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July 2000 trip
Page 4 of 5
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James Bay |
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I drove out to Chisasibi to
see the actual
James Bay, which accessible by a small gravel road past town.
Chisasibi is 90 km west off the James Bay Road (110 km from Radisson).
Before you reach town you must stop at a checkpoint. The Cree of Chisasibi
do not allow any alcohol into town.
The shores of James Bay are very flat, so they're not very photogenic, but
here are some pictures so you can see what it looks like anyway.
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The Cree of Chisasibi used to live on Fort George Is.,
which is in the mouth of the La Grande River. They were moved
inland to the new town of Chisasibi when the James Bay hydro project
was built.
Many of the residents of Chisasibi have camps on the island.
Here's the ferry to Fort George Is. |
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On the shore of James Bay.
These boats are huge canoes, made of wood. These are just a few
of them that are left here, unlocked, with motors attached.
The locals use them to go out to their bush camps on the Bay.
Yes, the water is salt water - this is the Arctic Ocean. There are
noticeable tides. |
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The wild shore of James Bay. All you can see out there are
low islands. Most of the islands have no trees, and there are
large areas of bare rock.
All of James Bay and Hudson Bay are very low and flat. These
areas are still rebounding from the last ice age. |
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My "trusty steed" ('98 diesel powered VW Jetta) that brought me
all this way.
The dust on the car is from Labrador and the North Road.
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One more picture...
For some reason, I found being on the shores of James Bay an incredibly
moving experience.
Perhaps it was the knowledge that I was so far north, on the shores of
the Arctic Ocean.
Perhaps it was the aloneness.
Perhaps it was the silence.
I'm not sure what it was, but the feeling stayed with me for a long
time afterwards... |
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