Inuit Culture in Gjoa Haven—Nunavut, CanadaReader Rating: 5.00

Inuit Culture in Gjoa Haven—Nunavut, Canada
January 29, 2010
Canadian Tourism Commission | View on YouTube
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The community of Gjoa Haven is located approximately 250 kilometers above the Arctic Circle, in central Nunavut. Join local residents as they discuss the rich Inuit culture of this region.

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Transcript: Inuit Culture in Gjoa Haven—Nunavut, Canada

[Shoshanah Jacobs—Expedition Leader, Cruise North Expeditions] I've done lots of polar travelling, both in the Antarctic and in the Arctic. And my favourite thing about the Arctic is a spirit that you feel that you don't necessarily feel in Antarctica where there isn't a culture or a history. Up here it's very different because there are people here that have lived here for a lot longer than anybody else in North America. And it's that spirit that you feel when you are travelling on these waters.

[Unnamed resident of Gjoa Haven] Hi, welcome to Gjoa Haven.

[Jillian Dickens—Marketing and Communications Manager, Cruise North Expeditions] Gjoa Haven is called Gjoa Haven because of Roald Amundsen's boat which was called the Gjoa. When Roald Amundsen first was trying to sail through the Northwest Passage in the early 1900s he spent two winters, he overwintered in Gjoa Haven twice, conducting research and learning from the Inuit about just how to stay alive in the Arctic.

[Ms. Jacobs] Nunavut is authentic Arctic, it's got a culture that is still thriving where people learn Inuktitut as their very first language. It's the only place where you can get the real experience. They live with the wildlife, they live on the land and we are very lucky to have it here in Canada.

[Jason Annahatak—Cultural Interpretator, Cruise North Expeditions] There is a lot of superstition and respect for hunting and fishing in the sense that you must have respect for what you are harvesting, what you are collecting and what you are taking from the land. If not you are bound to come across some misfortune, even with all the use of snowmobiles or rifles or GPSes. You know they still feel like that, they still need to listen to what Nature is saying and obey what it says.

[Nadine Forestier—Historical Guide, Cruise North Expeditions] Since the creation of Nunavut I can say I think that they feel better because they…the Nunavut is a way for them to keep a part of their culture and they know where they are going.