Sachs Harbour, NWT, Canada

[bcrockhound]

Hey folks, hope you're well!

I spent Christmas in Sachs Harbour, Northwest Territories, Canada. It is in the far north on a bird sanctuary, with a population of about 75 right now, most of whom are women.

There is no sun until later in January, but when the skies are clear, there are "sunsets" during the afternoon. 

The older people live like the Inuvialuit traditionally did - trapping during fall and winter, hunting caribou and muskox and geese in the spring, fishing in the summer. A lot of the younger people join on the land, but the culture is somewhat declining with the rise of technology and need for "real" careers.

It wasn't that cold during my stay, from about -17 to -32 or so. 

Here are some pics.

Thanks for looking!

[mossyrockhound]

Very interesting! Thanks for posting the pictures. What do people do all day when it is so dark?

[bcrockhound]

Dec 28, 2018 21:39:59 GMT -5 mossyrockhound said:

Very interesting! Thanks for posting the pictures. What do people do all day when it is so dark?

In the winter, the truth is, watch TV, movies, play with kids and go to youth nights/ladies nights/bingo events. Those who still trap will trap in the winter. But even the hunters take the time off, as it's difficult to see on the land. 

[fishnpinball]

Interesting that the population is mostly women. Probably a story there.
I hadn't thought about it, but navigating by the stars is probably important up there.

[MsAli]

You and your girlfriend are adorable!
Why are there more women there?
That kinda cold is something I do not miss!

[hummingbirdstones]

Thanks for sharing your pictures.  I don't think I could stand not having sunlight for an extended time.  And that cold - no thank you!  It was 22 degrees here this morning when I woke up and I was moaning about that! 

[aDave]

Those are neat photos. Not my type of place (too darn cold and dark), but the photos are great.

[bcrockhound]

Dec 28, 2018 22:28:28 GMT -5 fishnpinball said:

Interesting that the population is mostly women. Probably a story there.
I hadn't thought about it, but navigating by the stars is probably important up there.

Apparently the school is like 90% women, with only about three boys in it. Most families are almost all women. It is a funny situation.

[bcrockhound]

Dec 28, 2018 22:30:26 GMT -5 MsAli said:

You and your girlfriend are adorable!
Why are there more women there?
That kinda cold is something I do not miss!

Thank you! Who knows about women, something in the genetic pool I guess. 

[quartz]

Interesting trip you took us on, thanks. I looked the place up on a map, very remote. What produces the electric power?

[bcrockhound]

Dec 28, 2018 23:28:34 GMT -5 quartz said:

Interesting trip you took us on, thanks. I looked the place up on a map, very remote. What produces the electric power?

Diesel I believe, but I am not an expert on that stuff. 

There's a constant political debate in the whole region/northern NWT about diesel, gas and power. There's tons of oil/gas here but most/all of it is shipped in because the economic conditions aren't good enough to develop what we have. A lot of the people in Sachs and surrounding communities grew up working in the oil industry when it was booming in the region.

[Drummond Island Rocks]

Great pictures. Do they have a time period in the summer where it does not get dark at night then? Are those temperatures in Fahrenheit or Celsius.

Chuck

[Tommy]

Great post bcrockhound Stewart thank you! I love being able to put a face to a friend who has been so generous with me on more than one occasion - and his beautiful girl.

So many things to comment on but I'm still trying to absorb it. I think the dark would drive ME bat-stuff-crazy even more so than the cold, and make me want to leave on whatever man train took most of the rest of them away. Maybe women are more patient and or tied to caring for families and children - or maybe they are just better equipped to deal with the life in front of them? That's all I got as far as theories go. I love watching Alaska State Troopers and several times they talked about depression and suicide in those remote (dark and cold) villages - maybe it affects men worse not being able to be as productive for long periods of time?

Only "-17 to -32" he says casually while having his Christmas picture taken in front of the largest bank of heater vents I've ever seen

[bcrockhound]

Dec 29, 2018 12:53:34 GMT -5 Drummond Island Rocks said:

Great pictures. Do they have a time period in the summer where it does not get dark at night then? Are those temperatures in Fahrenheit or Celsius.

Chuck

Thank you. Yes, in the summer there is more than a month of 24-hour sunlight, same here in Inuvik. Everyone thinks of winter when they think of the Arctic but the summer is the best time to visit. Endless lakes/creeks/rivers/hills etc to roam, constant daylight, warm, very few people around. Very abundant fishing, and big ones too. Sachs can be a little colder than Inuvik though and might not get to shorts and t-shirt weather for as long. Celsius.

[bcrockhound]

Dec 29, 2018 13:18:21 GMT -5 Tommy said:

Great post bcrockhound Stewart thank you! I love being able to put a face to a friend who has been so generous with me on more than one occasion - and his beautiful girl.

So many things to comment on but I'm still trying to absorb it. I think the dark would drive ME bat-stuff-crazy even more so than the cold, and make me want to leave on whatever man train took most of the rest of them away. Maybe women are more patient and or tied to caring for families and children - or maybe they are just better equipped to deal with the life in front of them? That's all I got as far as theories go. I love watching Alaska State Troopers and several times they talked about depression and suicide in those remote (dark and cold) villages - maybe it affects men worse not being able to be as productive for long periods of time?

Only "-17 to -32" he says casually while having his Christmas picture taken in front of the largest bank of heater vents I've ever seen

Thank you! 

Funny enough I have found the Arctic sunnier than where I'm from, Vancouver. I think this is because there is less cloud cover and the snow reflects light so it seems brighter, even with the dark stretch in winter. I use a sun lamp and can't recommend them enough. I used to have depression and have not had one sad day in the 4+ years I've been using my sun lamp since. It's the smallest thing but has made one of the biggest differences in mental health in my life.

Men in the north have had a harder time to adapt to the new way of life, I think and have heard. They do a lot worse in school, and hunting/trapping is not a full-time job for most people nowadays. The suicide rate is very high, same with violence in general. There is a lot of bad history in Canada with residential schools, which screwed up multiple generations (kids were taken from their communities to go to school for years, the "native" was beaten out of them). Alcoholism ramped up to cope with this and there was a whole generation who didn't know how to raise their kids. It's taking a long time to heal, but there was a real breakdown in the Indigenous family and community during that period.

Living in these small communities scares me. You can't escape anyone. You're going to see them at the store, at events, coming over to your house (everyone leaves their doors unlocked and people just drop in whenever). I think the social stress can be very high.

[fishnpinball]

Actually my life history of living in a very small enclosed space with another 120 people has some similarities as far as dealing with other people. You figure out how to deal with it.

[rockjunquie]

Your pictures are great! Thanks for sharing and now I know what you and your girl look like.   

I can see how all of those social situations would occur in a climate and location such as that. I really like the sunshine and have lived near an ocean my entire life. I don't think I could get used to that environment, but I would try it. It does have it's own beauty and serenity. 

[fernwood]

Thanks for a great trip. Lots of interesting facts, too. A different way of life.

[NRG]

Stewart!

Merry Christmas and Happy New year!!

Thanks for the pics. Amazing to hear about such a different life than my own.

What would it cost to buy land there and put a home on it?

And

What put you there for the holidays?

bcrockhound

[NRG]

PS

That's easily 20' of heater vent. What is used to heat that dwelling?