The Innu Nation Uinipekᵁ Ocean Expedition: Leg 1 Update

The Innu Nation Uinipekᵁ Ocean Expedition has officially begun! This expedition is focused on increasing the knowledge and understanding of the Innu Nation coastal and marine environments alongside providing hands-on experiences in science, mariner skills, storytelling, and more for Innu youth.

Leg 1 started on July 1st from Northwest River with a group of excited youth, Innu Nation staff, Guardians, and other community members from the Innu communities of Sheshatshiu and Natuashish, along with a team of researchers and educators. We were so grateful to have had Jack Penashue, Superintendent of Akamiu-Uapishkᵁ, join us for the first few days of the expedition. Jack helped us start in a good way with a smudge to bless the expedition, along with sharing stories to help us understand the importance of the expedition for Innu Nation.

Our days have been filled with awe and wonder. We’ve spent time out on the land, in the Zodiacs, SCUBA diving, water sampling, and more, all with incredible weather – including some stunning rainbows. We have an incredible group of researchers on board conducting the data collection of the Innu marine regions including the Innu Nation Environment Office, Department of Fisheries and Oceans, the Canadian Museum of Nature, the Huntsman Marine Science Centre, and the Canadian Hydrographic Service. During these early days the science team has been busy getting all of their different research projects set up and launched. This has included the dive team and ROV getting in the water to learn more about this marine environment, setting traps for invasive species, and collecting water samples. Stay tuned for more specifics on the science program as the expedition progresses.

Our first few days were spent in Akami-Uapishkᵁ-KaKKasuak-Mealy Mountains National Park Reserve which is part of the Akamiu-Uapishkᵁ region. This entire region covers an integral 21,000 km2 of Nitassinan, the Innu homeland, and forms a vital link to the cultural and natural heritage of the Innu. The region encompasses the 10,700 km2 National Park Reserve, 3500 km2 of a proposed provincial waterway park along Nutapineuaniu-shipu (the Eagle River), and two greater swaths of Innu land. Innu Nation has been working to have this whole area protected and preserved for future generations to continue practicing their traditional Innu way of life, and it is now under the stewardship of Innu Nation.

The first stop was in Amishkᵁ-shipiss (Swallow Harbour) where we were welcomed ashore by a team of Innu Parks staff and family with a beautiful meal that included duck, char, yeast sandbread and Innu donuts. Swallow Harbour falls inside the National Park Reserve and is in the overlap land claim area of both Innu Nation and the Nunatsiavut Government. The hot days made it perfect to get out the qajaqs and stand up paddle boards coupled with some valuable (and fun!) data collection. It’s been great to see the youth jumping right into all of the different learning opportunities with our incredible science team on board.

Following Amishkᵁ-shipiss we headed out of Atatshi-uinipekᵁ (Lake Melville) to the Wunderstrands, another important part of the National Park Reserve. Here, we had a choice of activities. Some chose to take an a walk and talk with the Innu Parks team about the importance of this particular area. Others conducted a plastic debris survey on the beach, not only to clean it up but also to survey what is washing up and what might be growing on it. This is important data collection because litter and other natural objects and organisms which wash up on beaches can be a vector for the introduction of new and potentially invasive species into these areas, which can have negative impacts on the local habitat. The final group went to explore the marine flora and fauna of the intertidal zone, sieving the water to expose different marine life living in the sand and the water as we map the biodiversity of the region.

Evenings on the ship have been filled with Innu stories, delicious meals, smiles, and laughter. We are all excited to continue our journey out to the Gannet Islands Seabird Ecological Reserve as we continue to learn about this incredible ecosystem.

View the full photo gallery here: https://bit.ly/3CXaNUL