Home » Canada » Arctic 2002: Pearse Point

During the 1920s and 30s there was a RCMP detachment at Pearce Point during
the summer months when the Inuit maintained a seasonal hunting camp.

Arctic 2002: Pearse Point

Trish
2004-01-08 21:46:05

Displayed times (last time: )

During the 1920s and 30s there was a RCMP detachment at Pearce Point during
the summer months when the Inuit maintained a seasonal hunting camp. For
these hardy men from the south, it must have seemed a beautiful but desolate
spot. More for a show of sovereignty that actual purpose, small ships
carried up enough wood to build identical two room quarters throughout the
Arctic. At Pearce Point, a protected bay open to the north and the waters of
the Amundsen Gulf, the police shack still stands, and is still occupied
seasonally.

We anchored in the bay for a few hours, enough time for some of us to walk
and explore ashore. From the ship, the land called me, rugged and inviting.
The fragile tundra of Barrow is here raised above the seas by basalt cliffs
broken only in a few places such as the RCMP beach where we could land from
a small boat. The rocky ground was covered with brown mosses, except for a
tower outcropping in the bay entirely cut off from land and rising
dominantly from the water. Its surface was green and alive, suggesting that
grazing may have played a part in halting the growth of green foliage on the
mainland.

This is caribou country, and walking on the beach we made our way to the
RCMP hut. Originally covered in red wooded shingles, gaps had been replaced
with blue tarps and the ground outside was littered with oil drums, remnants
of old clothing, and jerry cans in a picture of neglect. The cabin itself
was chained shut and currently in use as a hunting base. Peering through
the windows feeling vaguely guilty of trespass, the evidence of domestic
comfort contrasted the disrepair outside. In front of the window was a
table covered with a red checked tablecloth, the familiar shapes of bottles
of HP sauce, jars of pickles, and an opened bag of nacho chips.

In that bag of ...