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People of the Deer
People of the Deer by Mowat, Farley. Published by Da Capo Press,2004, Paperback
316 pages, Hardcover
First published June 1, 1999
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1911 people want to read
About the author
Farley Mowat
102 books649 followersFarley McGill Mowat was a conservationist and one of Canada's most widely-read authors.
Many of his most popular works have been memoirs of his childhood, his war service, and his work as a naturalist. His works have been translated into 52 languages and he has sold more than 14 million books.
Mowat studied biology at the University of Toronto. During a field trip to the Arctic, Mowat became outraged at the plight of the Ihalmiut, a Caribou Inuit band, which he attributed to misunderstanding by whites. His outrage led him to publish his first novel, People of the Deer (1952). This book made Mowat into a literary celebrity and was largely responsible for the shift in the Canadian government's Inuit policy: the government began shipping meat and dry goods to a people they previously denied existed.
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society ship RV Farley Mowat was named in honour of him, and he frequently visited it to assist its mission.
Many of his most popular works have been memoirs of his childhood, his war service, and his work as a naturalist. His works have been translated into 52 languages and he has sold more than 14 million books.
Mowat studied biology at the University of Toronto. During a field trip to the Arctic, Mowat became outraged at the plight of the Ihalmiut, a Caribou Inuit band, which he attributed to misunderstanding by whites. His outrage led him to publish his first novel, People of the Deer (1952). This book made Mowat into a literary celebrity and was largely responsible for the shift in the Canadian government's Inuit policy: the government began shipping meat and dry goods to a people they previously denied existed.
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society ship RV Farley Mowat was named in honour of him, and he frequently visited it to assist its mission.
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February 24, 2010
Canadian author and naturalist Farley Mowat has come in for heavy criticism in recent years for falsifying and hugely embellishing parts of his books. For example, when Mowat said he had spent two summers and a winter studying wolves, the Toronto Star, a newspaper in Toronto, Canada, wrote that Mowat had only spent 90 hours studying the wolves. Mowat has admitted he doesn’t let the facts get in the way of a good story.
While this may be very disappointing - personally, I like to be able to trust the information in a non-fiction book and dislike the modern fashion of “creative non-fiction”. The world as it is is fascinating without need of embellishment. True, sometimes situations need to be simplified in order to keep a storylike manageable, but the problem with making too free with the facts is that everything in the story then becomes a fairy-story. Defenders of the techniques would correctly argue – as with Farley Mowat’s books – that massaging the facts to serve a greater mission is admissable. This is what politicians and lobbyists and spin-doctors also propound. The result is that all public discourse becomes debased.
Mowat’s first book was “People of the Deer” published in 1952. It tells the story of his time with the Ihalmiut, a group of Inuit (Eskimo) who live on the great Barrens plains of northern central Canada in an area now known as the Kivalliq Region of present-day Nunavut. They are the only Inuit not to live by the sea. Caribou (reindeer), not seal meat, is an important part of their diet.
When Mowat lived with them in the late 1940s, he estimated that the Ihalmiut had numbered 7,000 in 1886, down to 40 by 1947-48. By 1950, only 30 remained. Their destruction was due to changes in their hunting dynamics (from hunting for food to hunting for furs), introduction of flour and sugar into their diet (through fur trader contact), disease (probably diphtheria), the failure of their primary food source (barren-ground caribou), and sickened sled dogs (possibly rabies).
It was Mowat’s book, ‘People of the Deer” that rescued the Ihalmiut from extinction. His book made Mowat into a literary celebrity and without its publication the Canadian government could have conveniently continued to ignore these people.
Instead, Mowat’s indignation, his explanations of the ways of the people and his entertaining storytelling contributed to the shift in the Canadian government’s Inuit policy that – despite many cruel blunders – did eventually ensure their survival.
So if some of the information in “People ofthe Deer” is oversimplified or just plain wrong (as revealed by later studies that have had the luxury of longer research time and greater research dollars) perhaps Mowat can be forgiven for deciding that reaching a wide audience by entertaining them was more important than academic exactness. His works have been translated into 52 languages and he has sold more than 14 million books.
