The film tells the story of a town known as Okak brought to its knees after the invasion of a deadly Spanish influenza virus brought by the Moravian missionaries. The film begins with the anticipated arrival of SS harmony bringing supplies to the churches and stores (Budgell & Markham, 1985). Unfortunately, the vessel brought with it the Spanish influenza virus and in less than one week, people began getting sick and dying. According to survivors of the ordeal, it was frightening because the number of the dead surpassed that of the living. Spanish influenza killed more than a third of the Inuit people in Okak.
The information presented in the documentary relates to what is happening now with the outbreak of COVID-19. Age is a social location that can be linked with the outbreak of Spanish Influenza in 1918 and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The flu seemed to hit older people more than young ones (Budgell & Markham, 1985). This is similar to the current pandemic, where older people face more threats and challenges. According to Clarke “Many kinds of chronic diseases such as cancer, stroke, and heart diseases seem to be associated largely with old age” (p.145). However, what struck me as a cogent comparison after watching the film is the indigenous people’s level of preparedness during a global pandemic. It appears that the people of Okak were ignorant of the mechanisms of controlling the spread of the deadly flu.
Nowadays, the indigenous people are still do not fairing different because there is still a high level of ignorance on how to handle a global pandemic. The people of Okak did not know how to deal with the flu and as result, claimed the lives of many people (Budgell & Markham, 1985). However, compared to how the indigenous people handled Spanish influenza, now people are trying to employ strategies like social isolation to control the spread of the virus. Clarke posits that “historical periods have different cultural and social norms regarding the recognition of symptoms and signs of illness and actions taken to respond to them” (p.146). Based on this, I would like to ask the question, did health issues faced by indigenous people, like the absence of hospitals, contribute to the adverse effect of Spanish influenza in Okak?
Reference
Budgell, A., & Markham, N. (1985). The last days of Okak [Documentary Film]. The National Film Board (NFB) of Canada.
Clarke, J. N. (2016). Health, illness, and medicine in Canada (7th Ed. ). Oxford University Press.