and promotion of SA国际影视传媒淣WT artists,SA国际影视传媒� and that, if instituted beyond a pilot project, this program will, in the long run, be of benefit to the economy.

But, when considering the impacts, benefits and effectiveness of programs, such as this, in an era of Reconciliation and the global implementation of UNDRIP - the question becomes - whose economy benefits? And whose losses out?

Correction: Jeanne Morrison is a member of the Tulita Dene First Nation. A previous version of this story contained an error.