Volume 8, 1955 - The Arctic Circle - Home

VOL. VIII NO. Z THE ARCTIC CIRCULAR ZlThe Eskimo of the Belcher Islands seemed the mostsuitable group for the first study. It was a conveniently smallcommunity of Eskimo who had lived in fairly complete isolation,but were beginning to be affected by the outside world. The year1954 appeared crucial as a mining company 1 had made plans tos end in a group of technicians. Moreover, no data had ever beencollected about the physical characteristics, language, andethnography of thes e Eskimo, and no systematic excavations hadbeen made, although archaeological artifacts had been collected.On Z4 June 1954 I left Moosonee in a Canso of AustinAirways, which planned to drop me at the Belcher Islands on itsway to Port Harrison. Heavy fog over the Belchers, however,made a landing impossible and the aircraft continued to PortHarrison. An enforced stay of three days there gave me anopportunity to copy the complete census of the Belcher Islandswhich was kept by the local member of the R. C. M. P. and toexamine the many archaeological sites on Patterson Island.On June Z7 the Canso dropped me at the BelcherIslands on its way back to Moosonee. For the first four weekSI remained near the Hudson's Bay Company1s outpost on TukarakIsland, which at that time was the main point of concentrationof the Belcher people (15 families). Here I was able to studythe community through interviews and participant observation.I also made short trips across Thkarak Island and over toInnetalling Island to survey some archaeological sites.From a census taken at the beginning of August 1954,the natives living on the Belcher Islands numbered 185, of whom161 were islanders of long standing, ZO came from Port Harrisonand had established themselves on the islands since 1953, and4 came from Great Whale River with the new trader. The livingconditions were not very cheerful when I arrived as the store had1. Accounts of the plans of the Belcher Mining Corporation• have been published in the Northern Miner for 14 January 1954,pp. 17, ZZ and for 7 April 1955, p. ZZ.I