Fort Langley National Historic Site welcomes Inuit storyteller Michael Arvaarluk Kusugak for a special afternoon of Arctic Stories on Saturday, Dec. 1 at 1 p.m.
Michael Arvaarluk Kusugak grew up in Repulse Bay, NWT (now Nunavut) and now splits his time between Sooke and Rankin Inlet, Nunavut. During his childhood, his family travelled by dog sled, living a traditional Inuit lifestyle. He is an award-winning author of 12 children’s books and was a co-writer of A Promise is a Promise (with Robert Munsch).
Parks Canada invites Canadians to be inspired and captivated by the stories of the people and events that shaped the Canada of today. This event will create new connections between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadians.
Parks Canada worked together with the Vancouver Maritime Museum to bring the guest speaker to the area to offer a storytelling presentation at both Fort Langley National Historic Site (Dec. 1) and the Vancouver Maritime Museum (Dec. 2).
At the Vancouver Maritime Museum, Michael Kusugak’s storytelling presentation fits into the “Tales of the Northwest Passage Speaker Series,” celebrating 90 years of Adventure onboard the St. Roch. Built in British Columbia, named after a parish in Quebec, captained by a Norwegian immigrant, crewed by farm boys from across the country, and helped by the Inuit, the RCMP St. Roch was the first vessel to sail the Northwest Passage from west to east (1940-1942), the first to complete the passage in one season (1944), and the first to circumnavigate North America.
The St. Roch is designated as a national historic site.
The event is Dec. 1 at 1 p.m. in Fort Langley National Historic Site’s theatre. It is included with site admission, which is $7.80/adult and $6.55 per senior. Early bird annual passes go on sale that day, costing just $15.60/adult and $13.20/senior. Youth age 17 and younger are free.