Kinder Surprise egg toy deemed ‘disrespectful’ to Inuit culture

Teresa Miller bought her daughter a Kinder Surprise egg while grocery shopping last February. Teresa Miller said that after her daughter ate the chocolate egg, she was shocked when she opened the small capsule containing the toy.

” It’s just rude and unnecessary. I don’t think this is remotely appropriate for children. »

I don’t think it’s a toy to do eitherAn outraged Teresa Miller.

Dressed in an orange parka, the minifigure sits in an igloo, ready to launch towards what appears to be a curling target. Teresa Miller is not indigenous, but she uses this opportunity as an educational opportunity.

We immediately had a conversation about why this was inappropriate. You don’t use people’s culture to make toys out of them. I think it’s important that more non-natives stand up for things that have happened and that it’s not always on their shoulders to fend for themselvesshe said.

The company is not ready to withdraw the product

Teresa Miller said she contacted Ferrero Rocher, the company that makes the eggs. However, she was not satisfied with the response.

They replied that the figure was not meant to represent any particular culture, except that only one culture I knew of made igloos. This is an unauthorized terminationTorontonian belief.

CBC also contacted the company. A spokesperson said Sorry to bother you with this toy. This is part of a larger collection of toys available around the world and is not intended to represent any particular culture..

However, the press release states that the comments will be taken into consideration for the development of future toys.

However, the company has not confirmed whether eggs will be removed from the shelves with this toy.

The target is the missing toy

Mukpaloo is the President and CEO of EPili Urban Inuit Identity Project. She said she was also saddened to hear about the existence of this bubble.

We are living beings. We are engaged in the modern world and we don’t live in igloos. Sometimes people get caught up in these images and begin to think that the Inuit lived in prehistoric times.She regretted it.

The Urban Inuit Identity Projectyou An organization that aims to educate various sectors, such as health or social services, about Inuit culture to provide more culturally safe services.

Even Mukpaloo Ipili was not happy with Ferrero Rocher’s response.

” This is definitely an Inuk figurine. There is an inuk and an igloo. There is no doubt about it. It is certain that no Inuk were consulted in the development of this figure. »

When asked about this, the company did not answer whether Inuit were consulted in the development of this product.

Mukpalu Ipeli believes the company has an opportunity to educate children about Canada’s Inuit.

For her part, Teresa Miller said she wasn’t sure whether to buy the Kinder Surprise eggs. She believes that consultation is necessary.

With information from the CBC