Minik: The New York Eskimo
An Arctic Explorer, a Museum, and the Betrayal of the Inuit People
by Kenn Harper
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Pub Date Sep 26 2017 | Archive Date Aug 27 2017
Steerforth Press | Steerforth
Description
Sailing aboard a ship called Hope in 1897, celebrated Arctic explorer Robert Peary entered New York Harbor with peculiar "cargo": Six Polar Inuit intended to serve as live "specimens" at the American Museum of Natural History. Four died within a year. One managed to gain passage back to Greenland. Only the sixth, a boy of six or seven with a precociously solemn smile, remained. His name was Minik.
Although Harper's unflinching narrative provides a much needed corrective to history's understanding of Peary, who was known among the Polar Inuit as "the great tormenter", it is primarily a story about a boy, Minik Wallace, known to the American public as "The New York Eskimo." Orphaned when his father died of pneumonia, Minik never surrendered the hope of going "home," never stopped fighting for the dignity of his father's memory, and never gave up his belief that people would come to his aid if only he could get them to understand.
Advance Praise
"A tale of scientific arrogance [that] is truly unforgettable." – Publishers Weekly
"The simplicity and resonance of myth. There is not a page in this book without its horrors and its wonders." – Kevin Spacey
"Impeccably researched and gracefully written, this is an essential book." – Andrea Barrett, author of Ship Fever and The Air We Breathe
"White men have had lots of chances to override the rights of other people with indifference . . . Writing about this state of affairs can be risky . . . Kenn Harper walks this tightrope with grace." – Patricia Nelson Limerick, past president of the Organization of American Historians, in The New York Times Book Review
A “fascinating and sad story . . . well researched and simply told.” – USA Today
“Richly sensitive and totally gripping.” – Parade Magazine
A “smartly paced, deeply informative and moving book.” – The Cleveland Plain Dealer
“An exposé of the intellectual arrogance that permeated the race to explore the Arctic region.” – Library Journal (starred review)
“Minik’s tale is a stinging indictment of the arrogance of some of the most prominent scientists and philanthropists of the time . . . But, as Harper concedes, the scientists’ behavior was hardly outrageous when viewed through the lens of the era. Perhaps that is the bigger tragedy.” – The Associated Press
“Minik’s saga is at once riveting and repulsive, enlightening and horrifying. Harper intertwines history, legend, anthropology, racism, greed and good intentions – the best and worst of human nature. . . . don’t wait for the movie to discover this astonishing tale for yourself.” – The Toronto Sun
“In 1897, the story of Minik was passed off as science. But it didn’t take long for people to recognize it for what it truly was: a tale of kidnapping, exploitation and heartless abandonment. . . . For Harper, telling Minik’s tale has clearly been a labor of love. . . . [his book] is a graceful reconstruction of Minik’s biography . . . letting the facts speak for themselves.” – Newsday
“A moving account of science devastatingly and thoughtlessly misapplied, one of the countless tragedies visited on Native America.” – Kirkus Reviews
“Well-done and sympathetic . . . an incredible tale. “ – The El Paso Times
Minik “contains valuable historical lessons about often well intentioned but nonetheless destructive (museum) administrators and scientists . . . Harper is to be congratulated for diligent scholarship at the service of a strong sense of historical justice.” – The Journal of American History
Minik “paints a different picture of Robert Peary than that offered by history books and the encyclopedia . . . But Minik is not just a bitter tale of an Inuit boy and the terrible injustices that he experienced at the hands of so-called civilization. It is full of the better side of humanity . . . This book captures a snapshot of the era surrounding the foundation of the American Museum of Natural History.” – The Seattle Times
Minik is “a startling success for a macabre tale of looted skeletons, of freebooting rapacity by prominent figures of Arctic exploration, and of the conquest of the polar north as seen through the eyes of the Inuit . . . Most controversially, the book paints an unlovely portrait of two American icons: the widely respected museum, and Peary, who in 1909 led the first expedition to the North Pole.” – The Boston Globe
Available Editions
| EDITION | Other Format |
| ISBN | 9781586422417 |
| PRICE | $17.00 (USD) |
| PAGES | 304 |
Featured Reviews
Lori S, Reviewer
I had a curiosity about this author who became known as an historian of the Arctic, so I decided to read Minik: The New York Eskimo.
Can you imagine a longing to go home? Can you imagine a time when that is all that you could ever hope for and yet seems so far removed that it may remain... just a dream? I expect, a glorious dream at that. Now, imagine you are 7, you do not speak English, and you are in a strange country.
I was immediately pulled into Minik's story. Thanks to the author's attention to historical detail, we are made aware of the life of this brave young man, who teaches us the true meaning of HOPE.
Minik: The New York Eskimo, speaks to humanity in the defintions of simple words we learn when we are young, like, empathy, humility and consideration.
I highly recommend this book.
dale d, Reviewer
I thoroughly enjoyed the fascinating story of public exploitation at the turn of the century. I would liken the book to The Lost Tribe of Coney Island in that it has a similar narrative. The characters are told in a very human way and you get to feel for poor Minik, a s stranger in a strange land
Mandy J, Reviewer
What a tragic story this is – and what an indictment of the way in which we used to (still do, perhaps) treat people we consider somehow less worthy than ourselves. Minik was a young Inuit boy who was brought to New York with some other Inuits as “specimens” at the American Museum of Natural History. The others all died but Minik survived and although his early years were relatively protected he never found a place for himself and his life was a tragic one. What happened after the arrival of the Inuits and the repercussions of that fateful decision to bring them to the US is the subject of this fascinating and painstakingly researched book. It was and remains a shameful episode and the book is an unforgettable and heart-rending account of greed, arrogance, prejudice, indifference and exploitation that will forever haunt me. That said, and in spite of the intrinsic interest of the story, it’s quite a dry read at times, often repetitive, and sometimes a little tedious. However it’s nevertheless essential reading and an invaluable work of social history.
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