- Email: [email protected]
Early Inuit Studies: Themes and Transitions, 1850s-1980s
Journal of Historical Geography xxx (2016) 1e2
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Journal of Historical Geography journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jhg
Review
Igor Krupnik (Ed), Early Inuit Studies: Themes and Transitions, 1850s-1980s, foreword by Nelson H.H. Graburn. Washington, DC, Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press, 2016, 452 pages, US$49.95 hardcover As a young Ph.D. student at the University of Oklahoma in 2004, I stood in awe on the shores of what looked like a mighty ocean of Inuit studies, all caught up in the fog. Igor Krupnik, curator of Arctic and Northern Ethnology collections at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, recalls a similar experience that he had as a graduate student of Eskimology (which was soon reinvented under the new name of Inuit studies) at the Russian Academy of Sciences in 1975. In Early Inuit Studies: Themes and Transitions, 1850se1980s, Krupnik and his colleaguesdintellectual descendants of the Eskimology and Inuit studies scholars discussed in the volumedcollaboratively trace the lineages and genealogies of today's Inuit studies for almost 130 years. This book is a historical synthesis and collective memory of a discipline that is growing strong to this day. In the twenty-first century, Inuit studies is a discipline that has been proudly inherited and actively pursued beyond international and disciplinary borders, barriers of distance, language, and institutional affiliations. Together, the fifteen essays weave a story of a field that is now embraced and shared by Inuit researchers, cultural activists, community members, and knowledge experts along with natural scientists, social scientists, and non-indigenous scholars as well as a variety of audiences who have keen interests in Arctic issues, including global climate change, natural resources, and human rights. Krupnik and his colleagues successfully portray the transformative shift from colonial Eskimology to Inuit studies to show how the field has increasingly become “a matter of the Inuit and for the Inuit” (p. 16). In other words, what we encounter is a journey of decolonization and appreciating and empowering many voices from the field. Approximately 150,000 indigenous people live along the northern edges of North America and from southwestern Alaska and northeastern Russia to the east coast of northern Greenland. There ~ upiat, Inuvialuit, Yup'iit, and are many local/tribal names such as In Alutiit to name but a few (Note that “Eskimo” is also a common term in linguistics and Alaska Native communities although it is now often associated with racism in the Lower 48). Meanwhile, “Inuit” is an overarching name for the peoples of the North. Prior to and at about the time of the inception of the discipline of Eskimology, the field was rooted in the colonial pastein particular, a European enterprise called Arctic exploration science and geopolitical desire for territorial and resource expansion. Naturally, the field
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jhg.2016.07.006 0305-7488
was dominated by the scientific studies of the Inuit. In his opening essay “From Boas to Burch: Eskimology Traditions,” Krupnik elaborates on two major stages of ideological transitions in Eskimology: 1) moving the field from its initial natural sciences/ethnography/ natural history/museum domain to focused research on the origins and early history of the Inuit, then called the “Eskimo Problem” and informed by systematic archaeological excavations; and 2) diversification of anthropological work and a surge in new types of research focused on contemporary topics, such as modernization and urbanization of Arctic communities, military and industrial construction, and increased political focus in the Cold War era. This diversification ultimately facilitated the incorporation of new themes developed within ethnology, sociology, linguistics, psychology, art history, and related disciplines. Each of these specialties thrived under a more diverse framework. This change enabled the ultimate shift of attitude in the 1980s, which was more than just changing the name from Eskimology to Inuit studies, but was rather the emergence of a cohesive interdisciplinary field that sought to bridge social, cultural, historical, and racial gaps. The biannual Inuit Studies Conference along with the International Arctic Social Science Association reflect this transition through Krupnik's experience: “the conference felt like a familiar gathering of academic peers, a reunion of colleagues from many nations” (p. 17). The occasions are usually well-attended by both Inuit scholars and Inuit peoples, which provides an opportunity to reciprocate with communities and to break the mold of problematic topdown approaches that used to be the norm between anthropologists and indigenous communities. It is a welcoming and accommodating gathering to exchange knowledge, wisdom, and research outcomes between scholars and communities, which reflects the traditional importance of sharing among many indigenous peoples and societies. The essays that follow embellish and cultivate the general historical outline provided by Krupnik by focusing on specific changes and intellectual transitions from the 1850s to the early 1980s, as well as focusing on key historical figures and giants in Eskimology and Inuit studies such as Hinrich Johannes Rink (1819e1893, chapter 2 by Ole Marquardt), Franz Boas (1819e1893, chapter 4 by Igor } ller-Wille, and Ken Harper), Knud Rasmussen Krupnik, Ludger Mu (1879e1933, chapter 5 by Kirsten Hastrup), and Ernest “Tiger” Burch (1938e2010, chapter 15 by Igor Krupnik). To represent the diversity of Inuit studies, the geographical coverage of the chapters is truly circumpolar, and also covers a wide range of themes such as the origin of scientific Inuit grammar in Greenland (Jerrold M. Sadock, chapter 3), Arctic archaeology and the “Eskimo Problem” (William W. Fitzhugh, chapter 7), kinship studies in Alaska (Peter
2
Review / Journal of Historical Geography xxx (2016) 1e2
Schweitzer, chapter 11), and maps and Inuit land use studies in the late twentieth century (Claudio Aporta, chapter 14). This book is a gift for aspiring Inuit studies scholars from Igor Krupnik, one of the founding fathers of twentieth-century Inuit Studies in the United States. On a personal note, it was a delight to learn the heritage of my own intellectual ancestors closely. The book would have benefited from further examination of the contri-
bution of indigenous scholars and collaborators as well as portraits of younger generations of Inuit studies scholars who are still alive. However, this work stands as a solid account as is, and these minor lacunae will surely be addressed in future scholarship. Chie Sakakibara Oberlin College, USA
