Inuit took on “immeasurable” role in Rangers patrol

GREG YOUNGER-LEWIS

Nunavummiut and Inuit on the longest sovereignty patrol in Canadian history made an “immeasurable” contribution to the team’s successful skidoo trek, said the head of the Rangers program in the North.

“They made our trip,” Sgt. Stuart Gibson said of his Inuit guides during meeting with reporters after the patrol reached Eureka. “The energy they saved us was immeasurable.

“I command the patrol, but I’m constantly asking them for advice, because they’re the experts of the land.”

Throughout the trip from Resolute to Eureka earlier this month, the Ranger patrol faced seemingly impassible stretches of chewed-up ice fields, as well as treacherous traps on the sea ice known to swallow skidoos whole.

But, despite never traveling the route before, Inuit Rangers said they used their knowledge of the land to guide the team of 20 military reservists and officers through Canada’s northern-most Arctic islands.

To pull off the ambitious military project dubbed Operation Kigliqaqvik Ranger III (Inuktitut for “land at the border” or “land near the edge”), Gibson assembled a dream-team of Rangers recommended by communities around the North, covering the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, the Yukon, Quebec and Alberta.

With qamotiks in tow, and ravens flying overhead, the group of 20 set off from Resolute on April 1 and landed in Eureka, a small weather station about halfway up Ellesmere Island, on April 5.

After planting a tripod with the Rangers logo in the snow near Eureka, Gibson headed out with a smaller team of seven to complete the rest of the 1,300-km patrol to Alert, a military base at the very northern tip of the country.

“This is the cream of the cream,” Gibson said. “We brought individuals together and made a team. From my perspective, it’s been an honour to take… Inuit, First Nations and regular forces on this patrol.”

Sgt. Allen Pogotak, a Ranger from Holman Island who took turns with other Rangers scouting routes around icy impasses, remained modest about his contribution.

Pogotak, 40, said his life-long experience hunting seal and muskox in the western and high Arctic allowed him to watch for “hollow snow” patches, where skidoos are prone to break through a thin sheen of ice, and cause major damage to the machine.

However, beyond navigating the land, Pogotak emphasized to the team the importance of staying dry by not rushing, which leads to sweating, and then potentially dangerous chills.

“The highlight for me was getting here and nobody had any problems,” Pogotak said in Eureka.

In fact, the patrol reported remarkably few problems. Only a handful of qamotiks and skidoos tipped over. No one was seriously injured, however, most Rangers emerged from their parkas at Eureka with parts of their cheeks stained dark brown by frostbite.

But like most members, Donald Ittuksardjuat, a 29-year-old resident of Arctic Bay, gave a wide smile when he asked about the trip through the -49 C weather and howling winds.

A veteran of long-distance trips, Ittuksardjuat credited his grandfather with teaching him how to live on the land. He said his spirits were boosted by the feeling of representing elders from his community and across the North, who don’t get to travel as much anymore.

“If it wasn’t for them we wouldn’t be here,” he said, before heading out as one of the few Rangers chosen to go to Alert.

Eric Hitkolok, a 21-year-old Ranger from Kugluktuk, also got a boost of Inuit pride during the patrol when he learned a few words of Inuktitut, such as ways of greeting people and saying thank-you.

Hitkolok, the youngest member of the expedition, said he grew up mainly speaking English, and as a result, he found that learning a few Inuktitut words brought him back to his roots.

“It makes me feel good inside,” he said. “It’s our culture. It’s our heritage. It makes me know where I come from.”

While Hitkolok walked away from the patrol with some useful Inuktitut words, he also gave back in his unique way. Hitkolok proved a bundle of energy on the trip, climbing part of a 10-storey iceberg between Devon and Axel Heiberg Islands, bringing smiles to some older members of the team.

And when Hitkolok heard other members were feeling cold during the trip, he went over to them and convinced them to dance around, “like being a kid,” a skill he learned patroling DEW line sites near his community.

Hitkolok, a part-time worker at Kugluktuk’s youth centre, said he plans to use these memories to motivate other young people back home.

“I’m going to tell them… how it was a good trip and how many friends I made,” he said. “I didn’t know any of these guys. When we got out there on the land, we started to come together and became a team.”