O Canada! Churchill, Manitoba — Day 4 — 2014-07-06

Day 4 – orchids galore! Today’s field trips would take us to two specific locations: Dene Village and Twin Lakes as well as our normal drive along the shore looking for bears and other wildlife. The orchids in Dene Village spring from around the foundations of a failed re-location effort. Here is one of the orchid species, Amerorchis rotundifolia or Round-leaf orchid which was found in large numbers in the immediate area:

The story of Dene Village is a sad one, filled with misunderstanding and mistakes. An article in Wikipedia states:

The Sayisi Dene, (People of the East), are Chipewyan, a Dene First Nation Aboriginal Peoples of Canada group living in northern Manitoba. They are members of the Sayisi Dene First Nation, Tadoule Lake, Manitoba and are notable for living a nomadic caribou-hunting and gathering existence.

In 1956, the Sayisi Dene residing at Little Duck Lake in Northern Manitoba were relocated to Churchill. The relocation of the Sayisi Dene is viewed as one of the most grievous errors committed by the Canadian federal government.

In the mid 20th century, caribou dwindled from approximately 670,000 animals in 1942 to 277,000 animals by 1955. According to the Manitoba Government, the decision to relocate the Dene community at Duck Lake was due to incorrect assumptions from Manitoba wildlife officials about the impact of the Dene’s traditional hunting practices on what was in fact a healthy herd. In addition, the Hudson’s Bay Company wished to close its nearby post which had served the band and was not as financially lucrative as it once was. In 1956 the Canadian and Manitoba governments decided to relocate the Duck Lake Dene away from caribou lands to Churchill, Manitoba where other Chipewyan Dene were located. For a decade, the Little Duck Lake band, now a part of the “Churchill Band of Caribou-eater Chipewyan”, lived in tents and shanties on the outskirts of town. Around 1967, the Canadian government developed a housing project for them called “Dene Village”. But the transition from a traditional nomadic caribou hunting economy to a non-migratory urban life was unsuccessful: as much as a third of the “Churchill Chipewyan” population died as a direct result of the relocation to Churchill.

In 1969, some Duck Lake Dene began discussing the possibility of becoming self-reliant and returning to the ancestral life-style. In 1973, the Duck Lake Dene moved north and set up a new community at Tadoule Lake (pronounced Ta-doo-lee, derived from the Dene ts’eouli, translated as “floating ashes”). The Tadoule Lake settlement is one of the most northern and isolated settlements in Manitoba, reachable only by plane, dog team, snowmobile or canoe. The nearest rail link is back in Churchill, 250 miles away. The settlement is located by the underdeveloped, wild, and rugged Seal River, about 80 km. south of the treeline, and centered within the winter range of the Qaminuriak Caribou Herd (barren-ground caribou). The Sayisi, with a population of around 360 people, have found it difficult, but not impossible, to return to ancestral traditional hunting and trapping ways. They currently deal with spousal, drug and alcohol abuse. But by the 1990s, the Duck Lake Dene saw it could succeed in its new environment and changed its legal name from “Churchill, Band of Caribou-eater Chipewyan” to “Sayisi Dene First Nation (Tadoule Lake, Manitoba)”.

Ila Bussidor, Chief of the “Sayisi Dene First Nation (Tadoule Lake, Manitoba)”, co-authored a 1997 book entitled, Night Spirits, The Story of the Relocation of the Sayisi Dene which is a chronicle of the band’s ordeal from Little Duck Lake to Churchill to Tadoule Lake. Bussidor is currently working on a land claim settlement on behalf of her people, in addition to working with other First Nations on public works and community management projects. On August 2, 2010 Manitoba promised 13,000+ acres of Crown land, aside from any other treaty land entitlement, to compensate for the effects of the relocation. But, she (Ila Bussidor, Chief of the Sayisi Dene) says in this book: for my people, the impact of the relocation had the same effect as genocide.

As I stated, the beautiful orchids grow in profusion around the remains of the settlement: a dozen or so building foundations, overgrown with weeds and small trees. I think it is an incongruous but beautiful reminder of the poor treatment of an indigenous people.

Here are some additional shots of this tiny orchid:

However beautiful the flowers are, the most interesting find in this population was one that I have always wanted to photograph but never had the opportunity to see — Amerorchis rotundifolia forma lineata where the tiny spots have been replaced by lines or blotches:

I wanted to stay here longer, but we had a limited amount of time in the area, and so Lorne promised us that we would return in a few days. I had not had a good chance to check this expansive population for more examples of this rare form, and I really wanted to see and photograph more of them. Apparently, this form is just a mutation of the normal form of the flower. I did find it unusual, though, that this form seemed to appear in selected “pockets” of plants and was not randomly scattered throughout the population. Whether or not this characteristic reproduces reliably, I do not know.

Also in the immediate area, especially along the gravel road that runs through the village, were large numbers of Cypripedium passerinum or Sparrow’s-egg Lady’s-slipper orchid. We had seen a couple of plants of this species near the “Miss Piggy” airplane wreck, but the flowers were not yet open at that site. The plants at Dene Village were in about the same state of bloom, but there were so many plants, that I was able to find a few populations with open flowers:

Lorne had another surprise for us at Dene Village. He had found one of only a handful of locations in the Churchill area for another rare orchid, Neottia borealis or Northern Twayblade orchid. I had been fortunate to photograph it in one of only a couple of sites in Newfoundland, but the plants were past peak bloom. So, I was very excited to be able to see this species in perfect bloom:

Note the two leaves about half-way up the stem. This is a common feature of all of the Twayblade orchids.

