Who is the Real Nuisance? Colonizers, Inuit or the Nuisance Bear?

When one thinks of a polar bear, the tendency is to think of a cute furry white animal who looks like they would make a great pet. and be totally harmless  The reality is the word bear exists in their name and polar bears are arctic animals just minding their business unless they get hungry.

When forced to navigate a human world of tourists, wildlife officers, and hunters, polar bears ancient migration collides with modern life. But, when a sacred predator is branded a nuisance, it becomes unclear who truly belongs in this shared landscape and who the real nuisance really is .

Gabriela Osio Vanden and Jack Weisman return to Churchill, Manitoba, affectionately known as the “Polar Bear Capital of the World,” seek to deepen the inquiry begun in their award-winning short film. Nuisance Bear traces this relationship revealing how these arctic creatures deal with being constantly monitored, photographed, and redirected.

Watching this polar bear outwit human efforts to contain him, its resilience and the fragility of the systems that attempt to control them is fascinating.

Once again colonizers have stomped onto stolen land damaging the  cultural traditions of the people who were there first.  These animals were familiar with the Canadian Inuit nation and vice versa.

Yet, I applaud the filmmakers for having the narration done in the native language by the residents or having the tour guides, tourist and wildlife conservationist share info via English to create balance while respecting the land they are inhabiting.

As one elder tells a story about a man who sacrificed himself for the safety of his children, my heart shattered in a million pieces as he revealed the man he was speaking of was his son. That man was the closest thing to a griot of Inuktitut nation.  Mike Tunalaaq Gibbons, a community elder from the town of Arviat on the western shore of Hudson Bay, passed away last year in his early 80s.

The spiritual side of this land regarding the legacy and folklore of the polar bear with enlighten and educate the audience as does the score from Cristóbal Tapia de Veer.

In the end, Nuisance Bear answer many things, but leaves numerous questions. The main question remaining, who is the real nuisance?  The bear on the hunt for food or the hunters?