Hydroelectric dams and climate change are having an adverse effect on the Inuit people around the Belcher Islands in Hudson Bay and the eider ducks they depend on for many of their life necessities. This engrossing documentary contains some poignant mystical images of eider flocks filling the skies in a majestic and awesome stream of life; of eiders diving deep in the cold waters for clams and sea urchins; and an Inuit hunter paddling his boat amid large hunks of floating white ice.
Biologist and filmmaker Joel Heath spent seven winters in the Inuit community of Sanikiluaq where traditional ways of gathering eider eggs to eat and down for clothing along with hunting and field-dressing a seal are now in jeopardy of being lost.
Heath traces the cause of the problems for the eider ducks and the survival of the Sanikiluaq people, including fewer open pools where they can dive for clams and other food sources. Hydroelectric projects near Hudson Bay provide power to many cities in North America, but these companies release spring runoff from rivers stored behind the dams in the winter months. This screws up ocean currents and has a dire effect on sea ice ecosystems in the bay.
Belcher Islands residents have noticed a number of winter die-offs of eiders. The hydroelectric companies have promised to do a study of their operations on the Bay to address the concerns of the people of Sanikiluaq and environmentalists. But so far there is no report from them. For more information on this see http://www.arcticeider.com.
Devotees of documentaries might be taken aback by the creative approach utilized by the director to deliver his ecological message to the world. Instead of showing us talking heads, Heath gives us an up-close look at the fears of one Inuit community over their survival. Here we see in a graphic way the jolting impact of hydroelectric dam operations on the Arctic environment and the Inuit culture.
As we watched some members of the Inuit community try to widen the circle of water which had trapped eiders, we thought of the tonglen meditation which is used to widen our circle of compassion. That is the perfect spiritual practice to do after viewing People of the Feather.
Special features on the DVD include short films: community based monitoring; eider studies; history; location; Sanikiluaq today; a music video: SKQ by Arctic Recordz; behind the scenes:; building an igloo; making eider skin parkas; and making a seal skin kayak.
