Original subtitles

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ANNOUNCER: WHEN YOU SEE THIS SYMBOL YOU KNOW YOU'RE

WATCHING TELEVISION THAT'S EDUCATIONAL AND INFORMATIONAL.THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

DYLAN: I'M DYLAN DREYER.

TODAY, WE'RE ON A JOURNEY TO THE TOP OF THE WORLD,

THE FROZEN WILDERNESS OF THE GREAT NORTH.

FROM THE WHITE TUNDRAS OF NORTH AMERICA TO THE GRASS

PLAINS OF NORTHERN EUROPE, WE'LL MEET THE PROUD

PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN LANDS OF ICE AND SNOW AND LEARN

HOW THEIR ANCIENT TRADITIONS KEEP THEM ALIVE

AND WARM.

WE'LL FOLLOW THE GREAT HERDS OF CARIBOU AND

REINDEER ON AN ENDLESS SEARCH FOR FOOD AND

DISCOVER HOW MODERN TECHNOLOGY IS SHEDDING NEW

LIGHT ON ANCIENT SECRETS, AND WE'LL WATCH AS HISTORY

COMES ALIVE AND A UNIQUE WAY OF LIFE LIVES ON.

THE JOURNEY STARTS RIGHT NOW.

♪ MUSIC ♪

DYLAN: IN 1922, AMERICAN FILMMAKER ROBERT FLAHERTY

SHOWCASED THE FIRST FULL-LENGTH DOCUMENTARY

FILM EVER PRODUCED CALLED "NANOOK OF THE NORTH".

AT THE TIME, "NANOOK OF THE NORTH" WAS

GROUNDBREAKING CINEMA.

ALTHOUGH MANY OF THE SEQUENCES WERE STAGED AND

SEVERAL DETAILS WERE EMBELLISHED,

THE FILM CAPTURED SOME OF THE FIRST AUTHENTIC

MOMENTS OF A REMOTE CULTURE LITTLE KNOWN TO

OUTSIDERS AND HELPED SPARK INTEREST IN THE INUIT WAY

OF LIFE.

TODAY, WE ARE RETURNING TO THE LAND OF NANOOK,

AND WE HAVE A VERY SPECIAL GUIDE,

NANOOK'S GRANDSON, ADAMANE.

[ADAMANE SPEAKING INUKTITUT]

ADAMANE: MY FATHER USED TO TELL ME THE STORY OF

AJAGUTAK, WHAT YOU CALL THE RAINBOW.

IT IS A STORY FROM WAY BACK IN TIME,

PASSED DOWN FROM ONE STORYTELLER TO THE NEXT.

MY FATHER TOLD ME THE RAINBOW HOLDS UP THE SKY.

IT IS EARTH'S WALKING STICK.

THIS PLACE IS VERY SPECIAL.

MY FATHER BROUGHT ME HERE WHEN I WAS A BOY,

AS HIS FATHER BROUGHT HIM.

MY NAME IS ADAMANE.

I HAVE LIVED IN THIS LAND FOR FIVE THOUSAND YEARS.

SOME STONES ARE MADE TO TELL YOU THINGS,

WHERE TO HUNT, WHERE IT IS SAFE TO TRAVEL.

THEY HOLD THE KNOWLEDGE OF MY PEOPLE.

WE CALL THESE STONES INUKSUK.

IT MEANS "THAT WHICH TAKES THE PLACE OF A MAN".

ADAMANE: MY GRANDFATHER HAD MUCH KNOWLEDGE.

THE WORLD CALLED HIM NANOOK OF THE NORTH,

BUT TO ME, HE WAS JUST NANOOK,

MY FATHER'S FATHER.

PEOPLE STILL LIKE TO TELL STORIES ABOUT HIM.

WITHOUT OUR STORIES, WHAT WOULD WE KNOW OF OUR PAST,

AND WHAT WOULD WE PASS ON TO OUR CHILDREN?

THAT IS WHY, FOR US, THE GREAT STORYTELLER IS JUST

AS IMPORTANT AS THE GREAT HUNTER.

