Across Arctic America: Narrative of the Fifth Thule Expedition (Classic Reprint Series)

One hundred years ago, the expansion of the white world into the Arctic was disrupting the traditional culture of the Eskimo people. Into the far north came guns, traders, missionaries, educators, gold miners, and industrial hunting and fishing. Also, the diseases of civilization slammed the wild people who had no resistance to them. Eskimos seemed to be getting close to extinction.Knud Rasmussen organized a scientific expedition to learn more about the Eskimos before they disappeared forever. From 1921 to 1924, they traveled by dogsled from Greenland to Siberia, covering about 20,000 miles (32,000 km). Rasmussen was born in Greenland, and Kalaallisut was the first language he learned. He was surprised to discover that the Eskimos of Alaska spoke a similar dialect, and told similar stories, despite many centuries with no contact.Rasmussen was not an arrogant bigot. He respected the natives, while also imagining that modern science, religion, and technology was better. At every opportunity, he sought out the elders, won their trust, and learned their stories, songs, and beliefs. Rasmussen published ten volumes of notes, and then summarized his grand adventure in Across Arctic America.I’ve read several books about the Eskimos of Greenland, learning of the endless challenges of Arctic survival. But the Greenlanders had it easy, compared to the Eskimos of northern Canada who had no access to the sea, and a less dependable food supply. These inland people had neither blubber nor wood to use for fuel. They spent the long, terrifically cold winters in unheated huts, dining on frozen meat. They lived primarily on caribou and salmon.In the old days, their settlements were located along the caribou migration routes. Men hunted with bows and arrows, which required extreme patience, waiting for an animal to (maybe) wander within range. Later, they got guns, which could kill from a greater distance, making it much easier to fill the freezer. In response, the caribou abandoned their old routes, and went elsewhere. The hunters starved, and their settlements became Arctic ruins. While one group starved, another group several miles away might be feasting on abundant meat.In Eskimo society, when daughters grew up, they married, and joined their husband’s family. Sons, on the other hand, had obligations to their parents. Sons were the hunters and fishers, and more sons meant more security. “It is a general custom that old folk no longer able to provide for themselves commit suicide by hanging.” Nobody wanted to be a burden on others.Male infants were usually kept, and most females were killed, except for those who were spoken for. With the gift of a harpoon or pot, a marriage could be arranged for an infant daughter. One family had 20 children — ten girls were killed, four sons died of disease, one son drowned, leaving four sons and a daughter. The mother was happy to have four sons, which would not have been the case if the daughters had been kept. She had no regrets. This was normal in their culture.Unfortunately, when the sons grew up, they discovered a grievous shortage of potential brides. Polyandry was common (marriages with multiple husbands), but these often generated friction, resulting in an unlucky husband dying violently. No matter what a group did, overpopulation was impossible, because the supply of food was finite. Starvation was very common, and there was no shame in cannibalism.The carrying capacity of the Arctic ecosystem was small, and it varied from month to month. Each group needed a huge territory. Warfare was common in some places, even massacres. Sometimes the expedition came across piles of human bones. Eskimos fought both Indians and other Eskimos. It seems to me that the root cause of violence is crowding; humans do not tend to be violent when they have adequate space and food.Modern consumers, who forage in vast climate controlled shopping centers, might perceive the Eskimo way of life as being unpleasant and undesirable. But, according to Rasmussen, “they were not only cheerful, but healthy, knowing nothing of any disease beyond the colds that come as a regular epidemic in spring and autumn.” “A notable feature was their lively good humor and careless, high-spirited manner.” The women worked very hard, but “they were always happy and contended, with a ready laugh in return for any jest or kindly word.” Eskimos perceived whites to be uptight and coldly impersonal.Rasmussen’s book contains many photographs of the wild people he met along the way. I was spellbound by some of the faces, which were gentle, radiant, and relaxed. Reading, writing, and arithmetic were unknown to them. They had no roads, clocks, or understanding of the outside world. I imagine that the knowledge they possessed was mostly real, practical, and sane — like a deep, clear stream. My mind feels more like an enormous landfill.As the expedition got into its homestretch, they passed through gold mining communities, bubbles of prosperity for the lucky ones. Eskimos were drawn into the cash economy, where they sold handicrafts and acquired sewing machines, kerosene lamps, and cameras. Hunters were paid high prices for skins, and they hunted “without any consideration for the future or their old age.” Civilization makes people crazy.Rasmussen and his two Eskimo companions sailed to Seattle, and then travelled to the skyscraper world of New York City. The book concludes with an exclamation by Anarulunguaq, his girlfriend for the journey: “Nature is great; but man is greater still.” Would she have a different opinion today, as man’s great imbalances are destabilizing the Arctic ecosystems, and the rest of the planet, too?Before sailing from Alaska, Rasmussen spent a few hours with an angakoq (shaman) named Najagneq. He spoke about the great spirit called Sila. When Sila is happy, life is good. But when men abuse life, and feel no reverence for their daily food, Sila communicates to man “by storm and snow and rain and the fury of the sea; all the forces of nature that men fear.”Richard Adrian ReeseAuthor of Sustainable or Bust -and- What Is Sustainable

