Living in Nain, Nunatsiavut (Labrador), Noah Nochasak heard amazing stories of how his Inuit ancestors hunted walruses, seals, and polar bears from tiny vessels on the frigid North Atlantic. When he finally had the chance to try kayaking in his early 20s, he quickly became hooked on the incredible thrill of encountering a force of nature so intimately. “If you don’t do something right, you’ll capsize,” says Noah, now 35. “That’s something I still really love about kayaking.”
When he tried to learn about Labrador kayak culture, however, it was largely occluded by the shadows of colonization. So, ironically, he used building tips from history books to make his first wood and canvas boats. Later, he started an oral history project encompassing the people of Nunatsiavut to learn more about kayaking. It wasn’t long before Noah uncovered some upsetting differences between Inuit elders who went to residential schools and those who did not. “The people who knew the most didn’t go to boarding school,” he says. “They were more comfortable and proud talking about kayaks.”
Kids are helping Noah Nochasak build his 15th boat. Photo courtesy of: Noah Nochasak
Noah’s own sense of pride and accomplishment in building and paddling kayaks grew, and he wanted to share it with others. He trained as a sea kayak guide at Thompson Rivers University in B.C., and after leading trips on Vancouver Island and in Newfoundland, he returned home to take on the role of piuliniattik kajannik (which translates roughly to “the person reclaiming kayaks”) with the Nunatsiavut government. He is now living his dream, providing kayak-building and paddling skills courses to supplement western learning in northern communities.
In his most recent project, Noah worked with Grade 8 students at Nain’s Jens Haven Memorial School to build his 15th kayak and he launched the sleek, handmade craft when the ice melted from the community’s island-pocked harbour last spring. “The kids are so willing to learn,” he says. “It proves that things that were largely misplaced can be reclaimed.”
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