1 00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:09,440 This programme contains some scenes which some viewers may find upsetting 2 00:00:09,440 --> 00:00:13,480 'I'm travelling through the Arctic, the Land of the Midnight Sun.' 3 00:00:13,480 --> 00:00:15,440 The most amazing view. 4 00:00:15,440 --> 00:00:19,480 For thousands of years, only the hardiest hunters and herders 5 00:00:19,480 --> 00:00:22,200 lived in this inhospitable land. 6 00:00:23,600 --> 00:00:28,160 But now the Arctic is warming faster than anywhere else on Earth. 7 00:00:28,160 --> 00:00:29,680 Go back. Go back. 8 00:00:29,680 --> 00:00:33,560 As it thaws, new riches are being revealed. 9 00:00:33,560 --> 00:00:35,560 This is what it's all about - the oil. 10 00:00:35,560 --> 00:00:38,440 All eyes are turning north. 11 00:00:38,440 --> 00:00:43,520 For one bright summer, I will live with the people of the Arctic. 12 00:00:43,520 --> 00:00:45,000 Absolutely loving it. 13 00:00:46,400 --> 00:00:47,840 This is the real thing. 14 00:00:47,840 --> 00:00:51,480 I want to understand how their lives are changing, 15 00:00:51,480 --> 00:00:54,800 and discover what the future holds for this great wilderness. 16 00:00:57,720 --> 00:01:00,800 It's my first sighting of the famous Porcupine caribou herd. 17 00:01:00,800 --> 00:01:03,400 Beautiful, beautiful, so exciting. 18 00:01:03,400 --> 00:01:07,840 I'm in the far north of Canada, in Yukon Territory. 19 00:01:07,840 --> 00:01:11,440 Across the Arctic, great herds of caribou are on the move. 20 00:01:11,440 --> 00:01:13,800 And so are the hunters. 21 00:01:13,800 --> 00:01:15,040 Good shot. 22 00:01:15,040 --> 00:01:18,960 I live with the Gwich'in tribe, the Caribou People. 23 00:01:18,960 --> 00:01:23,360 The life we live, living on the edge. 24 00:01:23,360 --> 00:01:26,120 They've lived here for thousands of years 25 00:01:26,120 --> 00:01:28,640 and depend on the caribou for their survival. 26 00:01:28,640 --> 00:01:31,360 I like seeing the caribou coming through the country here, 27 00:01:31,360 --> 00:01:34,200 it makes things alive. 28 00:01:34,200 --> 00:01:36,960 There's deep respect here for everything. 29 00:01:36,960 --> 00:01:40,920 But this ancient relationship is under threat. 30 00:01:40,920 --> 00:01:45,880 The Arctic is the new frontier for oil exploration. 31 00:01:45,880 --> 00:01:50,320 But what happens to the native people when the oil companies move in? 32 00:02:01,680 --> 00:02:06,680 I'm in Old Crow, in the Yukon Territory, Northern Canada. 33 00:02:06,680 --> 00:02:10,280 It's 80 miles north of the Arctic Circle. 34 00:02:10,280 --> 00:02:16,080 There's no road to get here, 35 00:02:10,280 --> 00:02:16,080 it's accessed only by plane or boat. 36 00:02:16,080 --> 00:02:19,040 It's home to the Gwich'in people. 37 00:02:19,040 --> 00:02:22,000 They believe that at the beginning of time, 38 00:02:22,000 --> 00:02:24,560 their ancestors made a pact with the caribou, 39 00:02:24,560 --> 00:02:26,840 that they would retain part of each other's heart, 40 00:02:26,840 --> 00:02:30,000 so their fates would always be bound together. 41 00:02:30,000 --> 00:02:33,680 Despite some modern trappings, the way of life here 42 00:02:33,680 --> 00:02:37,320 has remained essentially unchanged for thousands of years, 43 00:02:37,320 --> 00:02:41,080 and the Gwich'in still rely on the caribou for their survival. 44 00:02:41,080 --> 00:02:43,480 I think we'll need them. 45 00:02:43,480 --> 00:02:47,000 We'd better have these in the hunt, 46 00:02:43,480 --> 00:02:47,000 huh? I think you do! 47 00:02:47,000 --> 00:02:49,960 'I've come here to join elder Stephen Frost and his family 48 00:02:49,960 --> 00:02:52,560 'on their traditional spring hunt. 49 00:02:52,560 --> 00:02:56,640 'With his daughter, Margaret, and their neighbour, Robert, 50 00:02:56,640 --> 00:02:59,160 'we'll spend a week hunting out on the land.' 51 00:02:59,160 --> 00:03:03,080 Somewhere...out there, 52 00:03:03,080 --> 00:03:08,240 is a herd of 130,000 caribou heading north on its annual migration. 53 00:03:09,640 --> 00:03:12,360 And for the people here in Old Crow, 54 00:03:12,360 --> 00:03:15,760 it's one of the most important times of year. 55 00:03:20,640 --> 00:03:25,120 Stephen and his family need to get enough meat to last the whole summer. 56 00:03:25,120 --> 00:03:30,760 This far north, there are few jobs, and imported food is very expensive. 57 00:03:30,760 --> 00:03:34,480 The caribou hunt is their main source of meat. 58 00:03:34,480 --> 00:03:38,240 The herd is named after the Porcupine River, 59 00:03:38,240 --> 00:03:41,040 a tributary of the mighty Yukon. 60 00:03:41,040 --> 00:03:45,880 The river has been frozen solid all winter and has just broken up. 61 00:03:45,880 --> 00:03:48,320 Huge chunks of ice litter the banks. 62 00:03:48,320 --> 00:03:52,600 It's been a strange winter, eight degrees warmer than usual. 63 00:03:52,600 --> 00:03:56,080 This is not a normal break-up. Sure. 64 00:03:56,080 --> 00:03:59,320 Because we had a lot of warm weather... Yes. 65 00:03:59,320 --> 00:04:01,360 ..break-up come early. 66 00:04:01,360 --> 00:04:03,920 Does the ice, when it breaks, does that always coincide 67 00:04:03,920 --> 00:04:06,960 with the caribou coming past? Same time of year? 68 00:04:06,960 --> 00:04:08,040 Yeah. 69 00:04:08,040 --> 00:04:10,640 Why don't they cross when it's frozen? 70 00:04:10,640 --> 00:04:13,440 Well, they're not stupid like us! 71 00:04:13,440 --> 00:04:15,600 Nature kind of look after that. 72 00:04:15,600 --> 00:04:18,680 It's not time for them to cross. Right. 73 00:04:18,680 --> 00:04:21,320 They wait till they are ready to calve... 74 00:04:21,320 --> 00:04:22,600 OK. 75 00:04:22,600 --> 00:04:26,840 ..up north. That's when they start moving. 76 00:04:26,840 --> 00:04:30,520 Then, as we round a bend, there's caribou up ahead. 77 00:04:34,360 --> 00:04:38,560 It's my first sighting of the famous Porcupine caribou herd, 78 00:04:38,560 --> 00:04:41,560 named after this very river that I'm on now. 79 00:04:41,560 --> 00:04:43,120 There's about 20 of them. 80 00:04:43,120 --> 00:04:46,320 They were tentatively here on the edge, waiting to cross, 81 00:04:46,320 --> 00:04:48,640 and then we came around the corner and disturbed them. 82 00:04:48,640 --> 00:04:53,480 I love the way they run, they've got such a lolloping old gait, 83 00:04:53,480 --> 00:04:55,680 they look quite dopey. 84 00:04:55,680 --> 00:04:58,240 Beautiful. 85 00:04:58,240 --> 00:05:02,040 These are females heading north to calve, so we don't shoot. 86 00:05:02,040 --> 00:05:07,760 The herd is decreasing each year, so the Gwich'in now only hunt males. 87 00:05:07,760 --> 00:05:14,120 Each spring the caribou migrate 500 kilometres from the Yukon Territory 88 00:05:14,120 --> 00:05:17,560 across the Porcupine River to their calving grounds 89 00:05:17,560 --> 00:05:20,600 in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. 90 00:05:20,600 --> 00:05:24,080 In the autumn they head south again. 91 00:05:24,080 --> 00:05:26,960 The herd is constantly on the move, 92 00:05:26,960 --> 00:05:30,560 travelling up to 50 kilometres a day in small groups. 93 00:05:30,560 --> 00:05:34,880 To reach their calving grounds, they must run a gauntlet of predators - 94 00:05:34,880 --> 00:05:37,840 bears, wolves and the Gwich'in. 95 00:05:41,960 --> 00:05:46,600 Stephen's ancestors established their territory here thousands of years ago. 96 00:05:46,600 --> 00:05:52,760 It's right in the path of the caribou and it's rich in wildfowl and other prey. 97 00:05:54,720 --> 00:05:58,440 Wow! That will be your supper tonight. 98 00:05:58,440 --> 00:06:01,680 Looks like fresh beaver on the menu. 99 00:06:03,760 --> 00:06:06,040 Just take it easy when you jump out. 100 00:06:06,040 --> 00:06:08,480 OK, my friend. 101 00:06:08,480 --> 00:06:12,320 Finally, we arrive at Stephen's hunting camp. 102 00:06:12,320 --> 00:06:14,760 This will be our home for the next week or so. 103 00:06:18,880 --> 00:06:23,200 It's been the traditional hunting ground for the Frost clan for generations. 104 00:06:23,200 --> 00:06:27,160 Each family has its own territory, and it's miles from anywhere. 105 00:06:29,080 --> 00:06:34,280 Old Crow is 300 miles from the next nearest settlement, 106 00:06:34,280 --> 00:06:38,360 and this camp is two hours from Old Crow. 107 00:06:38,360 --> 00:06:42,320 There's massive vistas and skies that go on forever. 108 00:06:42,320 --> 00:06:45,680 There's just no-one around. 109 00:06:45,680 --> 00:06:49,080 Really get a sense of solitude here. 110 00:06:49,080 --> 00:06:51,720 'But they do get the occasional visitor.' 111 00:06:51,720 --> 00:06:54,680 And that's to keep the bears out. Sure! 112 00:06:54,680 --> 00:07:00,760 "Mr Bear, please don't break in, I'll one day leave you food." 113 00:07:00,760 --> 00:07:03,440 Aw, that's nice! 114 00:07:03,440 --> 00:07:06,440 Yeah, this is the house. 