All language subtitles for The.Polar.Sea.S01E06.720p.WEB.x264-CRiMSON Eng

(DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING)

GORDON PINSENT:
Last time on The Polar Sea.

Engine troubles have forced
Dax out of the water,

ending Martin Sigge's
Northwest Passage dream.

What should I tell their wives
if I survive and they don't?

PINSENT:
But his friend Richard Tegner

is determined to go on.

RICHARD TEGNER: I am
an Arctic hitchhiker now.

PINSENT: Grabbing a ride
on a cruise ship,

he sails north
through Lancaster Sound,

on the trail
of the high Arctic exiles

who were abandoned
on these barren shores.

Government promised
that their ship,
that it would come.

PINSENT:
Who survived to be amazed

when the climate
finally caught up with them.

ZIPPORAH KALLUK: It's changed.

Flowers are growing.

PINSENT:
Now, deep in the Passage,

this summer's explorers
are confronting

the remnants of those
who passed this way

and never made it out.

(DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING)

PINSENT: Richard Tegner
is on the Russian ship,

Akademik Ioffe,

steaming south
in Prince Regent Inlet

toward the narrowest part
of the Northwest Passage.

And it is blocked with ice.

TEGNER: I am on a cruise ship

that will

hopefully take me all the way
to Cambridge Bay.

But right now, uh,

we don't know for sure
how far we can get.

They have requested
icebreaker assistance.

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

BORIS WISE: This was
moving at three knots
this direction,

and this is what the Bremen
came through.

And now, twelve knots
moving this direction,

so if we got stuck in here
and had to stop,

there is that much
more pressure

squeezing the ship
on the hull.

So...

This has also changed
for the worse,

where this, Bellot Strait,
has changed for the better.

Okay, so real time
decision making here

with the captain
of the icebreaker,

with our office,
with Transport Canada.

We've put in
a deviation report.

And we are now sailing

and planning to come down here
through Prince Regent Inlet

towards Bellot Strait.

So that puts us
in Bellot Strait.

Once we get to Bellot Strait,

again we are going
to look out the windows.

It's been a couple days since
they've been through there.

What is the ice?

What is the reality
of the situation when
we get to Bellot Strait?

We're not going to punch
through there

because it was good
three days ago.

PINSENT:
Ice, west of Somerset Island,

has forced them down
its east side.

They must cut to the west
at Bellot Strait.

It's 25 kilometers long,
but only 2 kilometers wide.

It is so often iced in,

that 19th century explorers
sailed past it for 20 years

before realizing
it was there.

It was found in 1852 by
the French explorer Bellot,

who was searching for
the lost Franklin expedition.

But still no one managed
to sail through it

for another 85 years.

Its current can run
at 15 kilometers an hour

and abruptly change direction.

It's a sailor's trap,

as a group of yachts
is about to find out.

(PHILIPP COTTIER
SPEAKING IN GERMAN)

(MAN SPEAKING IN FRENCH)

PINSENT: The great ice melt
caused by global warming

has drawn the sailors here.

But now the vagaries
of Arctic weather

and the roiling tides
of the Polar sea

threaten to snare them.

(WIND BLOWING)

(SYLVAIN MARTINEAU
SPEAKING IN FRENCH)

(COTTIER SPEAKING IN GERMAN)

(WIND BLOWING)

(COTTIER CONTINUES SPEAKING)

(MARTINEAU SPEAKING)

(COTTIER SPEAKING IN FRENCH)

(MARTINEAU SPEAKING IN FRENCH)

(COTTIER SPEAKING IN FRENCH)

(MARTINEAU AND COTTIER
SPEAKING IN FRENCH)

(MARIELLE DONZE
SPEAKING IN FRENCH)

(MARTINEAU SPEAKING IN FRENCH)

(COTTIER SPEAKING)

(MAN ON RADIO)

(COTTIER SPEAKING)

(COTTIER SPEAKING IN GERMAN)

(WOMAN ON RADIO)

(COTTIER SPEAKING IN FRENCH)

(MARTINEAU SPEAKS IN FRENCH)

(COTTIER SPEAKS IN ENGLISH)

(SPEAKING FRENCH)

(MAN SPEAKING
ON WALKIE-TALKIE)

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

MAN: (ON RADIO)
They are ready?
Yeah, okay.

