Helping voices to be heard
Daniel Gardner finished a gruelling 47-day trek from Churchill, Man., when he arrived in Rankin Inlet at about 1 a.m. on Friday, June 21.
The walk was in support of suicide awareness and mental health.
Gardner, 35, was accompanied on his trek by a dog named Shiner, which was given to him by Steve Palmer after the two met in Churchill.
Palmer runs a dog yard in Churchill and is in the process of setting up a non-profit organization for mental health and wellness rehabilitation.
Originally from Southern Ontario, Gardner lived in Iqaluit 10 years ago and, during his time there, found out from someone who grew up in the Kivalliq that travel up and down the Kivalliq coast has existed for a long, long time.
“When I borrowed Shiner from Steve, I found out that his whole practice there is all about mental health and suicide awareness,” said Gardner. “So I hopped on board with his initiative and I’m very glad I did.
“It’s a theme close to my heart because I’ve had my own struggles and I know a lot of people in Nunavut who have suffered a lot. I came across many stories during the past few months. So, it was very fitting that was the theme for which I was walking.
“When I first started, it was for my own mental health because I needed to do something like that for myself.
“I didn’t tell anyone what I was doing and I didn’t think anyone would notice. When I showed up in Arviat, people were really surprised to see me and, after that, word started to spread.”
Gardner walked about 500 kilometres on Hudson Bay and also did a practice run on Lake Winnipeg of about 300 kilometres.
He said he wasn’t expecting to meet so many people who were suffering.
“I look at the amount of stories I heard as a good thing. People need to feel heard.
“I absolutely, 100 per cent, feel it’s a very good thing when people are able to talk about their struggles. In fact, I think that helps more than anything.”
Gardner said, for him, the trek was symbolic because it was like walking into the darkness of his past and he was doing it while purifying his soul.
“Walking back into the heart of Nunavut, which was a difficult task for me, was the purification process. So that duality was quite a phenomena, but it was absolutely something I needed to do in my own life.
“Right now, as far as the future is concerned, it’s one step at a time. I like to think about things and let them brew. In the shape I’m in right now, I’m not eager to do anything else. I’d like to have my thinking cap on with respect to any other direct efforts that could be done in Nunavut.
“It’s a tricky question for a white man to decide if he wants to live in Nunavut or not. I think my best opportunity right now is to not reside in Nunavut and to try and make my life a support role for people who do live there.
“I am curious about how I’m going to process the experience. I’m still in a bit of shock over all the attention and everything, so we’ll see what happens there, how it resolves and what comes after.”
Darrell Greer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Kivalliq News