115 00:07:08,240 --> 00:07:11,880 Wow, check this. It's cold. 116 00:07:11,880 --> 00:07:14,280 It's beautiful, it's so homely. 117 00:07:14,280 --> 00:07:16,320 Get the fire going and... Shall I? 118 00:07:20,880 --> 00:07:23,280 You look very smart this evening. You've changed. 119 00:07:23,280 --> 00:07:26,600 Stephen has a foot in two worlds. 120 00:07:26,600 --> 00:07:30,440 His father was a white Mountie, his mother a Gwich'in, 121 00:07:30,440 --> 00:07:35,080 and he grew up here in this wild place, learning the ways of his mother's people. 122 00:07:35,080 --> 00:07:38,960 This is my country, I mean, I'm brought up here 123 00:07:38,960 --> 00:07:43,560 and I consider myself native to the land, everything. 124 00:07:44,560 --> 00:07:46,000 Um... 125 00:07:48,560 --> 00:07:50,720 ..I get very... 126 00:07:50,720 --> 00:07:53,880 emotional or whatever you call it when... 127 00:07:56,320 --> 00:08:00,800 ..when I hear the, uh, drilling might take place 128 00:08:00,800 --> 00:08:03,640 in the 1002 land. 129 00:08:03,640 --> 00:08:07,400 The 1002 lands, over the border in Alaska, 130 00:08:07,400 --> 00:08:10,680 are where the caribou go to give birth every summer. 131 00:08:10,680 --> 00:08:14,120 These calving grounds are known by the Gwich'in people 132 00:08:14,120 --> 00:08:16,680 as "the sacred place where life begins". 133 00:08:16,680 --> 00:08:19,280 The Gwich'in are terrified that oil companies 134 00:08:19,280 --> 00:08:22,680 will be granted permission to drill here. 135 00:08:22,680 --> 00:08:28,640 It's going to be pretty sad day if that oil drilling should take place. 136 00:08:28,640 --> 00:08:31,120 What would we do without that caribou? 137 00:08:31,120 --> 00:08:36,880 So people are scared, yeah? Really, they're scared. 138 00:08:40,080 --> 00:08:42,840 The Gwich'in are subsistence hunters 139 00:08:42,840 --> 00:08:46,360 Food is expensive up here and there are few jobs. 140 00:08:46,360 --> 00:08:50,600 Without the caribou, 141 00:08:46,360 --> 00:08:50,600 life here would be near impossible. 142 00:08:59,320 --> 00:09:03,840 The next morning we're joined by Stephen's son, Peter, 143 00:09:03,840 --> 00:09:06,160 and we head out hunting. 144 00:09:13,720 --> 00:09:16,440 We've stopped here because it's another area 145 00:09:16,440 --> 00:09:18,880 that the caribou potentially cross. 146 00:09:18,880 --> 00:09:22,560 But the advantage here is we have this bank we can climb 147 00:09:22,560 --> 00:09:28,720 and use as a vantage point to see where they might... where they might be coming. 148 00:09:28,720 --> 00:09:31,240 I hope our luck comes in. 149 00:09:33,040 --> 00:09:37,560 This hill has served as a lookout for the Gwich'in people for generations, 150 00:09:37,560 --> 00:09:41,600 watching out for the caribou herd on their way north. 151 00:09:41,600 --> 00:09:46,000 The caribou are highly sensitive to changes in their environment, 152 00:09:46,000 --> 00:09:50,240 an the gradual warming of the Arctic is affecting the ancient rhythm 153 00:09:50,240 --> 00:09:52,360 of their migration. 154 00:09:55,600 --> 00:09:58,040 I can't see anything, Rob. Hmm. 155 00:09:58,040 --> 00:10:03,040 Yeah, at this time of day, they're usually laying around on the ice, 156 00:10:03,040 --> 00:10:06,640 where it's nice and cool. Oh, really? 157 00:10:06,640 --> 00:10:08,360 Yeah, but everything has... 158 00:10:08,360 --> 00:10:12,560 everything is changing now, like, even the river is different. 159 00:10:12,560 --> 00:10:18,600 It go out earlier and the snow melt earlier, we hardly had snow this year. 160 00:10:18,600 --> 00:10:22,120 So it's easier for the caribou to get over the mountains over there. 161 00:10:22,120 --> 00:10:26,400 I see. And how important is it for the people in your community 162 00:10:26,400 --> 00:10:28,880 to get the meat from the caribou? 163 00:10:28,880 --> 00:10:33,480 Oh, you know, it's like...it's 164 00:10:28,880 --> 00:10:33,480 our traditional way of living, and... 165 00:10:35,000 --> 00:10:37,720 ..you know, a lot of people depend on caribou. 166 00:10:40,560 --> 00:10:44,000 Robert has two young children and, while he does some odd jobs 167 00:10:44,000 --> 00:10:48,360 for a little cash, hunting is what puts food on the table. 168 00:10:48,360 --> 00:10:50,760 He accepts that the modern world needs oil, 169 00:10:50,760 --> 00:10:54,640 but it seems that the consequences are felt more strongly here. 170 00:10:55,720 --> 00:10:58,160 I don't know, it's just... 171 00:10:58,160 --> 00:11:00,880 You can't do nothing about it, you know? 172 00:11:00,880 --> 00:11:05,760 People need fuel to run their boats, people need fuel to run their Skidoo, 173 00:11:05,760 --> 00:11:09,040 they need fuel to run their vehicles, you know. 174 00:11:09,040 --> 00:11:13,080 You can't tell them not to stop, it's just the way... 175 00:11:13,080 --> 00:11:14,720 the way of life. 176 00:11:19,520 --> 00:11:22,680 We settle in to watch and wait. 177 00:11:22,680 --> 00:11:27,200 But there's no caribou to be seen, just a grizzly bear in the distance. 178 00:11:37,880 --> 00:11:42,200 The unusually warm winter triggered the migration early this year. 179 00:11:42,200 --> 00:11:44,360 So we head north three hours, 180 00:11:44,360 --> 00:11:47,760 hoping to spot the last of the herd crossing the river. 181 00:11:57,880 --> 00:12:00,200 Finally, we have some caribou! 182 00:12:00,200 --> 00:12:05,120 Amazing. We just spotted them as they were going into the water, 183 00:12:05,120 --> 00:12:08,600 that little crossing. They've already come out the other side, 184 00:12:08,600 --> 00:12:13,680 so, initially, I thought we'd lost them and that was our only chance gone. 185 00:12:13,680 --> 00:12:16,880 But it seems that they're only crossed onto an island 186 00:12:16,880 --> 00:12:19,920 so they've got one more stretch of water to cross. 187 00:12:19,920 --> 00:12:22,960 And that's where we're going to have to go and have a look, 188 00:12:22,960 --> 00:12:25,000 see if we can finally get our shot. 189 00:12:50,200 --> 00:12:51,920 GUNSHOT 190 00:12:53,560 --> 00:12:55,240 GUNSHOT 191 00:12:55,240 --> 00:12:57,000 We got one really clean kill there 192 00:12:57,000 --> 00:12:59,520 and then the second one, which was just behind him... 193 00:13:09,240 --> 00:13:11,600 Great shot. Good shot. 194 00:13:18,720 --> 00:13:21,840 They took one shot and killed one outright, 195 00:13:21,840 --> 00:13:23,680 but maimed the one behind, 196 00:13:23,680 --> 00:13:26,360 so then they dispatched that straight after. 197 00:13:26,360 --> 00:13:28,680 And then this third one now, 198 00:13:28,680 --> 00:13:31,120 they killed and they're just finishing off. 199 00:13:31,120 --> 00:13:32,880 GUNSHOT 200 00:13:44,000 --> 00:13:47,600 Peter and Robert get to work, gutting the caribou. 201 00:13:47,600 --> 00:13:50,720 All the edible meat and organs are cleanly cut and put aside, 202 00:13:50,720 --> 00:13:53,240 and the rest is left for the scavengers. 203 00:13:53,240 --> 00:13:55,600 Liver and onions, huh? 204 00:13:56,760 --> 00:14:00,680 Peter tells me he only takes a few caribou each season. 205 00:14:00,680 --> 00:14:04,560 I only take what I need. A lot of times I see them, 206 00:14:04,560 --> 00:14:07,320 and if I don't eat them, I won't take any. 207 00:14:09,080 --> 00:14:11,600 I like seeing the caribou coming through the country here. 208 00:14:11,600 --> 00:14:13,160 They're beautiful, aren't they? 209 00:14:13,160 --> 00:14:16,240 It makes things alive, and you see other game, too. 210 00:14:16,240 --> 00:14:17,920 Yeah, yeah. 211 00:14:17,920 --> 00:14:21,160 No, it was really beautiful, seeing them. 212 00:14:22,160 --> 00:14:25,360 I find myself a little shaken by the experience. 213 00:14:27,360 --> 00:14:28,880 Ooh. 214 00:14:30,720 --> 00:14:33,000 That's quite... 215 00:14:33,000 --> 00:14:35,320 quite visually impactive, that. 216 00:14:35,320 --> 00:14:39,160 We were so close and they were just... just here on the bank, 217 00:14:39,160 --> 00:14:43,440 and struggling in the water to get close, thinking they were going to get away, 218 00:14:43,440 --> 00:14:45,680 finally getting here and then, 219 00:14:45,680 --> 00:14:47,720 bang, down they went. 220 00:14:47,720 --> 00:14:50,840 Really loud, really... 221 00:14:50,840 --> 00:14:55,960 sort of shocking in a way. I've seen this sort of stuff many times, but... 222 00:14:55,960 --> 00:14:58,200 it always shocks me a little. 223 00:14:58,200 --> 00:15:01,320 Big animal. Beautiful. 224 00:15:01,320 --> 00:15:06,520 But I understand it and I'm really pleased for these guys. 225 00:15:06,520 --> 00:15:10,480 Well, you're going to enjoy some good meat tonight when we get back to Blue Fish. 226 00:15:10,480 --> 00:15:11,920 Certainly. Yeah, yeah. 227 00:15:11,920 --> 00:15:14,040 We're going straight back down. Stephen will be happy. 228 00:15:15,760 --> 00:15:20,160 As we're heading back home, laden down with meat, we hit a problem. 229 00:15:21,800 --> 00:15:24,800 A mass of ice floating downriver. 