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Spring on an Arctic Island
A group of scientists spends a season in 1954 living with the people of the Arctic and studying wildlife.
"This is the story of the unfolding of an Arctic springtime, a subtle and exciting flowering which dwellers in the Temperate Zone can only fleetingly imagine -- perhaps on an early morning in April."
"This is the story of the unfolding of an Arctic springtime, a subtle and exciting flowering which dwellers in the Temperate Zone can only fleetingly imagine -- perhaps on an early morning in April."
- GenresNonfiction
331 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1956
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
May 30, 2020
This is a complicated book. I gave it four stars with minor reservations. The author seems conflicted upon meeting the Inuit. On the one hand, she was clearly taught the "noble savage" myth. On the other hand, she starts to *realize* that this is a myth as she gets to know them. She never fully repudiates the myth in the book, but perhaps she did in person. She certainly appears to have returned far more enlightened than when she left.
Yet another sign that this was written in an entirely different and less enlightened era was the expedition's tireless harvesting of the local fauna, particularly the birds, in order to fill museum displays. This even included the killing off all but one member of a particular species in the area of the expedition's camp including chicks. Apparently there seemed to be an attitude then that scientifically researching certain species required killing them, immediately gutting them, and stuffing them.
On the plus side, the book captures in great detail an Inuit culture that I fear no longer exists. For a very long time the Canadian government simply left the Inuit alone aside from establishing HBC trading posts here and there. That changed in the '60s and by the '70s. I fear a lot was lost, but this book at least preserves some.
Yet another sign that this was written in an entirely different and less enlightened era was the expedition's tireless harvesting of the local fauna, particularly the birds, in order to fill museum displays. This even included the killing off all but one member of a particular species in the area of the expedition's camp including chicks. Apparently there seemed to be an attitude then that scientifically researching certain species required killing them, immediately gutting them, and stuffing them.
On the plus side, the book captures in great detail an Inuit culture that I fear no longer exists. For a very long time the Canadian government simply left the Inuit alone aside from establishing HBC trading posts here and there. That changed in the '60s and by the '70s. I fear a lot was lost, but this book at least preserves some.
March 25, 2019
I was hoping to get some description of the Arctic that was not drenched in angst about climate change the way all modern writing has to be, and there was some of that. The meat of the book was about daily life and the relationships between the members of the scientific expedition, their Inuit guides and helpers, and the white missionaries and Hudson Bay Company traders in the tiny nearby settlement. It felt very "and here is how our 1950s ancestors lived!"; a lot has changed.
Also she never tells us what their scientific expedition is actually about, other than it apparently required a lot of birds to be casually taken for a taxidermy collection. Frustrating.
Two content warnings:
It's racist. Averagely racist for its time? Scherman seems to mean well, she is very appreciative of their native guides and relays several of the myths they were told as best she can, but yikes, she goes off on a lot of patronizing tangents. She also explicitly mentions that "Eskimo" is not the term they prefer, but the idea that we could instead call people by terms that they do prefer was not even a twinkle in society's eye.
There is a scene where a sled dog .
Also she never tells us what their scientific expedition is actually about, other than it apparently required a lot of birds to be casually taken for a taxidermy collection. Frustrating.
Two content warnings:
It's racist. Averagely racist for its time? Scherman seems to mean well, she is very appreciative of their native guides and relays several of the myths they were told as best she can, but yikes, she goes off on a lot of patronizing tangents. She also explicitly mentions that "Eskimo" is not the term they prefer, but the idea that we could instead call people by terms that they do prefer was not even a twinkle in society's eye.
There is a scene where a sled dog .
August 10, 2018
A work of beauty I still remember with fondness -- about an island to the north of Hudson Bay, and about the beauty of it all.
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April 9, 2020"There was a warmth of spirit, a sense of peace and timelessness, that overcame our fatigue."
February 16, 2021
Certainly perspectives that are hurtful and cause of damage to culture and people. Can I also say that it captures a beautiful adventure with kind people in a gorgeous place?
January 16, 2024
A wonderful adventure. Thank you for writing this so I could live in the story with you.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews