.~ 1 MASS COMMUNICATION IN THE CANADIAN ARCTIC MASS COMMUNICATION AND ESKIMO ADAPTATION IN THE CANADIAN ARCTIC Robert G. Mayes ABSTRACT This is a study of the mass communication system of the Canadian Arctic. Emphasis is placed on enumerating the components of the system and on clarifying both its structure and function in the process of Eskimo adaptation to west'ern society. The components include the senders and receivers of messages, the messages themselves, the channels by which messages are exchanged, and the effects the messages have on their receivers. It is shown that the spatial distribution of available channels is biased, and that the available channels are inaccessible to most residents of the region. The major source of information is government, and most information they transmit is irrelevant to the majority of the receivers, the Eskimos. The mass communication system does not, therefore, act to ease the adaptation of Eskimos to western society. M. A. Thesis Department of Geography McGill University Montreal, Quebec August, 1972 MASS COMMUNICATION AND ESKIHO ADAPTATION IN THE CANADIAN ARCTIC Robert G. Mayes A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in partial fu1fi1ment of the requirements for" the degree of Master of Arts Department of Geography McGill University MOntreal, Quebec August, 1972 @ Robert G. l-:Tayes 1973 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS There are severai people who assisted in the preparation of this thesis. Mr. W. ~. Kemp supervised the research, and his guidance and criticism are greatly appreciated. Several staff members of the Department of Conununications and the Canadian Broadcasting· Corporation in Ottawa were most generous with their time and assistance. The newspaper editors, staff members of the Government of the Northwest Territories, and the residents of Frobisher Bay and Pangnirtung, N.1-l.T., who submitted to interviews and responded to questionnaires provided an invaluable source of information. Mfss Rosa Jackson and Mr. and Mrs. Tony Moss-Davies particularly gave an enormous amount of help. Miss Louise Paré assisted with the cartographie . work, and Hiss Patty Lawlor èdited some of the more unreadable passages of the thesis. The field trip to southern Baffin Island was made possible by a research grant awarded to Mr. Kemp by the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development. i TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS i TABLE OF CONTENTS ii LIST OF MAPS . iv LIST OF TABLES v LIST OF FIGURES AND PLATES vi Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION 1 The Communication Process 2 Geographie Considerations 4 Model of the Communication Process 7 Previous Work 8 Chapter 2: THE EVOLUTION OF MASS COMMUNICATION IN THE CANADIAN ARCTIC 13 The Eskimo Oral Tradition 14 Missionaries 19 Functional Literacy 22 The Introduction of Radio 27 Mass Communication in the Canadian North in 1956 32 Summary 33 Chapter 3: THE MASS COMMUNICATION SYSTEM OF THE CANADIAN ARCTIC 35 The C.B.C. Northern Service 37 Quality of C.B.C. Radio Service 44 Alternatives to C.B.C. Radio in the Arctic . 47 Written Channels - Books 51 Newspapers 54 Public Libraries 62 Visual Channels - Television 66 Film 67 Accessibility to the Channels 70 Senders and Receivers 84 Summary 88 ii Chapter 4: THE INFORMATION BEING EXCHANGED THROUGH THE MASS COMMUNICATION SYSTEM 90 C.B.C. Northern Service Shortwave program 92 Books 96 Community Station CFFB 104 Movies 105 Television 108 Relevancy of the Accessible Information -112 Summary 118 Chapter 5: CONCLUSION 120 Planned Changes in Mass Communication in the Arctic 126 Alternative Plans 128 Appendix: KEY TO LOCATION OF PLACES SHOWN ON MAPS 135 Notes 136 Bib1iography 139 iii LIST OF MAPS 1-1 Arctic Canada 10 2-1 Major Prehistoric Eskimo Trade and Trave1 Routes 15 2-2 Character Regions of Written Eskimo 23 2-3 The Northwest Territories and Yukon Radio System, 1925 28 3-1 The C.B.C. Northern Service Radio Network, 1960 40 3-2 The C.B.C. Northern Service Radio Network, 1964 42 3-3 The C.B.C. Northern Service Radio Network, 1968 45 3-4 The C.B.C. Northern Service Radio Network, 1972 46 3-5 Coverage Areas of C.B.C. Northern Service Radio Stations, 1972 48 3-6 Northern Communities with Newspapers 57 3-7 Northern Communities with Libraries 63 3-8 C.B.C. Frontier Coverage Package Television Stations, 1972 68 3-9 Population of Northern Canada 71 3-10 C.N.T. and Bell Canada Northern Telecommunications Service Areas 78 3-11 Distribution of Frontier Coverage Package Television Tapes 83 iv LIST OF TABLES Table 1-1 Characteristics of Mass and Intercommunication 3 2-1 Time to Traverse Various Eskimo Trade and Travel Routes 16 3-1 Secular Literature in the Eskimo Language 53 3-2 Northern Newspapers 55 3 ..... 3 Accessibility to Channels of Mass Communication in the Canadian Arctic by Settlement 72 3-4 Percentages of Arctic Settlements with Access to Channels of Mass Communication 74 3-5 The Population of Northern Canada (Settlements of at least 50 People) 76 3-6 Accessibility of Mass Co~~unication Channels on a Per Capita Basis 80 3-1 Distribution of F.C.P. Tapes 82 4-1 Language of C.B.C. Northern Service Shortwave programs 93 4-2 Percentage of C.B.C. Northern Service Shortwave Program Time Devoted to News 94 4-3 Content Analysis: The Eskimo Book of Knowledge 97 4-4 Content Analysis: The Book of Wisdom for Eskimo 98 4-5 Content Analysis: Q-Book 99 4-6 Type of Films Shown in Aurora Theatre, April, May, June', 1962 106 4-7 F.C.P. Television, Feb. 4 - Feb. 10, 1971 110 4-8 "Analysis of Program Content of CBC English Television Network in a Representative Win ter Week, 1971" III 5::-1_". Radio Operating Costs 131 v LIST OF FIGURES AND PLATES Plate 2-1 Scripts Utilized in Written Eskimo 24 Figure 3-1 Operation of the C.B.C. Northern Service Networks 43 Plate 5-1 The Kenney Broadcasting System 129 vi Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION "society can on1y be understood through a study of the messages and the communication faci1ities which be10ng to it •.•. " Norbert Wiener (1970c1950, 25). This thesis is a study of the mass communication system that qperates within the Canadian Arctic. The emphasis is p1aced on identifying the components and structure of the system, and on exp1aining how it functions as a means of information exchange between the Eskimo and agents of western culture. The Arctic is a socially and economica11y underdeveloped region within Canada. The average age at death for Eskimos in 1965 was twenty years, while for aIl Canadians it was about 62. Infant morta1ity among Eskimos in 1966 was 108.8/1000 live births, while for aIl Canadians the rate was 23.1/1000 (Economic Counci1 of Canada, 1968, 121). The incidence of tubercu1osis, venereal disease, and alcoholism is substantially higher among Eskimos than among Canadians as a group (Northwest Territories, 1971). Jenness (1964, 106) has provided evidence that as much as 50% of the Eskimo population required relief in the mid-1960s to remain financially solvent. The Econqmic Council of Canada (1968, 122) considers the major reason for these problems to be the Eskimos' difficulty in " ••• coping with, and adapting to, the problems of the major society, both because of present attitudes within the white community and because of strong cultural differences". An effective system of mass communication, by providing the Eskimos with the information basic to the process of social change, could make a significant contribution to raising their standard of living and quality of life. To clarify the structure of the mass communication system in the 2 Canadian Arctic, and to establish how effectively the system functions as an agent of social change, five points are considered: 1) how the mass communication system has evolved over time; 2) what channels (mass media) have been utilized in the system; 3) what spatial biases and variations in channel accessibility exist in the system; 4) who the users of the channels have been; and 5) what the content of the information flowing through the system has been. It is the spatial arrangement of communication facilities and services combined with the content of the information flowing through the system that de termines the degree to which a system will provide what Schramm (1964, ix) has called the "free and adequate" information that must be accessible if the process of social change isto proceed. Rogers (1969, 17) has pointed out specifically how social change and communication are related: "Social change is the process by which alteration occurs in the structure and function of a social system. The three steps involved in social change are (1) invention, the process by which new ideas are originated and developed; (2) diffusion, the process by which these new ideas are communicated throughout a social system; and (3) consequence, the SUffi of the changes occurring within the system as a result of the adoption or rejection of innovations." This thesis, as a geographic study, focusses primarily on the structure of the system that allows the diffusion of information to take place. The first and third of Rogers' steps are of secondary concern. Both are considered only within the context of manifest information content, and not as part of a psychological process of information conception or impact. Rogers has also provided a definition of communication. It is " .•. the process by which messages are transferred from a source to one or more receivers" (Ibid., 7). The process opera tes in two ways, as mass communication and as intercommunication, the distinction being based on the different characteristics of each. These are summarised in Table 1-1. 3 Table 1-1 Characteristics of Mass and Intercommunication Characteristic Mass Inter.