230 00:15:24,800 --> 00:15:30,760 Upstream, the Crow River is breaking up and flowing down into the Porcupine. 231 00:15:30,760 --> 00:15:35,320 We have to get to the bank quickly to avoid damaging the boat. 232 00:15:35,320 --> 00:15:39,000 There are thousands of tonnes of ice flowing past. 233 00:15:39,000 --> 00:15:42,760 Some pieces are as big as a car and could easily overturn our boat. 234 00:15:49,320 --> 00:15:51,400 Looks pretty thick down there, though. 235 00:15:51,400 --> 00:15:54,560 Is it? It's danger for a boat. 236 00:15:54,560 --> 00:15:56,880 It's pretty thick. 237 00:15:56,880 --> 00:16:00,120 We could be here for some time. 238 00:16:00,120 --> 00:16:03,040 It's pretty jagged and it's got a lot a sharp stuff. 239 00:16:03,040 --> 00:16:05,640 It could punch a hole through the boat pretty easy. 240 00:16:08,400 --> 00:16:10,000 We can't go through this. 241 00:16:10,000 --> 00:16:12,240 We can't go through it? So we're stuck? 242 00:16:14,280 --> 00:16:16,720 Stuck with three caribou! Yeah. 243 00:16:16,720 --> 00:16:19,160 On our way home. We're not going to go hungry anyway. 244 00:16:19,160 --> 00:16:23,480 Well, we won't go hungry, 245 00:16:19,160 --> 00:16:23,480 but poor Stephen will, and Margaret. 246 00:16:23,480 --> 00:16:25,200 They're going to be missing out. 247 00:16:25,200 --> 00:16:29,440 Well, so, don't know what's going to happen tonight. 248 00:16:29,440 --> 00:16:30,880 Either we're going to stay here, 249 00:16:30,880 --> 00:16:36,680 in which case we've got three 250 00:16:30,880 --> 00:16:36,680 caribou to eat and lots of firewood, 251 00:16:36,680 --> 00:16:39,200 or we're going to run the gauntlet with all this ice 252 00:16:39,200 --> 00:16:41,960 and try and make it the two hours down to the hunting camp 253 00:16:41,960 --> 00:16:43,640 where Stephen and Margaret are. 254 00:16:45,320 --> 00:16:49,040 I hope we run the gauntlet, but it's not my boat. 255 00:16:50,560 --> 00:16:54,840 We decide to go for it and 256 00:16:50,560 --> 00:16:54,840 see if we can get ahead of the ice. 257 00:17:06,520 --> 00:17:09,960 It's going to be a long night. 258 00:17:09,960 --> 00:17:12,480 Yeah? Slow ride home. 259 00:17:13,840 --> 00:17:15,760 Beautiful and danger. 260 00:17:17,360 --> 00:17:22,120 CHUCKLES: What else do you like that's beautiful and dangerous? 261 00:17:22,120 --> 00:17:24,880 Everything. 262 00:17:24,880 --> 00:17:27,240 It's the life we live. 263 00:17:27,240 --> 00:17:28,920 Living on the edge. 264 00:17:32,720 --> 00:17:37,240 Finally we get clear, and head full speed for home. 265 00:17:41,840 --> 00:17:44,080 Not bad, eh? 266 00:17:44,080 --> 00:17:45,760 Hey, Margaret. Hello! 267 00:17:45,760 --> 00:17:46,960 How are you? 268 00:17:49,640 --> 00:17:51,560 Three caribou. 269 00:17:51,560 --> 00:17:54,400 Are you serious? 270 00:17:54,400 --> 00:17:56,640 Well done. 271 00:17:56,640 --> 00:17:59,360 Whoo-hoo! 272 00:17:59,360 --> 00:18:02,720 That meat will be OK in the boat. 273 00:18:02,720 --> 00:18:06,160 You don't want to attract animals to the camp. 274 00:18:06,160 --> 00:18:10,680 The blood and the guts and the skin 275 00:18:06,160 --> 00:18:10,680 and all that waste stuff 276 00:18:10,680 --> 00:18:12,120 is the one that smells, 277 00:18:12,120 --> 00:18:15,840 so what they're going to do, leave it in the boat overnight. 278 00:18:15,840 --> 00:18:19,600 The hunters is tired now, long day. 279 00:18:19,600 --> 00:18:22,760 We get some sleep and right away in the morning, 280 00:18:22,760 --> 00:18:25,880 and everything's going to be fine. 281 00:18:29,800 --> 00:18:32,680 The next morning, we get to work. 282 00:18:32,680 --> 00:18:36,480 The meat is butchered 283 00:18:32,680 --> 00:18:36,480 and carried to the camp for smoking. 284 00:18:36,480 --> 00:18:39,200 Margaret's in charge of the smokehouse. 285 00:18:46,560 --> 00:18:50,680 Cut it in half and you smoke it like that, and after it smokes a little bit, 286 00:18:50,680 --> 00:18:54,120 like, with the air going through, it dries it a little. 287 00:18:54,120 --> 00:18:56,600 OK, so the thinner it is, the easier it is to dry, 288 00:18:56,600 --> 00:18:59,080 and then it will go all the way through to preserve...? 289 00:18:59,080 --> 00:19:02,680 Yeah. If you just bag it up and put it in the freezer, it could last all winter. 290 00:19:02,680 --> 00:19:03,800 Really? Yeah. 291 00:19:03,800 --> 00:19:08,320 But it don't usually last that long 292 00:19:03,800 --> 00:19:08,320 around Old Crow! 293 00:19:10,080 --> 00:19:11,640 Oh, look, you've been busy. 294 00:19:11,640 --> 00:19:14,280 I didn't see you'd done all this. 295 00:19:14,280 --> 00:19:17,520 Hot here in the Arctic! 296 00:19:17,520 --> 00:19:20,080 Just here? Yeah. 297 00:19:20,080 --> 00:19:24,440 'It's a comforting sight to see the smokehouse so full of meat, 298 00:19:24,440 --> 00:19:27,240 'and there's a good feeling in the camp.' 299 00:19:27,240 --> 00:19:29,600 I'm cooking half a caribou for myself. Gosh. 300 00:19:29,600 --> 00:19:32,400 If anybody is real good, they might have a little bit. 301 00:19:32,400 --> 00:19:35,000 Oh, does that mean I've been good? 302 00:19:32,400 --> 00:19:35,000 Oh, there he is! 303 00:19:35,000 --> 00:19:37,520 Does that mean I've been good? You haven't been naughty today. 304 00:19:37,520 --> 00:19:41,720 Say it louder. You have not been naughty today! 305 00:19:41,720 --> 00:19:43,680 BOTH CHUCKLE 306 00:19:46,880 --> 00:19:49,720 Sure getting hungry. Are you getting hungry, Robert? 307 00:19:49,720 --> 00:19:51,600 Yeah. 308 00:19:51,600 --> 00:19:54,360 It's always good to have fresh meat. 309 00:19:54,360 --> 00:19:57,560 Fancy a little bit of bone marrow? Yes, sir. 310 00:19:57,560 --> 00:19:59,000 There you go. 311 00:19:59,000 --> 00:20:02,640 Some people, they can't drink milk because it don't agree with their stomach. 312 00:20:02,640 --> 00:20:06,880 So us, we eat the bone marrow out of the legs 313 00:20:06,880 --> 00:20:09,600 and then we get all of our calcium out of it. 314 00:20:09,600 --> 00:20:11,040 Can you show me how? 315 00:20:11,040 --> 00:20:13,120 Sure. Let's go. 316 00:20:17,200 --> 00:20:19,680 Wow! 317 00:20:19,680 --> 00:20:21,240 That's quite a lot, isn't it? 318 00:20:25,080 --> 00:20:26,320 Mmm. 319 00:20:29,440 --> 00:20:33,360 It's one of those foods that you just... it just feels right. 320 00:20:33,360 --> 00:20:37,040 It feel healthy, it feels really like something good is going inside you. 321 00:20:37,040 --> 00:20:38,480 I can't really explain it. 322 00:20:38,480 --> 00:20:41,880 It feels like it's full of nutrition. Mm-hm. 323 00:20:45,680 --> 00:20:49,360 The Gwich'in use nearly every part of the animal. 324 00:20:49,360 --> 00:20:52,080 The hide is used for making gloves and moccasins, 325 00:20:52,080 --> 00:20:56,840 and the hooves are boiled down to a jelly and eaten or used to make rattles 326 00:20:56,840 --> 00:21:00,360 to disguise the hunters' movements. 327 00:21:00,360 --> 00:21:03,600 Everything else is eaten, and best of all is the head. 328 00:21:04,840 --> 00:21:06,080 I like mine medium rare. 329 00:21:11,600 --> 00:21:15,000 Everything is edible on a caribou. 330 00:21:15,000 --> 00:21:17,720 The lips, the nose. 331 00:21:17,720 --> 00:21:19,320 Everything. 332 00:21:19,320 --> 00:21:20,760 Eyeball. 333 00:21:20,760 --> 00:21:22,680 The tongue is the best part. 334 00:21:22,680 --> 00:21:24,120 Tongue? Tongue, yeah. 335 00:21:24,120 --> 00:21:31,040 Like, me, I get a pleasure out of... 336 00:21:24,120 --> 00:21:31,040 out of eating it. 337 00:21:31,040 --> 00:21:35,520 Shall I try it? Yeah, don't try it, eat it. 338 00:21:39,800 --> 00:21:41,280 Mm. 339 00:21:42,720 --> 00:21:44,440 Cor, it's tough. 340 00:21:44,440 --> 00:21:46,880 So, it's chewy. Yeah, proper chewy. 341 00:21:46,880 --> 00:21:49,200 This looks a bit better. 342 00:21:54,520 --> 00:21:55,680 Mm. 343 00:21:56,880 --> 00:21:58,160 Nice. 344 00:21:58,160 --> 00:22:02,680 It might be just a little... a little bit on the raw side. 345 00:22:02,680 --> 00:22:05,040 I like it. I quite like it raw. 346 00:22:07,480 --> 00:22:12,160 It tastes like a really, really rare sirloin. 347 00:22:12,160 --> 00:22:15,040 Very, very fine meat. 348 00:22:15,040 --> 00:22:16,960 Beautifully tender, 349 00:22:16,960 --> 00:22:19,680 like it's been pulverised. 350 00:22:19,680 --> 00:22:23,240 Not melt-in-your-mouth, still slightly chewy, 351 00:22:23,240 --> 00:22:24,760 but really delicate. 352 00:22:31,840 --> 00:22:35,920 Got a bigger one over there, a bigger shovel. 353 00:22:41,920 --> 00:22:45,920 'While the meat's smoking, 354 00:22:41,920 --> 00:22:45,920 there's work to do around the camp. 355 00:22:45,920 --> 00:22:51,960 'Firewood to cut, Peter's building a new cabin and there's a garden to tend.' 356 00:23:19,600 --> 00:23:24,600 It's prime hunting season in the Yukon, and wildfowl are returning to the lakes. 