The two oldest people did not survive the first two winters. In Grise Fiord, Dera Elter, the community leader, did not last one year. In the community of Resolute Bay, our matriarch died soon after the move had been made. The graves of those people are there.
A number of people did not survive the first couple of years, because those years were extremely difficult. At the time, climate change had not taken place and the High Arctic was extremely cold. I remember landing in Resolute for the first time in late August and it was just like landing on the moon. There was no vegetation as far as the eye could see, just sand and gravel.
In those days, it was different from what it is now. It was a whole different world. Canada was different. The whole world was different. There was a different attitude then. I don't see this sort of thing happening today, because the people of Canada would not stand for it.