There is a cautionary tale passed down through generations of Inuvialuit , who’s native land stretches from Northern Alaska to the Beaufort Sea in Canada’s Yukon territory. It describes a flood that took place “long ago” that covered the entire world. Sarah Meyook heard the story from Irish Kiuruya, who was born in 1892:
“They say once there was a big flood all over Qikiqtaryuk (Herschel Island). You could see nothing! There was nothing then… (except for) some kind of animal high up there in the lake. Maybe it came from the ocean this animal. They don’t know what it is…”
(Excerpt from Nagy, Murielle Ida. 1994:21. Yukon North Slope Inuvialuit Oral History. Yukon Tourism, Heritage Branch.)
Oral history has long been a critical way of passing down indigenous knowledge. Stories like these that have survived for hundreds of years often try to impart on its listener something important. Some universal truth that helps us make sense of the world. Or some piece of advice on how to live a good life. Indigenous stories such as these are powerfully connected to place, in a way that outsiders could never fully understand or appreciate.
The island from the story, Qikiqtaruk, has both a fascinating and dark history. The name literally translates to “island” or “big island.” While this name may seem simple, it’s actually pretty spot on. Qikiqtaruk is Yukon’s only island, and is the only island for miles around.
The island today is uninhabited except for the occasional researcher. Likely to become Canada’s next UNESCO World Heritage Site, it boasts a long history, stretching all the way back to the Thule civilization that settled in the region after crossing the Bering Strait. Due to its location and spawning habitat the island was used as a seasonal base for fishing and whaling activities. As colonization began in the late 1800s, commercial whaling activity began to pick up. And at its peak the community had over 1500 residents, many connected to the fishing and whaling industries.
It’s true that island life on Qikiqtaruk revolved largely around the fishing and whaling industries. But it would be cruel to overlook the culture of the Inuvialuit people and their unique ties to the arctic landscape. Among these ties included their Inuvialuktun dialect, which is famous for its evocative description of the natural world. Inuvialuktun contains over 15 words that distinguish different types of ice and over 20 words that distinguish different types of snow. For example, a masak snow is considered wet and waterlogged, while a piangnaq snow is considered ideal for traveling by sled.
These words for snow and ice are not just practical. They’re also incredibly necessary for survival. Knowing the difference between masak and pukak (fine snow used for melting into water) could save someone’s life. Language in this sense is not only useful for culture but also a tool for survival in an environment that isn’t for the weak.
Like many cultures around the world, climate change is beginning to alter the very language people use, particularly indigenous languages that have existed for centuries. The frequency of piangnaq (ideal sledding snow) has reduced dramatically. As the environment changes, the language is lost as well. In this way language and culture are heavily tied with the uniqueness of a place, and can’t be replaced once its lost. The loss of one inevitably means the loss of the other.
Erosion of Place
Climate change has increased flooding on Qikiqtaruk, endangering the land supporting the original community. Much of the flooding can be attributed to the island literally melting away due to the loss of permafrost. As the permafrost on the shoreline melts, it creates landslides that cause entire chunks of land to fall into the sea. During a two week stretch in 2024 alone, the island suffered over 700 landslides.
In addition to landslides, the arctic ice surrounding the island has disappeared due to longer periods of warm weather. As a result the island has lost its protective buffer, a critical feature that helped the island maintain its integrity for centuries. Add in sea level rise and it becomes clear that the flooding will only continue to get worse with each passing year. This idea of ice offering protection to a community helps us understand why it is considered so sacred, and only deepens the collective trauma these communities feel as it is lost.
It would be easy to forget about Qikiqtaruk, given that no one lives on it and there is little that can be done to save it. The only real method of preserving the abandoned community is to move the buildings, but even researchers suggest that these methods are only buying time.
Reasons for Hope
But there is some hope for keeping the island community alive. Dubbing themselves “technicians of remembrance,” researchers are doing the heavy work of not only recreating a place, but preserving it for future generations. With the help of virtual reality and 3D printing technology, they can recreate the physical landscape that Qikiqtaruk has existed on for hundreds of years, giving future generations the ability to see and experience what it once looked like. All while knowing that it will be next to impossible to preserve the real thing in its entirety.
These heroic efforts are further reminders that our attachment to place goes beyond the physical realm. Like our beliefs in life after death, we are motivated by the idea that our places can outlive us. In the end our hopes, dreams, legacies, and memories may all end up in the places we called home.
What then, can we humans turn to for answers? What will guide us? If we can’t change make the changes necessary to preserve this way of life, how can we keep going?
When all else is lost, our stories will hold the treasures we have found along the way. The ending to the story of the flood on Qikiqtaruk is not a cheery one, but it speaks volumes about what is in store for all of humanity if nothing is done:
It is said that after the earth turned over, all the land was covered with water.
This hauntingly beautiful story reminds us that everything – people, land, the earth itself – is connected . That the loss of one place should be akin to losing the entire world, since an entire world can be found in one single place. This idea of mutual destruction is shared among indigenous cultures today, who warn us about the collapse of society due to climate change. Doug Olynyk, a historian from Yukon, described the despair of people who “won’t be able to experience Herschel Island in its true glory, years from now.”
“But once Manhattan starts being flooded, I don’t think people will care about Herschel Island.”
To learn more about the island of Qikiqtaruk and support its addition to the list of UNESCO World Heritage sites, visit the park website here.
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