Give Me My Father's Body: The Life of Minik, the New York Eskimo

FROM THE PUBLISHER

In his search for the North Pole at the turn of the twentieth century, the renowned Robert E. Peary, long celebrated as an icon of modern exploration, used the Eskimos of northwestern Greenland as the human resources for his expeditions. Sailing aboard a ship called Hope in 1897, Peary entered New York harbor with six Eskimos as his cargo. Depositing them with the American Museum of Natural History as live "specimens" to be poked, measured, and observed by the paying public, Peary abruptly abandoned any responsibility for their care. Four of the Eskimos died within a year. One managed to gain passage back to Greenland. Only the sixth, a boy of six or seven with a smile solemn beyond his years, remained, orphaned and adrift in a bewildering metropolis. His name was Minik. Here, a century after the fact, is his story. A searing true tale of extraordinary darkness told with intensity and vigilance, Give Me My Father's Body is Kenn Harper's absorbing, intricately documented account of ruthless imperialism in the name of science, of cruel deceptions and false burials, and of the short, strange, and tragic life of the boy known as the New York Eskimo.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

When six-year-old Minik was chosen as one of six Eskimos from Qaanaaq, Greenland, to accompany explorer Robert Peary to New York City in 1897, he expected a brief adventure. Instead, he became an orphan and an exile. Treated as scientific curiosities, Minik's father and three others quickly succumbed to pneumonia, leaving the boy alone after the only other survivor returned to Greenland. Adopted by a middle-class family, Minik enjoyed a few relatively happy years until the family suffered financial disgrace. Peary refused to help support the boy or finance his return to Greenland, and Minik languished in poverty for several years. The horrific climax to his ordeal came when Minik learned that his father's body had been put on display at the American Museum of Natural History. Though his efforts to claim the body launched a media frenzy, they ultimately failed. Minik eventually returned to Greenland, where he had to relearn his native language and customs. Feeling marginalized among his people, he returned to the U.S. in 1916 only to die here two years later. Harper, who has lived for more than 30 years in the Arctic and is fluent in the Canadian Eskimo language, tells Minik's story straightforwardly and with sympathy. Yet he adheres so scrupulously to Minik's letters and other written accounts that his narrative is sometimes dry. As a tale of scientific arrogance, however, the book is chilling; as a portrait of an exploited, charming, intelligent, needy, sometimes vengeful and culturally ambivalent individual, it is truly unforgettable. B&w photographs. (Apr.) BOMC selection; rights sold in England, France, Germany and Spain; film rights optioned by Kevin Spacey. Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.|

VOYA

First published by a small Canadian press in 1986, Harper's book achieved critical acclaim when it was reprinted last year, and it is available here in an abridged edition for younger readers. In 1897 the arctic explorer Robert Peary brought six Eskimos back to New York and deposited them at the American Museum of Natural History. Treated with not-so-subtle racism, the Eskimos essentially were put on display until all but one of them died within a few months of their arrival, probably from tuberculosis. The one survivor, a small boy named Minik, was treated well at first. Later, however, he ended up on the streets of New York, forced to shift for himself. For years he tried in vain to secure both the financial support and the passage back to Greenland that he had been promised by the museum and by Peary, but he largely was ignored. Sadder still was his eventual discovery that his father's bones had not been given proper burial as he had been assured, but instead had been put on display in the museum. Although Minik did eventually return to the arctic for several years, his health was never good, and he died in 1917 in New Hampshire. His father's bones, and those of the other Eskimos from the Peary expedition, were not returned to the North until 1993, in part because of the furor raised by the first edition of Harper's powerful and somber biography. Thoughtful teens should find this book a riveting experience. Photos. Maps. Biblio. VOYA CODES: 4Q 3P J S (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses; Will appeal with pushing; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12). 2001, Archway, 233p, $5.99 pb. Ages 13 to 18. Reviewer: Michael LevySOURCE: VOYA, August 2001 (Vol. 24, No. 3)

KLIATT

In 1897, explorer Robert Peary brought six Polar Eskimos from Greenland to New York City, among them a twelve-year-old girl and a boy of six or seven. Before a year was out, all of them fell ill and four died. The survivors were a young man, Uisaakassak and a boy, Minik, whose father, Qisuk, was among the deceased. Uisaakassak returned to Greenland, but Minik was left behind. Raised by a museum employee and his family, Minik had a fairly happy life. A decade after his arrival in the United States, however, Minik made a gruesome discovery: Qisuk's skeleton was part of a display in the American Museum of Natural History. He requested the return of his father's body; incredibly, the museum refused. Harper recounts Minik's life in unsparing detail. The arrogance of Peary, the museum officials and others is staggering, yet reflects the attitude of the time that the Polar Eskimos were not their equals and were suitable subjects for study "in the interest of science." Peary's abandonment of Minik and the museum's denial of displaying or even owning the bones are equally appalling; it was only in 1993 that Qisuk's bones, as well of those of the other three Polar Eskimos, also prepared as skeletons, were returned to Greenland for burial. Harper tempers his well-researched and well-documented text, however, and the narrative never falls into sensationalism. The writing is lucid and accessible and the subject well presented. An abridged "young readers" edition with some of the earthier elements edited out reads smoothly and makes Minik's story accessible to a wider range of readers. The book includes plenty of b/w photographs that further extend the text. Not only is this fascinating reading,but it is also thoughtful and thought provoking. KLIATT Codes: J*—Exceptional book, recommended for junior high school students. 2000, Pocket Books/Washington Square Press, 277p, 21cm, $13.95. Ages 13 to 15. Reviewer: Donna L. Scanlon; Children's Libn. Lancaster Area Lib. Lancaster, PA, May 2001 (Vol. 35 No. 3)

Library Journal

Originally self-published in Greenland in 1986, this affecting work details the short, sad life of Minik, an orphaned Eskimo raised in America at the turn of the 20th century. On the surface, it is a tragic tale of a boy caught between two cultures, but more than that it is an expos of the intellectual arrogance that permeated the race to explore the Arctic region during this period. In 1897, explorer Robert Peary brought Minik and five other Greenland Eskimos to New York to be studied as live "specimens" by the American Museum of Natural History. When four of them died, including Minik's father, Qisuk, their bodies were used for scientific research and kept for exhibit at the museum. Minik's accidental discovery of his father's remains, his unsuccessful attempts to have them returned to him, and the museum's refusal to acknowledge the truth or relinquish the bones reveal the inherent racism and pettiness of the scientific community. (Pressure created by the publication of this book finally caused the museum to release the remains in 1993.) Told in unembellished prose with heartbreaking excerpts from Minik's own writings, this powerful book is recommended for all public and academic libraries. [A foreword by Kevin Spacey is included.--Ed.]--Rose M. Cichy, Osterhout Free Lib., Wilkes-Barre, PA Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.\

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