Abstract:

So rich are late nineteenth century Mackenzie Delta culture- contact archives as to preclude any one scholar from fully locating data by ethnic group (Kukpugmiut, Nunatagmiut, other Beaufort Sea Inuit, Gwich’in, whalers, would-be gold miners traversing the region, fur trade staff, adventurers, clerics), passage (the three main channels and their connections), site (Fort McPherson, Tununiak, Iglogzyooit, Singigizyooak, Kuwachuk, Kittigazuit, Tuktoyaktuk, Eskimo Lakes, Baillie Islands, Yukon Coast, Okpooyetchiuk, Shingle Point, Herschel Island), fauna (beluga, bowhead, caribou, fish, etc.), flora, natural phenomena (ice formation, spring breakup), or human process (migration, inter-tribal relations, power structures, family dynamics, women’s roles, violence, hunting methods, traditional beliefs, infanticide, sickness and death, trade, modernization, missionization, and so on). The Western Arctic Historical Citation Project (WAHCP) facilitates the effort by posting on Academia.edu documents transcribed by this author and the syntheses they inspired.

Author: Walter Vanast