Home Depot stops selling inukshuk garden ornament after Nain man makes complaint

Josh Pamak was looking to pick up some garden supplies at a Home Depot in Halifax when he spotted something he says didn't belong there: an inukshuk being sold as a garden ornament.

An inukshuk is a structure made from stones piled on top of one another and has a strong spiritual meaning in Inuit culture.

Pamak's complaint quickly led to store management removing the item.

"First I thought, it's kind of neat to see an inukshuk there, but quickly thought about it and said, oh, maybe it's a bit problematic that they're selling an item like this in a big box chain like Home Depot," Pamak told Labrador Morning in a recent interview.

Pamak is originally from Nain and is living in Halifax.

He raised the issue through Facebook and then sent a letter to Home Depot with his concerns. He got strong support over his post, which he said surprised him.

"It traveled pretty far beyond just my friends group, so it was available publicly and it got shared to quite a few groups, both Inuit and other Indigenous groups," Pamak said.

"So I was pretty happy with the amount of support we were getting, happy to see that other people felt that it was a bit of a problem that they're selling an Inuit symbol in their store."

In his letter to the company, Pamak says he wrote that he wanted Home Depot to understand the significance of selling such an item and there were ways to partner with Indigenous communities if it did want to sell items that have cultural significance.

He also relayed concerns that profits from the company weren't being shared with Inuit or other Indigenous groups.

"It's a bit problematic. I don't think there's a problem with selling certain items but I think if they had to, [they should] focus on communicating with the Indigenous communities," he said. "Or partnering with them in order to make sure that they're doing it in a respectful way and that some of those profits are being shared with those communities."

Home Depot responded promptly, Pamak said, only a few days after he sent the letter, and told him the item was being pulled. It has been removed from the company website, though he doesn't know if it's been removed from the store's shelves yet.

"I was pretty happy to see that they understood that maybe they made a mistake and they wanted to look into it a bit further. So I feel Home Depot did the right thing in this instance."

"We take these matters seriously and always strive to do the right thing for our customers and communities," a corporation spokesperson wrote in a statement to CBC News. "Once this concern was brought to our attention, we took immediate action and conducted an internal review of this product.

"As a result, we have made the decision to remove this product from our stores and website. We are committed to fostering an inclusive and respectful culture and value customer feedback on all matters."

Pamak says steps like those play a role in wider awareness.

"I think it's these small victories that lead to an overall big win when we're looking at making meaningful change for our communities," he said.

Read more articles from CBC Newfoundland and Labrador

Freelance contributor

Elizabeth Whitten is a journalist and editor based in St. John's. When she's not chasing her next story, she's cuddling with her dog and reading a good book.

With files from Labrador Morning

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