Tag Archives: the North Star

Fabled 1930s Arctic fur-trading ship, built for Inuvialuit trappers, needs a new home

It’s a piece of Canadian Indigenous history, and an effort is underway to ensure the 88-year-old Arctic fur-trading ship, called the North Star of Herschel Island, stays in Canada. The 24-metre ship has a storied history, dating from a time when the Arctic fur trade was still thriving, and northern communities were reaping the rewards. The North Star of Herschel Island was built in 1935 in San Francisco, for two Inuvialuit trappers: Fred Carpenter and Jim Wolki. The two had a lucrative business in the Western Arctic and they designed a vessel that would serve as an essential tool of their trade. >click to read< 10:51