C Ihe Ladies c cu. V'VVAN - History and Classics, Department of

Notes to Pages 53.207 259Field Note for FridC!)' 18 JuneG awoke with sprained or strained footIn her characteristic understated style, Dorrien Smith wroteonly the following in her field note for 18June: "Fine butthunderstorm in p.m. I sprained my ankle yesterday somehowand could do nothing."CHAPTER 10: ESKIMOS AT AKLAVIK(23-25 JUNE)The field notes pertaining to the contents of this chapter makeno mention of Sittichinli's "magnificent physique." The bookcreates suspense by making more than Vyvyan' s field notes ofboth the doctor's examination of Dorrien Smith's sprainedankle and her contingency plan (using her brother's boots). Aswell, its focus on the murder trial expands the spate of dialoguerecorded at the conclusion of the field notes; it includes informationgathered about the Inuit at various points in the trip,including comments on Inuit customs and dress. No field notesuggests that Inuit "must have been born smiling."The first thing we had to do was to get the doctor. He callleon board without delayDorrien Smith's field note for 23June identifies this doctor asCook; the Grey Nuns also refer to him only by his surname("Aklavik" 26 May 1926). Vyvyan's letter to her mother of 30June is slightly more specific about other details: "He saidGwen had strained 2 ankle tendons at Providence + put herinto plaster of Paris all up one leg for 10 days."Aklavik seemed to be a prosperous placeThis positive statement is succeeded by a qualification thatsuggests that Vyvyan is likely underestimating the signs of materialprosperity that she saw at Aklavik. Three groups of Inuitalong the Arctic Coast at the beginning of the twentiethcentury were the Inupiat of the North Alaskan coast, theKogmollicks or Inuvialuit ofthe Mackenzie Delta, and theCopper Inuit from Coronation Gulf, Victoria Island, andeastward. Inupiat began coming to the Mackenzie Delta inconsiderable numbers with the advent of American whaling atHerschel Island in 1888 (Ingram and Dobrowolsky 9), andespecially after the collapse of the world price for whaleboneand whale oil. Complete by 19°7, this collapse resulted fromthe invention of artificial whalebone, steel springs, andkerosene. By 1924, fully seventy-five per cent ofInuit in theDelta were considered to be of Alaskan origin (Usher 1:25).The immigrant population continued to increase:The native Mackenzie Eskimos had never lived permanentlyin the wooded country of the Delta, and remained largelyon the coast. The Delta people ... which consisted largely ofthe Alaskan immigrants ... were therefore the ablest andmost energetic trappers, and indeed the most recent immigrantshad come mainly for that purpose .... By the early1920s the value of both muskrat and white fox hadincreased twentyfold since the turn ofthe century, and theprice of other furs had risen in similar fashion. Muskratswere taken by the hundred thousands, and mink was also abig crop in the Delta. Traders realized excellent profits,and the Delta trappers attained unprecedented prosperity;indeed many had far greater incomes than the averageCanadian at the time. Although much of their money wasdissipated in ephemeral luxuries, the Eskimos began toinvest considerable sums in capital equipment. Gaspowered whaleboats and schooners were the most popularitems. In 1924 the Eskimo fleet at Aklavik consisted of 39schooners (19 of which had auxiliary power), 28 whale boatsand two other vessels .... The Alaskan Eskimos were interestedin producing a cash crop in order to amass wealthbeyond the daily needs of shelter and food, and were willingand able to employ superior technology, greater commercialsophistication and increased geographical mobility todo so. The Mackenzie people resented these attitudes, andthe distinction between the two groups on this basispersisted for at least fifty years after the initial immigration.Indeed, it continues today [1970] in modified form.(Usher 1:28,3°)Kitto's "Report" of 1920 corroborates thisview-"a layman isstruck with two main thoughts, i.e. (1) that the Indian populationhas lost its vitality and the race in consequence is graduallydying out, and (2) that the Esquimo [sic] population on theother hand appears to be quite vigorous and healthy" (27)-andKnud Rasmussen's eyewitness account in the early months of1924 echoes it: "the Mackenzie Eskimos had become an independentand prosperous people" (Ostermann 52). Six groupscomprise the Mackenzie Delta Inuvialuit today: Kigirktayuk