For more reviews, essays and stories, please visit my website:
Serendipities of a Writer's life www.dennisonberwick.info
While this may be very disappointing - personally, I like to be able to trust the information in a non-fiction book and dislike the modern fashion of “creative non-fiction”. The world as it is is fascinating without need of embellishment. True, sometimes situations need to be simplified in order to keep a storylike manageable, but the problem with making too free with the facts is that everything in the story then becomes a fairy-story. Defenders of the techniques would correctly argue – as with Farley Mowat’s books – that massaging the facts to serve a greater mission is admissable. This is what politicians and lobbyists and spin-doctors also propound. The result is that all public discourse becomes debased.
Mowat’s first book was “People of the Deer” published in 1952. It tells the story of his time with the Ihalmiut, a group of Inuit (Eskimo) who live on the great Barrens plains of northern central Canada in an area now known as the Kivalliq Region of present-day Nunavut. They are the only Inuit not to live by the sea. Caribou (reindeer), not seal meat, is an important part of their diet.
When Mowat lived with them in the late 1940s, he estimated that the Ihalmiut had numbered 7,000 in 1886, down to 40 by 1947-48. By 1950, only 30 remained. Their destruction was due to changes in their hunting dynamics (from hunting for food to hunting for furs), introduction of flour and sugar into their diet (through fur trader contact), disease (probably diphtheria), the failure of their primary food source (barren-ground caribou), and sickened sled dogs (possibly rabies).
It was Mowat’s book, ‘People of the Deer” that rescued the Ihalmiut from extinction. His book made Mowat into a literary celebrity and without its publication the Canadian government could have conveniently continued to ignore these people.
Instead, Mowat’s indignation, his explanations of the ways of the people and his entertaining storytelling contributed to the shift in the Canadian government’s Inuit policy that – despite many cruel blunders – did eventually ensure their survival.
So if some of the information in “People ofthe Deer” is oversimplified or just plain wrong (as revealed by later studies that have had the luxury of longer research time and greater research dollars) perhaps Mowat can be forgiven for deciding that reaching a wide audience by entertaining them was more important than academic exactness. His works have been translated into 52 languages and he has sold more than 14 million books.
For more reviews, essays and stories, please visit my website:
Serendipities of a Writer's life www.dennisonberwick.info
July 7, 2021
People of the Deer
Farley Mowat is one of Canada’s most recognizable writers. He passed away in 2014 at 93. People of the Deer was his first book - written way back in 1952.
Depending on who you believe, Mowat either spent two years in the Barrens of northern Manitoba and southern Nunavut (according to Mowat) or two summers (according to his detractors) as research for this book. The region is largely composed of lakes and bogs with little biodiversity. In any event he provides some tremendous insights here.
Mowat lived in this inhospitable terrain in 1947 and 1948 with his assistant while doing biological research. They happened across several families of Caribou Inuit and Mowat lived amongst them for an extended period of time. Mowat called them the Ihalmuit and their diet was almost exclusively migrating caribou. These peoples lived in the interior and are believed to have left the seacoast of Hudson Bay several hundred years earlier.
In some seasons when the caribou migration took unexpected routes, then starvation amongst the Caribou Inuit occurred. The Caribou Inuit were never more than a few thousand in number but in some years like 1949 and the late 1950’s hundreds perished each winter. So much so that in the 1950s the Canadian government began moving the Inuit against their will. Today most of the descendants - numbering about three thousand - live in several communities along the Hudson Bay.
In the book, beyond the hardships and injustices that the Inuit experienced, Mowat wanted to tell their stories. In one chapter Mowat meets an old Shaman born way back in 1880. Despite Mowat’s distrust of the old man’s motivations he provides Mowat with many tales of the Inuit. Mowat also befriends a man named Ohoto who goes crazy when they misjudge the caribou route which leads to great hunger. He tries to take Mowat’s gun to commit suicide but is unsuccessful.
There is also death of children and an admission by Mowat that cannibalism has occurred in the starvation years. The men are the least expendable and the children are the most expendable. The barbarity is abhorrent to Canadian authorities but Mowat defended the practice.
In the other cases - too many to mention - Mowat acts more as an ethnographer than a straight up storyteller.
4 stars. So a fascinating narrative of a largely unknown people. Mowat gets away with a lot of disorganization here because he is a great writer. I felt that he could have used an editor to trim some of the diary like narrative and organize a little better.
Farley Mowat is one of Canada’s most recognizable writers. He passed away in 2014 at 93. People of the Deer was his first book - written way back in 1952.
Depending on who you believe, Mowat either spent two years in the Barrens of northern Manitoba and southern Nunavut (according to Mowat) or two summers (according to his detractors) as research for this book. The region is largely composed of lakes and bogs with little biodiversity. In any event he provides some tremendous insights here.
