2

Alice Angus

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Diary 2(Beringia,journey acrosstime)

Beringia

Introduction

In the summer of 2003 I spent several weeks inthe Northern Yukon, began a collaboration withJoyce Majiski (artist and guide) and participatedin a residency in Ivvavik National Park in thenorthwestern Arctic. This eBook is one of a seriesfrom the sketchbooks of that journey.

Time

Bordered on the north by the Beaufort Sea andAlaska on the west, Ivvavik National Park sits atthe north western tip of Canada's mainland. It ispart of the Beringia Refugium; an area untouchedby the last glaciation. With little snowfall andwater locked in the ice caps, sea levels droppedand a ice free land bridge formed betweenpresent day Alaska and eastern Siberia thatmigrating humans and animals from Asia intoNorth America about 24,000 years ago.

Time's geological pace is etched across its purple and ochre mountains, geological events, erosion and climate changes have transformed this

landscape many times but at first sight the landseems to sleep.Unglaciated, the land forms are rounded andheaped in massive ripples like flesh sagging overthe gargantuan back bones of hibernatingmonsters, piled up in humps like the shoulders ofdinosaurs or moulded as if by a monumentalhand. Sometimes the land falls away to revealrocky tors and ochre tinged ridges, the sharpspines of iron clad dragons. Or it rolls into purpleand grey venerable pachyderms, the ancients ofdays, great elephant's backs or a rhinos skinmapped with the passing of time. Here and thereare single pointed peaks, perfect cones of loosepebbles rising precariously, steep sided isolatedhills appearing as soft as the sand in anhourglass, as if some gods pondered there a whileat the beginning of all things and let ochre earthrun through their great fingers, doodling with thestuff that made the world. Yet beneath thisillusion of timeless certainty is a shiftinglandscape where every story is complex andmultilayered. In the worlds wildernesses likeIvvavik it is easy for a visitor to be lost in such areverie of wonder that they miss the traces of thelives and culture that are part of them.

Ivvavik is in of one of the most biodiverse regionsof the Western Arctic and its Inuvialuktun nameIvvavik means nursery or place of giving birth. Itis a portion of the calving grounds and migrationroute of the Porcupine Caribou herd whichmigrate from Ivvavik into into an area of theArctic National Wildlife that is threatened with oilextraction.

Across the Arctic global warming and pollution alter the landscape; permafrost melts and the tree line advances more than it has done in living memory. The Arctic Haze of pollution visible since the industrial revolution, combines with clouds to

increase their ability to retain heat.(1) Theseasons and weather are unpredictable and theland feels unfamiliar. Traditional techniques areno longer reliable. Such is the speed of changethat as phenomena and species are lost and newones arrive, in some cases there are noindigenous names to describe them.

One day we see five caribou. Hoping they heraldthe arrival of thousands we wait for the rumblingof hooves to flow over the valley. The PorcupineCaribou are the largest migrating herd, nearly

quarter of a million move through Yukon NWT andAlaska. Pregnant cows lead the heard out ofIvvavik and into the Alaska National WildlifeRefuge - in particular onto the 1002 lands - anarea rich in oil reserves.

Caving there is a defining characteristic of theherd. So important are the calving grounds theGwich'in people refer to them as the "sacred placewhere life begins". The herd is central to the livesand culture of the many First Nations people wholive in its range. If the area is opened for drillingmany people believe it will result in untolddamage to the herd and the people whose livesand traditions depend on it. But with some peoplereliant on the caribou and others on an economyderived from oil the issue is complex. (2)

To many people the Arctic is invisible beneath anaura of romanticism portrayed, as it has been,through the history of polar exploration, inpaintings, literature and latterly photographs, as alandscape of sublime desolation. To some Iexpect, it's not a place but an imaginarylandscape far away from their everyday lives. Butto the people who live, and have lived there forthousands of years, it is surely home, homeland,backyard, a place alive with the struggles ofeveryday life as it is faced with the harsh realityof climate change and pollution.

