UK adventurer apologises for record trek claim after Inuit backlash

The Guardian

10-04-2025

A British adventurer has apologised after her claims to be the first woman to traverse Canada's largest island solo were dismissed by members of the Inuit population who criticised her dangerous 'privilege and ignorance'.
Camilla Hempleman-Adams, 32, covered 150 miles on foot and by ski while pulling a sledge across Baffin Island, Nunavut, in temperatures as low as -40C and winds of 47mph (76km/h) during the two-week expedition last month.
The trek took Hempleman-Adams, the daughter of the adventurer Sir David Hempleman-Adams, from Qikiqtarjuaq to Pangnirtung, through Auyuittuq national park.
But her claims have been described as incorrect, with local people saying they had travelled the same route for generations.
Gayle Uyagaqi Kabloona, an Inuit artist based in Ottawa, said on Instagram: 'There is no way in hell a British coloniser is coming to Inuit Nunavut in 2025 and claiming any firsts.
'My gramma walked hundreds of kilometres yearly, often pregnant, to spring fishing and winter caribou hunting grounds because that was life. Every inch of this continent has Indigenous history and stories like this. Help me call out this ignorant and racist behaviour.'
Kabloona said the matter had affected the community because many people who lived traditional nomadic lifestyles had died, raising concerns that cultural practices would gradually be lost to time.
'The article hit people really hard in a very sensitive spot because of our history and the difficulties we face every day in combatting western colonialism,' she told the BBC.
'This woman is coming here from such a place of privilege and ignorance that it seems dangerous. It was almost like she was bringing back news of a new continent to Europe and saying: 'There's nobody here!' We were and still are.'
She added: 'It's such a clear example of how colonialism benefits from dispossessing Indigenous people of their land and writing us out of history.'
Hempleman-Adams wrote on her expedition website before departure: 'Parks Canada has confirmed there are no historical records of a female solo attempt from Qikiqtarjuaq to Pangnirtung.'
Kabloona said this was because crossing the terrain was considered 'a normal way of life for them'.
Hempleman-Adams, a producer living in London and the youngest British woman to ski to the north pole aged 15, said: 'It was never my intention to misrepresent any historical achievements or cause distress to local communities.
'Before undertaking the expedition, I researched and verified the accuracy of my claim with Parks Canada and local outfitters in both towns who confirmed that there was no known female solo winter crossing from Qikiqtarjuaq to Pangnirtung.
'However, if this information is incorrect, I apologise unreservedly for making an incorrect claim and for causing offence.'
She added she was 'truly saddened' that coverage of her trek 'may have caused concern or upset … I remain committed to learning from this experience and engaging with the community with the utmost respect.'