Gjoa Haven

Early Monday morning on September 4th we set anchor just off Gjoa Haven for our visit to this northern town.  After a splashy zodiac ride we arrived on the Sandy beach where we were warmly welcomed by the locals. Everyone we saw during our visit was warm and friendly and we felt very lucky to be there.  We were in small groups with a local guide as well we had Joe in our group who is an Inuit who is an on board guide.  The Inuit here were prolific hunters for caribou seal and Arctic char.  The Arctic adventurer Roald Amundsen visited Uquqtuuq during 1903-1905 and named this sheltered harbour for his boat the Gjoa where he spent two winters during his transit of the Northwest Passage.  The oral history preserved here played a crucial part in the discovery of Franklin’s ships the Erebus and the Terror in 2017.  We visited the cultural Center which had some wonderful displays of Inuit art and culture.  The descriptions of Inuit life in the past were very open and honest even describing how they would leave infants outside to freeze to death if they had too many children to feed.  There are many carvers living in the community today and many of the carving depict their way of life.  All of the buildings are raised off the ground so not to thaw the permafrost.  Boats rested on the seashore and the majority of homes had ATVs and snowmobiles outside as opposed to vehicles.  The only store in town is the Co-op and major supplies are brought in by freighter only once a year.

The residents put on a cultural display for us in the community Center with singing,drumming and throat singing followed by square dancing by some of the youngsters.  During their dance they got some of the audience up and Eric was a good sport and got up and danced with a young Inuit girl.  I have video proof!  Adventure Canada is involved with a project called Project North and at the end of the program David, one of the guides with Joe translating to the elders presented the community with 50 complete sets of hockey gear which is the sport of choice here for both boys and girls.  The children present were so excited and eagerly started opening the boxes. The smiles on their faces as they held a new stick in their hands was priceless and heartwarming. A wonderful way to end our visit to this community.

Our first view of the town from the ship

Welcome sign and homes built high above the permafrost 

A sled that will soon be put to use as winter sets in

A street of homes, no fancy landscaping,paving or sidewalks here

The local cemetery

This woman was proudly showing off the outfit that her daughter had made for her. The fur is Arctic fox

A carving in the Cultural Center depicting a drum dancer

The actual bell from the Erebus which was found not far from here

A caribou skin out drying before being put to use

The old Hudson Bay trading post

Every community has a church 

The community is built on sand and this tidal area divides part of it with the only real plant colour we saw

Old boats and snowmobiles that no longer work just seem to get left where they last might have

A view across the harbour 

A memorial to Roald Amundsen at the top of a hill looking over the whole town and harbour

An elder demonstrating drum dancing

The young people sugared dancing

Eric warming up the floor

The excitement of the kids with the presentation of the new hockey gear

They could not wait to get their hands on some of the equipment!

A woman with her children. We were freezing yet you will notice the baby has no clothes on!