To many environmental organizations the Arctic iswilderness to be preserved. To industry it is afrontier and a source of energy and minerals to beexploited. But to the 155,000 Inuit living inCanada, Alaska, Greenland and Chukotka inRussia the Arctic is home with all that thisimplies. Shiela Watt-Cloutier. (3)

1. Arctic Haze further information

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arctic_haze

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom

/MediaAlerts/2006/2006051022278.html

2. Porcupine Caribou Herd

Porcupine Caribou Management Boardhttp://www.taiga.net/pcmb/

Being Caribou

http://www.beingcaribou.com/

3. Sheila Watt-Cloutier

Quoted on;http://www.vitalgraphics.net/arctic.cfm?pageID=1

Further information: Inuit Circumpolar Council(Canada) http://www.inuitcircumpolar.com

/index.php?ID=34&Lang=En

4

Diary 2 (Beringia, journey across time)Alice Anguscreated on: Fri Oct 19 08:08:26 2007

www.diffusion.org.ukDIFFUSION eBooks are designed to be freelyavailable to download, print out and share.

319

Diary 2(Beringia,journey acrosstime)

Beringia

Introduction

In the summer of 2003 I spent several weeks inthe Northern Yukon, began a collaboration withJoyce Majiski (artist and guide) and participatedin a residency in Ivvavik National Park in thenorthwestern Arctic. This eBook is one of a seriesfrom the sketchbooks of that journey.

Time

Bordered on the north by the Beaufort Sea andAlaska on the west, Ivvavik National Park sits atthe north western tip of Canada's mainland. It ispart of the Beringia Refugium; an area untouchedby the last glaciation. With little snowfall andwater locked in the ice caps, sea levels droppedand a ice free land bridge formed betweenpresent day Alaska and eastern Siberia thatmigrating humans and animals from Asia intoNorth America about 24,000 years ago.

Time's geological pace is etched across its purple and ochre mountains, geological events, erosion and climate changes have transformed this

landscape many times but at first sight the landseems to sleep.Unglaciated, the land forms are rounded andheaped in massive ripples like flesh sagging overthe gargantuan back bones of hibernatingmonsters, piled up in humps like the shoulders ofdinosaurs or moulded as if by a monumentalhand. Sometimes the land falls away to revealrocky tors and ochre tinged ridges, the sharpspines of iron clad dragons. Or it rolls into purpleand grey venerable pachyderms, the ancients ofdays, great elephant's backs or a rhinos skinmapped with the passing of time. Here and thereare single pointed peaks, perfect cones of loosepebbles rising precariously, steep sided isolatedhills appearing as soft as the sand in anhourglass, as if some gods pondered there a whileat the beginning of all things and let ochre earthrun through their great fingers, doodling with thestuff that made the world. Yet beneath thisillusion of timeless certainty is a shiftinglandscape where every story is complex andmultilayered. In the worlds wildernesses likeIvvavik it is easy for a visitor to be lost in such areverie of wonder that they miss the traces of thelives and culture that are part of them.

Ivvavik is in of one of the most biodiverse regionsof the Western Arctic and its Inuvialuktun nameIvvavik means nursery or place of giving birth. Itis a portion of the calving grounds and migrationroute of the Porcupine Caribou herd whichmigrate from Ivvavik into into an area of theArctic National Wildlife that is threatened with oilextraction.

Across the Arctic global warming and pollution alter the landscape; permafrost melts and the tree line advances more than it has done in living memory. The Arctic Haze of pollution visible since the industrial revolution, combines with clouds to

increase their ability to retain heat.(1) Theseasons and weather are unpredictable and theland feels unfamiliar. Traditional techniques areno longer reliable. Such is the speed of changethat as phenomena and species are lost and newones arrive, in some cases there are noindigenous names to describe them.

One day we see five caribou. Hoping they heraldthe arrival of thousands we wait for the rumblingof hooves to flow over the valley. The PorcupineCaribou are the largest migrating herd, nearly

quarter of a million move through Yukon NWT andAlaska. Pregnant cows lead the heard out ofIvvavik and into the Alaska National WildlifeRefuge - in particular onto the 1002 lands - anarea rich in oil reserves.

