DAY 11 - Pond Inlet

Our first stop in the Canadian Arctic, where we cleared customs.

Pond Inlet is a community of around 1,700 Inuit focused around traditional Inuit culture of hunting, fishing and trapping although the Canadian government is a big employer of teachers, administrators, transport and equipment operators.

The Inuit were granted ownership of the surrounding lands and are sensitive to environmental changes in the area that interfere with their traditional way of life.

There is a large open cast iron ore mine about 100 miles away further down the inlet which is causing friction with the community as the mine owners wish to expand operations.

An increase in bulk ore carrier shipping traffic has been blamed on the reduced numbers of seals and narwhals in the area.

Port Inlet is served by a gravel runway airport, although the original terminal building has been upgraded.

Original terminal building

An old permafrost sod house where the inside walls were covered with ice forming a natural freezer now lies useless as temperatures increase and the permafrost thaws.

Delightful local guide showed us the town

The main drag

The town is fairly dishevelled but typical of the settlements in these latitudes.

In the early 1960's, the Inuit suffered shocking abuse at the hands of the Canadian government, who forcibly removed children from homes and placed them in residential schools, often many miles away from their distraught parents.

The parents of the Inuit guide who is on the ship with us were placed in such a school and her grandparents lived in a tent during the harsh winters so they could be near to the children.

There really was a clash of cultures that has not been resolved even today.

The cruise ships are a conundrum for the locals. On one hand, they bring in money for the community and an opportunity for visitors to learn about the culture and the problems that they face, but on the other, increased traffic both human and shipping, brings environmental problems and challenges to ways of life.

Elegance in action

Peps Log : Pond Inlet. Very utilitarian

Visit to the Community Centre

Showed games

National anthem sung. Throat singing. Elders singing and dancing - v. good