Louie Kamookak discovers John Rae’s cairn

The late Louie Kamookak has rightly been celebrated as a searcher for John Franklin. But more significantly, in my view, Louie was the man who discovered the cairn that explorer John Rae built in 1854, marking the final link in what would prove to be the first navigable Northwest Passage. I touched on that in…

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Bringing John Rae to Robert Burns Country

Next week will find me giving talks in Robert Burns Country. I mentioned previously that, thanks to a new “friendship bridge” extending between the Royal Canadian Geographical Society and the Royal Scottish Geographical Society, I have fallen heir to a whirlwind, four-day speaking tour. Now, in response to popular demand, I can provide details. My illustrated…

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Let’s take back Arctic history in Scotland

Faithful readers (hi, mom!) will recognize this image of Abbotsford from my book Celtic Lightning.  The historical novelist Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832) created this castle-like residence, now a museum, 40 miles south of Edinburgh in the Scottish Borders. Sheena shot the photo a few years ago, when last we visited. End of March, I have…

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Team set to retrace Rae’s 1854 expedition

The Arctic Return team is complete. Explorers Hugh Dale-Harris and Garry Tutte round out the four-man party that will set out in April 2019 to retrace John Rae’s legendary 1854 expedition. That’s the one on which, with William Ouligbuck and Thomas Mistegan, he solved the two great mysteries of 19th-century Arctic exploration, discovering both the…

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View from Alaska highlights indigenous contribution to Arctic discovery

DAVID JAMES (Fairbanks Daily News-Miner) Feb. 25, 2018 FAIRBANKS — For Arctic history enthusiasts, there’s never been a more exciting time. The recent findings of the two lost vessels of the Franklin Expedition, last seen sailing from Greenland in 1845 in search of the Northwest Passage, made global news. Meanwhile, historians have been producing an…

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Parks Canada meets Order of Canada in Arctic Return Expedition

Fifteen months and counting –to Departure, that is — and already the Arctic Return expedition is making headlines. First, partner Louie Kamookak was appointed to the Order of Canada. Awright, Louie! Well deserved! Then, adventurer Dave Garrow joined the team. Welcome aboard, Dave! Faithful readers got to meet Louie here.  And we’re excited to bring…

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2019 John Rae Arctic Return Expedition rockets into cyberspace

The website is live. The expedition is all systems go. The team is still growing. Sponsors are flocking to the cause. To learn all about the Arctic Return expedition, click on . . . this link! Meanwhile, see below for truncated introductions to some key players. Expedition Team: For over 20 years, expedition leader David…

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Arctic landscape calls out for Return

Voyaging Out of the Passage with Adventure Canada Day 13: Qikiqtarjuak “The whalers used to call us Yaks,” Billy Etooangat said as he rode back to the ship in the zodiac to retrieve his luggage. He was arriving home in Qikiqtarjuak in the sunshine. “After Yaks, we were Eskimos.” He took a beat. “I didn’t…

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