"Across Arctic America" is the report of the Fifth Thule Expedition, led by Knud Rasmussen in the 1920s. Rasmussen does an excellent job of describing the material culture, ways and beliefs of the Eskimos (now called Inuit) he encountered across the Arctic from Greenland to Alaska, at a time when they were still living the nomadic life of hunter-gatherers, as they had done for centuries before. Rasmussen's descriptions are detailed, his documentation of songs and poems that might otherwise have been lost are valuable, as are his records of the differences among subgroups he encountered. In addition, the author's respect for the people who are his research subjects is evident throughout this book.

I have not finished reading this book yet. It did not contain the information I was seeking. However, it is very detailed about the life, customs and religion of the various Eskimos he met. I'm sure anyone interested in ethnography will consider this book a real gem.

Into the Arctic through the eyes and ears of an explorer. Bernie Taylor, author / Before Orion: Finding the Face of the Hero.

good book

Great book

Knud Rasmussen was a native Greenlander who was half Inuit and half Danish. He was the first person to travel the Northwest Passage by dog-sled, around 1922, as re-told in this readable and enjoyable account first published in 1927. Known as the "Fifth Thule Expedition", it was designed to be an ethnographic expedition to answer "that great question the origins of the Eskimo race". A native speaker of Inuit, Rasmussen's insights into the religion and inner-life, voice and spirit of the Inuit remains a classic of polar travel literature and ethnography. The Inuit language is difficult to translate and Rasmussen's unique position of straddling both cultures proves indispensable.Rasmussen traveled with two Inuit who had never before left Greenland. On the return trip home by plane, the group stopped in New York City and were awed by what they saw. One said while looking over the city skyline from a rooftop: "I see things more than my mind can grasp; and the only way to save myself from madness is to suppose that we have all died, and that this is part of another life." An Inuit Shaman revealed to Rasmussen "All true wisdom is only to be found far from the dwellings of men, in the great solitudes; and it can only be obtained through suffering. Suffering and privation are the only things that can open the mind of man to that which is hidden from his fellows."An Inuit-produced film 'The Journals of Knud Rasmussen' (2006) was recently made based on the book, produced by the same people who made 'The Fast Runner' (2001), which has been called one of the 10 best Canadian films. This book is pretty rare in first editions going for $50-$100 in the used market. A re-issue was made in 1999, still in print. See also the books by Peter Freuchan for accounts of this journey and others he took with Rasmussen.

Knud Rasmussen was a remarkable man determined to tell the stories of Native peoples across the north at a time when outside influences were bringing about major changes to their cultures. He not only observed their culture, he lived it as he and two Greenlander Natives traversed the entire arctic from east to west. Among this trio was a woman named Anarulunguaq, the first woman known to have traversed the entire arctic. For those who want to enjoy a well written book and be educated at the same time, this book is perfect. Readers who enjoy this book will most certainly enjoy Alone Across The Arctic. Alone Across the Arctic: One Woman's Epic Journey by Dog Team

I did enjoy reading this book before our trip to Greenland and the Canadian Arctic this summer because it gave a lot of interesting background. This book is really a summary of the enormous amount of research that Ramussen did in the Fifth Thule expedition. The entire journey lasted 3 years and there are about 10 volumes of research material on the different Inuit communities he encountered on his journey. Unlike most Arctic explorers seeking the Northwest Passage or the North Pole, Ramussen was interested in the Inuit peoples who live in the Arctic region. He was the first to prove that they were actually one people sharing a language and common culture across a huge Arctic region. Ramussen grew up in Greenland and was of Greenlandic/Danish descent so he was in a unique position to be able to approach and appreciate the different Inuit groups that he met in his journey west from Greenland across the top of North America.

Couldn't put the book down. Compared to that egomaniac Stefansson, Knut is a real explorer and traveler.

thoroughly enjoyed by my daughter who is a professor of archeology...great gift idea