Randy Freeman

2 months ago | uphere.ca | Randy Freeman |Amy Kenny

Picture the scene. It’s around dawn on an August morning at Pellat Lake on the headwaters of Nunavut’s Back River. I’m sitting on my cabin porch to watch the sunrise when quick movements on the esker high above camp catch my eye. Foxes? I leave the porch and creep up the slope, staying low in the heather. In a moment, I’m treated to the sight of creatures making great aerial leaps. These aren’t foxes, but arctic hares—three of them—engaged in an energetic ballet.

Oct 25, 2024 | uphere.ca | Randy Freeman |Alanna Mitchell

Edmonton newspapers hoped James Balsillie would be a Rip Van Winkle of the North. Better luck next time. A murre colony on Nunavut’s Coats Island has a lot to say about the future of animals and plants in the North—and elsewhere. As the Eskimofo, Dez Loreen is Finding his mojo, one body slam at a time.

Oct 24, 2024 | uphere.ca | Randy Freeman |Alanna Mitchell

Deztro the Eskimofo emerges from behind a curtain to a chorus of boos and jeers. A group of kids meet him, flashing L-shaped hand gestures and pointing their thumbs down. One boy hands him a folded-up note. It reads, “You suck!” Deztro chuckles and makes his way to the ring. The self-proclaimed “King of the North” has cultivated this twisted fandom for years. This is a big night for the Eskimofo, known by day as Dez Loreen, the face of CBC North in the NWT’s Beaufort-Delta region.