Arctic with Bruce Parry: Greenland

The second in the series of 'Arctic with Bruce Parry', saw the adventurer living with Inuit communities in Greenland, experiencing spring in the Arctic and confronting the shocking clash between Inuit and Western conservation values.

Living on a diet of raw narwhal fin, seal stomach skin and seal eye jelly, Bruce joins a group of hunters, looking for walrus to feed their families. Government restrictions limit the amount a hunter is allowed to shoot and we learn that it's virtually impossible to become wealthy through following a traditional Inuit lifestyle. But hunting is about much more than wealth, hence the decision by many to continue the work of their ancestors. The unbreakable bond between man and nature is undeniable with these people, who hold a deep respect for their landscape, and can be seen developing in Bruce throughout the program.

Bruce gives a fascinating insight into the economy and traditional values of a rapidly changing landscape and people. In this remote, frozen ecosystem where nothing grows, locals pay the equivalent of £2 for a shrivelled green pepper in a supermarket, and around £30 for imported lamb chops. Despite a desire to stay close to their traditional heritage, many Inuit have turned to mining, amongst other jobs, to fund their increasingly expensive lifestyles.

Although climate change is a serious issue for Greenland's people, they held the forward-thinking attitude that they would simply have to adapt to their changing landscape. The strongest argument to emerge from the program was the tension between conservationists and the Inuit people. Bruce battled to make a decision whether or not the traditionally sustainable practice of polar-bear hunting should be condemned, with local people arguing that their survival not only depends on hunting these and other Arctic species, but also that the causes of their population decline were due to the actions of industrialised nations, not theirs.

You can watch the episode again here on BBC iplayer

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Ths blog was also posted on Responsible Travel News

Arctic with Bruce Parry

From riding reindeer and sucking their antlers, to bring cleansed with horse hair, 'Arctic with Bruce Parry', broadcast this Sunday evening, saw Bruce Parry embark on the first of five Arctic adventures.

In the new series, Arctic with Bruce Parry will see the former marine immerse himself in the cultures and environments of indigenous peoples living within the Arctic Circle. The BBC2 series examines man’s relationship with the natural world but Bruce admits that he is also on a personal quest to further explore his fascination with spiritualists, or ‘shamans’.

In Sunday's adventure, Bruce journeyed to Arctic Siberia, forming a close bond with the Shaman who hosted him, experiencing Siberia’s moving summer solstice, alongside a set of spiritual practices which allowed Bruce to have his aura cleansed with a horse hair brush and be spiritually charged by the vibrations of the traditional mouth harp – a music instrument previously banned during Soviet rule in the Arctic.

Bruce then travelled further north to live with the Sakha horse people. Here, he not only revealed how the collapse of the Soviet Union has allowed economic ventures such as horse breeding to flourish and liberate indigenous populations but also how education and deep respect for family forms an integral part of everyday life here.

Moving deeper into the Arctic Circle to live with Eveny reindeer herders in the Verkhoyansk Mountains, the most northerly populated region of the Arctic, Bruce sensitively uncovers the challenges and opportunities presented to semi-nomadic people in post-Soviet Arctic. His slow-blossoming friendship with the father of a family of herders is deeply moving, growing from a guarded demeanour and sharp denial of a belief in ancient beliefs, to deep friendship and a sharing of spiritual teachings of the ghosts of the ancestral heartland, as well as an honest account of personal failings and resolutions.

Portraying what appears to be a candid view of everyday life, Bruce looks close to retching when instructed to suck the broken antler of a reindeer and cringes as his World War II tank bulldozes through the sacred landscape, obliterating saplings and grasses in his path – a sharp juxtaposition to the careful respect paid to other natural features they pass on their journey.

But what emerges from Bruce’s time in one of the planet’s great wildernesses, and the underlying message in teh programme, is an equilibrium between people, nature and economy, a trinity bound by spirituality, understanding and respect.

The next episode, in which Bruce visits Innuit hunters in Greenland, can be viewed on BBC2 next Sunday at 21:00 or click here, to view on BBC iPlayer. If you missed part one, watch back on BBC iPlayer.

Image taken from arcticwithbruceparry.com

This article was also published by Responsible Travel News

For travel and copywriting services visit www.lucygrewcock.com