Caving there is a defining characteristic of theherd. So important are the calving grounds theGwich'in people refer to them as the "sacred placewhere life begins". The herd is central to the livesand culture of the many First Nations people wholive in its range. If the area is opened for drillingmany people believe it will result in untolddamage to the herd and the people whose livesand traditions depend on it. But with some peoplereliant on the caribou and others on an economyderived from oil the issue is complex. (2)

To many people the Arctic is invisible beneath anaura of romanticism portrayed, as it has been,through the history of polar exploration, inpaintings, literature and latterly photographs, as alandscape of sublime desolation. To some Iexpect, it's not a place but an imaginarylandscape far away from their everyday lives. Butto the people who live, and have lived there forthousands of years, it is surely home, homeland,backyard, a place alive with the struggles ofeveryday life as it is faced with the harsh realityof climate change and pollution.

To many environmental organizations the Arctic iswilderness to be preserved. To industry it is afrontier and a source of energy and minerals to beexploited. But to the 155,000 Inuit living inCanada, Alaska, Greenland and Chukotka inRussia the Arctic is home with all that thisimplies. Shiela Watt-Cloutier. (3)

1. Arctic Haze further information

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arctic_haze

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom

/MediaAlerts/2006/2006051022278.html

2. Porcupine Caribou Herd

Porcupine Caribou Management Boardhttp://www.taiga.net/pcmb/

Being Caribou

http://www.beingcaribou.com/

3. Sheila Watt-Cloutier

Quoted on;http://www.vitalgraphics.net/arctic.cfm?pageID=1

Further information: Inuit Circumpolar Council(Canada) http://www.inuitcircumpolar.com

/index.php?ID=34&Lang=En

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Diary 2(Beringia,journey acrosstime)

BeringiaIntroduction

In the summer of 2003 I spent several weeks inthe Northern Yukon, began a collaboration withJoyce Majiski (artist and guide) and participatedin a residency in Ivvavik National Park in thenorthwestern Arctic. This eBook is one of a seriesfrom the sketchbooks of that journey.

Time

Bordered on the north by the Beaufort Sea andAlaska on the west, Ivvavik National Park sits atthe north western tip of Canada's mainland. It ispart of the Beringia Refugium; an area untouchedby the last glaciation. With little snowfall andwater locked in the ice caps, sea levels droppedand a ice free land bridge formed betweenpresent day Alaska and eastern Siberia thatmigrating humans and animals from Asia intoNorth America about 24,000 years ago.

Time's geological pace is etched across its purple and ochre mountains, geological events, erosion and climate changes have transformed this

landscape many times but at first sight the landseems to sleep.Unglaciated, the land forms are rounded andheaped in massive ripples like flesh sagging overthe gargantuan back bones of hibernatingmonsters, piled up in humps like the shoulders ofdinosaurs or moulded as if by a monumentalhand. Sometimes the land falls away to revealrocky tors and ochre tinged ridges, the sharpspines of iron clad dragons. Or it rolls into purpleand grey venerable pachyderms, the ancients ofdays, great elephant's backs or a rhinos skinmapped with the passing of time. Here and thereare single pointed peaks, perfect cones of loosepebbles rising precariously, steep sided isolatedhills appearing as soft as the sand in anhourglass, as if some gods pondered there a whileat the beginning of all things and let ochre earthrun through their great fingers, doodling with thestuff that made the world. Yet beneath thisillusion of timeless certainty is a shiftinglandscape where every story is complex andmultilayered. In the worlds wildernesses likeIvvavik it is easy for a visitor to be lost in such areverie of wonder that they miss the traces of thelives and culture that are part of them.

Ivvavik is in of one of the most biodiverse regionsof the Western Arctic and its Inuvialuktun nameIvvavik means nursery or place of giving birth. Itis a portion of the calving grounds and migrationroute of the Porcupine Caribou herd whichmigrate from Ivvavik into into an area of theArctic National Wildlife that is threatened with oilextraction.