TEGNER: Ahead of us
we have the...

Our...

Um, assisting icebreaker.

Doesn't seem like they
have much to do right now,

but it's called Henry Larson.

We'll see what it, uh...

How it will be at the other
end of Bellot Strait.

So...

This is a wonderful morning.

A special moment for everybody
to do this passage.

(MARTINEAU SPEAKING IN FRENCH)

(YVES GERMAN
SPEAKING IN FRENCH)

(MAN SPEAKING IN FRENCH)

(MARTINEAU SPEAKING IN FRENCH)

(MAN SPEAKING IN FRENCH)

(MAN 1 ON RADIO)

(MAN 2 SPEAKING)

(WIND BLOWING)
(RADIO STATIC)

MAN 3: Let's go! Let's go!
MAN 4: (ON RADIO)
All right. Do we go?

Yes, go, go, go, go,
go, go, go, go!

(MEN SPEAKING)

(MAN 1 SPEAKING)

MAN 3: Okay, Nick,
it's holding, it's holding.

Uh, there is stuff here
on the left side...

South side, it's kind of
encroaching now.

(MAN 2 SPEAKING)

(HELICOPTER BLADES WHIRRING)

(GERMAN SPEAKING IN FRENCH)

MAN: Bias to the north,
bias to the north slightly.

Careful for the little bits
flying across.

MAN 2: (ON RADIO)
It's closing from the left.

(MARTINEAU SPEAKING IN FRENCH)

MAN: Nick, there is
a bunch of floating bits.

You could slow down
a little here. Be careful.

Slow down.

(MARTINEAU SPEAKING IN FRENCH)

(DONZE SPEAKING IN FRENCH)

(COTTIER SPEAKING)

(WOMAN SPEAKING)

(GERMAN SPEAKING IN FRENCH)

(MARTINEAU SPEAKING IN FRENCH)

(HELICOPTER BLADES WHIRRING)

(GERMAN SPEAKING IN FRENCH)

(ICE CRACKING)

(ICE CRACKING)

(GERMAN SPEAKING IN FRENCH)

(INDISTINCT CHATTER IN FRENCH)

(ICE CRACKING)

(GERMAN SPEAKING IN FRENCH)

(COTTIER SPEAKING IN
FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

(PEOPLE CHEERING)

(INAUDIBLE)

(MARTINEAU SPEAKING IN FRENCH)

PINSENT: The Henry Larsen
has saved them,

but it's luck
that brought it here.

(HORN BLOWING)

PINSENT: Icebreakers
are the Canadian Government's
Arctic flagships,

but it only has six elderly
ships to patrol an area

of some 1.7 million
square kilometers.

(HORN BLOWING)

PINSENT:
The Ioffe steams south
toward King William Island.

TEGNER: Our trip is sort of
following in Amundsen's...

Not footsteps, but waters.

Amundsen, he managed to do it

though he had to
overcome winter
three times.

It took him three years
to complete the passage.

And he wintered in Gjoa,

which is the harbor
named after his ship.

He succeeded.

And they sang the Norwegian
national hymn in Nome,

where he...
When he entered there,

the people were standing
on the beach.

Though I don't think anybody
will stand on the beach

singing the Swedish national
hymn when I come there,

if I come there.
(CHUCKLES)

PINSENT:
Of all the Arctic explorers,
Amundsen is the most admired.

He sailed these waters
in the small ship Gjoa,

with a crew of six.

In autumn of 1903,

he put into a little harbor
on King William Island

to spend the winter.

PINSENT: There he met
the Netsilik Inuit.

