Nunatsiavut to Nunavut Expedition 2024: Update Two
After a long travel day from Ottawa to Nain, we woke up to warm sunny weather and feeling rested. We started the day with a few activities including a walking tour of Nain, a bingo-style game featuring Inuit tools and vocabulary and we tried some traditional Inuit games that quickly revealed the competitive athletes amongst us.
“Everything about Nain filled me with pure joy and curiosity. It was so beautiful, so substantial, and getting only a brief taste of its story was both happy and sad.”
– Keely, Ottawa, ON
We had a special guest, Nunatsiavut president Johannes Lampe, who officially welcomed us to Nunatsiavut. He shared the hopes for the future of Nunatsiavut, which in Inuttitut/Inuktitut means “Our Beautiful Land,” and several of us took the opportunity to ask him questions to reflect upon as we continue to travel North.
“I hope that you will enjoy every moment of the journey and if there are things you feel unsafe, jump. You have to have a leap of faith and believe you can do it!“
– Johannes Lampe, President of Nunatsiavut
After lunch, it was time for us to head out from Nain and, for most of us, experience our first zodiac ride.
“At first I felt scared when getting on and sitting in the zodiac and really didn’t know how the ship would be but now that I am here, I feel excited!”
– Eva, Kitigan Zibi
We boarded the expedition vessel, Oqwatnukewey Eleke’wi’ji’jit (the MV Polar Prince), a Canadian-flagged and Indigenous-owned research ice-breaker, which we will call our home while we are on Expedition. We had a busy evening settling into our cabins and familiarizing ourselves with the ship. We received a warm welcome from the Captain followed by a ship safety briefing where we practiced our emergency procedures and tested our immersion suits, before winding down for our first night on the ship.
We then set sail from Nain and anchored overnight at Hebron. The following morning we landed on the shore and were welcomed by Noah Nochasak, Ambassador of Hebron. Noah was born in Hebron and he and his family were relocated when he was just two years old. He showed us the site where three bronze plaques stand, erected to memorialize the names of all the Hebron Inuit who were relocated, along with the text of the government’s apology and the community’s acceptance of the apology.
Elder and SOI Educator Sophie, gave us a tour of the Hebron Mission National Historic Site of Canada, where she shared some of her memories from the past and showed us various parts of the mission and of Hebron.
“Being at Hebron made me feel the loss of the people. It really made me feel connected to the losses that my family had before this expedition. It helped me clear my mind and focus on how I felt empowered, and it opened my heart to feel with Elders/Students On Ice (SOI) Educators Maria and Sophie.”
– Claire, Alert Bay, BC
The following morning as we set sail up through Saglek Fjord, we started our day with special performances of traditional songs from the 1700s by a brass band and throat singing performed by Eva, Darlene, and Simeone from Nain. It has been a tradition for a brass band to perform as a traditional welcome to greet people when arriving on land.
“I have waited since 1986 after seeing pictures of North Arm at a hotel lobby in Nain to soak up all the power, peacefulness, and beauty. I am in wonder and awe and cannot believe this beautiful land was taken away. The air, the water, being on the land, it does your soul good. It’s so old yet so much the same, it’s very healing.”
– Charlotte Wolfrey, Elder/SOI Educator
We spent the afternoon at North Arm for a group hike to the waterfall, filled our water bottles with fresh water from the creek and had a group swim in the lake while some went fishing. A bonfire was built to cook Arctic char that we had caught and Elders/SOI Educators Sophie and Charlotte made us bannock to snack on.
“I feel very lucky to be here. Not many will ever get to see and experience this.”
– Colm, Inuvik, NT
The weather so far has been on our side. We all had a great day connecting to nature and to each other. Next stop, Torngat Mountains Base Camp and Research Station.
“I felt like the land was welcoming me with the valleys wide open, they were giving me a warm hug filled with benevolence.”
– Oli, Baie-Comeau, QC