Across the Arctic global warming and pollution alter the landscape; permafrost melts and the tree line advances more than it has done in living memory. The Arctic Haze of pollution visible since the industrial revolution, combines with clouds to

increase their ability to retain heat.(1) Theseasons and weather are unpredictable and theland feels unfamiliar. Traditional techniques areno longer reliable. Such is the speed of changethat as phenomena and species are lost and newones arrive, in some cases there are noindigenous names to describe them.

One day we see five caribou. Hoping they heraldthe arrival of thousands we wait for the rumblingof hooves to flow over the valley. The PorcupineCaribou are the largest migrating herd, nearly

quarter of a million move through Yukon NWT andAlaska. Pregnant cows lead the heard out ofIvvavik and into the Alaska National WildlifeRefuge - in particular onto the 1002 lands - anarea rich in oil reserves.

Caving there is a defining characteristic of theherd. So important are the calving grounds theGwich'in people refer to them as the "sacred placewhere life begins". The herd is central to the livesand culture of the many First Nations people wholive in its range. If the area is opened for drillingmany people believe it will result in untolddamage to the herd and the people whose livesand traditions depend on it. But with some peoplereliant on the caribou and others on an economyderived from oil the issue is complex. (2)

To many people the Arctic is invisible beneath anaura of romanticism portrayed, as it has been,through the history of polar exploration, inpaintings, literature and latterly photographs, as alandscape of sublime desolation. To some Iexpect, it's not a place but an imaginarylandscape far away from their everyday lives. Butto the people who live, and have lived there forthousands of years, it is surely home, homeland,backyard, a place alive with the struggles ofeveryday life as it is faced with the harsh realityof climate change and pollution.

To many environmental organizations the Arctic iswilderness to be preserved. To industry it is afrontier and a source of energy and minerals to beexploited. But to the 155,000 Inuit living inCanada, Alaska, Greenland and Chukotka inRussia the Arctic is home with all that thisimplies. Shiela Watt-Cloutier. (3)

1. Arctic Haze further information

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arctic_haze

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom

/MediaAlerts/2006/2006051022278.html

2. Porcupine Caribou Herd

Porcupine Caribou Management Boardhttp://www.taiga.net/pcmb/

Being Caribou

http://www.beingcaribou.com/

3. Sheila Watt-Cloutier

Quoted on;http://www.vitalgraphics.net/arctic.cfm?pageID=1

Further information: Inuit Circumpolar Council(Canada) http://www.inuitcircumpolar.com

/index.php?ID=34&Lang=En

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Diary 2(Beringia,journey acrosstime)

BeringiaIntroduction

In the summer of 2003 I spent several weeks inthe Northern Yukon, began a collaboration withJoyce Majiski (artist and guide) and participatedin a residency in Ivvavik National Park in thenorthwestern Arctic. This eBook is one of a seriesfrom the sketchbooks of that journey.

Time

Bordered on the north by the Beaufort Sea andAlaska on the west, Ivvavik National Park sits atthe north western tip of Canada's mainland. It ispart of the Beringia Refugium; an area untouchedby the last glaciation. With little snowfall andwater locked in the ice caps, sea levels droppedand a ice free land bridge formed betweenpresent day Alaska and eastern Siberia thatmigrating humans and animals from Asia intoNorth America about 24,000 years ago.

Time's geological pace is etched across its purple and ochre mountains, geological events, erosion and climate changes have transformed this

landscape many times but at first sight the landseems to sleep.

Unglaciated, the land forms are rounded andheaped in massive ripples like flesh sagging overthe gargantuan back bones of hibernatingmonsters, piled up in humps like the shoulders ofdinosaurs or moulded as if by a monumentalhand. Sometimes the land falls away to revealrocky tors and ochre tinged ridges, the sharpspines of iron clad dragons. Or it rolls into purpleand grey venerable pachyderms, the ancients ofdays, great elephant's backs or a rhinos skinmapped with the passing of time. Here and thereare single pointed peaks, perfect cones of loosepebbles rising precariously, steep sided isolatedhills appearing as soft as the sand in anhourglass, as if some gods pondered there a whileat the beginning of all things and let ochre earthrun through their great fingers, doodling with thestuff that made the world. Yet beneath thisillusion of timeless certainty is a shiftinglandscape where every story is complex andmultilayered. In the worlds wildernesses likeIvvavik it is easy for a visitor to be lost in such areverie of wonder that they miss the traces of thelives and culture that are part of them.

