All language subtitles for The.Polar.Sea.S01E03.720p.WEB.x264-CRiMSON Eng

GORDON PINSENT:
Last time on The Polar Sea...

The Northwest Passage has
become the new Everest.

Seven million square
kilometers of Arctic ice
have melted,

but the passage is
still blocked.

Amateur explorers
assemble in Greenland.

RICHARD TEGNER:
The channel is opening up.

PINSENT:
Here the icebergs breaking off
Greenland's glacier

are beautiful playthings.

But as the explorers sail
from Greenland to Canada

they face a maze of ice
where danger lurks
behind dazzling beauty,

and tolerating each other is
the key to survival.

RICHARD: It's sad
when you look at old friends
in a negative way.

PINSENT:
Four days of sailing have
brought Dax to Pond Inlet.

It's the last stop for repairs

before heading deep
into the Northwest Passage,

and a chance for the crew
to relieve tensions
on the tiny ship.

Pond is an Inuit community
of 1,300 people.

Sea mammals have
fed them for over 2,500 years.

But the recent arrival
of modern ways,

and a changing climate,
is altering their diet...

...and their lives.

(TALKING INDISTINCTLY)

RICHARD: The topography,
the landscape, looks
quite different, I think.

You didn't see
that much on Greenland,

I think I prefer this, yes.

(CHUCKLES)

I like this place.

The background here,
it's like a Disney movie.

Or the logo
of Paramount Pictures.

(METAL CLANKING)

MARTIN SIGGE:
A little welding job
brings me to shore.

Stanchions, that's the...
The pillars that hold

the railing and ropes,
and the fitting that holds
the tiller has broken.

Also, we like to find
someone to take a look
at the outboard engine

because it's misfiring

and, uh, it's not in such
very good shape, really, so...

I hope we can do that.

Um, we're going to talk to
the boss of the co-op.

That's Louise.

She seems to be
the one who runs this town.

When Martin wanted to do
these things himself,

Bengt and I tried
to contribute with the things,

but mostly Martin did
a lot himself

and I think it was a bit
too much for him,

so he didn't feel comfortable
and relaxed at all.

He had to deal
with the things all the time.

PINSENT: The sailors are
anchored on the northern tip
of Baffin Island.

Europeans have known
this region, on and off,
for 1,000 years.

First came Vikings,
possibly trading with Inuit.

Then, in 1616,
the British arrived.

Captain William Baffin
charted the coast,

but he found
no route to India.

The British Navy
lost interest

and did not return
to search for the Passage

until 1818.

Between then and the turn
of the 21st century,

only a few dozen ships
passed this way.

Then the great melt began.

Today, Pond Inlet has
ships arriving all summer,

en route to the maze
of waterways
that form the passage.

(FOGHORN BLOWING)

PINSENT: The community views
the sudden swell of visitors

as an opportunity
and a challenge.

COLIN SAUNDERS: This is
a good summer day.

It'll get actually a little
bit hotter in town than this,

but this is... This is here,
this is a decent
summer day today.

Nice light breeze,
radiant sunshine.

You feel
the global warming, eh?

(CHUCKLES)

PINSENT: Colin Saunders is
Pond Inlet's
Economic Development Officer.

His job is to help people
figure out how to make
money off the tourists.

COLIN: I moved here
in the early '80s as a child.

And back then,
we might get one cruise ship
in a year.

Since the mid-'90s, we've
been getting a steady increase
of the amount of cruise ships

that have
been coming up now,
and a slow increase

in the amount of guests
that come in per ship.

We do what we can
with what we have up here.

We try and give people
the best visit as we can

with the limited amount
of supplies or provisions

that we do have here
to host the ships.

(INAUDIBLE)

WOMAN: The people are
from all over.

MAN: Switzerland, Japan,
China, South Africa,

uh, New Zealand, Australia,
England, USA.

BOTH: And Canada. Yeah.
(ALL LAUGH)

MAN: Well, I decided about
couple months ago.

Knowing from the history
of Amundsen.

So, I was interested in that.

Especially
the Northwest Passage.

I read that until 2003,

only 100 ships made it
through the Northwest Passage.

But due to global warming,
I guess, it's becoming easier.

Everything has two sides.

