On Thursday, November 20th, Kenn Harper took to the podium for a second time in the history of CNS, this time, to provide a fascinating account of the fifth Thule Expedition conducted by Knud Rasmussen across the Arctic from 1921-24, as excerpted from his newly published book: Give Me Winter, Give Me Dogs: Knud Rasmussen and the Fifth Thule Expedition. The book marks the centennial of the completion of the expedition, a staggeringly long route which traced a line, down the west coast of Greenland, across the Northwest Territories, and into Alaska. Interestingly, the title is a quote from one of Rasmussen’s diaries when asked how he would conduct his expedition. Out of deep respect for the Inuit culture and traditions, it was imperative that the mode of transport be by dogsled.
Having lived, for over 50 years, in Inuit communities in the Arctic, and in Qaanaaq, Greenland, as well as being fluent in Inuktitut, Harper is a compelling speaker on the subject. The names of the “players” and the communities tripped off his tongue. He immediately positioned the subject on what the expedition was NOT. “It was not to explore for new lands, to claim sovereignty over any lands and plant a flag, to search for mineral wealth and claim that, to convert the people through Christianity, to trade for furs- it was not any of those things. It was to meet new people that had been at that time largely untouched by missionaries, traders, and this expedition happened sort of at the 11th hour before a horde of outside influences arrives in the formerly isolated parts of the Arctic.”
Rasmussen was born in Jakobshavn (now Ilulissat), Greenland in 1879. His father was a Danish priest, and his mother was a housewife with part Inuit ancestry. He grew up speaking Kalaallisut, a dialect of the Inuit language and was fascinated by the stories of the Elders about the Inuit of the far north. By the age of eight, he had already learned to drive a dog team but, by the age of twelve, his life amidst the Inuit came to a temporary halt when he was sent to Denmark for his formal education.
Eighteen years later, in 1909, Rasmussen, at the age of 30, assisted the Greenlandic Church in establishing the North Star Mission in the Thule region in northwest Greenland. A year later, he and his friend, Peter Freuchen, built a trading post to provide for the needs of the population.
Over the next decade Rasmussen led several geographic and ethnographic expeditions which he dubbed, Thule Expeditions. By 1921 he was primed to uncover, “the origin of the Eskimo race”. Was it an inland culture, as suggested by Danish ethnologist and geographer, Hans Peder Steensby, or a maritime one? Were its roots in Canada?
With the aid of photos, plus the actual quotes from Rasmussen’s diaries, Harper succeeded in giving voice to the explorer himself, his team, and to the Inuit they encountered, particularly the Shamans. (Shamanism is a topic unto itself, perhaps one for a future talk?) Whilst the conditions the team endured were punishing, the openness and warmth of the reception they received within the communities is historic. The Inuit were generous in their willingness to share their customs and beliefs. Although there is no funding for a museum dedicated to the preservation of the archaeological materials collected on the expedition, here in Canada, the National Museum of Denmark houses the largest collection of Inuit artifacts and “intellectual culture” in the world.
In total, Rasmussen conducted seven research expeditions throughout the Thule region. The Fifth, being the only one to trek across northern Canada, stands out as the most significant in Mr. Harper’s view. Although, in the end, Therkel Mathiassen, a colleague of Rasmussen, proved that, in fact, Inuit culture originated in Alaska from where it spread eastward into Canada and Greenland, Rasmussen’s legacy lives on. His documentation of Inuit culture is an invaluable record of a people before the onset of colonialism and “civilization”.
Kenn Harper has whet the appetite to learn more. Give Me Winter, Give me Dogs, promises to be a fascinating read.
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