After Indigenous Outrage, British Woman Apologizes for ‘First’ Claim on Canadian Island

Last month, British traveler Camilla Hempleman-Adams trekked and skied across Canada’s Nunavut territory. After completing a 150-mile-long (241-kilometer-long) journey from the communities of Qikiqtarjuaq to Pangnirtung, she claimed to be the first solo woman to have traversed Baffin Island, Canada’s largest island. That declaration has now received serious backlash from Nunavut’s indigenous community. As reported by the BBC, members of the local Inuit population refuted her claim, saying that it erased indigenous history and was fueled by a “dangerous colonial attitude.” Hempleman-Adams has since apologized for the offense she caused. Before starting her expedition, Hempleman-Adams wrote that “Parks Canada has confirmed that there are no historical records of a female solo attempt from Qikiqtarjuaq to Pangnirtung” on her expedition website, as cited by the BBC. Once she’d completed her expedition on March 27, various outlets shared her apparent record-breaking success. “Last week n ... Read full article.