I have just seen comments on my mission which are really off target and based on some far out uninformed speculation. Just to clarify, as stated in my very first post on this site, all my work is dedicated to the people of Gjoa Haven. In the past I have worked to help the Lakota of Pine Ridge, South Dakota. I am also now working with some of the Sayisi Dene out of Churchill, Manitoba (the "Caribou People") who were torn from their homeland in the 1950's. I have a long record in helping native people and cultures. The community of Gjoa Haven should benefit from anything that is found by myself or anyone else, whether Canadian, American or other in nationality. It is part of their heritage too. And that, along with my historical curiosity and sense of adventure, has always been my motivation to come here.
Good grief. The comments on that article are a disappointing amalgam of anger, ignorance, and bigotry. I see that some have come to your defense. I'll see about signing up and commenting. I'm very sorry to see all this.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward, have you considered the possibility of obtaining satellite imagery (visual and/or infrared) of the intended search areas? Satellite views taken at low sun angles could reveal the presence of something like a cairn. If the terrain is relatively flat a cairn would show up as a long shadow. A neat row of graves could potentially show up as a series of long, evenly spaced, shadows. Different sun angles could be used to reveal more detail about the nature of any targets. The drawbacks to this approach are low resolution and cost.
ReplyDeleteI posted a reply to the CBC article on Franklin's Ghost (blog). Unfortunately, these same type of uninformed and very angry people showed up in the comments on similar articles regarding Bear Gryll's potential find and Rob Rondeau's aborted 2009 search. It saddens me greatly that there are people out there who jump to such conclusions. Clearly this was to be a search, only, not a "treasure hunt."