OUT IN THE OPEN

A trip through Canada's remote Northwest Territories showcases the region's starkly beautiful landscapes and the Indigenous communities whose stories and ways of life have become newly accessible to travelers

- Sophy Roberts

IN the autumn of 1897, after gold was discovered in the Klondike, my English great-grandfather rode out from a cattle ranch near Edmonton, Alberta, to make his fortune. It was late in the season. He traveled with three Americans, eight-pack ponies, a Winchester rifle, a tin billycan for tea, a Dutch oven for making bread, a goatskin coat, and a few light mining implements. But the snowfall was heavier than expected, which made the ground treacherous for the horses. When his companions decided to sit out the winter with some fur trapping, my great-grandfather sold his share of the ponies for sled dogs and hired an Indigenous tracker instead. His pace picked up, but the weather deteriorated. When supplies got dangerously low, he suggested to his tracker that they eat the dogs. Eventually, he was forced to return to England empty-handed. His diary, however, survived.

My great-grandfather's account of his journey is one of the reasons the geography of northern Canada interests me: not just his descriptions of yelping huskies and crusted snow, but also the stories of Indigenous people who possessed the knowledge my great-grandfather lacked to survive. This idea jibes with Stories of Canada, a new national initiative that seeks to draw more attention to the country's Indigenous cultural traditions and tour operators, as well as to some of its lesser-known areas, including Manitoba and Nunavut. The project was spearheaded by Marc Telio, founder of the Canadian travel outfitter Entrée Destinations, in partnership with regional tourist boards, the federal government, and Indigenous community leaders. Among the 20 tours offered was a winter journey into the Northwest Territories. I wondered if I might see the boreal wilderness my great-grandfather had recounted.