On one hand,
danger of pollution,

and on the other hand,
bringing jobs to the people.

I don't know if it's positive.
I'm not so sure.

PINSENT: That potential
for tension is
also drawing journalists.

Ulla Lohmann is
a German photographer.

She and her husband, Basti,
travel the world for magazines
like National Geographic.

Global media interest
in the warming Arctic

has given Ulla the
opportunity to fulfill
a childhood fantasy.

(ULLA SPEAKING GERMAN)

(ULLA SPEAKING GERMAN)

(SPEAKING GERMAN)
(SHUTTER CLICKING)

(SPEAKING GERMAN)

MAN: Who do you work for?

Sorry?
Are you English?

No, I'm from Sweden.

Hi, I wonder
if I can talk to Louise.
Hi.

(KNOCKING)

(SOFTLY)
Hi, I was wondering, is...
Is this Louise?

I am looking for Louise.

(SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY)
Okay. I'll wait.

Hello, my name is Martin.
Hi.

I came sailing
from Sweden.

I'm Louise.
Hi, Louise, pleased
to meet you.

The guys at the police station
said that you know
everything about this town

and how to get around.
(LAUGHS) Of course.
They already told me that.

Okay, so you were informed,

you were warned.
And you're still here.
I was warned.

And I'm still here.
(CHUCKLES) Okay.

This is a part on my boat
which holds the...
The poles to...

I don't know
what it is in English,
but like the fence around.

Okay. Yes, I got it.
Okay. Broken.

We can probably do
that in the garage.

You have
your own garage here?

We have a heavy
equipment division.

Okay, great.

What is the next one?

We have a little
outboard engine

that hasn't been
serviced for...

Actually it worked pretty well
when we left Sweden,

but that was two
or three months ago.

So, I wonder if there might...
You know someone
who could take a look at it

and just give
it a little TLC.

They can do it.

But whether they have time,
we'd have to check and ask.

Ah, maybe... Maybe they would
know someone who could, uh...

Well, we have
a Yamaha division.

Okay. This is
an Evinrude, but okay.
(LOUISE LAUGHS)

Well, if you want
to go out and check
with the operators,

I'll just call them and see
if they're there for sure.
Yeah.

I was wondering if you knew
uh, where we could get a hold
of some more fresh water.

We might need,
like, 100 liters or so.

You might have to check
with the hamlet.

Okay. Yeah, I saw
the fire engine there,

they should have water.

And the water truck.
'Cause we have water
trucked to all of us here.

Yeah. All right. So...
We have a water tank.

Every house and every,
uh, place has a water tank.

Okay.
And the truck comes
and delivers your water.

Yeah. Okay.
Water delivery
right to your door.

Right.
And hopefully
you get it on time.

And you don't have piping
because that would freeze
in the winter, I suppose.

Or you would have to dig it
three meters down
in the ground or even more?

Yes, yes, and that happens.

Do you have permafrost
here in the winter?

Yes.
Okay, right, right.

So, Mose is
the fuel truck driver...

Okay.
And he's connected
with your man for fuel.

(WHIRRING)

So, we've got your welding,
we've got your fuel.

Yeah, I'm just going
to check with who takes care

of the payment
and all that stuff.

(SPEAKS SWEDISH)

The co-op started
in the North
based on what they needed,

which would be trading fur
for food and different things
like that,

and it evolved
to what was needed.

Once a year, this co-op
has a sea-lift.

We order once a year
for a full year ahead.

Anything that is heavy
like furniture, snow machines,
ATVs, comes on a ship.

Otherwise, we get
seven planes,
seven nights a week.

If you want to order 50 pounds
of flour, you order
that on your sea-lift.

You don't want it
to come on a plane
because of the freight rate.

It'd be much higher,
so you try to keep
the costs down for the members

as much as you can.

PINSENT: Grocery delivery
by jet plane makes food
more expensive here

than anywhere in Canada.

And 45% of people in Pond
are on social assistance.

A Nunavut government report
says half of youths
aged 11 to 15

sometimes go
to bed hungry.

(LAUGHING)

PINSENT: And lots of the food
kids do get is
not the best for them.

To get enough healthy food,

people here still need
to hunt and fish.

ULLA: Do you know I would be
real interested
in seeing some people fishing.

