Yol xxYr - The Arctic Circle

THE ESKII{O MUSEUM, CHURCHrrr,, MANIIOBA
Lorzaine E. Brardson*
The Eskirc Museun at Church-ill, Manitoba is located at tlre rncst
souttrerly point of tl.e Rcrnan Cathol-ic Diocese of Chr:rchill -
Hudson Bay. Brotler Jaoques Volant, the Cr:rator, has selected
the pieces whrich are hor:sed in th-is muselrn, wittr ttre sutrpont of
otler Oblate missionaries in tlre diocese in obtaining ttre collection,
plus a fer^/ donations. There are prelr.istoric artifacts made frcnr
stone, bone ard ivory, as r^e1l as qcntenporaqz Eskimo canrings ard
etturcgraph-ic material .
The museun began witlr a fen^r canrings ard artifacts howed in a
si:rg1e shcnrcase in Bishop Tr.rqrretj-1's residence in }dontreal. In
L944 a nocrn il tfie Catholic mission at Chr:rdril1 was used, ard in
1948 Brothen Volarrt, a native of Brittarry with tr,"enty years operience
in the Carndian Nor*r was asked to take care of tlre collection. A
separate buildirg to house themuseum was constructedn ard
eventually replaced by the present structr:re Ln 1962.
Ttre collection was acguired to give scnre ilsight into ttre Eskinxc
way of life, past and present. Pre-Dorset, Dorset, Ttrule ard
historic a::tifacts frcnr the Canadian Arctic evidene tJ:e adaptability
of ttrese Arctic du€llers. Fattrer Van de Velde, a nrajor
collector for, ard frierd of , tle museun speaks about Eskimo r,raterial
culture: "The Eskjmo creates a tlror:sand and one things for Lr_is
daily life. A11 with tlre alive qr:aliQz ard exact precision vhicfr
stsns frcm his livirg character ard inteltect. r belierze this to
be tJ:e only seeet of a tnre artist. He has but to renurve tJ:e
ex€ss parts of tr-is ntcdel such as stone, bone, antler or ivory to
shcrrr us vihat he tns alreadlz seen in the abstract. This oplains
the perfection wit.l: vft-ictt he fashions his lrlonking tools and hunting
implernents. "
Day to day activities on lard ard sea, tlrrough winter and srmrer,
are portrayed rost vividly in caned scenes on ivory boards nrade
frcrn walnrs tu.sks. These canzings collected mainly f:ron pelly
Bay ard Repulse Bay in tlre 194Os aryl 5Os play an integral part
in ccmnun-icatilg ttre ajm of tJ.e museum, tlre exposition of a wqg
of life.
*t1s Brardson is Assistant Curator of tlre Eskinro Museun
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