Today is Friday, July 17, 2020.

On this day in 1771, it's possible that one of the most infamous events in indigenous Canadian history took place.

According to the posthumously released journal of surveyors Samuel Hearn,

a group of Day tribe members, killed 20 Inuit nomads. Welcome to today in True Crime, a parcast original.

Due to the graphic nature of today's crimes, listener discretion is advised. Extreme caution is advised for listeners under 13.

Today, we're covering the Bloody Falls Massacre in Kugaluktuk, Nunavut, Canada. Now let's go back to July 17th, 1771. Cessie walked up to the river and let her large pack slump from her back. She stomped through the grass and fell on her knees by the water,

cupping her hands and drinking from the fresh stream.

It was the kind of drink that fills your whole body with relief as if the liquid is traveling through your veins and into every extremity.

She then sat back, surveying the hills around the river.

They were black and jagged, the rocks chipping away in chunks as the water slowly wore them down. The bright white sand at the riverbank mixed with the black rock as the hills grew in height and then that gave way to grassy plains that went on for miles.

It was beautiful now, with the sun setting over the scene in a display of orange and pink.

She was grateful to be alive. Life was not always easy, traveling

leagues each day on foot, constantly skinning and drying and butchering and cooking animals for the group.

But she knew that it was best to enjoy these times

while they lasted.

Soon, the sun would disappear

and this would all be covered by a blanket of ice.

Cessie got up from her rest and turned to find her family already setting up their tents and cooking

stations.

Tigwak was removing the pelts from a caribou, while Kuvaggy Guy prepared her stone bowl for roasting.

Seeing that they had these things well in hand,

Sessie decided to help Old Man Tupelac with his tent.

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