January 16, 2011
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So where are you really?
Oh just a little north of the Arctic Circle.....Hall Beach (Inuktitut: Sanirajak (the shoreline), Syllabics: ᓴᓂᕋᔭᒃ) is an
Inuit settlement, Qikiqtaaluk Region in Nunavut, Canada, established in 1957 during the construction of a Distant Early Warning (DEW) site.
Currently the settlement is home to a North Warning System 
Probably about twice a year, I do a work stint as a child protection social worker to one of the hamlets in Nunavut, Canada's newest territory. The other two are the Yukon and Northwest Territories.Being casual, somewhat like a substitute teacher, each trip is for a fill in position and a new contract with Health and Social Services. This time round there has not been a permanent social worker in the community since October.
Hall Beach is a new community for me and will probably be here until mid-February.
Hall Beach NUNAVUT
Hall BeachCoordinates: 68°46′38″N 081°13′27″W It has been exactly a week since I left Edmonton and been one of settling in.Mornings are joint meetings at the health center which is a three nurse station and then off to my office building
which is shared with the Income Support worker.Sharing a house across from the Northern Store with Mysti
who is a mental health worker here for about two weeks from Igloolik. Mysti and her two 3-yr old husky dogs have been a great welcome committee, 
as I miss my own two huskies. They are so similar in behavior with their whines, growls and howls. Yes, I did bring the cross country skis
and really, no regrets, as I have been out twice on them this weekend, although only a few hours of light each day.The colors, the ice and snow and patterns that they create is really a different world.
Like this shot of snow blown against the stop sign.This morning the crew from the Health Center was invited for Sunday brunch at the (DEW) line site.
Learned there are 47 stations across Canada with prime funding coming from Americans...all in all they stretch from Greenland to Alaska.Underneath the building were Arctic white foxes.
Very cute but not pets as often can be rapid ( carrier of rabies ).
There has been some socializing as well with the teachers and RCMP 
joint dinner on Saturday. 
Monday I suspect is going to be the beginning of serious work.
Comments (5)
What a great post -- thank you! That reminds me of what I saw at the research stations in Antarctica (although I was not south of the Antarctic Circle, and it wasn't that cold). I love the stop sign shot!! And what a beautiful dog -- and the white fox is magnificent! If Nunavut is similar to the Alaskan Inuit villages, you have your work cut out for you.
Fascinating pictures of a place I've never seen. We have red foxes around here. Yours is amazing looking. Was he surprised?
Hard core
@guestbrief - The foxes were surprisingly tame and seem to hang out near the garbage bin but again they are wild.@slmret - I can imagine similar to some of the Antarctica research stations but they are much more remote. Am on the email list for the Quark expeditions but never visited that region, what was your experience or reason for being there? Yes, my work is cut out for me, in fact tonight went to a hamlet meeting and news spreads the social worker is in town. What I find frustrating is that as casual SW I am only in particular communities on a short term basis. If an interest in some of the Alaskan inuit villages look up this blog .http://twoakhuskies.blogspot.com@blonde_apocalypse - Thanks
@bonnieupnorth - Yes -- Antarctic stations are way more remote, accessible only by ship, and only some of them in winter. I was interested in global warming and its effect on polar regions -- looked at big ship cruises, which seemed unsatisfying, then learned about a smaller ship 'expedition', with 2x daily zodiac tours or landings -- seemed much better than a big ship which sails to within distant sight of the Peninsula or a flyover. It was a spectacular trip, with good enrichment activities (lectures, naturalists, historians, etc.), stops at colonies of various penguins, seals, birds, etc., and a stop at Palmer Station (they only allow 12 visits a year, but we were #13 to deliver some specialized equipment. Very flexible scheduling -- we could stop and play with whales, or spend more time than scheduled sailing along a huge iceberg, etc. I'd now like to do something similar in Spitzbergen or Churchill, adding in Greenland and Iceland, but need to save some $ first!I've done some interesting travel in Alaska, too, though nothing extreme! One summer I visited Barrow and other Inuit villages on a tour -- I can certainly understand your frustration at not being able to stay and see through the work that you begin (or interact with). There is such a need in the Native villages! That's an interesting blog -- I'll take more time and read more, but the post on collecting loads of wood was quite interesting!
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