This Distant And Unsurveyed Country

Margaret Penny's journal with commentary and explanatory passages by Ross. W. Gillies.

Bringing together thirty years' work on arctic whaling, Ross's invaluable text supplements Margaret Penny's journal to present a complete picture not only of this particular expedition but of arctic whaling in general. Ross provides illuminating insights into the principal characters, the mechanics and strategy of whaling, life aboard ship, the climate and geography of the Arctic, the struggle for survival in the North, and the relationship between the Inuit and Europeans. The unique combination of Margaret Penny's unabridged journal and Ross's extensive knowledge of whaling makes This Distant and Unsurveyed Country an invaluable resource and an unforgettable tale of adventure.

This study examines the problems of poverty and isolation among status Indians in the Prairie Provinces of Canada since the signing of treaties and formation of reserves, with arguments for native self-government.

Inuit Women is the definitive study of the Inuit during a time of rapid change. Based on fourteen years of research and fieldwork, this analysis focuses on the challenges facing Inuit women as they enter the twenty-first century. Written shortly after the creation of Nunavut, a new province carved out of traditional Inuit homelands in the Canadian North, this compelling book combines conclusions drawn from the authors' ethnographic research with the stories of Inuit women and men, told in their own words. In addition to their presentation of the personal portraits and voices of many Inuit respondents, Janet Mancini Billson and Kyra Mancini explore global issues: the impact of rapid social change and Canadian resettlement policy on Inuit culture; women's roles in society; and gender relations in Baffin Island, in the Eastern Arctic. They also include an extensive section on how the newly created territory of Nunavut is impacting the lives of Inuit women and their families. Working from a research approach grounded in feminist theory, the authors involve their Inuit interviewees as full participants in the process. This book stands alone in its attention to Inuit women's issues and lives and should be read by everyone interested in gender relations, development, modernization, globalization, and Inuit culture.

A nuanced study of conflicts over possession of Aboriginal artifacts.

The tragic fate of the lost Franklin expedition (1845-48) is a well-known part of exploration history, but there has always been a gap in the story - a personal account that begs to be told. In As affecting the fate of my absent husband, Erika Behrisch Elce has collected the poignant letters of Sir John Franklin's wife, Jane, which provide a vital new perspective on the tragedy. From her optimistic requests to whaling ships to her persistent demands for Admiralty aid, Lady Franklin played a crucial role in the search for her husband. Her correspondence with British prime ministers, members of Parliament, lords of the Admiralty, and a US president presents a private, domestic side to a national tragedy and sheds new light on what Sir John Franklin's disappearance meant to England, its public, and its sense of itself as an imperial power. With comprehensive annotations, a descriptive timeline, and an introduction that outlines the significance of Lady Franklin's contribution to the "Arctic debate," As affecting the fate of my absent husband is a convincing portrait of the surprisingly disruptive effects - on both the public consciousness and the government bureaucracy - of a single, eloquent, voice of dissent. As affecting the fate of my absent husband is essential reading not only for anyone interested in Victorian adventure and the Arctic but as an introduction to one of the most fascinating women of the nineteenth century.

The authors show that meteorologic data and weather information recorded at the HBC trading posts over two centuries provide the largest and longest consecutive series available anywhere in North America, one that can help us understand the mechanisms and amount of climate change. They demonstrate that Hudson Bay is the second largest site of new bird species named by Linnaeus and reproduce some of George Edwards' colour paintings of these new species. Six informative appendices reveal how the invaluable HBC archives were transferred from London, England, to Winnipeg, correct previous misinterpretations of the collaboration and relative contributions of Thomas Hutchins and Andrew Graham, use two centuries of HBC fur returns to demonstrate the ten-year hare and lynx cycles, tell how the swan trade almost extirpated the Trumpeter Swan, explain how the Canada Goose got its name before there was a Canada, and offer an extensive list of eighteenth-century Cree names for birds, mammals, and fish. Informative tables list the eighteenth-century surgeons at York Factory and give names and dates for the annual supply ships.

Starting with Eliza Kent Kane in 1853 and ending with Robert Peary in 1909, "Harnessed to the Pole" is a unique study of the nineteenth-century sledge dogs that led American explorers to the North Pole. Almost totally ignored in their exploits, these dogs made possible what never could have occurred otherwise: an American claim on the Pole. Even if we do not know their names, we know that they pulled with all their hearts, even though they were fed little, driven hard, and sometimes left to die along the trail. Often referred to as little camels of the north, these courageous partners provided transportation of people and freight through extremely difficult conditions, protected against wolves and polar bears, helped in the hunt, found their way through storms, and provided warmth in extreme cold, meat in times of starvation, and even skins for clothes. Most importantly, they provided companionship in a hostile world poised on the edge of death and madness. Here is the untold story of these extraordinary dogs, truly man's best but least known friend in the race to reach the Pole."

Uqalurait, pointed snowdrifts formed by Arctic blizzards, 'would tell us which direction to go in, ' says elder Mariano Aupilarjuk. This oral history, guided by the traditional knowledge of Inuit elders from across Nunavut, also follows the uqalurait, with thousands of quotes from elders on a wide range of subjects

She considers each of these diverse genres in terms of the way it explains the cultural identity of a nation formed from the settlement of immigrant peoples on the lands of dispossessed indigenous peoples.