WE INUIT HAVE MORE STORIES ABOUT THE CARIBOU THAN ANY

OTHER ANIMAL.

WE CALL THEM TUKTU, "THE WANDERING ONES".

WE FOLLOWED THEM TO THIS LAND THOUSANDS OF YEARS

AGO.

THEY ARE EVERYTHING FOR US,

OUR MEAT AND OUR MAGIC.

DYLAN: THE CARIBOU HERDS ARE VITAL TO THE INUIT WAY

OF LIFE.

THESE REMARKABLE ANIMALS DEFINE THE INUIT CALENDAR

AND GIVE NAMES TO ALL THE SEASONS.

NURRIREAT IS THE WORD FOR SPRING.

IT MEANS THE TIME WHEN THE CARIBOU CALVES ARE BORN.

THE HERD ALWAYS RETURNS TO THE SAME CALVING GROUNDS,

A SANCTUARY WHERE ONLY THE FEMALES BELONG.

SCIENTISTS HAVE DISCOVERED THIS YEARLY MIGRATION IS A

TREK OF OVER FOUR THOUSAND MILES,

ALMOST TWICE THE DISTANCE FROM NEW YORK TO LOS

ANGELES.

UNTIL RECENTLY, THE GREAT MIGRATIONS OF THE CARIBOU

WERE SHROUDED IN MYSTERY.

THE WANDERING ONES, AS THE INUIT CALLED THEM,

WOULD SIMPLY DISAPPEAR IN WINTER AND THEN REAPPEAR

THE FOLLOWING SPRING JUST IN TIME TO GIVE BIRTH.

MINUTES AFTER A CALF IS BORN,

IT WILL LEARN WHO ITS MOTHER IS.

HER SMELL AND SHAPE WILL STAY WITH THE CALF SO

STRONGLY, THAT SHE WILL BE RECOGNIZED EVEN IN A GROUP

OF THOUSANDS.

THIS BOND WILL LAST UNTIL THE YOUNG CARIBOU IS OLD

ENOUGH TO FEND FOR ITSELF.

THIS SPRING, CLOSE TO HALF-A-MILLION CALVES WILL

BE BORN IN THIS HERD, BUT CARIBOU INFANCY DOESN'T

LAST VERY LONG.

THIS YOUNG CALF MUST BE STRONG ENOUGH TO RUN WITH

THE HERD WITHIN TWO DAYS.

WOLVES AND BEARS, EVEN EAGLES,

PREY ON THE YOUNG CARIBOU, BUT THE WORST OF THE

PREDATORS IS THE TINY MOSQUITO.

AS MUCH AS A MILLION LITERS OF BLOOD A WEEK

WILL BE DRAINED FROM THE CARIBOU HERD INTO

MOSQUITOS.

SOON AFTER THE CALVING, THE CARIBOU START

GATHERING.

SMALL BANDS WILL FLOW TOGETHER,

FINALLY FORMING MASSIVE HERDS OVER A MILLION

STRONG.

THE GEORGE AND LEAF RIVER HERDS OF NORTHERN QUEBEC

AND LABRADOR ARE THE LARGEST ASSEMBLY OF

MIGRATING MAMMALS ON EARTH.

THIS MIGRATION WILL TAKE THE CARIBOU OVER SOME OF

THE WORLD'S MOST DIFFICULT AND RUGGED TERRAIN.

DURING THE SHORT WEEKS OF THE NORTHERN SUMMER,

THE HERD WILL WANDER FROM DESOLATE COASTLINE TO

MOUNTAINOUS HIGHLANDS, FEEDING THEIR YOUNG AND

FATTENING UP FOR THE HARD WINTER AHEAD.

IN THE ARCTIC CIRCLE AT THE TOP OF THE WORLD,

THE SUN IS VISIBLE ABOVE THE HORIZON FOR 24

CONTINUOUS HOURS AT LEAST ONCE PER YEAR.