They had heard legends
of white people,

but never seen one.

They called them Kabloonak,

meaning "people with
bushy eyebrows."

Amundsen revered Inuit skills,

and absorbed all he could
in his two years here.

PINSENT: Inuit were so
fascinated by his group

that a camp of 80
grew up around the boat.

The place
became known as Gjoa Haven.

When Amundsen sailed west,

he confided to his journal,
a hope that what he called,

"The evils of civilization"

would never reach
his Netsilik friends.

He could not know that
Canada's efforts to civilize

the Arctic were
just gearing up.

MAN: (ON RADIO)
The opening of the RCMP post.

A strange custom
to the Eskimos perhaps,

but a symbol of progress
to Eskimo and white man alike.

(WIND BLOWING)

TEGNER: Today we made
an excursion to the old...

Uh...

RCMP outpost.

Very interesting
and very inspiring.

The old houses were,

sort of, uh...

In a state
of deterioration and...

But things were left there.

Bottles, beds,

books,

traps, all kinds of tools.

And maybe it should...

Be looked after,

like some kind of museum,
which I don't think it is now.

Just big holes in the walls,
stuff like that.

It's a pity.
It's a very interesting place

since it was, um,

the Royal Canadian
Mounted Police that, uh,

posted their
personnel out here
to, uh, sort of, uh...

Look for and defend
the Canadian sovereignty.

PINSENT: For Canada,
the RCMP were the guardians
of sovereignty.

To the Inuit,

they were the vanguard
of southern civilization.

Eventually, the Mounties
built a post

anywhere Inuit gathered,

such as the harbor
where they had assembled

around Amundsen's boat, Gjoa,

and never left.

PINSENT: Today, 1200 people
live in Gjoa Haven,

and they still fondly
remember Amundsen.

There's a monument
to his achievements.

A bust in the village hall.

And even descendants,
like Paul Ikuallaq.

About five more days before
he passed on or so, um,

my father said,
"I am the son of Amundsen."

And we were wondering
who was Amundsen.

He said his father
was a Kabloonak.

His father was not a Inuk.
His father was a Kabloonak.

As soon as I found out,
I started reading up
on Amundsen.

I talked to the elders
in our community,

and they don't want to talk
about it because my father

was a respected person.

My oldest brother, Bob,

and he looks exactly
like Amundsen.

He's got the great big nose
and the big long eyelashes.

But, um, I look
like my mother.

PINSENT:
DNA tests done in Norway
did not confirm Paul's story.

But he prefers
the family legend to science.

IKUALLAQ: I believe my family

and any scientist

can try and take this
away from who we are,

what we are,
but we won't change.

I'm one of the proudest guys
in Gjoa Haven

that my grandfather
founded this place.

PINSENT:
Paul is a Canadian Ranger.

It's the military reserve
that does rescue work

and promotes
Canada's Arctic sovereignty.

And, today, is a big day
for the Rangers.

IKUALLAQ: Today,
the Canadian Rangers
are preparing for their

Prime Minister of Canada
to come to Gjoa Haven.

I'm driving the Prime Minister
to the location,

so I will shake his hand.

There is lots of excitement.

And some people
are getting anxious

to see the Prime Minister

and they are asking me,
what time, where, when, how?

PINSENT: Gjoa Haven
has never hosted
a Prime Minister before.

Never had anyone
so powerful come

to listen to its many needs.

MAN: If you had five minutes
with the Prime Minister,

what would you tell him?

We need more hunting stuff,
more boats, more machines...

Um, more apartments,
more stuffs to do.

Swimming pool, theater.

I'm not sure what else?

We need it up here
to have some fun.

PINSENT:
The Eastern Canadian Arctic
territory, called Nunavut,

is ruled by
its Inuit population.

But 85% of its operating money

is at the discretion of
the Canadian Government.

More than half the population
of Nunavut is under 24.

They are frustrated

that southern civilization's
benefits seem incomplete.

