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DEW Line Legacy - History of the DEW Line

The DEW Line had a massive and lasting impact on every person, place, and community connected to it. As stations closed, the signal faded for some. For others, the DEW Line’s legacy is still being felt.

To serve its own goals, the Canadian government forced Inuit into permanent settlements near DEW Line stations. Inuit drew on Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit (traditional knowledge) for guidance throughout difficult times.

For the men and few women who came north to work at DEW Line stations, their Arctic experience was often life changing.

DEW Line operations left behind a legacy of toxic waste. The government transported millions of tons of supplies to the Arctic. When stations closed in the 1980s and 1990s, the government did not have a cleanup plan.

Inuit Today

Inuit today are asserting their right to live on their traditional lands, to govern themselves, and to live by Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit (traditional knowledge).

Countless red metal oil drums stand upright in the foreground of an outdoor scene; a man stands behind them. In the distance, more drums are piled up in a long line and, beyond them, the radome and antenna of a DEW Line station rise against the sky.Brenda Panipakachoo from Parks Canada training Inuit Guardians from Gjoa Haven in safe navigation. Photo courtesy of Tamara Tarasoff

Commencing in the 1950s, Inuit organized and challenged systemic inequality and racism. Inuit leadership pressured the Canadian government for greater control of their lives. Their efforts continue to this day.

Impact of Wage Labour

As part of efforts to centralize and control Inuit, Canadian authorities introduced a new and foreign system: paid wages. Inuit had to purchase expensive goods in non-Inuit-run stores. Although Inuit are re-incorporating traditional values into everyday life, such as sharing country food, the non-Inuit wage system still interferes with mobility, diet, education, and health.

A Toxic Legacy

When DEW Line operations ceased, all the DEW Line construction materials, buildings, electronics, fuel, vehicles, furniture, and decades of supplies, including food, remained in the Arctic.

Two abandoned vehicles rest in tundra landscape; several orange barrels rest nearby, surrounded by patchy snow.Countless derelict vehicles, drums of toxic waste, and other debris were left behind. Photo courtesy of Marion Rocko

Canadian and American authorities were proud of how quickly they built the DEW Line. Over the course of 18 months, they constructed airstrips and piers to ship millions of tons of materials to the North.

They left all of it behind when stations closed.

They pushed unwanted vehicles onto the ice, abandoned leaking barrels of oil that would seep into the earth, and left raw toxic waste to degrade, often in the open air.

Brian Jeffrey describes dumping garbage along the DEW Line in the 1960s.

Brian Jeffrey - Garbage Disposal

The video opens with Brian Jeffrey in a black tee shirt, sitting in a living room surrounded by red upholstered furniture. He speaks about garbage disposal at DEW Line stations.

Brian Jeffrey: “Every site had a dump, a garbage area, you would just move the stuff out there. But anything that went into the dump had to stay in the dump. I remember one time scrounging around and finding some stuff that I thought was valuable, at least valuable to me. And I picked it up and I took it back, and, but I don't know how the word got out that I had it, which is some electronic stuff that was of no value. But the RCMP visited me and asked me whether I had this, and I said, “yes, I did”. And they said “you're not supposed to”. I had a lot of explaining to do why I got it, why I wanted it, where I got it from, etc., They were good at putting the fear of whatever it is. I just didn't pick anything else up at the garbage dump again after that.

“At FOX-CHARLIE, which was on top of a hill, a sealift brought in a I remember a what was it called, not a skidoo. There's a name for it I have to remember, but by the time we got it up to the top of the hill, we had burned the engine out. So we just let it roll back down again. And then we pushed it out onto the ice. And then in the springtime, it would disappear.”

Nunalinnguqtitauliqtilluta

“The time we were actively (by outside force) formed into communities”

Inuit Life Before and After the DEW Line

Inuit life transformed completely during the years the DEW Line was in operation.

For thousands of years, the principles of Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit (traditional knowledge) have guided every aspect of Inuit life.

During the Cold War, the Canadian government wanted greater control over the Arctic. In a few short years, policies were put in place to force Inuit into permanent communities. A way of life was in danger of being eradicated.

Deborah Irqittuq gave testimony in 2008 about how the coming of the DEW Line changed Inuit life.

Deborah Irqittuq - Life After the DEW Line

The video opens with an array of vintage television monitors. Static appears in the central monitor and resolves to reveal the head and shoulders of Deborah Irqittuq.

Deborah Irqittuq: “It was really like that for them, I think it was really difficult for them. There’s still people who are trying to maintain dogs, because men never cease to like dogs.”

“They were the only ones that enabled us to survive before there were any stores. Dogs were the only means for our survival and they chase animals for us when we’re out on the land. Their owner’s would catch meat so they were fed well, however, the dogs were slaughtered in the community to virtually nothing.”

DEW Liners After the DEW Line

Some DEW Liners served months in the North, others years. Their time on the DEW Line was transformative.

Many DEW Liners continued their careers in communications and electronics.

Returning home, some faced indifference to the vital role they had played in the Cold War. Their families and friends could not relate to their experience.

The North Warning System replaced the DEW Line. Today, there are still many observers keeping a watchful eye on northern seas and skies.

Marty Atherton had difficulty describing his DEW Line experience when he returned south.

Marty Atherton - After the DL

The video opens with an array of vintage television monitors. Static appears in the central monitor and resolves to reveal the head and shoulders of Marty Atherton. He speaks about how serving on the DEW Line impacted his life afterwards.

Marty Atherton: “In the very beginning, it was just like coming back to regular life. At the end, my mind was not the same. I was just ready to come back and try to rejoin society.

“The sense of being able to walk outside without shoes on, fresh water, the taste of water, regular seasons, the smell of grass, the sound of, like the din of a city, that sound of cars and people honking and just coming down to the airport in Winnipeg and – not that Winnipeg at the time at least, was a super huge airport. But it was bustling. It's just all of a sudden, it's like coming out of the country and you come into New York City, and if … it's been a long time and you just suddenly are like, open the door. [You’re] surprised by all the sounds and all the noise and the smells, I mean.

“After two and a half years, I had enough saved up. I bought my first house so that there were benefits to it, and thankfully I survived. I remember talking to some of the people up there that they would come out, and they would go on a two-and-a-half-week vacation. The company would fly them to Miami or wherever and get on a cruise, or they would go in and do a vacation somewhere, and that would be their time away. I didn't really have the money yet, and I had a plan to try and buy a house, so I, I didn't do that, but I can see the validity of their plan. I probably should have taken some taken advantage of some of that.”

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