Do you know
where I can find them?

(MAN SPEAKING)

(SPEAKING FRENCH)

(MAN SPEAKING FRENCH)

(SPEAKING FRENCH)

(SHUTTER CLICKING)

(SHUTTER CLICKING)

(CAMERA BEEPING)

(BOTH LAUGH)

(INAUDIBLE)

ULLA: Can I see one more time
the fish, please?

Can I grab it?

Oh, the water is
really cold.

Yeah.

They are beautiful.

Do you fry them?
(SPEAKING)

How do you make them?

You play with them?

So, you don't kill them?

I took pictures of you.

I would love to give
them to you somehow.

Do you think I can get
your address and give
you the pictures?

That would be cool.

Let's go up to the road
together and I get
something to write.

(BOY SPEAKING)

You are getting belugas?

How cool!
(SPEAKING)

PINSENT:
Raw whale and seal meat
are still common,

and a requirement any time
the community gets together.

Eat. (INAUDIBLE)

Thank you so much.

Yeah, thank you!

(SPEAKING FRENCH)

(BOY SPEAKING)

Just like that?
(SPEAKS)

BOY: Eat the whole thing.

(LAUGHS)

(SPEAKING GERMAN)

(SPEAKING GERMAN)

Yeah, I mean, it tastes
a little bit like, you know,
some sushi I know.

But, uh, I don't know.

I just have a little bit of
problem, like, with the idea
of eating a little seal.

But I guess it's your food,
huh? It's what you eat
all the time.

(SPEAKING GERMAN)

ULLA: Have you ever been
there when they caught
a seal?

(SPEAKING)

You caught one?
Yeah.

(SPEAKING)
Wow.

How do you catch it?

(SPEAKING)

PINSENT: Using rifles
and motorboats mean

that Inuit today need
cash to hunt.

The hope here is
that climate-change tourism
will bring enough money

to help people maintain
their traditional ways.

But they struggle
to understand
what the tourists want.

MAN: Is liquor sold here?

Um, they have to go
through, uh, committee.

Could I buy
a bottle right now?

You would be bootlegging

WOMAN 1: Weren't
you at breakfast?
WOMAN 2: Weren't you there?

No, no, I heard...
I heard exactly
what he said.

I heard exactly...

But he didn't say
I couldn't buy a bottle
in the co-op.

WOMAN: He just said
it was controlled

and you didn't understand
what "controlled" means.

No, I understand
what "control" is,

that it's controlled
for the people who live here,

but is it controlled
for outsiders?

Yes. I mean you have
to go through a committee.

I mean, if you wanted
to live here, and go
through the process

and put in your order and have
it come and have it approved
and come in shipped...

Is that correct?
Yes.

It would take a long time.

And that is hunters.

WOMAN: Country food?
Yes.

So you can get country food

through the Hunters
and Trappers Association.

They participate
in managing the hunt
and establishing the quota

along with the Nunavut
Wildlife Management Board

and the federal government.

COLIN: The Inuit locally are
proud of their community.

When they see people
trying to come up
and learn and understand,

it's those people
that they love to help.

They are very willing
to explain things
and teach people things

as long as the people are
willing to learn
and understand.

This is a Peterhead boat,
and this boat was utilized

in the mid-1900s
for a lot of the work

that was done
in the High North.

As you can see, this one
hasn't moved in quite a while.

The St. Roch is
sort of similarly built

but it's much larger...
It's a larger version
than this boat.

PINSENT: The St. Roch is
a famous vessel
in the Northwest Passage.

RCMP Officer Henry Larsen
sailed her through the Passage
in 1940.

History remembers him
as the second man
to make the journey.

What history forgets is
that Colin's ancestors,

like the Sherpas on Everest,
made the journey possible.

COLIN: Uh, what he did was
he picked up my grandfather.

Joseph Panikpakuttuk
and his wife Lydia,

and he took a number
of their children with them
on the journey.

So, in the first year,
I believe they had to winter

over somewhere along
the Northwest Passage

when they going
from east to west.

Uh, my grandfather was
providing a lot of foodstuff
by catching animals

for the dog team and the crew
when they needed it.

The next year, Henry Larsen
picked up my grandfather
and my grandmother

and their kids
and put them back on the boat

and managed to do
the Northwest Passage
in one season that year.

