Craig Ruben

I was a summer student back in the early 2000s. I went on hiking trips, and the last I remember was canoeing the Hornaday River.

The crazy part was when we had to stop paddling to watch a herd of caribou pass the river to get to the other side, and an aktlaq (Grizzly Bear) was following. A calf got left behind and we all thought that was it for it because the bear was reaching the other side of the river… But the bear looked at it, left it, and ran for a bigger prize. That was like watching National Geographic!

Climbing a cliff and looking down the river was also amazing, but the one thing I thought was pretty cool was when I was canoeing and a bird landed in front of the qayaq and rode with me a couple of kilometres, and I just went along with it! It acted like it was my pet and that was pretty amazing.

My favourite location has to be the La Roncière Falls. It's a beautiful scene—none like I've ever seen before. It is loud, but when you’re there, the noise cancels out, and you’re just in awe. Sit there and relax. That's the location I suggest for everyone to go see.

The 25 years is an amazing accomplishment for our community. It’s crazy that we still have so much to learn about the park on what we could do out there. I know that there are a lot of species waiting to be discovered, and possibly fossils as well.

Tuktut Nogait means a lot to our Elders. They fought hard for our land, our culture of what they learned growing up, the stories of the long journey of travelling, and what they used the animals for—clothing, tools, and other accessories. They wanted to protect our caribou and other animals, so they wanted to create a park where there would be little to no hunting so that every animal and species could populate for our future generations.

As soon as the virus is gone, I would like for future generations to take part in Parks. Jobs or just volunteering—to see what a huge land it is. I would like to see tourists come out and explore the land, falls, animals, rivers, cliffs, as well as camp. I would also like to see Elders telling stories for them to re-create how our people lived out in the land where no one ever thought we could survive.

I would like for the next generations to keep working with Parks, expanding not only into the NWT region but also worldwide. It would be great for them to bring in more tourists, Elders, and anyone who would like to experience all the endless possibilities that are just waiting to be explored in Tuktut Nogait.