Ivvavik is in of one of the most biodiverse regionsof the Western Arctic and its Inuvialuktun nameIvvavik means nursery or place of giving birth. Itis a portion of the calving grounds and migrationroute of the Porcupine Caribou herd whichmigrate from Ivvavik into into an area of theArctic National Wildlife that is threatened with oilextraction.

Across the Arctic global warming and pollution alter the landscape; permafrost melts and the tree line advances more than it has done in living memory. The Arctic Haze of pollution visible since the industrial revolution, combines with clouds to

increase their ability to retain heat.(1) Theseasons and weather are unpredictable and theland feels unfamiliar. Traditional techniques areno longer reliable. Such is the speed of changethat as phenomena and species are lost and newones arrive, in some cases there are noindigenous names to describe them.

One day we see five caribou. Hoping they heraldthe arrival of thousands we wait for the rumblingof hooves to flow over the valley. The PorcupineCaribou are the largest migrating herd, nearly

quarter of a million move through Yukon NWT andAlaska. Pregnant cows lead the heard out ofIvvavik and into the Alaska National WildlifeRefuge - in particular onto the 1002 lands - anarea rich in oil reserves.

Caving there is a defining characteristic of theherd. So important are the calving grounds theGwich'in people refer to them as the "sacred placewhere life begins". The herd is central to the livesand culture of the many First Nations people wholive in its range. If the area is opened for drillingmany people believe it will result in untolddamage to the herd and the people whose livesand traditions depend on it. But with some peoplereliant on the caribou and others on an economyderived from oil the issue is complex. (2)

To many people the Arctic is invisible beneath anaura of romanticism portrayed, as it has been,through the history of polar exploration, inpaintings, literature and latterly photographs, as alandscape of sublime desolation. To some Iexpect, it's not a place but an imaginarylandscape far away from their everyday lives. Butto the people who live, and have lived there forthousands of years, it is surely home, homeland,backyard, a place alive with the struggles ofeveryday life as it is faced with the harsh realityof climate change and pollution.

To many environmental organizations the Arctic iswilderness to be preserved. To industry it is afrontier and a source of energy and minerals to beexploited. But to the 155,000 Inuit living inCanada, Alaska, Greenland and Chukotka inRussia the Arctic is home with all that thisimplies. Shiela Watt-Cloutier. (3)

1. Arctic Haze further information

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arctic_haze

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom

/MediaAlerts/2006/2006051022278.html

2. Porcupine Caribou Herd

Porcupine Caribou Management Boardhttp://www.taiga.net/pcmb/

Being Caribou

http://www.beingcaribou.com/

3. Sheila Watt-Cloutier

Quoted on;http://www.vitalgraphics.net/arctic.cfm?pageID=1

Further information: Inuit Circumpolar Council(Canada) http://www.inuitcircumpolar.com

/index.php?ID=34&Lang=En

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Diary 2(Beringia,journey acrosstime)

BeringiaIntroduction

In the summer of 2003 I spent several weeks inthe Northern Yukon, began a collaboration withJoyce Majiski (artist and guide) and participatedin a residency in Ivvavik National Park in thenorthwestern Arctic. This eBook is one of a seriesfrom the sketchbooks of that journey.

Time

Bordered on the north by the Beaufort Sea andAlaska on the west, Ivvavik National Park sits atthe north western tip of Canada's mainland. It ispart of the Beringia Refugium; an area untouchedby the last glaciation. With little snowfall andwater locked in the ice caps, sea levels droppedand a ice free land bridge formed betweenpresent day Alaska and eastern Siberia thatmigrating humans and animals from Asia intoNorth America about 24,000 years ago.