357 00:23:24,600 --> 00:23:26,960 Peter and Robert take me out one more time. 358 00:23:26,960 --> 00:23:28,960 GUNSHOT 359 00:23:40,680 --> 00:23:43,760 MAKES ANIMAL CALL 360 00:23:45,880 --> 00:23:47,800 SOFTLY: Just over there in the water. 361 00:23:50,160 --> 00:23:53,440 Beautiful muskrat, just there. 362 00:24:00,480 --> 00:24:04,720 It's really coming closer. He's calling it in and it's coming closer. 363 00:24:07,680 --> 00:24:09,760 With a few geese to add to the caribou, 364 00:24:09,760 --> 00:24:12,600 we've plenty of meat, so we leave this muskrat be. 365 00:24:21,200 --> 00:24:24,920 I can now see how important 366 00:24:21,200 --> 00:24:24,920 the caribou herd is to the Gwich'in. 367 00:24:24,920 --> 00:24:27,680 It's much more than just food. 368 00:24:27,680 --> 00:24:30,680 The meat is given to friends and family in other communities, 369 00:24:30,680 --> 00:24:34,600 which bonds the Gwich'in across their territory. 370 00:24:36,800 --> 00:24:38,920 I've got a big family. 371 00:24:38,920 --> 00:24:42,520 I just hunt for the people that is not fortunate, 372 00:24:42,520 --> 00:24:46,600 doesn't have a boat or a husband to hunt for them, you know. 373 00:24:46,600 --> 00:24:51,520 I met people think I shoot a lot of caribou, but I give it away, you know. 374 00:24:51,520 --> 00:24:56,120 I don't just take it to my freezer and fill it right the hell up, you know. 375 00:24:56,120 --> 00:25:00,320 I've got a big family, so I'll have to look out for some of them. 376 00:25:00,320 --> 00:25:04,920 Like, some of that meat down there I'm going to give to my Auntie Renie. 377 00:25:04,920 --> 00:25:10,360 She's alone, and I always try to hunt for her in the spring, 378 00:25:10,360 --> 00:25:14,680 so...give her some of that meat and I know she's going to be happy for it. 379 00:25:14,680 --> 00:25:18,600 It's my life and I'm going to live it. 380 00:25:20,120 --> 00:25:21,720 I'm proud to be Gwich'in, 381 00:25:21,720 --> 00:25:23,560 put it that way. 382 00:25:23,560 --> 00:25:26,120 I wouldn't change it for the world. 383 00:25:35,120 --> 00:25:37,680 It's nearly time to leave the hunting camp, 384 00:25:37,680 --> 00:25:41,800 but before I go, 385 00:25:37,680 --> 00:25:41,800 Stephen wants to show me something - 386 00:25:41,800 --> 00:25:45,560 a very special and private place for his family. 387 00:25:47,160 --> 00:25:51,040 It's the tiny, old cabin where Stephen's parents brought him up 388 00:25:51,040 --> 00:25:54,760 and it feels a great privilege to be allowed to come here. 389 00:25:54,760 --> 00:25:58,280 This whole bunch of kids grew up in it. How many? 390 00:25:58,280 --> 00:26:00,400 12 of us. 12! 391 00:26:00,400 --> 00:26:02,960 Well, mother and father, ten kids. 392 00:26:02,960 --> 00:26:04,840 Wow. 393 00:26:04,840 --> 00:26:07,960 Just this size. But that's just the way it was. 394 00:26:07,960 --> 00:26:12,640 And then, you know, you're talking about... 395 00:26:12,640 --> 00:26:16,040 goddamn old house you're looking at, you know. 396 00:26:17,600 --> 00:26:20,560 Stephen's father was a white policeman 397 00:26:20,560 --> 00:26:23,960 and he fell in love with a local Indian woman. 398 00:26:23,960 --> 00:26:29,840 Was it possible for him to... to stay a Mountie while he married your mother? 399 00:26:29,840 --> 00:26:32,000 No. Why is that? 400 00:26:34,000 --> 00:26:36,040 I don't know, the... 401 00:26:36,040 --> 00:26:40,320 Some kind of law they had them days, 402 00:26:36,040 --> 00:26:40,320 don't exist now, 403 00:26:40,320 --> 00:26:46,520 but that's how... down the Indian was. 404 00:26:46,520 --> 00:26:49,720 For a white man I guess it's OK, 405 00:26:49,720 --> 00:26:51,960 but for a Mountie... 406 00:26:51,960 --> 00:26:55,360 can't marry an Indian. Really? 407 00:26:55,360 --> 00:27:00,320 Too...too low or something, so he got out of the place. 408 00:27:00,320 --> 00:27:04,880 And then he had to take on the ways of living here, the same as everyone else? 409 00:27:04,880 --> 00:27:10,000 Stephen's mother showed her husband how to survive in the wilderness 410 00:27:10,000 --> 00:27:12,800 and they home-taught all their children. 411 00:27:12,800 --> 00:27:18,120 It may sound romantic, but Stephen hints that there were times of deep hardship. 412 00:27:19,120 --> 00:27:24,120 Yeah, I remember... running out of food. 413 00:28:38,960 --> 00:28:44,680 The one word, I suppose, that just really comes to mind more than any other 414 00:28:44,680 --> 00:28:50,440 that I've picked up from Stephen is...is respect. 415 00:28:50,440 --> 00:28:53,920 There's deep respect here for everything. 416 00:28:53,920 --> 00:28:59,040 There's deep respect for the wildlife, for the natural world in every way 417 00:28:59,040 --> 00:29:03,120 and just the sensation of being here, 418 00:29:04,560 --> 00:29:07,880 I can just sit and watch the river go by... 419 00:29:09,400 --> 00:29:12,880 ..and you're just part of it and it feels right somehow. 420 00:29:27,520 --> 00:29:30,920 It's time to leave camp and head back to Old Crow. 421 00:29:30,920 --> 00:29:35,240 We've got enough meat to last the family until the caribou return in the autumn. 422 00:29:35,240 --> 00:29:37,200 It's time to celebrate. 423 00:29:37,200 --> 00:29:38,240 WOMAN: ..Set, go! 424 00:29:42,400 --> 00:29:44,600 It's a big day in the Old Crow calendar - 425 00:29:44,600 --> 00:29:48,600 the Caribou Days festival. It's a celebration 426 00:29:48,600 --> 00:29:50,960 of the Gwich'in way of life, 427 00:29:50,960 --> 00:29:54,840 like a village fete back home, but with muskrat skinning. 428 00:29:58,760 --> 00:30:01,120 Everyone's back from their hunting camps. 429 00:30:01,120 --> 00:30:05,120 They've come together to give thanks for the return of the caribou herd 430 00:30:05,120 --> 00:30:07,120 and the success of the hunt. 431 00:30:07,120 --> 00:30:11,360 STEPHEN: You understand it's from a skinned caribou. 432 00:30:11,360 --> 00:30:14,080 Pay attention, 433 00:30:14,080 --> 00:30:16,760 because times have changed 434 00:30:16,760 --> 00:30:21,040 and we can't lose our old way of doing things. 435 00:30:21,040 --> 00:30:25,320 I guess he's doing it the way you should skin a caribou. 436 00:30:25,320 --> 00:30:29,800 Each clan takes about five caribou in the spring 437 00:30:29,800 --> 00:30:31,720 and donates part of it to the festival. 438 00:30:34,440 --> 00:30:38,320 All the events celebrate and reinforce Gwich'in culture 439 00:30:38,320 --> 00:30:41,000 and the skills needed to live in this harsh place. 440 00:30:49,000 --> 00:30:53,400 Third prize for men's log-sawing goes to Bruce! 441 00:30:53,400 --> 00:30:58,440 'Third prize in the log-sawing contest wins me ten dollars, 442 00:30:58,440 --> 00:31:00,240 'and I'm chuffed to bits.' 443 00:31:00,240 --> 00:31:03,280 But I don't fancy my chances in the goose calling. 444 00:31:03,280 --> 00:31:07,480 THEY IMITATE A GOOSE CALL 445 00:31:19,280 --> 00:31:23,600 The caribou harvest helps sustain the whole village all year round. 446 00:31:23,600 --> 00:31:28,480 All other food has to be flown up here at great cost, 447 00:31:28,480 --> 00:31:34,120 so having a supply of free meat is a lifeline to the community. 448 00:31:34,120 --> 00:31:38,040 It's the best village fete I've ever been to, without doubt. 449 00:31:38,040 --> 00:31:41,960 Just the warmth of the crowd and the bizarreness of the activities. 450 00:31:41,960 --> 00:31:44,040 I'm absolutely loving it! 451 00:31:55,520 --> 00:31:59,680 Do you think the future's bright for the caribou herd here? 452 00:31:59,680 --> 00:32:01,440 I hope so. 453 00:32:01,440 --> 00:32:03,720 I can't answer that, 454 00:32:03,720 --> 00:32:09,200 but it'll be a sad day if the caribou ever take off and don't come back. 455 00:32:10,800 --> 00:32:13,040 We always worry about that, 456 00:32:13,040 --> 00:32:16,560 but when it's there, we make the most of it. 457 00:32:20,760 --> 00:32:22,880 Are you going to enter the jig competition tonight? 458 00:32:22,880 --> 00:32:25,200 I'm not too sure about that. 459 00:32:25,200 --> 00:32:29,680 I'm not too much of a jigger. No, nor am I! 460 00:32:31,760 --> 00:32:35,720 Rather surprisingly, the Gwich'in people are very keen on jigging. 461 00:32:35,720 --> 00:32:42,040 Apparently they learnt the custom from Scottish fur trappers in the 19th century 462 00:32:42,040 --> 00:32:43,480 and took to it with gusto. 463 00:32:43,480 --> 00:32:46,080 The Scots have long gone, but the jigging lives on 464 00:32:46,080 --> 00:32:49,600 and continues late into the night. 465 00:33:11,160 --> 00:33:14,600 Sadly, it's time to leave Old Crow 466 00:33:14,600 --> 00:33:18,040 and head south on the next stage of my journey. 467 00:33:18,040 --> 00:33:22,440 It's been a joy spending time with the Gwich'in, 468 00:33:22,440 --> 00:33:25,160 but their existence seems so fragile, 469 00:33:25,160 --> 00:33:29,720 threatened by events beyond 470 00:33:25,160 --> 00:33:29,720 their control, way over the horizon. 471 00:33:31,880 --> 00:33:36,000 I wish them luck, but I think they're right to be scared. 