After a 23-day trek retracing her family’s traditional migration route, Gayle Uyagaqi Kabloona has returned to her parents’ home in Baker Lake, Nunavut, where she can finally relax. Kabloona’s family used to spend summers near the Back River at Kitikkat and Kanngujaqtalik before moving south to their winter caribou hunting grounds close to the Meadowbank Mine. Seeking to replicate this journey before colonization and residential schools, Kabloona, an artist now residing in Ottawa, embarked on a 200-kilometre hike with a group of five on September 1.
During the trek, Kabloona discovered her great-grandfather’s old boat, family graves, and a toy airplane made from tin cans, a childhood relic of her 76-year-old father and his friends. Reflecting on the experience, she marveled at the ingenuity and resilience of people in the past. The journey was not without challenges, including encounters with wolves, risky river crossings, and even a muskox charging at Kabloona’s sister.
Despite the dangers, Kabloona’s father and cousins accompanied the group to the starting point, where her father, filled with joy, reminisced about his childhood near the route’s end. The trek provided a glimpse into a time before residential schools, showcasing the love and care within her family. Documented by a videographer among the hikers, the journey’s footage will be transformed into an art project to share the beauty of the Back River area with others.