My job is taking me to the teeny community of Sachs Harbour for the week. Located on Banks Island, 523km northeast of Inuvik, Sachs Harbour is the NWT's northmost community. There were only 122 people in Sachs Harbour for the 2006 census.
The name Sachs Harbour comes from the ship Mary Sachs, which was part of the Canadian Arctic Expedition of 1913. However, I think the Inuvialuktun names of these communities tells a lot more about them. Sachs is traditionally known as "Ikahuak" which means "where you go across to."
The thing I find most intriguing about Sachs is that it is home to the Muskox Product Company (MPC), which is the largest commercial muskox harvest in Canada. 3/4 of the muskox in the world live on Banks Island. The muskox are primarily harvested for their fur, qiviut, which is sold to southern markets, where it is turned into yarn. Qiviut is extremely soft, and can range in price from $40 to $80/ounce. The muskox meat has been sold to foreign markets in the past (Japan, USA), however it is not cost effective to have the meat barged to the south as it needs to be kept cold the whole time. I have been told that when alive, the muskox are relatively friendly, and eventually follow hunters while they are on the land. I'm skeptical, but that would be nice if it was true.
So I've packed my bags with lots of food and water, as groceries are very expensive up there. Furthermore, the town has been under a boil water advisory since September, since the town's chlorination facility has been down. I guess it is tough to justify a $1 million facility repair for 122 people. I have brought lots of water and don't intend on putting a drop of the local stuff in my food or mouth.
Hoping to take lots of pictures, and perhaps post some updates throughout the week... if there's internet access!
*some of these factoids were derived from Wikipedia
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment