The Changing Nature of Banks Island: Northwest Territories
Graham Ashford
i n Canada’s High Arctic, Inuit hunters and trappers have a close rela- tionship with the natural world. For countless generations they have crisscrossed the icy Beaufort waters in search of fish, game and geese. At latitude 73º north they met the shores of most western island in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago and named it Ikahuk, place where one crosses over. It is a crossing made for the last 3,500 years as resource- ful hunters have followed the seasons and the animals over the 70,028 square kilometers of what is now called Banks Island. Although the conditions are extreme, well-adapted wildlife flourishes on the tundra. For those who are resourceful, food and clothing are all around. Much has changed in recent years, sod huts have been replaced with modern houses, dog teams with snowmobiles and all terrain vehicles. Many houses have cable and internet service, yet the ancient elements of a life close to the land endure. Local people retain the traditional skills, knowledge and tastes of their ancestors.They travel widely over the island in pursuit of caribou, muskox, polar bears, fish, geese and other wildlife.They are accustomed to a migratory lifestyle where per- manent structures are absent, and they create comfort and companion- ship on the land in canvas tent communities near their favorite fishing and hunting spots.
When they return to their houses in Sachs Harbour, the island’s only permanent settlement, the distinction between indoors and outside is blurred. Nature seems to spill through every doorway. In the distance sled dogs bark in the wind, skins are stretched to dry on outside walls, geese are plucked on the kitchen table, and polar bears are fleshed on a tarp on the living room floor.The smell of country food enriches the air.There is a strong sense of community and a deep respect for age and acquired wisdom. On the surface it is a closely knit community responding, to the tech- nologies, lifestyles and values of our modern age. Beneath the surface however, significant change is underway.The core of the island, centuries old frozen earth, is melting.Around the town of Sachs Harbour it is causing building foundations to shift. Doors are crooked, windows fail to shut properly, and drywall is cracked. Sections of roads have collapsed. Near the steep shore coastal erosion is rapidly advancing as the banks collapse from melting permafrost and wave erosion. Families worry that their homes may not be habitable in coming years.Their concern is well founded, an entire inland lake recently drained into the ocean when its banks collapsed.
above: Roger Kuptana pulling in a net below: Sachs Harbour
On Site review 11
12
Spring 2004
Architecture of the Circumpolar Region
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