Nineteen Inuit families were forcibly relocated from Inukjuuaq and Mittimatalik to Grise Fijord and Qausuittuq (Resolute Bay) in the High Arctic—between 1600 and 2000km from their home communities—in an attempt to assert Canadian sovereignty in the north. Although they were promised abundant hunting, food and other resources proved scarce and life in the far north was difficult to adapt to. Despite assurance that after two years they could return south, an inability to raise the necessary funds due to lack of opportunities for Inuit to work meant many people were unable to go home for decades.