472 00:33:36,000 --> 00:33:39,280 Tomorrow, I'm leaving to meet a group of Indians 473 00:33:39,280 --> 00:33:43,640 who also used to hunt and trap in the wilderness for thousands of years 474 00:33:43,640 --> 00:33:49,120 until the oil industry arrived on their doorstep. 475 00:33:49,120 --> 00:33:53,680 I'm travelling 1,200 miles south-east of Old Crow, 476 00:33:53,680 --> 00:33:58,360 below the Arctic Circle, to the tar sands of Northern Alberta, 477 00:33:58,360 --> 00:34:01,960 a massive opencast oil mine. 478 00:34:01,960 --> 00:34:05,400 Driving through, it's an assault on the senses. 479 00:34:07,040 --> 00:34:11,880 The one thing that's really overpowering me at the moment, 480 00:34:11,880 --> 00:34:16,120 that you have to be here to experience, is the smell. 481 00:34:16,120 --> 00:34:17,560 It stinks! 482 00:34:17,560 --> 00:34:24,160 It really is a pretty pungent, quite acrid smell in the air. 483 00:34:24,160 --> 00:34:28,360 It's like when you drive past 484 00:34:24,160 --> 00:34:28,360 a road that's just had the tar laid, 485 00:34:28,360 --> 00:34:29,960 the bitumen smell. 486 00:34:29,960 --> 00:34:32,000 It's really, really... 487 00:34:32,000 --> 00:34:36,000 It's very thick and it's not pleasant. And it's everywhere. 488 00:34:36,000 --> 00:34:41,240 The site is so enormous that the only way to really see it is from the air. 489 00:34:42,880 --> 00:34:47,240 The tar sands stretch across an area the size of England 490 00:34:47,240 --> 00:34:52,040 and contain the second-largest oil reserves in the world after Saudi Arabia. 491 00:34:53,760 --> 00:34:56,760 Vast areas of wilderness have been ripped up 492 00:34:56,760 --> 00:34:59,960 for the extraction of oil from soft sandy soils. 493 00:34:59,960 --> 00:35:05,480 This area now produces 1.3 million barrels a day. 494 00:35:05,480 --> 00:35:07,880 This is the very beginning of something huge 495 00:35:07,880 --> 00:35:10,800 that is going to be happening in the next 50 or so years 496 00:35:10,800 --> 00:35:12,880 and it's... 497 00:35:12,880 --> 00:35:15,840 I don't really need to describe it. 498 00:35:15,840 --> 00:35:18,440 It speaks for itself. It's utter desolation. 499 00:35:18,440 --> 00:35:25,160 And the only feeling I have, sitting here right now, is just...is just sadness. 500 00:35:25,160 --> 00:35:28,760 I feel really, really sad in the pit of my stomach. 501 00:35:30,680 --> 00:35:32,680 That's it. 502 00:35:32,680 --> 00:35:36,680 The extraction process is so energy intensive 503 00:35:36,680 --> 00:35:40,000 that this site has become the single largest 504 00:35:40,000 --> 00:35:43,880 industrial emitter of CO2 gases on the planet. 505 00:35:43,880 --> 00:35:46,640 In a world racked by fears of oil security, 506 00:35:46,640 --> 00:35:50,880 the Canadian tar sands offer a safe alternative, 507 00:35:50,880 --> 00:35:54,400 and production is set to double in the next ten years. 508 00:35:54,400 --> 00:35:56,800 I wonder what's it like 509 00:35:56,800 --> 00:35:58,960 living downstream of this. 510 00:35:58,960 --> 00:36:03,520 Fort Chipewyan is a remote Indian village on the shores of Lake Athabasca, 511 00:36:03,520 --> 00:36:08,240 250 kilometres north of the tar sands. 512 00:36:08,240 --> 00:36:11,240 Until recently, the people of Fort Chip lived a traditional life, 513 00:36:11,240 --> 00:36:14,240 hunting in the forest and fishing in the lake. 514 00:36:14,240 --> 00:36:18,800 Like Old Crow, it's only accessible by plane for most of the year. 515 00:36:18,800 --> 00:36:21,800 But when the tar sands arrived, 30 years ago, 516 00:36:21,800 --> 00:36:24,600 the way of life here changed dramatically. 517 00:36:26,200 --> 00:36:32,000 I'm going fishing with 518 00:36:26,200 --> 00:36:32,000 Mike Mercredi and Robert Grandjambe 519 00:36:26,200 --> 00:36:32,000 on Lake Athabasca. 520 00:36:32,000 --> 00:36:37,600 The lake is teeming with fish, which once fed the people of Fort Chip, but no more. 521 00:36:37,600 --> 00:36:41,400 Now, the fish are only used to feed their dogs. 522 00:36:41,400 --> 00:36:43,080 MAN: Pull him right over the boat. 523 00:36:43,080 --> 00:36:45,120 Pull him right in? Oh, my God! 524 00:36:45,120 --> 00:36:46,640 Right on top of this deck. 525 00:36:46,640 --> 00:36:49,320 Right there, OK. Up onto here? 526 00:36:49,320 --> 00:36:51,720 That's actually a small one, you know. 527 00:36:51,720 --> 00:36:55,280 'Mike and Rob have been helping scientists to monitor 528 00:36:55,280 --> 00:36:57,200 'the health of the fish in the lake, 529 00:36:57,200 --> 00:36:59,920 'after noticing strange marks on some of the fish they were catching.' 530 00:36:59,920 --> 00:37:04,440 So, Mike, tell me, you're 531 00:36:59,920 --> 00:37:04,440 involved in checking out these fish. 532 00:37:04,440 --> 00:37:07,000 What are we looking for and why? 533 00:37:07,000 --> 00:37:10,040 We're looking for abrasions... 534 00:37:10,040 --> 00:37:14,640 cysts, any marks that won't be considered normal. 535 00:37:14,640 --> 00:37:16,840 And what sort of things have you been finding? 536 00:37:16,840 --> 00:37:19,640 Large cysts and abrasions and bruises like that. 537 00:37:19,640 --> 00:37:24,240 And that sort of thing, I mean, that just comes from being in a net for a while. 538 00:37:24,240 --> 00:37:25,960 Some of that does, yeah, 539 00:37:25,960 --> 00:37:27,840 but when you find one with a cyst, 540 00:37:27,840 --> 00:37:30,120 it's like a growth on them. OK. Really? 541 00:37:30,120 --> 00:37:33,160 You can see the difference, almost like a big pimple, some of them. 542 00:37:33,160 --> 00:37:35,160 ROBERT: This is something growing there. 543 00:37:35,160 --> 00:37:38,440 There have been studies of the water quality 544 00:37:38,440 --> 00:37:40,520 that have found pollution levels to be normal, 545 00:37:40,520 --> 00:37:44,640 but the local people say that these have been funded by the oil companies 546 00:37:44,640 --> 00:37:46,640 and they simply do not trust them. 547 00:37:46,640 --> 00:37:49,840 ROBERT: Any testing that's ever been done around here was done by industry. 548 00:37:49,840 --> 00:37:52,600 And if you're paying for it, certainly if I'm paying for something, 549 00:37:52,600 --> 00:37:55,680 I want the results I want, because it's my money you're spending! 550 00:37:55,680 --> 00:37:57,320 So, one could say that, 551 00:37:57,320 --> 00:38:01,480 but one could say they are being honest and being fair, so I don't know. 552 00:38:01,480 --> 00:38:03,720 We just don't know, I think that's the thing. 553 00:38:03,720 --> 00:38:08,800 I think if you're going to get involved in this environmental concern, 554 00:38:08,800 --> 00:38:12,120 you have to be very, very careful, and I think each of us has to be careful. 555 00:38:12,120 --> 00:38:15,040 See, look. Right there. There's something odd. 556 00:38:15,040 --> 00:38:17,920 Maybe it's a fish trying to bite to it. I don't know. 557 00:38:17,920 --> 00:38:20,520 We hear so many different stories from different people... 558 00:38:20,520 --> 00:38:22,200 Different people have different reasons. 559 00:38:22,200 --> 00:38:25,440 ..dependent on who they belong to or who they work for 560 00:38:25,440 --> 00:38:28,200 or what political organisation they're from. 561 00:38:28,200 --> 00:38:30,840 We hear different stories. So it's really hard. 562 00:38:30,840 --> 00:38:32,640 There's so much uncertainty. 563 00:38:32,640 --> 00:38:36,280 See this? That's another fish biting it. You have to watch for things like that. 564 00:38:36,280 --> 00:38:40,040 I could say, "God, look at pollution." You have to be careful. 565 00:38:40,040 --> 00:38:43,000 That's another fish trying to eat it, or maybe a seagull. 566 00:38:43,000 --> 00:38:46,120 That would be something you'd want to try to get tested 567 00:38:46,120 --> 00:38:49,040 or see what further investigation as to what that actually is. 568 00:38:49,040 --> 00:38:52,520 There's some real, clear distinctions we have to do first. 569 00:38:52,520 --> 00:38:55,960 Find out exactly what's polluting us, if there is pollution, 570 00:38:55,960 --> 00:39:01,240 find out where it's coming from, and charge, or else... 571 00:39:01,240 --> 00:39:05,240 You know, do something with the people that are responsible for it. 572 00:39:05,240 --> 00:39:06,680 What should happen is that 573 00:39:06,680 --> 00:39:09,640 when you make an application to start some kind of a development, 574 00:39:09,640 --> 00:39:11,440 you should sign a waiver form, 575 00:39:11,440 --> 00:39:15,040 "If you destroy the environment or do anything, you get shot," 576 00:39:15,040 --> 00:39:17,640 as part of your application. 577 00:39:17,640 --> 00:39:20,120 That would fix them up. 578 00:39:20,120 --> 00:39:21,760 The Canadian Government denies 579 00:39:21,760 --> 00:39:24,760 that the industry is causing harmful levels of pollution, 580 00:39:24,760 --> 00:39:29,000 and says that toxicity levels are no more than would naturally be expected. 