Monthly Archives: January 2012

Where the Caribou Live – Part 4: Humanity’s Hope

In the distance two Inuit hunters called out a warning for us to return to shore. They could hear the ice cracking. I was not even aware that we had been walking offshore. In the heart of winter on Baffin … Continue reading

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Where the Caribou Live – Part 3: Humanity’s Peril

This enterprising Tlingit trapper built a raft to transport his new 1928 Chevrolet Sedan by river from Whitehorse to his home community of Teslin, in the Yukon. No roads yet existed in the bush, but George Johnston was going to … Continue reading

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Where the Caribou Live – Part 2: Canada’s Shame

You could see the hunger in the eyes of the Cree family, as they tried to muster dignity in welcoming me and (the late) Metis photographer Murray McKenzie into their home. They knew Murray, renowned regionally for his portraits of … Continue reading

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Where the Caribou Live – Part 1: Canada’s Treasure

The dead caribou lay beside me on the floor. Throwing myself across the cot, I cried my heart out, but not for the caribou’s fate. Instead, I was feeling the full impact of culture shock, and a sense of powerlessness. … Continue reading

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Merriment, Reflection and A Time for Stories

As I heave logs into my farmhouse wood furnace on a chilly winter day after Christmas celebrations with my Irish Canadian family relatives in Ontario, I recall a holiday visit to Dublin, Ireland, 40 winters ago. The vision that comes … Continue reading

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