Time's geological pace is etched across its purple and ochre mountains, geological events, erosion and climate changes have transformed this

landscape many times but at first sight the landseems to sleep.

Unglaciated, the land forms are rounded andheaped in massive ripples like flesh sagging overthe gargantuan back bones of hibernatingmonsters, piled up in humps like the shoulders ofdinosaurs or moulded as if by a monumentalhand. Sometimes the land falls away to revealrocky tors and ochre tinged ridges, the sharpspines of iron clad dragons. Or it rolls into purpleand grey venerable pachyderms, the ancients ofdays, great elephant's backs or a rhinos skinmapped with the passing of time. Here and thereare single pointed peaks, perfect cones of loosepebbles rising precariously, steep sided isolatedhills appearing as soft as the sand in anhourglass, as if some gods pondered there a whileat the beginning of all things and let ochre earthrun through their great fingers, doodling with thestuff that made the world. Yet beneath thisillusion of timeless certainty is a shiftinglandscape where every story is complex andmultilayered. In the worlds wildernesses likeIvvavik it is easy for a visitor to be lost in such areverie of wonder that they miss the traces of thelives and culture that are part of them.

Ivvavik is in of one of the most biodiverse regionsof the Western Arctic and its Inuvialuktun nameIvvavik means nursery or place of giving birth. Itis a portion of the calving grounds and migrationroute of the Porcupine Caribou herd whichmigrate from Ivvavik into into an area of theArctic National Wildlife that is threatened with oilextraction.

Across the Arctic global warming and pollution alter the landscape; permafrost melts and the tree line advances more than it has done in living memory. The Arctic Haze of pollution visible since the industrial revolution, combines with clouds toincrease their ability to retain heat.(1) Theseasons and weather are unpredictable and theland feels unfamiliar. Traditional techniques areno longer reliable. Such is the speed of changethat as phenomena and species are lost and newones arrive, in some cases there are noindigenous names to describe them.

One day we see five caribou. Hoping they heraldthe arrival of thousands we wait for the rumblingof hooves to flow over the valley. The PorcupineCaribou are the largest migrating herd, nearly

quarter of a million move through Yukon NWT andAlaska. Pregnant cows lead the heard out ofIvvavik and into the Alaska National WildlifeRefuge - in particular onto the 1002 lands - anarea rich in oil reserves.

Caving there is a defining characteristic of theherd. So important are the calving grounds theGwich'in people refer to them as the "sacred placewhere life begins". The herd is central to the livesand culture of the many First Nations people wholive in its range. If the area is opened for drillingmany people believe it will result in untolddamage to the herd and the people whose livesand traditions depend on it. But with some peoplereliant on the caribou and others on an economyderived from oil the issue is complex. (2)

To many people the Arctic is invisible beneath anaura of romanticism portrayed, as it has been,through the history of polar exploration, inpaintings, literature and latterly photographs, as alandscape of sublime desolation. To some Iexpect, it's not a place but an imaginarylandscape far away from their everyday lives. Butto the people who live, and have lived there forthousands of years, it is surely home, homeland,backyard, a place alive with the struggles ofeveryday life as it is faced with the harsh realityof climate change and pollution.

To many environmental organizations the Arctic iswilderness to be preserved. To industry it is afrontier and a source of energy and minerals to beexploited. But to the 155,000 Inuit living inCanada, Alaska, Greenland and Chukotka inRussia the Arctic is home with all that thisimplies. Shiela Watt-Cloutier. (3)

1. Arctic Haze further information

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arctic_haze

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom

/MediaAlerts/2006/2006051022278.html

2. Porcupine Caribou Herd

Porcupine Caribou Management Boardhttp://www.taiga.net/pcmb/

Being Caribou

http://www.beingcaribou.com/

3. Sheila Watt-Cloutier

Quoted on;http://www.vitalgraphics.net/arctic.cfm?pageID=1

Further information: Inuit Circumpolar Council(Canada) http://www.inuitcircumpolar.com

/index.php?ID=34&Lang=En