JOSEPH OKPAKOK:
It definitely makes you angry
when you look at everything

they show on TV
about the South.

You see more activities
and more jobs and...

The... The...

The restaurants are cheaper
and the food is cheap.

You see the things that you
don't see in the community.

(DISTORTED RADIO BROADCAST)

JOSEPH: It's just hard
because you...

You want to see a better
community that's,

I don't know, you just want
to see better things in the...

In Gjoa Haven and the North.

SIMON OKPAKOK:
In the life today, um,

there are a lot
of difficulties, uh,

that young people
face nowadays,

because they are trying
to live in one world

which is English

and also seeing
the other part of the world,

which is the livelihood
of their ancestors,
their parents.

They get the sense of feeling

that they don't belong
in either world.

PINSENT: Joseph's grandfather
is Simon Okpakok.

He is a university
educated teacher

and a respected hunter.

SIMON: Two worlds
are trying to, um...

Enforce a...

A knowledge into
the young person

and, um, it makes
a person confused

of who they can be.

PINSENT:
Like all young people, their
sense of what they can be

has a lot to do with TV.

Tiger Woods.
Tiger Woods.

Watch the pros.

Yeah.

MAN: Most of the summer
we go golfing every day.

That doesn't bother me here,
the global warming.

Doesn't really bother.

In the month of July,
it's nice and hot outside.

If the summer
gets longer here,

then we could
golf here longer.
(CHUCKLES)

(ENGINE REVVING)

PINSENT:
Prime Minister Stephen Harper

also seems unbothered
by global warming.

He travels to the Arctic
every year.

But never speaks about
climate change here.

What does concern Mr. Harper

is Canada's Arctic
sovereignty.

On this trip,

Paul's Ranger unit makes him
an honorary member.

Okay.
WOMAN: Group photo?

SIMON: Our community
has always been eager
to receive visitors.

We will receive honor
to be visited by

Prime Minister of Canada
for the first time.

They have always
showed respect

because they feel
honored that...

That they are being
thought about think about,

um,

regardless of what their
inner feelings that they have,

it will not come out.

What will come out is
the respect and honor

and open arms.

ANNOUNCER:
Welcome to Gjoa Haven.

(SPEAKING OTHER LANGUAGE)

(CHEERING)

(ANNOUNCER SPEAKING)

Before we start,
we're going to have our
lighting of the qulliq.

(SINGING NATIONAL ANTHEM
IN OTHER LANGUAGE)

(WOMAN SINGING
IN OWN LANGUAGE)

PINSENT:
With the Prime Minister
is Leona Aglukkaq,

Nunavut's only MP.

She chairs the Arctic Council,

representing all
Arctic states.

She said she will focus it

on developing the region's
industrial potential.

(FOLK MUSIC PLAYING)

PINSENT: O n this visit,
the Prime Minister

does not speak
with the community.

Nor do the people
of Gjoa Haven

get a chance
to tell him about
their overcrowded housing,

infrastructure needs
or social problems.

(CAMERA CLICKS)

Like the epidemic of suicide
that preoccupies the youths

hanging around outside
the community hall.

MAN: I lost my dad
two years ago to alcohol.

I think it was alcohol
poison that killed him.

Hmm.

It's really sad,
depressing.

I still can't get over that.

And I lost my brother
due to suicide

just a couple of months ago.

JORDAN AGLUKKAQ:
I lost a couple of friends.

One of them just
committed suicide.

Nobody talks
about it in school.

(CLEARS THROAT)

TEGNER: I met a teacher.

He told me about

tragic things about suicide
among his pupils.

A lot, a lot of suicide.

But you don't
really see that

so much on the surface,
of course.

It's behind the doors,

and walls within a home.

PINSENT: The suicide rate
for young men in Nunavut

is almost 50 times
the rest of Canada.

It is by far the highest
suicide rate in the world.

We're dealing with it.

That's what Inuks have to do.

It's what we're trying to do.