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Journal of Historical Geography journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jhg
Review
Igor Krupnik (Ed), Early Inuit Studies: Themes and Transitions, 1850s-1980s, foreword by Nelson H.H. Graburn. Washington, DC, Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press, 2016, 452 pages, US$49.95 hardcover As a young Ph.D. student at the University of Oklahoma in 2004, I stood in awe on the shores of what looked like a mighty ocean of Inuit studies, all caught up in the fog. Igor Krupnik, curator of Arctic and Northern Ethnology collections at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, recalls a similar experience that he had as a graduate student of Eskimology (which was soon reinvented under the new name of Inuit studies) at the Russian Academy of Sciences in 1975. In Early Inuit Studies: Themes and Transitions, 1850se1980s, Krupnik and his colleaguesdintellectual descendants of the Eskimology and Inuit studies scholars discussed in the volumedcollaboratively trace the lineages and genealogies of today's Inuit studies for almost 130 years. This book is a historical synthesis and collective memory of a discipline that is growing strong to this day. In the twenty-first century, Inuit studies is a discipline that has been proudly inherited and actively pursued beyond international and disciplinary borders, barriers of distance, language, and institutional affiliations. Together, the fifteen essays weave a story of a field that is now embraced and shared by Inuit researchers, cultural activists, community members, and knowledge experts along with natural scientists, social scientists, and non-indigenous scholars as well as a variety of audiences who have keen interests in Arctic issues, including global climate change, natural resources, and human rights. Krupnik and his colleagues successfully portray the transformative shift from colonial Eskimology to Inuit studies to show how the field has increasingly become “a matter of the Inuit and for the Inuit” (p. 16). In other words, what we encounter is a journey of decolonization and appreciating and empowering many voices from the field. Approximately 150,000 indigenous people live along the northern edges of North America and from southwestern Alaska and northeastern Russia to the east coast of northern Greenland. There ~ upiat, Inuvialuit, Yup'iit, and are many local/tribal names such as In Alutiit to name but a few (Note that “Eskimo” is also a common term in linguistics and Alaska Native communities although it is now often associated with racism in the Lower 48). Meanwhile, “Inuit” is an overarching name for the peoples of the North. Prior to and at about the time of the inception of the discipline of Eskimology, the field was rooted in the colonial pastein particular, a European enterprise called Arctic exploration science and geopolitical desire for territorial and resource expansion. Naturally, the field
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jhg.2016.07.006 0305-7488
was dominated by the scientific studies of the Inuit. In his opening essay “From Boas to Burch: Eskimology Traditions,” Krupnik elaborates on two major stages of ideological transitions in Eskimology: 1) moving the field from its initial natural sciences/ethnography/ natural history/museum domain to focused research on the origins and early history of the Inuit, then called the “Eskimo Problem” and informed by systematic archaeological excavations; and 2) diversification of anthropological work and a surge in new types of research focused on contemporary topics, such as modernization and urbanization of Arctic communities, military and industrial construction, and increased political focus in the Cold War era. This diversification ultimately facilitated the incorporation of new themes developed within ethnology, sociology, linguistics, psychology, art history, and related disciplines. Each of these specialties thrived under a more diverse framework. This change enabled the ultimate shift of attitude in the 1980s, which was more than just changing the name from Eskimology to Inuit studies, but was rather the emergence of a cohesive interdisciplinary field that sought to bridge social, cultural, historical, and racial gaps. The biannual Inuit Studies Conference along with the International Arctic Social Science Association reflect this transition through Krupnik's experience: “the conference felt like a familiar gathering of academic peers, a reunion of colleagues from many nations” (p. 17). The occasions are usually well-attended by both Inuit scholars and Inuit peoples, which provides an opportunity to reciprocate with communities and to break the mold of problematic topdown approaches that used to be the norm between anthropologists and indigenous communities. It is a welcoming and accommodating gathering to exchange knowledge, wisdom, and research outcomes between scholars and communities, which reflects the traditional importance of sharing among many indigenous peoples and societies. The essays that follow embellish and cultivate the general historical outline provided by Krupnik by focusing on specific changes and intellectual transitions from the 1850s to the early 1980s, as well as focusing on key historical figures and giants in Eskimology and Inuit studies such as Hinrich Johannes Rink (1819e1893, chapter 2 by Ole Marquardt), Franz Boas (1819e1893, chapter 4 by Igor } ller-Wille, and Ken Harper), Knud Rasmussen Krupnik, Ludger Mu (1879e1933, chapter 5 by Kirsten Hastrup), and Ernest “Tiger” Burch (1938e2010, chapter 15 by Igor Krupnik). To represent the diversity of Inuit studies, the geographical coverage of the chapters is truly circumpolar, and also covers a wide range of themes such as the origin of scientific Inuit grammar in Greenland (Jerrold M. Sadock, chapter 3), Arctic archaeology and the “Eskimo Problem” (William W. Fitzhugh, chapter 7), kinship studies in Alaska (Peter
2
Review / Journal of Historical Geography xxx (2016) 1e2
Schweitzer, chapter 11), and maps and Inuit land use studies in the late twentieth century (Claudio Aporta, chapter 14). This book is a gift for aspiring Inuit studies scholars from Igor Krupnik, one of the founding fathers of twentieth-century Inuit Studies in the United States. On a personal note, it was a delight to learn the heritage of my own intellectual ancestors closely. The book would have benefited from further examination of the contri-
bution of indigenous scholars and collaborators as well as portraits of younger generations of Inuit studies scholars who are still alive. However, this work stands as a solid account as is, and these minor lacunae will surely be addressed in future scholarship. Chie Sakakibara Oberlin College, USA