My grandmother was
the first woman in the world

to travel
the Northwest Passage.

First both east to west
and then west to east.

And the St. Roch is
the first ship

to circumnavigate
North America

through the Panama Canal
and the Northwest Passage.

I am very proud of that fact,

that I am
a descendant of some
of the first people

that went though
the Northwest Passage
from Canada.

It's interesting that,
you know, that there is
always a lot of focus

or the spotlight is
always on, you know,
the captain or something,

but when you really look
at it, they couldn't have
done it without the support,

with the people who
were with them,

including my grandfather
and my grandmother.

Whoo!

PINSENT: Northwest Passage
ships no longer need Inuit
to provide food.

What cruise ships need is
a community happy to welcome
the passengers.

The ships
court that good will
with tours and free lunches.

(TALKING INDISTINCTLY)

Have some fun!

PINSENT: The irony is
that the new tourism offers
cash, perks and validation

that support
a traditional lifestyle,

even as the warming
atmosphere destroys it.

In every home, people report
that hunting routes
and animal patterns

are changing, making
food insecurity worse.

ULLA: It must be really tough
living out here all year long.

If you're not used to it,
I guess maybe
you could say that.

In July we'd
still have snow,

but because the ice goes
so fast now,

the hunters can't get
to the spots where
they usually go hunting.

This warming, it has
not only affected the animals,

households struggle
more now to get food

because really we relied
on the food we had,

the country food.

And lack of employment,
so a lot of households
going hungry.

And... But... Yeah.

What's your favorite
country food?

I see something behind here.
What is it?

Ah, this is seal meat.

We'll cook that up.

This is the fat of the seal.

It's more tender with the fat.

You'll notice the difference
after you have that one...

Mmm-hmm.

...compared to the one
with the fat. It's more tasty
and more tender.

Mmm-hmm. Mmm-hmm.
Yes?

Mmm-hmm?
Mmm-hmm.

Okay.
Mmm-hmm.

Here you use
the entire animal.

You use the fat, you use
the skin to keep warm.

We use the guts even.
Really?

Yeah!
For what do you use
the guts?

We eat them! (CHUCKLES)
We don't waste
anything, really,

and we use this skin

to make the kamiks
and the parkas.

So, nothing's wasted.

(ULLA SPEAKING GERMAN)

Look. Look at you!

You smiling when you work!

ANNIE: Ah!

(ULLA SPEAKING GERMAN)

(SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY)

(CAWING)

BENGT NORVIK:
In Pond Inlet, I think
they are more relaxed.

I think they are
more satisfied
with their way of living.

Maybe I can learn something
about how to relax

and take it more easy.

RICHARD: It's terribly ugly
in some spots.

There is junk everywhere
and they... They don't
bother about that.

I get the impression
that Inuit people don't care
about material values.

It's of non-importance
for them.

They have the focus
on something else.

(TALKING INDISTINCTLY)

This is our big tragedy
in the Western society.

We are too focused on money
and... And gadgets.

What matters is to be
among the one you love,

and not having a big fancy
car or whatever.

Though I can't say
I'm free from that.

(CHUCKLES) I... I love
to have a fancy car and,
uh, nice things,

but I realize it's...
It's not really a solution
for your happiness.

MARTIN: I've been spending
a lot of time on board
fixing things

while Bengt and Richard
could enjoy the places
we came to...

(SIGHS) ...which I am
happy for them.

Unfortunately, uh, we were not
very prepared from the start.

There are many
things on the boat

that should have
been done already
before we left Sweden

and they are getting
done now, one by one,

but I don't have
everything in place yet.

(FOGHORN BLOWING)

BOY: Ah!

(LAUGHING)

Do you like
playing basketball?
BOY: Yeah!

Okay, I'm lousy at it.

Hi, my name is PIK.
I'm from Pond Inlet.

And my stage name, PIK,
stands for "Pond Inlet Kid"
when I rap.

Can you do some rapping
for us, right now?

Would you feel
comfortable with that?

Hit the beat.

"The beat"?
Uh, what kind of beat?

Beatbox.

Beatbox.

(BEATBOXING)

Not worth it.