581 00:39:29,000 --> 00:39:31,560 However, after much pressure, 582 00:39:31,560 --> 00:39:36,440 it's recently set up an advisory panel to look into the monitoring of the tar sands. 583 00:39:36,440 --> 00:39:41,000 But it feels like it will come too late for the people of Fort Chip. 584 00:39:41,000 --> 00:39:44,800 Something fundamental has already been lost here - 585 00:39:44,800 --> 00:39:49,280 the people's trust in the land and the water to provide for them. 586 00:39:50,240 --> 00:39:54,000 Over the last 20 years, the native people living here say 587 00:39:54,000 --> 00:39:59,040 they've experienced an abnormally high incidence of rare forms of cancer. 588 00:39:59,040 --> 00:40:03,920 Many believe that the tar sands are responsible, 589 00:40:03,920 --> 00:40:07,600 although government health officials 590 00:40:03,920 --> 00:40:07,600 say there's no evidence 591 00:40:03,920 --> 00:40:07,600 to suggest this. 592 00:40:07,600 --> 00:40:09,360 CHANTING 593 00:40:09,360 --> 00:40:14,600 Community elder Steve Courtoreille, like many, has lost a relative to cancer, 594 00:40:14,600 --> 00:40:18,200 and is committed to fighting the expansion of the industry. 595 00:40:18,200 --> 00:40:22,080 STEPHEN: All the money in the world isn't going to fix what has happened. 596 00:40:22,080 --> 00:40:23,720 A drastic change has happened. 597 00:40:23,720 --> 00:40:28,320 It ain't going to bring back all the damage that's been done. 598 00:40:28,320 --> 00:40:31,120 After everything's said and done, 599 00:40:31,120 --> 00:40:35,480 only then...our white brothers are going to realise 600 00:40:35,480 --> 00:40:38,880 that they can't drink oil or eat money, 601 00:40:38,880 --> 00:40:40,960 because everything will be destroyed - the animals, 602 00:40:40,960 --> 00:40:44,880 the plants, the water, the land. 603 00:40:44,880 --> 00:40:47,680 And they're reaping the benefits while we're suffering, 604 00:40:47,680 --> 00:40:50,640 and that's something that's got to change. 605 00:40:57,720 --> 00:41:01,600 I want to know more about the tar sands and the people who work there, 606 00:41:01,600 --> 00:41:03,800 so I head back to Fort McMurray. 607 00:41:05,280 --> 00:41:09,360 I've arranged to meet Chief Jim Boucher. He's a First Nation Indian chief 608 00:41:09,360 --> 00:41:13,480 and chairman of the Fort McKay Group of Companies. 609 00:41:13,480 --> 00:41:16,600 They supply services to the tar sands industry 610 00:41:16,600 --> 00:41:20,360 and provide jobs for the indigenous people. 611 00:41:20,360 --> 00:41:23,360 They're making big money. 612 00:41:23,360 --> 00:41:25,000 How much is 50 of these worth? 613 00:41:25,000 --> 00:41:27,400 Book value is about 40 million. In terms of asset value 614 00:41:27,400 --> 00:41:30,160 of the Fort McKay Group of Companies, it's over 100 million. 615 00:41:30,160 --> 00:41:32,760 100 million, just in assets? Yeah. 616 00:41:32,760 --> 00:41:35,040 Just the one company. Wow! 617 00:41:35,040 --> 00:41:37,480 Yeah, and we have a wide variety of companies. 618 00:41:37,480 --> 00:41:42,000 OK, so you're pretty solvent? Yeah, we're a pretty good entity. Yeah. 619 00:41:42,000 --> 00:41:43,440 Pretty solid. 620 00:41:43,440 --> 00:41:47,920 These native-owned companies provide support services to the industry - 621 00:41:47,920 --> 00:41:52,920 fuel distribution, land reclamation, 622 00:41:47,920 --> 00:41:52,920 haulage and warehousing, 623 00:41:52,920 --> 00:41:55,640 with a turnover of $500 million a year. 624 00:41:55,640 --> 00:41:58,200 So, as well as being chief of the village, 625 00:41:58,200 --> 00:42:02,200 Jim is also chairman of a multi-million-dollar business empire. 626 00:42:02,200 --> 00:42:06,000 You have to have the ability to do the work that's out there 627 00:42:06,000 --> 00:42:08,800 and you have to do it professionally 628 00:42:06,000 --> 00:42:08,800 and in a safe way. 629 00:42:08,800 --> 00:42:11,720 So I think that's what's different about Fort McKay. 630 00:42:11,720 --> 00:42:13,760 You know, the perspective we have 631 00:42:13,760 --> 00:42:16,440 is that we need to be able to do the job properly 632 00:42:16,440 --> 00:42:19,440 and demonstrate that on a continuous basis. 633 00:42:19,440 --> 00:42:23,720 Tar sands oil is also known as dirty oil. 634 00:42:23,720 --> 00:42:28,200 Extracting it from the bitumen-soaked sand requires huge amounts of energy. 635 00:42:28,200 --> 00:42:34,080 It takes a whole barrel of oil just to produce two more barrels. 636 00:42:34,080 --> 00:42:37,200 The industry has only become profitable in the last decade, 637 00:42:37,200 --> 00:42:39,640 largely due to the high price of oil. 638 00:42:39,640 --> 00:42:41,440 This is what it's all about. 639 00:42:41,440 --> 00:42:44,120 Mixed in with this dirt here is the oil. 640 00:42:44,120 --> 00:42:46,680 And in front of me you've got one of the shovels 641 00:42:46,680 --> 00:42:51,240 of which there's dozens all over the 642 00:42:46,680 --> 00:42:51,240 area, scooping up the sand 643 00:42:51,240 --> 00:42:53,720 and then taking it to the processing plant, 644 00:42:53,720 --> 00:42:58,200 where, through seven days of manufacture and process, 645 00:42:58,200 --> 00:43:03,200 all of this gets turned into oil that's good enough to go into your car. 646 00:43:03,200 --> 00:43:05,800 This industry never sleeps. 647 00:43:05,800 --> 00:43:11,120 Trucks haul dirt 24 hours a day, 365 days a year 648 00:43:11,120 --> 00:43:16,160 and will do so until it all runs out 649 00:43:11,120 --> 00:43:16,160 in about 200 years' time. 650 00:43:17,400 --> 00:43:23,520 The expansion of the tar sands site has created a boom town in Alberta. 651 00:43:23,520 --> 00:43:27,320 Thousands of people 652 00:43:23,520 --> 00:43:27,320 have flocked here to get rich quick. 653 00:43:27,320 --> 00:43:32,400 With weekends and overtime 654 00:43:27,320 --> 00:43:32,400 you can make more than $1,000 a day. 655 00:43:32,400 --> 00:43:35,680 We're bringing in people from the Philippines and Mexico 656 00:43:35,680 --> 00:43:37,800 and from other parts of the world, from Europe. 657 00:43:37,800 --> 00:43:41,240 But today, most of the people are coming from Canada. 658 00:43:41,240 --> 00:43:43,640 And wages are high, people are keen to be here, 659 00:43:43,640 --> 00:43:45,520 there's a demand for labour? 660 00:43:45,520 --> 00:43:48,920 There is an upsurge with regards to employment opportunities 661 00:43:48,920 --> 00:43:52,480 and business opportunities 662 00:43:48,920 --> 00:43:52,480 in this region, 663 00:43:48,920 --> 00:43:52,480 as a result of oil sands development. 664 00:43:52,480 --> 00:43:55,560 This is the big driver with regards to the economy 665 00:43:55,560 --> 00:43:58,120 not only for Alberta but for Canada also. 666 00:43:58,120 --> 00:44:02,480 You have to remember oil sands is a major contributor to the Canadian economy. 667 00:44:02,480 --> 00:44:07,200 The Fort McKay Group provides food and board for over 3,000 oil workers. 668 00:44:07,200 --> 00:44:10,520 I'm curious to see 669 00:44:07,200 --> 00:44:10,520 what they think about this industry. 670 00:44:10,520 --> 00:44:13,280 Tar sands, everyone's talking about 671 00:44:10,520 --> 00:44:13,280 it around the world. 672 00:44:13,280 --> 00:44:15,560 There is a fair bit of negativity out there. 673 00:44:15,560 --> 00:44:18,480 Does that come into your minds when you make the decision to come here? 674 00:44:18,480 --> 00:44:22,040 I've never heard anyone complain about the tar sands being a bad thing. 675 00:44:22,040 --> 00:44:24,360 If it wasn't for us, nobody'd drive cars. 676 00:44:24,360 --> 00:44:27,280 Everybody would be riding around in little electric vehicles. 677 00:44:27,280 --> 00:44:29,840 As long as the world has a dependency on oil, 678 00:44:29,840 --> 00:44:31,920 they don't care where it comes from, 679 00:44:31,920 --> 00:44:34,440 but they'll bitch about every aspect of it. 680 00:44:34,440 --> 00:44:37,280 But as long as we can make a good living out of it, 681 00:44:37,280 --> 00:44:38,560 there's no problems. 682 00:44:38,560 --> 00:44:40,520 I couldn't care less, really. 683 00:44:40,520 --> 00:44:42,160 LAUGHTER 684 00:44:42,160 --> 00:44:46,640 And if it was proven 685 00:44:42,160 --> 00:44:46,640 that it was causing serious issues? 686 00:44:46,640 --> 00:44:48,800 If it was proven 687 00:44:48,800 --> 00:44:52,120 and put all over the news and my face was on it, 688 00:44:52,120 --> 00:44:54,440 saying what I just said, I wouldn't like it, 689 00:44:54,440 --> 00:44:56,120 but they're not going to let it get that bad. 690 00:44:56,120 --> 00:45:00,680 The oil companies make too much money to have that bad image all over TV, 691 00:45:00,680 --> 00:45:03,200 so they're going to be working their damnedest 692 00:45:03,200 --> 00:45:08,400 to get to the high standards of, you know, being environmentally friendly, 693 00:45:08,400 --> 00:45:11,120 so I don't think we have to worry about much. 694 00:45:17,280 --> 00:45:21,480 The nearby town of Fort McMurray is where the workers come 695 00:45:21,480 --> 00:45:26,040 to let off steam and spend some of their hard-earned cash. 696 00:45:26,040 --> 00:45:31,280 With a population of 70,000 migrant workers, mostly men, 697 00:45:31,280 --> 00:45:33,600 the town feels pretty grim. 698 00:45:33,600 --> 00:45:37,920 This place here kind of sums this town up for me a little bit. 699 00:45:37,920 --> 00:45:39,600 Cos it is, it's like a boom town. 700 00:45:39,600 --> 00:45:41,520 It's a gold rush here. 701 00:45:41,520 --> 00:45:44,400 Wages here are twice, three times 702 00:45:44,400 --> 00:45:46,720 what they would be in a normal town somewhere else in Canada. 