August 24th, 2010 | By Kristyn Thoburn | Filed in Current Trips, TRIPS
I just returned from a truly amazing trip to Qikiqtarjuaq, NU, a small community located on the east coast of Baffin Island. One of favourite moments was shared with one of our youngest clients, a 12-year old who is on a mission swim in all five of the world’s oceans. At the beginning of the trip, he had already swum in the Pacific, the Atlantic, and the Southern Oceans, no small feat for a person his age. So here we are camped mere feet from the Arctic Ocean at high tide and on our last day, the sun has come out and it is a scorching hot Arctic summer day – at least 18 degrees Celsius – while the water temperature still hovers around 0 degrees. Today is the day to bring the total oceans to four. Check out the video…
August 18th, 2010 | By Thomas Lennartz | Filed in Current Events, Inuit Culture/Art
Over on the Big Think blog, Tobin Hack has posted a link to a Public Radio International piece on Stephen Pax Leonard, a Cambridge University professor who will be spending the next year learning and documenting Inuktun, the local dialect of Quaanaaag, Greenland.
But this is about more than just language. The Inughuit language is in danger because their way of life is changing, as climate change endangers the animals they hunt and the environment in which they and those animals live. As Leonard explains,
“It’s a community that’s dependent on the hunting of sea mammals. Because of global warming there are fewer animals to kill and it’s increasingly dangerous to do so using these ancient traditional techniques that they use [dogsled and kayak] and so it looks like now this entire community could be moved further south within 10-15 years. And if that happens, the language, culture, the way of life will all go, will all disappear.”
“If their language dies,” says Leonard, “their heritage and identity will die with it.” Leonard has a head start on the communication front; he’ll be able to get by in his new adopted community by speaking Danish, until he gets the hang of Inukun. But he’ll be rushing toward fluency in his first few months, because all of the good stuff – all of the Inughuit’s most important songs, stories, myths, and spiritual beliefs – live in Inuktun.
via Endangered People: Linguist To Document Dying Greenlandic Dialect | Brave Green World | Big Think.
August 16th, 2010 | By Thomas Lennartz | Filed in Uncategorized
introducing our new trip: Arviat Fly-In Polar Bear & Northern Lights Cabins
Move over Churchill! Make room for Arviat. Countless polar bears from the comfort of our Arviat Polar Bear cabins set on the shores of Hudson Bay.
– Thomas
Subscribe to our newsletter for all the latest news on upcoming expeditions, special deals, and reports from the field. It’s easy! Just enter your email address into the subscription box below.
August 6th, 2010 | By Thomas Lennartz | Filed in Filmmakers, Films, Recent Trips
I’m so excited to finally see the finished copy of Brüdder Productions’ short film, Anirniq. Created as part of the Parallel Lines competition, the film had to include the following lines as its only dialogue:
What is that?
It’s a Unicorn.
Never seen one up close before.
Beautiful.
Get away, get away.
I’m sorry
The guys at Brüdder did an amazing job with this. Having followed their progress, I thought I knew what to expect with this film, but it’s even cooler and more beautiful than I expected.
Anirniq – (Breath) from Brüdder on Vimeo.
August 4th, 2010 | By Kristyn Thoburn | Filed in Client Reports, Current Trips, TRIPS
We recently led an adventure trip to Hall Beach in Nunavut to see the walrus and whales during the summer break up. One of our clients brought his recently purchased iPhone 4 and took this stunning photograph of walrus hauled out on the ice pack. Its better than some pictures taken with a real camera!!
If you are interested in this trip (Bowhead Whales, Walrus, & Inuit Culture in the Foxe Basin) for next year, please visit our website: http://arctickingdom.com/trips/walbow01-2/
