Kak, The Copper Eskimo

by Vilhjálmur Stefánsson, Violet Irwin, George Mather Richards (Illustrator)

A children's/young adult's book from the 1920's, written by anthropologist and explorer Vilhjálmur Stefansson. It gives a glimpse into the lives of the Inuit people, through the eyes of a young Inuk (albeit written by a white man), way back when the white man was first being introduced to the people of the Arctic region.

"Kak was an Eskimo boy who lived in Victoria Island in Canada. He belonged to the Copper Eskimos. This name does not refer in any way to their complexion as 'red Indians,' but is given because the people make knives and implements out of copper." - p. 3.

253 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1926

About the author

Vilhjálmur Stefánsson (1879-1962) was a Canadian Arctic explorer and ethnologist.

Reviews

[Gypsykat · Rating 2 out of 5]

A little hard to read at times.. the politically in-correctness of it is astounding! But.. it WAS written in 1924, by a white man who used white man's lingo in place of Inuit language.. so it's rather funny too. But.. he did live with the Inuit, during a very interesting time, so some info was gleaned, and i did enjoy it.