703 00:45:46,720 --> 00:45:51,400 And everybody is here for one thing alone, and that is money. 704 00:45:57,760 --> 00:46:01,480 Fort McKay First Nations runs a haulage business on site 705 00:46:01,480 --> 00:46:04,360 and Jim has arranged for me to meet one of his drivers, 706 00:46:04,360 --> 00:46:06,320 o go for a quick tour of the facility. 707 00:46:07,360 --> 00:46:09,960 Patricia is going to be my driver 708 00:46:09,960 --> 00:46:13,520 and my tour bus is one of Jim's 100-tonne trucks. 709 00:46:14,800 --> 00:46:17,960 What are you like at driving these? 710 00:46:14,800 --> 00:46:17,960 Are they quite fun to drive? 711 00:46:17,960 --> 00:46:20,960 Oh, yeah. It's a good job. 712 00:46:20,960 --> 00:46:24,120 We're off on one of Patricia's regular runs, 713 00:46:24,120 --> 00:46:26,600 hauling dirt from a cleared area 714 00:46:26,600 --> 00:46:29,800 to a newly-made mountain at the other end of the site. 715 00:46:30,880 --> 00:46:33,160 Is this a career forever, for you, 716 00:46:33,160 --> 00:46:36,360 or are you saving up for something? I see myself doing this a long time. 717 00:46:36,360 --> 00:46:37,520 Really? Yeah. 718 00:46:37,520 --> 00:46:40,360 Cos you enjoy it and the money's good? You can move up. 719 00:46:40,360 --> 00:46:44,840 Like, I want to learn how to operate different equipment, 720 00:46:44,840 --> 00:46:48,280 so I'm going to be here for a while. Sure. 721 00:46:50,040 --> 00:46:52,880 Are there any people in the community 722 00:46:52,880 --> 00:46:57,400 that disagree with all of this, you know, big industry happening here? 723 00:46:57,400 --> 00:47:00,160 Um... 724 00:47:00,160 --> 00:47:03,400 Well, the things with the wildlife and the animals, 725 00:47:03,400 --> 00:47:05,760 that's probably the only thing I could see. 726 00:47:05,760 --> 00:47:09,480 But other than that, this is the way 727 00:47:05,760 --> 00:47:09,480 they support their families. 728 00:47:09,480 --> 00:47:13,360 This is the way of living right now... Sure. 729 00:47:13,360 --> 00:47:16,520 D'you know what I mean? It's all we have around us. 730 00:47:16,520 --> 00:47:23,000 Patricia's a single mum, so she's working here to help support her children. 731 00:47:23,000 --> 00:47:26,000 She's also a member of the Fort McKay First Nation. 732 00:47:26,000 --> 00:47:29,040 Her family have been hunting and trapping here for generations. 733 00:47:29,040 --> 00:47:32,640 PATRICIA: My grandma grew up, she grew up in the bush. 734 00:47:32,640 --> 00:47:34,040 She's a tough old lady. 735 00:47:34,040 --> 00:47:39,120 What does she think of all this? She's old, you know. 736 00:47:39,120 --> 00:47:41,360 She doesn't know... 737 00:47:41,360 --> 00:47:44,360 They're not told, like, the elders... 738 00:47:44,360 --> 00:47:46,840 I don't think they're told how much pollution 739 00:47:46,840 --> 00:47:50,320 and how much damage they're actually doing to this, you know? 740 00:47:50,320 --> 00:47:53,840 As soon as they wave all the money in front of them, you know, 741 00:47:53,840 --> 00:47:58,080 so, fine, keep them quiet for a bit, right? 742 00:47:59,280 --> 00:48:01,320 Does it make you sad? Hm? 743 00:48:01,320 --> 00:48:03,920 Does it make you sad? Yeah, I just wish I was... 744 00:48:03,920 --> 00:48:05,600 I wish I was a lawyer. 745 00:48:05,600 --> 00:48:11,600 I wish I could get right in there and...you know, really try to understand, 746 00:48:11,600 --> 00:48:16,960 cos I don't understand a lot of it, either, myself. 747 00:48:16,960 --> 00:48:20,400 If I really understood, really, really understood, 748 00:48:20,400 --> 00:48:22,640 maybe I'd want to do something about it. 749 00:48:22,640 --> 00:48:27,720 But, you know, you can't fight this industry, you know what I mean? 750 00:48:27,720 --> 00:48:29,320 You'd be crazy. 751 00:48:35,880 --> 00:48:40,520 Everything about this place is on an epic scale. 752 00:48:40,520 --> 00:48:44,200 Five minutes ago I was in one of these trucks 753 00:48:44,200 --> 00:48:48,960 and at that time, it was the biggest truck I'd ever seen in my life. 754 00:48:48,960 --> 00:48:51,040 But that was five minutes ago. 755 00:49:00,720 --> 00:49:05,560 This baby...is 400 tonnes, 756 00:49:05,560 --> 00:49:09,880 and it can carry up to 400 tonnes as well. 757 00:49:12,040 --> 00:49:18,040 It's as big as an apartment block. It's a moving apartment block. 758 00:49:18,040 --> 00:49:20,280 You just don't want to get in its way. 759 00:49:22,840 --> 00:49:26,680 I want to know what it was like here 760 00:49:22,840 --> 00:49:26,680 before the industry began, 761 00:49:26,680 --> 00:49:32,280 so Chief Jim agrees to take me out on the Athabasca River. 762 00:49:32,280 --> 00:49:35,200 As chief of the Fort McKay First Nation, 763 00:49:35,200 --> 00:49:38,600 Jim has seen a lot of changes during his time here as leader. 764 00:49:40,120 --> 00:49:43,880 At first, Jim's people tried to oppose the industry, 765 00:49:43,880 --> 00:49:46,880 but the government claimed ownership of their land 766 00:49:46,880 --> 00:49:51,360 and has now sold leases to over 90 oil companies. 767 00:49:51,360 --> 00:49:54,680 What does this make you feel like when you see it here? 768 00:49:54,680 --> 00:49:58,600 This was a good spot for our people 769 00:49:54,680 --> 00:49:58,600 to spend the summer. 770 00:49:58,600 --> 00:50:00,640 They would come here to pick berries. 771 00:50:00,640 --> 00:50:03,600 Had a waterfall here. 772 00:50:03,600 --> 00:50:06,560 Fish, hunt moose... 773 00:50:06,560 --> 00:50:11,320 And how did you feel when you came up against 774 00:50:11,320 --> 00:50:14,000 the power that's here, Jim? What chance did you have? 775 00:50:14,000 --> 00:50:20,080 In 1963, we had no chance whatsoever in terms of stopping this from going on. 776 00:50:20,080 --> 00:50:26,360 It was a decision that was made south of here by a white government 777 00:50:26,360 --> 00:50:31,560 and they made a decision based on what's in the best interest for them. 778 00:50:31,560 --> 00:50:34,480 The people in the community didn't have the resources 779 00:50:34,480 --> 00:50:37,880 or the means to challenge the decision of this magnitude 780 00:50:37,880 --> 00:50:42,880 and we had no say in terms of what goes on here. 781 00:50:42,880 --> 00:50:47,120 Then, in the 1980s, a successful anti-fur campaign 782 00:50:47,120 --> 00:50:50,880 led to the collapse of the tribe's fur-trapping business. 783 00:50:52,320 --> 00:50:58,720 When that occurred, overnight our economy disappeared. 784 00:50:58,720 --> 00:51:02,920 Our people had nothing left to do on the land with respect to trapping. 785 00:51:02,920 --> 00:51:07,320 So, the anti-fur campaign shut down our traditional economy 786 00:51:07,320 --> 00:51:09,480 and put our people into poverty. 787 00:51:09,480 --> 00:51:14,560 We were faced with a dire situation where the only opportunity we had 788 00:51:14,560 --> 00:51:18,560 was welfare from the Government of Canada and the Government of Alberta, 789 00:51:18,560 --> 00:51:21,640 and that was not a very desirable prospect. 790 00:51:21,640 --> 00:51:26,440 So we turned to this opportunity with some reluctance 791 00:51:26,440 --> 00:51:28,200 and tried to make the best of it 792 00:51:28,200 --> 00:51:31,000 so the people in our community can have a future. 793 00:51:38,280 --> 00:51:43,360 Your ancestors, Jim, used to believe that the land was actually alive. 794 00:51:43,360 --> 00:51:47,520 What would they make of this? I think they would have a hard time. 795 00:51:47,520 --> 00:51:49,080 They loved the land. 796 00:51:49,080 --> 00:51:52,560 They loved... This was their country. 797 00:51:52,560 --> 00:51:55,120 This is what they knew. 798 00:51:55,120 --> 00:51:57,160 This is all they knew. 799 00:51:57,160 --> 00:52:01,520 And it's something that was passed on from generation to generation. 800 00:52:01,520 --> 00:52:06,440 Everywhere you go, you can see signs 801 00:52:01,520 --> 00:52:06,440 of where your ancestors were, 802 00:52:06,440 --> 00:52:08,680 where your family was, 803 00:52:08,680 --> 00:52:10,720 and you can have a good feeling 804 00:52:10,720 --> 00:52:14,120 about going to visit places where your family was. 805 00:52:14,120 --> 00:52:19,320 This place here was an important place for our people. 806 00:52:19,320 --> 00:52:21,280 It was a gathering place. 