NUNATSIAVUT
“OUR BEAUTIFUL LAND”
I get a sense of how big and diverse our country is when just in this brief trip of ours we have gone thorough and are in now a region all its own. This part of our great land is Nunatsiavut.
“Our Beautiful Land”.
An Innu self-governance autonomous area.
As soon as Kate and I were in Nain, you can tell things are different. It being a predominately Innu community, not in an uncomfortable sense, we palefaces are the minority. Not uncomfortably, we are the “tourists” and like anywhere else we are “welcomed” so.
I will not write of what hundreds of years have brought on to these people. There is evidence of success, but also of sorrow.
As in Nain, these outpost villages that we will quickly visit are dead ends. Both by the absence of roads and the isolation that comes with it. One gets a sense that being cut off from the world in this sense brings the attitude of hopelessness and despair. Your options to the road to your future a limited.
The result of this isolation is evident no more so in the history of our first port of call.
About twenty years ago, the world, and yes us Canadians, were introduced to the:
Suicide capital of the world: DAVIS INLET, LABRADOR, CANADA
In improvised living conditions that fell below third world standards, the results of children of all ages inhaling gas fumes, rampant alcohol and drug abuse, sub-standard and non-existent sanitary facility, deplorable housing conditions, the mortality rates of all ages skyrocketed in this wretched hell of the north to horrific numbers.
Maybe in hell one can a least warm up.
The current resolution is the result of two hundred million dollar relocation, twenty years ago, to the new community of Natuashish.
I wonder at the time if Ottawa:
Thought that it would be easy,
Thought that it would be pleasy,
Hey, hey
As in much of this sail, we get the local skinny from the crew. Sometimes alcoholics try a “relocation” cure. Oh! I’ll just move away from all these drunks and start over. To bad that in most cases it doesn’t work.
The troubles of Davis Inlet seemed to find it’s way to Natuashish where still reeling in rampant substance abuse, four years ago the locals, narrowly, decided to go dry.
The RCMP officers that we see here are trying to maintain this law, but again the word on the boat that they are only partially successful and village and it’s people continue struggle with Labrador life on this remote coast.
Not only do I love to travel, but also try to make time for and admire the fellow traveller. I have no judgement by which means. If you are out there seeing any part of this world, you’re good in my blog.
The Northern ranger has a weekly schedule, but with its late original departure for this week, our port visit will not be the customary two to three hour stop. The captain has ordered full steam ahead, which will result in night dockings as here in Natuashish. We are just glad that our passage is happening. Here we are boat bound observers of this vessel at work.
With other than the more expensive travel of flight option, the Ranger serves as the local taxi. We have and will observe by however rhyme and reason people boarding and disembarking with anything from a small carry on to what possibly there wordily possessions. From every mode of transportation, appliance, relative, pet, ….. From every form of luggage, right from the trusty”Glad Bag’ to every type of liquor box a dry village shouldn’t have.
I have to give them the benefit that this trip is on a an irregular schedule, but the local people seemed to appear out of nowhere expecting to board long after the captains horn of departure has blown. There seemed, much to our entertainment, and amusement, a total disregard that this multi-ton vessel and all it's business is untying and ready to sail. A non chalantnence to gang plank protocol by extending a wave to the deck hand that think I’ve forgotten whatever and be back soon. I can see in parts of this land that the concept of time is unnecessary and only an inconvenience.
All this compounded by my own disdain of wondering what we are doing at this cold hour of 04:00.
