Ship headed to Peterson Bay Louie Kamookak (C) |
Local
historian and explorer Louie Kamookak came into our class to talk about water-related
landmarks around Gjoa Haven. His story began when a ship left Peterson Bay
outside of Gjoa Haven and headed west towards Simpson Strait. The boat was
searching for the long lost ship of Sir John Franklin.
Aerial view of Gjoa Haven's Bay Louie Kamookak (C) |
Many
ships travel through Simpson Straight, known as Quqiruk in Inuktitut. It is
used by local hunters, the coast guard, and cruise ships. Simpson straight is
used so frequently because it opens early in the spring time. This is because of
the relatively shallow water and currents running under the ice. As their gets to be less ice in Simpson straight we are starting to see a lot more sailboats using it as well.
Malivolik river Louie Kamookak (C) |
Along the Simpson straight you can find an inukshuk marking Malivolik. This is a traditional camp location used by Inuit and the site of the first Hudson’s Bay post in this area. Here the river meets the ocean, and many char use this river as a passageway to the lake.
Sea life on board the Erebus Louie Kamookak (C) |
Franklin’s ship, the Erebus, was found in an area of the Queen Maud Gulf called Ugjulik. At the site there are many scientists working on cataloguing the types of life that were found on the shipwreck. They found clams, seaweed, star fish, and sea cucumbers.
These findings tell us that the ocean in our area has been travelled on for many many years. This makes sense because all of our communities in the Kitikmeot region are on the coast, and before there were official communities, people still stayed close to the coast.
Hunter travelling by boat in Simpson Sraight Louie Kamookak (C) |
Ship in Simpson Straight Louie Kamookak (C) |
You can learn more about the Franklin Discovery, Inuit Oral Traditions, and landmarks in Gjoa Haven on Louie's blog:
This is such an exciting and cool post to read! Well done to all the students for digging up this historical and scientific information! It is inspiring to see that you had a storyteller join you to talk about the history from the perspective of a local historian and explorer! Even more excited to read your next challenge...
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