For two years, she braved the Arctic alone—with only a cat by her side.
This is the incredible true story of Ada Blackjack.
In 1921, Ada, an Inuit woman and single mother, joined a daring Arctic expedition—not as a hero, but as a seamstress trying to earn money for her sick son.
Led by explorer Vilhjalmur Stefansson, the mission aimed to claim remote Wrangel Island. Ada was the only woman—and the only Inuk—among four white male explorers. When food ran out, the men left to find help. None of them came back.
Ada was left alone. Just her, a dying crew member, and a loyal cat named Vic.
She wasn’t trained for survival. But she adapted.
She hunted, sewed, fought off polar bears, and kept herself and Vic alive in the unforgiving cold.
She read the Bible to stay sane. She never gave up.
When rescuers finally arrived nearly two years later, Ada was still there. Frail—but alive.
History nearly forgot her. The men were called brave.
But Ada Blackjack? She was something more:
A warrior. A mother. A survivor. A name we remember now.
