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Katujjiqatigit / Working Together: The all-female Sedna Epic Expedition brings a changing ocean to eye level for coastal Inuit communities
Originally published in Water Canada Magazine.
BANK TO THE LEFT, bank to the right. Tethered to diver propulsion vehicles, the women flew through emerald-green waters at six kilometres per hour, dodging sculpted ice formations off the northern coast of Labrador. They soon discovered that snorkelling in pack ice is a contact sport. After several star-inducing head bumps, the team’s dive physician determined that helmets would be standard gear for future expeditions.
Susan R. Eaton
A geoscientist, journalist and explorer, Susan R. Eaton studies the interplay of plate tectonics, oceans, glaciers, climate and life in polar regions.
A Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society, Susan explores the world’s oceans—from Antarctica to the Arctic—in the snorkel zone, a unique land-sea-ice-air interface where charismatic animals and snorkelers comingle.
In 2018, Ocean Geographic named Susan one of the “Ocean’s Best” 18 most influential women leaders in ocean conservation.
Twelve years ago, Susan suffered a scuba diving trauma that landed her in a hyperbaric chamber for three days, ending her 30-year diving career. Undaunted, her up-close-and-personal relationship with the ocean—which had included studying marine biology and teaching scuba diving—didn’t end in the hyperbaric chamber…
Redefining her relationship with the ocean, Susan has snorkeled with thousands of chatty belugas Hudson Bay and with docile manatees at Crystal River, Florida. She’s snorkeled in the Galapagos Archipelago where sea turtles, sea lions and nurse sharks outnumber snorkelers. In Haida Gwaii, she’s assisted the Haida Nation, snorkeling northern rivers to count salmon migrating to their ancestral spawning grounds. Susan has come face-to-mask with charging 1,400-pound leopard seals in the Southern Ocean—so close, in fact, that she could count the freckles on their upper palates and inspect their tri-serrated teeth which dispatch 30-pound penguins in mere minutes.
On Canada’s 150th birthday in 2017, Susan was honoured to be included in the book by Paulina Cameron, entitled “Canada 150 Women: Conversations with Leaders, Champions and Luminaries.”
In 2015, the Royal Canadian Geographical Society named Susan one of Canada’s top 100 modern-day explorers and trailblazers. A year later, the same organization named her one of Canada’s 25 greatest female explorers.
Sedna Epic Norway 2019: Women’s Leadership & Winter Snorkel
Please consider supporting a portion of my personal costs to lead the Sedna Epic Expedition’s women’s leadership program and winter snorkel expedition to Norway in November 2019.
Every donation is welcome and accretive to my bottom line.
Warm regards, Susan
VIDEOS
Martial Glacier, Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina
TELUS Spark: Meet an Innovator Susan R. Eaton
Sedna Epic: Seawomen To Snorkel Northwest
SOCIAL MEDIA
As the world watched, two of our @NASA_Astronauts made history! 👩🚀👩🚀 During the first #AllWomanSpacewalk, @Astro_Christina & @Astro_Jessica worked in the vacuum of space for more than 7 hours to conduct @Space_Station maintenance. Watch: https://t.co/81C919Qayf
An orca named Sedna! Whitley Mike, our team member, graphic designer & orca conservationist, helped name an 8-year-old female transient #orca (T046B3) who lives off the Pacific Northwest Coast and has the most beautifully shaped dorsal fin we've ever seen #seawomen #oceans #PNW
We teamed up with @IAmSandraOh to help bring the world a little more Canada, one apology at a time. #TLC
Stressing the “geo” in geotourism: What a gorgeous October day at Pelican Rapids, which are situated on the Slave River south of the @TownofFortSmith! Ever the geologist, I discovered lots of garnets in the Precambrian Shield’s 1-billion-year-old granites #geology #spectacularNWT
Excited to deliver the #keynote at the Society of Professional Biologists' annual meeting on Nov. 21: I'll present the @SednaEpic Expedition's ocean knowledge sharing & mobilization program for Inuit youth and girls #arcticsnorkel #seawomen #WomenoftheArctic @PADI @AlbertaBiology
After finding its floe, a drifting #Arctic research icebreaker settles in for #polarnight https://t.co/R9fPn773W2
I'm delighted to announce that Anna Kuhmunen had joined the @SednaEpic Expedition to Norway in November: A #Sámi from Jåhkåmåhkke, Jokkmokk, Swedish Lapland, Anna lives a traditional #reindeer herding life that's being impacted by climate change #WomenoftheArctic @WaterproofExped
Humpback whales swim in circular patterns while blowing bubbles to create a “net” to encircle its prey. It’s a regular occurrence in the cold blue-green waters of Southeast Alaska.
In addition to drone footage showing a stunning overhead view of a pair of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) creating the bubble nets, marine biologists at the University of Hawaii at Manoa stuck cameras and sensors on whales using suction cups to collect a wealth of data on the fascinating behaviour.
