Pat Kane

Photographer

www.patkanephoto.com

Alone, Together

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Tucked along the edge of Great Slave Lake in the Northwest Territories is a community like no other in Canada. It's here where an unlikely collection of characters have made their home offgrid on the fringe of Yellowknife.

The city was mainly settled by "Southerners" who came in pursuit of adventure and gold in the 1930's. Those first prospectors set up shanties and shacks on the water's edge and nearby islands. The dwellings remained intact as the city grew in the decades that followed. The first houseboat was built in the early 1980's by Gary Vaillancourt.

Many of the original shacks and houseboats are still used today for people who've come in search of a romanticized life of Northern solitude. Many are young professionals who like the novelty of living the offgrid lifestyle, while a few others have been living here for several years with their own endless search of peace and quiet.

They are a colourful group of artists, musicians, bureaucrats, entrepreneurs, and adventurers. While most choose this life to escape of the trappings of big-city living, they've created a community among themselves and one of the most unique neighbourhoods in Canada.

This is an ongoing personal project.

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Alone, Together

Copyright Pat Kane 2024

Updated Feb 2024

Pat Kane

Aug 28, 2023

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