JUST THINK ABOUT LIVING IN A PLACE WHERE THE SUN

NEVER SETS, EVEN AT MIDNIGHT,

BUT FOR ONE DAY IN THE WINTER,

THE SUN NEVER RISES.

IT REMAINS BELOW THE HORIZON,

TURNING DAY INTO NIGHT AND DROPPING TEMPERATURES TO

30 DEGREES BELOW ZERO.

COMING UP NEXT, WE'RE ALONG FOR THE RIDE OF A

LIFETIME AS BIOLOGISTS PLACE A RADIO TRANSMITTER

ON A WILD CARIBOU, AND WE'LL VISIT THE AMAZING

PEOPLE WHO LIVE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE ARCTIC

OCEAN, WHERE THE GREAT REINDEER HERDS RUN WILD.

STAY TUNED.

"JOURNEY" WILL BE RIGHT BACK.

ANNOUNCER: WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

.

ANNOUNCER: WE NOW RETURN TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

♪ MUSIC ♪

DYLAN: WELCOME BACK TO "JOURNEY".

I'M DYLAN DREYER.

ALTHOUGH THE MOST NORTHERN PARTS OF THE EARTH HAVE

BEEN SETTLED BY INDIGENOUS PEOPLE FOR THOUSANDS OF

YEARS, ONLY FOUR MILLION PEOPLE LIVE NORTH OF THE

ARCTIC CIRCLE, LESS THAN .06 PERCENT OF THE WORLD'S

POPULATION.

THE SEVERE CLIMATE MAKES INDUSTRY,

FARMING, AND TRANSPORTATION EXTREMELY

DIFFICULT FOR MUCH OF THE YEAR.

THE BRAVE PEOPLE LIVING AT THE ROOFTOP OF THE WORLD

ARE MADE OF HEARTY STUFF.

ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE ARCTIC CIRCLE FROM QUEBEC

LIES THE CHILLY TUNDRA OF NORTHERN SWEDEN.

THE SAAMI HAVE LIVES NOT UNLIKE THEIR NEIGHBORS,

THE INUIT.

AT THE CENTER OF SAAMI CULTURE IS HERDING

REINDEER, THE CARIBOU'S CLOSE COUSIN.

THE EPIC STORIES AND LEGENDS OF THE SAAMI ARE

TOLD IN SONG.

NOW IT'S TIME FOR THE REINDEER TO COME DOWN FOR

THE AUTUMN ROUNDUP.

[OPMUT SINGING]

DYLAN: THIS IS OPMUT.

HE COMES FROM A LONG LINE OF SAAMI HERDERS AND

SINGERS.

WITH NO WRITTEN LANGUAGE UNTIL RECENTLY,

SINGERS LIKE OPMUT ARE THE HISTORY BOOKS OF THEIR

PEOPLE.

THE SAAMI HAVEN'T LET TIME PASS THEM BY.

REINDEER ARE STILL AT THE CENTER OF THEIR CULTURE,

AND THE REINDEER ROUNDUP IS AS IMPORTANT AS EVER,

BUT THEY TAKE WHAT THEY NEED FROM MODERN

TECHNOLOGY, HELICOPTERS AND HORSES,

SINGING AND CELL PHONES, WHATEVER WORKS BEST.

THIS YEAR, THE REINDEER MUST HAVE LIKED OPMUT'S

SONG.

THE SAAMI GATHERED TOGETHER FIVE THOUSAND

ANIMALS FROM THE WOODS AND MOUNTAINS.

GETTING THIS MASSIVE HERD OF REINDEER INTO THE

CORRAL IS JUST THE FIRST STEP.

BACK ACROSS THE ARCTIC OCEAN IN THE LAND OF

NORTHERN QUEBEC, NO ONE HAS EVER TAMED THE

CARIBOU, AND YOU CAN'T CALL THEM OUT OF THE

MOUNTAINS WITH A SONG.

TODAY, CARIBOU ARE TRACKED WITH RADIO TRANSMITTERS.