"We have two angles. The drone's perspective is showing us these bubble nets and how the bubbles are starting to come to the surface and how the animals come up through the bubble net as they surface, while the cameras on the whales are showing us the animal's perspective," said marine biologist Lars Bejder of the university's Marine Mammal Research Program.
"Overlaying these two data sets is quite exciting."
www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNhldKgPRg0
Alaska Whale Foundation
Stunning, just routinely amazed at our Planet and how all these organisms have evolved
Amazing!
Of course, we love this album and its title track called "Sedna" by Inuk artist Kelly Amaujaq Fraser! Check it out!
Kelly has joined Team Sedna and is participating in our women's leadership program in Tromso, Norway, followed by our snorkel expedition with orcas and humpbacks during the winter herring run, November 23-December 2, 2019.
Kelly, age 26, hails from Sanikiluaq, Nunavut. Last year, she was nominated for The JUNO Awards, Canada’s version of the Grammys. Kelly skips seamlessly from rapping and R&B crooning to throat singing and traditional drumming—plus the occasional Inuktitut Rihanna cover.
Lyrics and translation:
Sedna ᓄᓕᐊᔫᒃ Nuliajuk
I am Nuliajuk, I am here ᓄᓕᐊᔫᕗᖓ, ᑕᒫᓂᐳᖓ Nuliajuuvunga, tamaanipunga
I want you to come down to the sea ᖃᐃᖁᔨᕙᒋᑦ ᑕᓴᒪᓂ ᑕᕆᐅᒥ Qaiqujivagit tasamani tariumi
I want to dance, I want to see ᑕᓂᓯᕈᒪᕗᖓ, ᑕᑯᕈᒪᕗᖓ Taanisirumavunga, takurumavunga
I want to run on new land ᐊᖅᐸᓪᓗᖓ ᓄᑖᒥ ᓄᓇᒥᑦ Aqpallungaa nutaami nunamit
I am still alive ᐃᓅᖏᓈᐳᖓ Inuunginappunga Sujunirqsauqsunga ᓱᔫᓂᕐᓴᐅᓱᖓ
I will not stop ᓄᕐᕐᑲᓂᐊᔭᖏᓚᖓ Nuqqaniajangilanga
Something you find delicious ᒪᒪᕆᔭᓂᐅᕕᑦ Mamarianiuvi
Something you want, I have it ᐱᔪᒪᔭᓂᐅᕕᑦ, ᐱᑕᖃᐳᖓ Piumajaniuvi, pitaqapunga
If you just go down ᑕᓴᒧᖓᑐᐃᓇᓗᑎ Tasamunagtuinaluti
I spent my whole life in the ocean, safe in the sea ᐃᓅᓯᓕᒫ ᓯᔾᔭᒥᐅᕈᕗᖓ Inuusilimaa sijjamaurivunga
Now I wanna show the whole world my devotion to you and me ᑕᑰᑏᕈᒪᕗᖓ ᓄᓇᕐᔪᐊᓕᒫᒥ ᐱᑦᔪᑎᕆᖃᕋᒪ ᐃᓪᓕᓄᑦ ᐅᕙᓄᓘ Takuutiirumavunga nunarjualimaami pitjatiriqarama illinut avunuluu
Come with me ᖃᐃᓚᐅᕇᑦ Qailauriit
I got what you want, I got what you need ᐱᑕᖃᖅᐳᖓ ᕈᒪᔭᓂᐅᕕᑦ ᐱᒋᐊᖃᑕᓂᐅᕕᑦ Pitaqapunga rumajaniuvut pigiaqataniuvit
All you gotta do is pray for me ᑐᑦᓯᐊᑐᐃᓇᓗᑎᑦ Tutsiatuinalutit
Tell me I’m beautiful ᐅᖃᐅᑎᓚᐅᖓ ᐱᐅᔫᒐᒪ Uqautilaunga piujuugama
Tell me I’m powerful ᐅᖃᐅᑎᓚᐅᖓ ᓴᖏᔫᕋ Uqautilaunga sangijuurama
All you gotta do is say to me ᐅᖃᑐᐃᓇᓗᑎᑦ ᐅᕙᓄᑦ Uqatuinalutit uvanut
That you wanna spend your whole life in the ocean ᐃᓅᓯᓕᒫᑦ ᓯᔭᒥᐅᒍᕈᒪᒐᕕ Inuusilimaat sijamiugurumagavi
Safe in the sea ᐱᐅᔪᒥ ᓯᔭᒥ Piujumi sijami
If you wanna show me your devotion ᑕᑯᑏᕈᒪᕈᕕ ᐱᑦᔪᑎᕆᔭᓂᐅᕕᑦ ᐅᕙᓄᑦ Takutiirumaruvi pitjutirijaniuvit uvanit
Come with me ᖃᐃᓚᐅᕇᑦ Qailauriit
©2017 Kelly Fraser www.kellyfrasermusic.com
www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pcfKgidtuE
