Jonathan Waterman’s 2,200-mile journey across the roof of
North America took him through Inuit communities in Alaska to Nunavut,
Canada’s new, 770,000-square-mile, self-governed territory. His story, at
once illuminating and alarming, offers firsthand observations of their life,
language and beliefs; records their reactions to global modernization;
documents their centuries of unjust treatment at the hands of Kabloona
(bushy-eyebrowed whites); and witnesses unemployment, teen suicide and such
persistent plagues as spousal violence and substance abuse. From the
perspective of his 1997–1999 voyage—as the Inuit stand on the brink
of a more hopeful, independent future—he also looks into a past marked by
famous (or infamous) Arctic explorers, government cover-ups and environmental
destruction.
This beautifully written work of intrepid reporting and
even scholarship also reveals the physical risks and psychological perils of
crossing the legendary Northwest Passage. Utterly alone for weeks at a time,
Waterman struggles against freezing conditions, the tricks played on him by his
own mind and dangers more complex than aggressive bears, stormy seas and
mosquito blizzards. Following the advice of an Inuit shaman, who said that
“those things hidden from others” are discovered only “far from
the dwellings of men, through privation and suffering,” Waterman kayaks,
skis, dogsleds and sails across the Great Solitudes in a thrilling and
ultimately successful quest for this “true wisdom,” arriving at a
profound understanding of environment and culture.
"Jonathan Waterman's excellent book, Arctic Crossing
chronicles his solo three year expedition that follows 2200 miles of coastline
from Prudoe Bay to eastern Canada . . . If you taped all the previous pages
written about the Northwest Passage, end to end, it would reach from Tuktoyakuk
to the edge of the Andromeda Galaxy. But we are in professional hands here, and
Waterman leads us simply and elegantly through the history and spirit of the
region . . . Waterman carefully documents that current Inuit society has become
dysfunctional. Sadly, he concludes, 'Everything Inuit have taught me shows that
the world, even the remote Arctic, is a different place from what I would like
it to be.' . . . Arctic Crossing is a complex and rewarding book, evocative and
thought-provoking." —Jon Turk, Paddler Magazine
"Waterman's perspective on the inevitable clashes between
his own culture and that of the Inuit is honest and insightful. He is not drawn
into glorifying the Inuit's pre-contact past, despite its attraction for him,
and does not shirk from talking about the current problems....Arctic Crossing
is a step above many of the adventure books currently on the market and will be
of interest to travellers, armchair or otherwise. However, its lasting value
will be its snapshot of the struggles faced by the Inuit culture in the midst
of painful transition." John Wilson, author of North with Franklin: The Lost
Journals of James Fitzjames.
Written by Jonathan
Waterman. Published by Random House Canada, 2001. |