FOR THE LAST YEAR-AND-A-HALF,

BIOLOGISTS HAVE BEEN FOLLOWING A FEMALE CARIBOU

FITTED WITH A RADIO COLLAR.

FOR THE FIRST YEAR, THEY TRACED HER AS SHE TRAVELED

FOR MORE THAN THREE-AND-A-HALF THOUSAND

MILES, BUT NOW HER TRANSMITTER'S GONE DEAD.

YOU MIGHT THINK IT WOULD BE EASY TO SPOT TEN

THOUSAND CARIBOU, BUT THESE ANIMALS ARE

WANDERING A TERRITORY ALMOST TWICE THE SIZE OF

FRANCE, AND TO TRACK THEIR MOVEMENTS,

A NEW RADIO COLLAR IS NEEDED.

ADAMANE HAS TEAMED UP WITH BIOLOGIST SERGE CATOULLIE

TO CAPTURE A CARIBOU AND GIVE IT A NEW RADIO

COLLAR, AND THEIR TECHNIQUE IS TRULY

SOMETHING TO SEE.

[TRACKER BEEPING]

[NET GUN SHOOTING]

DYLAN: IT'S A PERFECT SHOT.

NOW THEY MUST WORK FAST TO MINIMIZE THE STRESS ON

THIS ANIMAL.

ADAMANE AND SERGE HOPE THAT WITH THE NEW RADIO

COLLAR, THIS CARIBOU MAY HELP UNRAVEL THE HERD'S

MYSTERIOUS MIGRATIONS.

THE CARIBOU'S LONG TREK SOUTHWARD WILL NOT BE AN

EASY ONE.

NOT ALL THE LAKES ARE COMPLETELY FROZEN.

THERE WILL BE SOME WHO ATTEMPT THE CROSSING TOO

SOON.

SOME WILL BE STRONG ENOUGH TO PULL THEMSELVES TO

SAFETY.

OTHERS WILL END THEIR JOURNEY HERE.

THE MIGRATION IS ESPECIALLY HARD ON THE

YOUNG.

OUT OF THE HALF-A-MILLION CALVES BORN IN THE SPRING,

ONLY A QUARTER WILL SURVIVE THEIR FIRST

WINTER.

FOR MANY INUIT PEOPLE, PROTECTING THE WANDERING

CARIBOU HERDS IS THEIR TOP PRIORITY.

NOW MODERN TECHNOLOGY IS REVEALING THEIR ANCIENT

SECRETS.

COMING UP NEXT, WE'RE HEADING BACK TO SWEDEN,

WHERE THE GREAT REINDEER ROUNDUP IS IN FULL SWING,

AND LATER, WE'LL SPEND A COZY NIGHT IN AN IGLOO.

"JOURNEY" WILL RETURN RIGHT AFTER THIS.

ANNOUNCER: WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

.

ANNOUNCER: WE NOW RETURN TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

♪ MUSIC ♪

DYLAN: THE SAAMI PEOPLE OF NORTHERN SWEDEN HAVE BEEN

HERDING REINDEER FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS.

TODAY, ONLY ABOUT TEN PERCENT OF THE POPULATION

STILL MAKES A LIVELIHOOD FROM REINDEER,

PROVIDING THEIR COMMUNITIES WITH MEAT,

FUR, AND TRANSPORTATION.

FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS, THE REINDEER OF NORTHERN

SWEDEN RAN AS FREE AS CANADA'S CARIBOU,

BUT LONG AGO, THE SAAMI LEARNED THE ART OF

HERDING.

THE ROUNDUP IS SOMETHING NOT TO BE MISSED.

EVEN TODAY, MANY PEOPLE TRAVEL FOR DAYS JUST TO BE

HERE.

THE SAAMI CALL THEMSELVES THE PEOPLE OF THE SUN AND

THE WIND.

THE ANCESTORS OF THESE MEN AND WOMEN DOMESTICATED THE

REINDEER LONG BEFORE PEOPLE ELSEWHERE IN THE

WORLD HAD TAMED THE HORSE.

OPMUT: THE ROUNDUP ISN'T ALL WORK.

