UQSUQTUUQ/GJOA HAVEN - People visiting Gjoa Haven's Northwest Passage trail this summer will gain an Inuit perspective on the passage's history thanks to upgraded signage installed last September.

Upgraded signs on the Northwest Passage trail in Gjoa Haven now reflect the Inuit history of the passage and the surrounding area. - photo courtesy of Nunavut Parks and Special Places

The signs along the trail were changed to help reflect the history of the passage in an Inuit context, said Becky Torretti, regional co-ordinator with Nunavut Parks and Special Places. They provide information about the Nattilik Inuit both before and during the time Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen stopped in the Gjoa Haven area while journeying through the Northwest Passage.

Amundsen visited from 1903 to 1905 before continuing on to become the first explorer to successfully navigate the Northwest Passage.

"It was upgrading and bringing in more of the Inuit story," Torretti said of the project. "Originally it was based mainly on the explorer's version of what had gone on with the Northwest Passage, but the story on the new trail signage kind of explores the Northwest Passage through three converging story lines."

Torretti said the story lines reflect the scientific research and journey of Amundsen, the history of the Inuit living in the area during that time and the relationship that developed among Amundsen, his crew and the Inuit.

The project began in 2005 and involved local elders, the parks and special places division of Nunavut's Department of Environment, Grade 12 students from Qiqartaq Ilihakvik, the hamlet and museums in both Canada and Norway, Torretti said.

"This was a collaborative effort between the Department of Environment and the community of Gjoa Haven," she said.

The trail begins at the Heritage Centre and continues to a cairn dedicated to Amundsen on the shoreline.

"It's a series of interpretive signs located along this trail through the community that leads visitors on a journey through the community that features stories of local elders and excerpts from Norwegian Roald Amundsen's diaries," she said.

A brochure also goes along with the signage, Torretti said.

"To go along with the signage we had a brochure produced that visitors to the community and people in the community can use to do a self-guided walking tour," she said.

Torretti said Amundsen represents a link created between Norway and Gjoa Haven that still exists today.

"The community feels a real connection to Norway through this explorer so it's pretty neat," she said. "People in the community really were the contributors to the project."

Torretti also said flagpoles and two benches are also scheduled to be installed along the route.