PINSENT: 19th century
explorers always
described Inuit

as exceptionally happy people.

Social workers
who study suicide here

link it to
dysfunctions caused

by the sudden and
often brutal way

southern civilization
was dropped on the Inuit.

It is exactly as
Amundsen feared.

(WIND BLOWING)

Gjoa Haven's elders believe

the best medicine
lays outside of town,

learning the skills
that kept the Netsilik

alive for 1,000 years.

One of the most important
is how to hunt caribou.

They are a dietary staple,

sometimes called
the bread of the Arctic.

Traditionally,
they thrived here.

In the mid 1990's,

the biggest nearby herd
had 3,50,000 animals.

SIMON: The land itself
has its own power, uh,

to change people.

Being one with the land,
the animals,

it's that something that's
becoming important to them.

And once they give in to
that type of living

it makes them feel,
um, easy.

(MAN SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY)

Going to...
When you're out walking,

your eyes are not,

are not to be looking down.

You are supposed
to be looking around.

Because, uh, caribou
can be anywhere.

Check the other side
of the hill,

to see if there's any.

Because you have to be
cautious all the time and

even if you don't see
anything over here,

you have to look on
either side all the time.

Oh, there's another one.

Right over Neil.

MAN 1: There?
MAN 2: Yeah, it's there.

SIMON: So unless
you're sure of yourself,

that you're going to hit,

get a clean shot
at the cari, uh, an animal,

nobody is supposed to shoot.

(SPEAKING OTHER LANGUAGE)

SIMON: Uh...

(SPEAKING OTHER LANGUAGE)

You can shoot it from here.

Shoot it from there.

(GUN FIRING)
SIMON: Oh.

Oh, it went over.
Take a shot again.

(GUN FIRING)

SIMON: Oh, too low.

(GUN FIRING)

You start cutting up
from here,

work your way down.

(SPEAKING OTHER LANGUAGE)

Right there.

No, right here.

Inuit have an understanding
of caribou as people who

hunt them for survival

because they are most
important animal in the North

for food,

more so for clothing
for the harsh environment.

(GONG REVERBERATING)

(WOMAN SINGING FOLK SONG)

PINSENT: In Nunavut they say
the healthiest people

are those who follow
Amundsen's advice

and prefer their own ways
to southern civilization.

But that's becoming harder.

Global warming
is hurting caribou

by changing the patterns
of weather here

and helping parasites spread.

The most recent count
of the local caribou herd

found 35,000.

A drop of 90% from
the previous count.

(FOLK SONG CONTINUES)

PINSENT:
On the Northwest Passage,

technological civilization
is a mixed blessing.

Hard on the communities
along the shore.

But a crucial lifeline
on the sea.

TEGNER: Global warming
has made our and
other trips possible.

It's like the new Everest

and it can be
in danger, of course.

I met these guys,

Nicolas and Marco
and I got the impressions

that at least Nicolas
was quite

cavalier about this
because, uh,

he was a real
adventurer. Yeah.

He was not afraid
of any obstacles.

They got stuck in really
bad weather and

they struggled for 24 hours
to get the boat loose.

They tried all different ways

and they got rescued
by a helicopter.

PINSENT: As the Great Melt
draws mariners to the Arctic,

the Coast Guard
gets more calls.

This summer the rescuers
will pluck more than two dozen

stranded tourists
from these waters.

And tragedy will come
to the rescuers, too.

The helicopter from
the icebreaker Amundsen,

with two officers
and a scientist,

is scouting ice conditions,

when it disappears.

All three men perish.

TEGNER:
The environment is so harsh

that you should help each
other if you get in trouble.

It's an obligation and
a culture in sailing,

whether you are
on the same boat

or you are a sailor
on another boat,

you have to help each other.

There is no other way
of dealing with problems.

And you should take care,
so no one gets in trouble.

It's not just a matter
of knowing how to pull
the right ropes

and put up the...

Trim the sails
and fix the engine.

It's about everybody's
well-being on board.