Torngats 2015 - Where Nature and Culture Connect 17

Hebron Hospitality

Fresh Northern Seafood...  

...served up in traditional style.   

Fresh mussels on the half shell, hot chowder with char and garden vegetables, and a huge bowlful of smoked char, all placed on the table in front of us as we arrived in Hebron -  what hospitality! A huge "thank you!" to our Hebron hosts.       

Torngats 2015 - Where Nature and Culture Connect 16

Our Hosts in Hebron

The Merkuratsuk Family...  

...Inuit hosts at Hebron.   

Buddy and Jenny Merkuratsuk were at the dock in Hebron to meet us and help us ashore when we arrived. Jenny gave us a tour of the Mission building and was so pleased to show us the progress on the reconstruction. Upstairs in the loft, she asked to have a photo of her family, l-r: Julius, working as a carpenter on the site, Jenny, Simeone, who went the following week to head the kANGIDLUASUk youth program at the Base Camp, and Buddy.          

Torngats 2015 - Where Nature and Culture Connect 15

Reconstruction At Hebron

The Mission Station Building ...  

... with the church, the post office and the clinic, was the hub of the village.   

Inuit workers trained in restoration carpentry are renovating this historic structure and others nearby.  Season by season, they are repairing the old buildings, some of them hundreds of years old, with salvaged original materials whenever possible, or with new materials when needed. It feels comfortable here. Thanks to Muriel Edmunds for the photos.      

Torngats 2015 - Where Nature and Culture Connect 14

Approaching Hebron From the Air and the Water

Hebron...  

...can you picture the houses that used to be here?   

Hebron, founded in 1831 by Moravian missionaries, was the most northerly of the Moravian trading villages in Labrador. The Hebron station was disbanded in 1959, and the 58 Inuit families living there were relocated to communities further south along the Labrador coast. Today, Inuit are returning to Hebron during the summer to reconstruct the Mission station building and to welcome visitors to this historic place.  Thank you to Muriel Edmunds for being on the good side of the plane and in the right place in the boat for your photos!      

Torngats 14 - Hebron Houses Restoration

Restoration of Houses in the Resettled Community of Hebron  

Family homes at Hebron are being restored...  

...or their materials are saved and used in the restoration of other buildings.    

The bricks, lumber and clapboard, even the wooden window frames of these sturdy family homes, are carefully removed, inspected and cleaned by Inuit carpenters with special training in heritage restoration carpentry. The reclaimed materials are stored in the loft of the Mission building, waiting to be re-used in the restoration work at the National Historic Site of Hebron. 

Torngats 13 - The Hebron Mission Station

Hikers Walking Up to the Resettled Community of Hebron  

The Hebron Mission Station is being maintained and restored...  

...by previous residents of the community.    

The Hebron station was first settled by Moravian missionaries from Germany in 1830. With the help of Inuit families, they built an impressive church, school, medical clinic and post office building, and they planted mission gardens. 

In 1959, the people of Hebron were required to relocate, a tragic event that has had far-reaching consequences for many Labrador Inuit. 

In the 1970's, Hebron was declared a National Historic Site, and today restoration by Inuit workers continues, with previous residents of the community conducting guided tours in the summer months.