We finally finished up in Dene Village and then headed back to our CNSC headquarters for a wonderful lunch where we talked about the sights at Dene Village. No matter how excited we all were to see those splendid orchids, there was somewhat of a pall over the group because of the thoughts of the Village’s history…

After lunch, we headed toward an area called, “Twin Lakes”. Talk about a bumpy ride! This was a trip that enabled all of us to discover our loose fillings. 😉 Along the way, we rounded a curve and discovered two Lepus arcticus or Arctic Hares in their summer coat. In winter, they are pure white and blend into the snowy landscape so well, that they cannot easily be seen. If this image seems more “fuzzy” than expected, that’s because it was taken through the van’s front windshield:

Wikipedia states that all rabbits except cottontail rabbits live underground in burrows or warrens, while hares and cottontail rabbits live in simple nests above the ground, and they usually do not live in groups. Hares are generally larger than rabbits, with longer ears black markings on their fur. There you go — more than you ever wanted to know about those cute little critters…

We f-i-n-a-l-l-y made it over the rough roadway to Twin Lakes, named (of course) after the two large lakes at the end of the trail. Lorne had hoped to be able to show us the orchid, Calypso bulbosa or Fairy Slipper orchid, but all we found were a few non-flowering leaves. That population seems to be in decline, and we hope that it will find some way to bounce back in the coming years.

However, we did find several large groups of an orchid that seems to be quite common in the Churchill area, Platanthera obtusata or Blunt-leaved orchid. Here is a shot of one rather dense group that was growing under a low-hanging Spruce branch:

Note the presence of last year’s seed capsules. That is always a good sign that the orchids and their pollinators are doing quite well.

Nearby, were several examples of another orchid species we had seen a few days prior — Corallorhiza trifida or Early Coralroot orchid. What was nice about the plants at this site was the darker color of the petals and sepals. The typical color of is orchid flower is bright yellow-green stem, petals, and sepals with a white lip (sometimes with brownish-red spots):

Most of the plants in this population, however, were brownish green except for the typical, white lip:

We also managed to locate a few dark red Neottia cordata or Heart-leaf Twayblade orchid, the best one being nestled in a patch of fruiting Empetrum nigrum or Crowberry:

We finished photographing the orchids and headed back down the path to the van. Along the way, I took time to photograph a wildflower that I had seen earlier in our trip — Rubus acaulis or Stemless Raspberry. This particular patch was very large and growing in the shade of some small Spruce trees:

According to the wildflower field guides, it does have edible fruit, but it was way too early for us to verify that.

One other wildflower we saw in large numbers was Ledum decumbens or Dwarf Labrador Tea. It is quite similar (but much smaller) than the typical Labrador Tea plants that were a frequent sight in the area.

Finishing up at Twin Lakes, we headed back to our daily Polar Bear search area along the coast. We had not driven very far along the coast road when someone yelled, “Golden Plover to the right!”. Sure enough, we saw a couple of dark dots on the bleak tundra. Apparently, this pair of Pluvialis dominica or American Golden Plover had a nest in the area. They was exhibiting typical feeding behavior characterised by its “stop-run-stop” foraging, in which it runs, stops, catches prey and moves on to the next spot.

We got out of the van to facilitate a better look at them. I set up my tripod and made a couple of attempts to photograph them as they scurried over the tundra. I ended up spending more time trying to find the dark specks in my viewfinder than I did actually making photographs. 😉 Here is what I finally came up with. The female is in the first image, while the darker male is in the second image:

We noticed that each of these birds had multiple leg tags, so they had been caught at an earlier time for the purpose of monitoring the population.

Our final stop of the day was near the shore where we saw masses of yellow flowers that turned out to be Senecio congestus or Marsh Ragwort. The dense clusters of yellow, daisy-like flowers displayed the feature from which it got the botanical epithet, “congestus”. It does not come from the plant’s causing “congestion” in people who are actually allergic to ragweed not ragwort.

Accompanying this drift of bright yellow was a plant that appeared to have tufts of white “cotton” held high above its arrow-shaped leaves. This is another marsh-loving wildflower called Petasites sagittatus or Arrow-leaved Colt’s-foot.

These cotton-like tufts are actually the fruiting body of the plant. The tiny white flowers had long since turned to fruit.

Here is a shot of both of these wildflowers lining the marshy area next to the shore:

Another plant that formed large carpeting masses along the shore was Honckenya peploides or Sea-Purslane or Seabeach Sandwort. The tiny white flowers and bright, emerald-green leaves made for a pleasant sight along a drab, brown marsh:

While we were photographing the Marsh Ragwort and Arrow-leaved Colt’s-foot, one of the group noticed a depression in the mud:

I realize that it is difficult to see properly, but it is a Polar Bear footprint. It was about 12 inches (30 cm) long and 9 inches (22 cm) wide. That’s a big footprint! When we saw it and realized what it was, each of us took a quick look around just to make sure that this bear was not in the immediate area. Just sayin’…

Finally, as we were packing up to head back to headquarters, I spotted a whimsical sight next to the van. It was a bird feather stuck in some bits of moss on the tundra. I thought it was pretty, so I made a picture of it, lit by the setting sun:

This was a full day for all of us — birders and orchid enthusiasts, alike. Seeing the beautiful flowers and learning to enjoy the various species of unfamiliar birds was in direct contrast, for me, to the memory of the crumbling foundations at Dene Village. That night, in our room, I had a chance to dwell on the day’s sights and experiences. I hope we all would take the opportunity to come to a much better appreciation of this strangely beautiful land and the history of its native people.

–Jim