To 'Eskimo' or NOT TO 'Eskimo'

THAT is the question! Video from New Zealand depicts some of the cultural differences.



http://www.youtube.com/user/Qayaq

Canadian Inuit woman at centre of tempest for denouncing name of New Zealand treat

April 23, 2009
Petti Fong
Western Canada Bureau Chief

VANCOUVER–By her own calculation, Canadian tourist Seeka Lee Veevee Parsons is one unpopular woman in New Zealand right now –just because of what she insists she is not: an Eskimo.

The Inuit woman is garnering headlines – and animosity – for suggesting a favourite New Zealand candy, the Eskimo Lolly, is racist and improper.

Veevee Parsons said yesterday she has been shocked at the hostility she has created in the country she loved from the time she arrived two months ago by simply raising the issue of the candy she saw recently in a New Zealand store.

"Calling someone an Eskimo is no longer responsible," said the 21-year-old Parsons, who is from Nunavut but has been on an extended work holiday in New Zealand.

"When I was a kid, they used to call me a dirty Eskimo girl and it's a term that shouldn't be used anymore especially on a candy. Is it right that people go around eating shapes of people of another culture?"

The Eskimo Lolly, described as "cherished" and a "treasure" to New Zealanders, is a multi-coloured marshmallow candy in the shape of a person wearing a thick hooded jacket in front of an igloo.

Veevee Parsons, who is working at an organic farm near the city of Rotorua, said she made the comments to a television station after being interviewed at a tourist information booth she was visiting.

Ever since the story about her complaint aired on one television station earlier this week, Veevee Parsons has been interviewed nearly a dozen times and viewers and readers have been responding by the thousands to her concerns. Most of the response has been personal attacks against Veevee Parsons, with a few telling her to go home and others insisting she shut up. "I eat jelly babies. It doesn't mean that I like to bite small children. It's just confectionary," wrote one reader. "If you don't like it, how about you don't buy it!"

Daniel Ellis, spokesperson for Cadbury/Pascall, the maker of the candy in New Zealand, said in an interview that he's been surprised by the strong public opinions provoked by Veevee Parsons' comments. In the 54-year history of the Eskimo Lolly, there have been only two complaints about the use of the term, Ellis said.

"People felt one of their favourites was being discussed in such a way that they've had to voice their opinion," said Ellis. "New Zealanders are very patriotic."

The company, while it takes the complaint seriously, doesn't intend to change the name.

A non-sports fan, Veevee Parsons said she didn't even know there was a CFL team called the Edmonton Eskimos until her family pointed out to her that that's her grandfather's favourite team.

Veevee Parsons plans to return home to Canada in June and said she intends to send the candy to Prime Minister Stephen Harper in hopes he'll bring the issue up.

University of British Columbia social work professor Frank Tester, who researches Inuit social history, said the term Eskimo, which originated from the Cree language and translates as eater of raw meat, has never been an appropriate term. He said despite complaints, Eskimo Pie is still for sale and one Vancouver bagel shop shows a toothless Inuit poster to tout its soft bagels.

Veevee Parsons' uncle, David Veevee, who lives in Iqaluit, said he's been surprised at the uproar created over his niece's statements about the use of the word Eskimo.

"It doesn't bother me if people down there in the south use the word Eskimo," said Veevee. "They just don't know any better. So maybe if what she's doing is educating them, that's all right. It's just a candy, after all."

Zulkosky Goes to Begich...

Bethel mayor to resign to work for Begich

Posted by thevillage

Posted: April 13, 2009 - 12:47 pm

Sen. Mark Begich just announced that he’s hired Bethel city mayor Tiffany Zulkosky as his rural director.

Zulkosky, who has been mayor since October, will resign from the job to join Begich’s team, the announcement says.

The news came as a surprise to Bethel city clerk Lori Strickler, who I called today to find out more about Bethel’s city government. “I’m kind of shocked,” she said

Zulkosky graduated from Bethel Regional High in 2002, and earned a Bachelor's from Northwest University in Kirkland, Wash., in 2006.
City of Bethel photo.

Strickler said Bethel has a strong manager/weak mayor government. (Unlike, say, Anchorage, where the mayor acts as a kind of CEO.)

According to the Bethel city Web site: The mayor serves as the ceremonial head of the city and the presiding officer at all council meetings.

Zulkosky has been serving a one-year term.

“She was voted by the people as a council member, and then the council voted her to the mayor’s position,” Strickler said.

Zulkowsky also works as a public information officer for the Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corp., according to Begich’s office.

Bethel council members, including the mayor, don’t get a salary, Strickler said. I don’t know yet how much Zulkosky will make working for Begich.

Here’s the announcement:

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Rural Director Joins Begich Senate Staff
Bethel resident to focus on rural issues and outreach

U.S. Sen. Mark Begich has hired Bethel resident Tiffany Zulkosky to serve as his Rural Director. An Alaska Native born and raised in Bethel, Zulkosky will resign her current position as Mayor of Bethel to join Begich’s staff at the end of the month.

“Filling this position is a priority for me given the tremendous challenges facing rural Alaska today,” Sen. Begich said. “Tiffany will be my eyes and ears throughout rural Alaska and will work closely with my staff in D.C. to address those challenges.”

Zulkosky has been serving as Mayor of Bethel since October 2008. Prior to that she served one year on the Bethel City Council and has served on the Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. In June 2008, she was hired as the Public Information Officer for the Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation serving as the liaison between the corporation and the news media.

“I’ve had a passion for public service since high school, and am thrilled to get the chance to continue that by working for Senator Begich,” Zulkosky said. “My sense of wanting to do more for my community can now be expanded as I work with Alaskans across the state to make the lives of Alaska Natives and all rural residents better.”

Graduating with honors from Bethel Regional High School in May 2002, Zulkosky then attended Northwest University in Kirkland, Washington and graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelor’s Degree in Organizational Communication in May 2006.

Zulkosky will work out of Sen. Begich’s Anchorage office.