807 00:52:21,280 --> 00:52:23,240 So, when that's gone, 808 00:52:23,240 --> 00:52:28,720 all our memories... of that place is gone too. 809 00:52:30,840 --> 00:52:35,920 Jim wants to show me a small reminder of how things used to be. 810 00:52:35,920 --> 00:52:39,520 His family own a hunting cabin that belonged to his father, 811 00:52:39,520 --> 00:52:43,120 still standing within the heart of the extraction site. 812 00:52:43,120 --> 00:52:48,240 We're accompanied 813 00:52:43,120 --> 00:52:48,240 by a convoy of PR and safety people. 814 00:52:48,240 --> 00:52:49,920 It's a beautiful spot. 815 00:52:49,920 --> 00:52:53,200 Yeah, it's a beautiful spot. It's where my dad used to stay. 816 00:52:53,200 --> 00:52:55,880 Quite a few years ago I built this cabin for him. 817 00:52:55,880 --> 00:52:59,280 You built it for him? Yeah, my brothers and I. 818 00:52:59,280 --> 00:53:03,360 How long ago was it that you built this? Oh, I don't know. Jesus. 819 00:53:03,360 --> 00:53:05,000 15 years ago, maybe? OK. 820 00:53:05,000 --> 00:53:06,640 Quite a few years ago. 821 00:53:06,640 --> 00:53:09,320 And could you hear that high noise 15 years ago? 822 00:53:09,320 --> 00:53:11,120 No, never. 823 00:53:11,120 --> 00:53:13,600 What was here 15 years ago? There was nothing here. 824 00:53:13,600 --> 00:53:19,200 Just squirrels and rabbits and beavers and muskrats and fish 825 00:53:19,200 --> 00:53:22,440 and ducks and geese and... 826 00:53:22,440 --> 00:53:25,360 Great spot. Yeah. 827 00:53:25,360 --> 00:53:29,320 It's pretty dry in here. It's nice. How do you feel now, being here? 828 00:53:29,320 --> 00:53:34,480 I feel good. I feel like the old times. It's good that it's still here. 829 00:53:34,480 --> 00:53:36,880 It's good that there's memories here and... 830 00:53:36,880 --> 00:53:38,480 and, er... 831 00:53:38,480 --> 00:53:44,320 and you can feel your... the spirit of your dad here and... Yeah. 832 00:53:46,240 --> 00:53:50,240 It's the second time on this trip that I've visited an old family cabin, 833 00:53:50,240 --> 00:53:54,720 but this is very different to Stephen's parents' place back in Old Crow. 834 00:53:54,720 --> 00:53:59,680 We're having quite a strange barbecue with all the oil people, 835 00:53:59,680 --> 00:54:02,320 and Jim's older sister, Rose, is cooking up moose and caribou 836 00:54:02,320 --> 00:54:04,120 and clearly hasn't read the script. 837 00:54:04,120 --> 00:54:06,000 Look at the land now. 838 00:54:06,000 --> 00:54:08,960 It's been raped. 839 00:54:08,960 --> 00:54:10,640 That's how I see it. 840 00:54:10,640 --> 00:54:12,440 The land has been raped. 841 00:54:12,440 --> 00:54:15,400 You know, Mother Earth has been raped. Look at it. 842 00:54:15,400 --> 00:54:18,560 Trees are being cut down. 843 00:54:18,560 --> 00:54:25,640 Things are taken out of the land and not being put back properly. 844 00:54:25,640 --> 00:54:28,280 The water is being abused. 845 00:54:28,280 --> 00:54:33,960 The animals are being abused, you know? Where will they go? 846 00:54:33,960 --> 00:54:37,160 It's our land, it's my land, 847 00:54:37,160 --> 00:54:41,480 it's my father's land, and we should have access to it, you know? 848 00:54:41,480 --> 00:54:43,640 And I believe in progress, 849 00:54:43,640 --> 00:54:46,120 you know, to make things better. 850 00:54:46,120 --> 00:54:51,640 But not to totally erase what was there before, 851 00:54:51,640 --> 00:54:54,160 and doing so, you know? 852 00:54:54,160 --> 00:55:01,280 Not to totally erase away a life or a whole nation, you know? 853 00:55:01,280 --> 00:55:02,880 Just for progress? 854 00:55:02,880 --> 00:55:04,800 No, I don't think so. 855 00:55:06,920 --> 00:55:11,240 'I asked John Rhind, chief operating officer of Shell Albian Sands, 856 00:55:11,240 --> 00:55:16,040 'what his company does when it finishes digging up the land.' 857 00:55:16,040 --> 00:55:20,720 Our job is to reclaim that land, and so when we started our operations, 858 00:55:20,720 --> 00:55:25,360 one of the things we do, before we even start putting a shovel into the ground, 859 00:55:25,360 --> 00:55:28,480 is we make agreements in terms of how we're going to reclaim, 860 00:55:28,480 --> 00:55:29,920 when we're going to reclaim 861 00:55:29,920 --> 00:55:32,080 and what it's going to look like at the end of the day. 862 00:55:32,080 --> 00:55:34,480 So, some of what you would have flown over 863 00:55:34,480 --> 00:55:38,680 as you were looking at the other, older, existing operations, 864 00:55:38,680 --> 00:55:42,480 some of that land's already been reclaimed and most people can't tell from the air. 865 00:55:42,480 --> 00:55:44,000 It looks like arboreal forest. 866 00:55:44,000 --> 00:55:47,880 So our job is to return the land back into the same condition, 867 00:55:47,880 --> 00:55:49,920 or similar condition to what we found it in. 868 00:55:49,920 --> 00:55:52,600 But simply re-planting trees 869 00:55:52,600 --> 00:55:58,080 just doesn't deal with the much larger environmental impacts here. 870 00:55:58,080 --> 00:56:01,560 The economic benefits, however, are plain to see. 871 00:56:01,560 --> 00:56:04,040 At Jim's village, Fort McKay, 872 00:56:04,040 --> 00:56:07,560 they spent $40 million last year on new facilities, 873 00:56:07,560 --> 00:56:10,480 and every man, woman and child in the tribe 874 00:56:10,480 --> 00:56:15,840 gets a dividend of $10,000 a year as a share of the profits. 875 00:56:15,840 --> 00:56:17,960 And the cash just keeps rolling in. 876 00:56:17,960 --> 00:56:23,000 Fort McKay is now looking to start its own oil extraction company. 877 00:56:23,000 --> 00:56:26,480 Amongst the trappings of corporate success in Jim's office, 878 00:56:26,480 --> 00:56:32,080 his traditional headdress stands out 879 00:56:26,480 --> 00:56:32,080 as a symbol of the past. 880 00:56:32,080 --> 00:56:34,800 It's beautiful, Jim. Thanks. 881 00:56:34,800 --> 00:56:36,920 How does it make you feel, wearing it? 882 00:56:36,920 --> 00:56:39,960 I feel like I should go to the bar tonight and see if there's any girls. 883 00:56:39,960 --> 00:56:43,680 On a serious note, 884 00:56:43,680 --> 00:56:48,440 it's like every mark of success for modern person and community - 885 00:56:48,440 --> 00:56:51,720 wealth, happiness, health, material goods - 886 00:56:51,720 --> 00:56:54,800 but yet you know what you had in the past as well. 887 00:56:54,800 --> 00:56:56,040 Is it all worth it? 888 00:56:56,040 --> 00:56:59,200 I would prefer that we had the old way of life. 889 00:56:59,200 --> 00:57:03,080 But the fact of the matter is, the old way of life has gone. 890 00:57:04,600 --> 00:57:07,600 It died with my grandfather. 891 00:57:07,600 --> 00:57:09,960 It died with our ancestors. 892 00:57:09,960 --> 00:57:16,960 It died when oil was first produced from the ground in this region. 893 00:57:16,960 --> 00:57:19,520 And we will never be able to bring it back. 894 00:57:22,800 --> 00:57:26,600 Old Crow feels like a long way away from here. 895 00:57:26,600 --> 00:57:30,280 I've met two very different men on this trip. 896 00:57:30,280 --> 00:57:34,480 Jim has accepted his place in an industrial world, 897 00:57:34,480 --> 00:57:37,200 while Stephen is still living with nature, 898 00:57:37,200 --> 00:57:41,440 and embodies a way of life and a set of values 899 00:57:41,440 --> 00:57:43,520 that are disappearing from the Arctic. 900 00:57:43,520 --> 00:57:47,320 Chief Jim has given in to big industry, 901 00:57:47,320 --> 00:57:49,960 but what other option did he have? 902 00:57:49,960 --> 00:57:54,320 It would be so convenient to just blame everyone working here 903 00:57:54,320 --> 00:57:57,880 and Albertans 904 00:57:54,320 --> 00:57:57,880 for all the damage that's happening. 905 00:57:57,880 --> 00:58:02,240 But, really, it's more complex than that. We're all to blame in some way or other. 906 00:58:02,240 --> 00:58:06,960 Anyone who's using oil, including me in this huge car flying around the place. 907 00:58:06,960 --> 00:58:10,000 It's our addiction to oil that's driving the economy, 908 00:58:10,000 --> 00:58:12,240 that is driving what is happening here. 909 00:58:12,240 --> 00:58:17,960 And until that changes, this sort of thing is going to continue. 910 00:58:17,960 --> 00:58:21,760 But the cost of oil doesn't take into account 911 00:58:21,760 --> 00:58:26,760 the damage to the landscape and to the people who were here first. 912 00:58:26,760 --> 00:58:31,080 If it did, would we be willing to pay the price? 913 00:58:35,320 --> 00:58:37,640 Next time, I'm in northern Europe. 914 00:58:37,640 --> 00:58:42,600 I live with the most modern of reindeer herders. 915 00:58:42,600 --> 00:58:45,240 THEY CALL OUT, REINDEER GRUNT 916 00:58:45,240 --> 00:58:47,040 Once again, I'm knackered. 917 00:58:47,040 --> 00:58:53,560 And as my journey ends, I witness the magical return of the arctic night. 918 00:58:53,560 --> 00:58:58,440 I've just been treated to the northern lights, which are finally out to play.