IT'S ALSO A BIG SOCIAL EVENT.

I HAVEN'T SEEN MY DAUGHTER,

LISBA, FOR ALMOST A YEAR.

[OPMUT SINGING]

OPMUT: THIS OLD HUT HAS BEEN IN OUR FAMILY FOR

GENERATIONS.

IT HOLDS WONDERFUL MEMORIES FOR BOTH OF US.

[SINGING CONTINUES]

DYLAN: ONE OF OPMUT'S FAVORITE SONGS IS ABOUT

THE MASTER REINDEER, A CELESTIAL BULL REINDEER

WHO HIDES IN THE MISTS OF THE NORTHERN LIGHTS.

[SINGING CONTINUES]

DYLAN: ONE NIGHT, AS THE LEGEND GOES,

WHEN THE LIGHTS WERE AT THEIR BRIGHTEST,

THE MIGHTY BULL RODE THE STARS DOWN TO EARTH AND

STOLE THE REINDEER FROM THE SAAMI.

EVER SINCE THEN, THE SAAMI HAVE BEEN WATCHFUL IN CASE

THE BULL SHOULD RETURN ONE DAY AND TRY TO STEAL THE

HERD AGAIN.

TODAY IN THE CORRAL, BATTLES FOR SUPREMACY

BREAK OUT AMONG THE DESCENDANTS OF THAT

LEGENDARY BULL OF THE NORTHERN SKY.

[REINDEER GRUNTING]

DYLAN: SINCE THAT NIGHT WHEN THE MASTER REINDEER

CAME FROM THE SKY AND STOLE THE HERD,

THE SAAMI TAKE PRECAUTIONS NEVER TO LOSE THEIR

REINDEER AGAIN.

THE HERDERS NOW CAREFULLY MARK EACH CALF.

ON ONE EAR, THE HERDER PUTS HIS FAMILY'S MARK.

ON THE OTHER EAR, HE PUTS HIS OWN.

ALL THE MARKS OF ALL THE FAMILIES ARE RECORDED IN A

GREAT BOOK, AN ANCIENT REGISTRY WHERE EVERY SAAMI

COUNTS HIS WEALTH IN RECORDED EAR MARKS.

OPMUT IS A RESPECTED ELDER,

AND SO IS THIS OLD BULL.

TO BOTH OF THEM FALLS THE FINAL ACT OF THE ROUNDUP.

OPMUT AND HIS OLD FRIEND GUIDE THE OTHER REINDEER

OUT OF THE CORRAL BACK TO THE WOODS AND MOUNTAINS

AND BACK TO FREEDOM.

THE SAAMI BELIEVE THE REINDEER ARE CHILDREN OF

THE SUN AND THE WIND, AND AS LONG AS THEY ARE

ALLOWED THEIR FREEDOM, THEY WILL ALWAYS RETURN.

DON'T GO AWAY.

"JOURNEY" WILL BE RIGHT BACK.

ANNOUNCER: WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

.

ANNOUNCER: WE NOW RETURN TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

♪ MUSIC ♪

DYLAN: WHEN FILMMAKER ROBERT FLAHERTY FIRST MET

NANOOK OF THE NORTH IN THE EARLY 20TH CENTURY,

THE WORLD OF THE INUIT PEOPLE WAS MUCH DIFFERENT

THAN IT IS TODAY.

NANOOK AND HIS FAMILY, JUST LIKE COUNTLESS

GENERATIONS BEFORE THEM, LIVED THEIR ENTIRE LIVES

IN AN ICE HOUSE KNOWN AS AN IGLOO.

IF NANOOK WAS STILL ALIVE, HE MIGHT BE SURPRISED TO

LEARN THAT HIS GREAT GRANDSON HAS NEVER SPENT

EVEN ONE NIGHT IN AN IGLOO.

CULTURE, CLIMATE, AND TECHNOLOGY HAVE CHANGED

HUMANITY'S ANCIENT RELATIONSHIP WITH THE

ARCTIC IN PROFOUND WAYS.

IT IS THE DEEP HEART OF WINTER IN THE CANADIAN

ARCTIC, AND ALL THE CARIBOU ARE GONE.

THE INUIT HAVE A STORY.

WHEN THE CARIBOU LEAVE THEM FOR THE WINTER,

THEY GO TO A GRAND CARIBOU HOUSE,

A HOLLOW MOUNTAIN LOCATED FAR,

FAR AWAY AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD.

FOR ADAMANE'S GRANDFATHER, NANOOK,

AN IGLOO WAS THE ONLY HOME HE KNEW.

ADAMANE DOES NOT LIVE THE SAME WAY AS HIS

GRANDFATHER, BUT HE KNOWS HOW TO BUILD A GOOD IGLOO.

TODAY, HE IS PASSING THIS ANCIENT KNOWLEDGE TO HIS

SON.

ADAMANE: I CAME TO THIS PLACE MANY YEARS AGO WITH

MY FATHER.

HE TAUGHT ME HOW TO TURN MY SLED INTO A LADDER.

HE TAUGHT ME HOW TO FIND FOOD DEEP UNDER THE ICE.

NOW I'VE TAUGHT MY SON TO COME HERE,

BUT ONLY WHEN THE FULL MOON DRAWS THE TIDE FAR

BACK.

ONLY THEN CAN YOU GATHER THE MUSSELS,

AND EVEN THEN, YOU MUST BE QUICK.

OUR HUNT WAS SUCCESSFUL.

NOW IT'S TIME TO CELEBRATE AND TO THANK THE ANIMALS.

[SINGING]

DYLAN: LEGEND HAS IT INUIT WOMEN LEARN TO SING

THIS WAY FROM THE TUNITARUK,

A HALF HUMAN, HALF BIRD CREATURE ALL COVERED WITH

TATTOOS WHO LIVES IN THE DARK CORNERS OF ABANDONED

IGLOOS.

THE SOUNDS OF THE SONG COME FROM THE VOICES OF

WILD GEESE.

THE WORDS ARE FROM THE NORTHERN LIGHTS.

ADAMANE: MY FATHER LEARNED TO HUNT FROM HIS FATHER,

NANOOK.

DYLAN: NANOOK MEANS "THE GREAT WHITE BEAR",

THE FIERCEST HUNTER OF THEM ALL.

ADAMANE REMEMBERS THE STORIES OF HIS

GRANDFATHER, INCLUDING THE LAST ONE.

ADAMANE: NANOOK MADE HUNTING SEEM LIKE PLAY.

DYLAN: DURING A TERRIBLE WINTER,

WITH MANY MOUTHS TO FEED, NANOOK WENT OUT INTO THE

SNOW TO HUNT FOR CARIBOU AND WAS LOST TO THE

WINTER.

BUT NANOOK HAS NEVER TRULY LEFT.

HIS GRANDSON, ADAMANE, SEES HIM EVERYWHERE,

IN THE WIND, IN THE SUN, IN THE FACES OF HIS

CHILDREN.

THE GREAT BEAR PROTECTS THEM STILL.

THE QUIET MOMENTS OF NANOOK AND HIS FAMILY THAT

WERE CAPTURED ON FILM ALMOST ONE HUNDRED YEARS

AGO REMAIN ONE OF OUR MOST IMPORTANT EXAMPLES OF

EARLY CINEMA, NOT ONLY BECAUSE THE FILM HELPED

CREATE THE MODERN DOCUMENTARY,

BUT ALSO BECAUSE THE FILM GIVES US A GLIMPSE INTO A

WORLD THAT IS RAPIDLY DISAPPEARING.

NANOOK AND HIS FAMILY WILL LIVE ON IN OUR

IMAGINATIONS LONG AFTER HIS WAY OF LIFE HAS MELTED

AWAY.

I HOPE YOU ENJOYED OUR JOURNEY TO THE GREAT

NORTH.

UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN, SAFE TRAVELS.

♪ CREDITS ♪

♪ CREDITS ♪