(BOTH LAUGH)

(BEATBOXING)

(BOTH BEATBOXING)

# No mercy, no, don't worry

# Don't be sorry

# And like I said
I'm gonna hit this shit

# No, don't regret
'cause I dealt it

# 'Cause I want to be
well-liked like me

# If you don't believe
I won't feel relief

# Unless you believe #

(BEATBOXING CONTINUES)

(LAUGHS)

(BOY LAUGHING)

Come on!

I think I hear
a dog somewhere.

(LAUGHS)

My beatbox was not
up to his standards.
(LAUGHING)

PINSENT: The highlight
of every cruise-ship visit

is a community hall
performance.

Visitors get a glimpse
into the culture's

completely unique elements,

like sports devised
for long nights
in tiny igloos.

(ON MICROPHONE) When I say...
(SPEAKS NATIVE TONGUE)

That means,
"One, two, three, go."

(COUNTING DOWN
IN NATIVE TONGUE)

(SPEAKING IN NATIVE TONGUE)

(AUDIENCE CHUCKLING)

(AUDIENCE LAUGHS)

(ALL APPLAUDING)

WOMAN:
The next event is called,
"The one-foot high kick."

Also tests the athlete's
power and flexibility

as well as his sense
of balance.

(AUDIENCE EXCLAIMS)

(CHUCKLES)

(AUDIENCE LAUGHS)

(CHEERING)

WOMAN: For their last game,
they are going
to play, um, "Mouth pull."

(AUDIENCE LAUGHS)

(GROANING)

PINSENT: Community members
make money

from performing
or by selling arts and crafts.

Art is an old business here.

Expensive.

PINSENT: Inuit always made it
and they traded it
with the first explorers.

And since the 1960s,
Canada has promoted
its export.

Tourism brings the market
home again, and subtly alters
the art's meaning.

Looty Pijamini is
one of the Arctic's
most successful carvers.

(LOOTY SPEAKING)

(SPEAKING)

(GRUNTS)

(SAW GRINDING)

PINSENT:
Today, almost every Baffin
community has a co-op

where members make
art for tourists.

This is a paper that is
called "artist paper."

It's... It's really good
quality printmaking paper.

So, it won't move.

Then when you cut them out,
wax paper.

They're regional,
and then this one
sits next one.

I start with blue color.

I just keep trying
until I can put
more inks on it.

Uh, it's kind of
last-touch details.

I put it on same place
where I cut them out.

See, I'm doing water now.

So, put it back, like a wave.

More do... More wave.

PINSENT: Inuit art
traditionally depicts animals
that they hunt.

It was a form of reverence
and gratitude for their food.

Now the hunting is bad,
but the art market is good.

To feed a family, the image
is gaining more value
than what it depicts.

It is another strange change
that Inuit try
to take in stride.

When Pauloossee Veevee
was younger, the hills
were covered in glaciers

and vast caribou herds.

(PAULOOSSEE SPEAKING
NATIVE TONGUE)

MAN: Hmm.

(PAULOOSSEE SPEAKING
NATIVE TONGUE)

For me, it's
my very first time
to come to the Arctic,

I have never ever seen
the ice, you know?

I really want to go
and see the ice today

because that is like
the childhood dream of me
to come to the Arctic once.

(ULLA SPEAKING GERMAN)

Oh, wow! What is...
An iceberg!

(BASTI CHUCKLES)
I'm kidding. Come on!
Come on, look

at the massive iceberg.

No way!

(ULLA SPEAKING GERMAN)

(ULLA SPEAKING GERMAN)

The cruise ship
Sea Adventurer prepares
to depart.

She is sailing north,
where the sea is still frozen.

WOMAN: We get faxed
the ice charts every day.

There is a bottleneck in the
Northwest Passage

where we have to go down
the Boothia peninsula,

either the east or west side
and they are jammed up
with ice right now,

so we'll see.

Just like the explorers!
Just like Franklin.

Something happened
to the radar,
it all just died.

It's still there?

(CHUCKLES)

PINSENT: Dax is
also setting sail.
(MOTOR WHIRRING)

Once again, the little ship
has been repaired.

Now it's bound
for Resolute Bay...

Standby.

...a village deep
in the Northwest Passage.

Six-hundred kilometers
and there is not a single
human outpost on the way.