Prior to colonialism our Indigenous nations had similar parenting philosophies. Child rearing was rooted in attachment, and followed (rather than bossed) children through their stages of development. Our guidance was with empathy, patience, unconditional love, mutual respect, and freedom of choice. Colonizers mistakenly interpreted (and continue to interpret) Indigenous parenting philosophies as “a lack of parenting” because of the absence of punishment, coercion, manipulation, criticism, authoritarian power, and hierarchy.   

You see, most behaviours that colonialism follows proudly, Inuit considered weak and childlike. Traditionally, Inuit parenting is incredibly nurturing and tender. Our culture views scolding - or even speaking in an angry voice — as inappropriate. Inuit view yelling, criticism and insults as demeaning- it’s as if the adult is having a tantrum. Inuit parents who emotionally regulate their own anger are helping their children learn to do the same, as kids learn emotional regulation from us.

Colonization over the past century has damaged these traditions. Personally, as I continue to decolonize my own ways of knowing and being, I had the curiosity- how do Inuit discipline?   

For tens of thousands of years, our ancestors used storytelling to discipline. Remember, discipline is meant to teach, not punish. In Inuit culture, there is no such thing as punishment- there’s not even a word for it! Storytelling has been the way that parents teach children about values of our people and teach the children how to behave. Storytelling is universal for Indigenous peoples. We learn best through things that are interesting to us, and stories, by their nature, can have lots of things in them that are much more interesting in a way that bare statements don’t. Many parents overlook play as a tool for discipline. Storytelling is playful, sometimes scary, and always impactful.

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