Mowat lived in this inhospitable terrain in 1947 and 1948 with his assistant while doing biological research. They happened across several families of Caribou Inuit and Mowat lived amongst them for an extended period of time. Mowat called them the Ihalmuit and their diet was almost exclusively migrating caribou. These peoples lived in the interior and are believed to have left the seacoast of Hudson Bay several hundred years earlier.
In some seasons when the caribou migration took unexpected routes, then starvation amongst the Caribou Inuit occurred. The Caribou Inuit were never more than a few thousand in number but in some years like 1949 and the late 1950’s hundreds perished each winter. So much so that in the 1950s the Canadian government began moving the Inuit against their will. Today most of the descendants - numbering about three thousand - live in several communities along the Hudson Bay.
In the book, beyond the hardships and injustices that the Inuit experienced, Mowat wanted to tell their stories. In one chapter Mowat meets an old Shaman born way back in 1880. Despite Mowat’s distrust of the old man’s motivations he provides Mowat with many tales of the Inuit. Mowat also befriends a man named Ohoto who goes crazy when they misjudge the caribou route which leads to great hunger. He tries to take Mowat’s gun to commit suicide but is unsuccessful.
There is also death of children and an admission by Mowat that cannibalism has occurred in the starvation years. The men are the least expendable and the children are the most expendable. The barbarity is abhorrent to Canadian authorities but Mowat defended the practice.
In the other cases - too many to mention - Mowat acts more as an ethnographer than a straight up storyteller.
4 stars. So a fascinating narrative of a largely unknown people. Mowat gets away with a lot of disorganization here because he is a great writer. I felt that he could have used an editor to trim some of the diary like narrative and organize a little better.
October 6, 2014
The People of the Deer is the masterpiece of Farley Mowat who was one the greatest fact manglers in the history of Canadian literature. During his life, Mowat was quite bitter that his ability to lie and distort was never given the full recognition that it deserved. He was especially infuriated at the praise lavished on Truman Capote's new genre of "nonfiction novels" asserting that his works contained far more falsehood's than any of Capote's.
The literary community in Canada was not impressed. They dismissed Mowat as a talentless writer who produced nature books for children. Desperate to preserve his reputation for posterity, Mowat left vast quantities of his letters, drafts, and journals so that academics would be able to establish the true magnitude of his falsehoods. Once the research began, Mowat's reputation soared. When he was alive the critics noted that for thirty years in succession, he had published a book describing the previous three years that he had passed in some exotic location such as the glacier fields north of the Arctic Circle or the uninhabited Siberian steppes. They assumed that Mowat had often stretched twelve month trips to 24 or 36 months. They were stunned to discover that Mowat's three year trips had almost invariably taken place in less than six weeks.
Naturally, when the critics discovered what Mowat had done, they rallied to his side. They noted that Mowat's lurid and wildly inaccurate tales of environmental danger, destruction of rare species and mass starvation of Inuit, Dene and Eskimos had prompted Canada's government to respond aggressively to every problem. The hunting of endangered species was banned while projects to build pipelines were shelved.
The People of the Deer addressed the great distress in the 1950s of Canada's native peoples who lived north of the tree line. The Inuit and Dene of the far north typically lived in small nomadic bands comprised of 50 or fewer people. They slept in tents in the summer and igloos in the winter. They had no electricity, running water, schools or hospitals. In Following the publication of this book, the Canadian government decided to settle all the nomadic groups to larger centres having modern infrastructures, schools and health services. Native populations have soared, illiteracy is now a thing of the past and the natives are now practicing trades and professions.
The People of the Deer is one of the very few books ever written by Mowat whose value outlived its political usefulness. This is because Mowat did spend at least 12 months in the territories he described which was not something that would ever happen again.
I endorse the reading of this book to anyone able to borrow it from a library. If you find that you must either buy it at a bookstore or download from Amazon, I would advise you not to because you run the risk of clicking on the wrong title and thus spending money on one of his other books.
The literary community in Canada was not impressed. They dismissed Mowat as a talentless writer who produced nature books for children. Desperate to preserve his reputation for posterity, Mowat left vast quantities of his letters, drafts, and journals so that academics would be able to establish the true magnitude of his falsehoods. Once the research began, Mowat's reputation soared. When he was alive the critics noted that for thirty years in succession, he had published a book describing the previous three years that he had passed in some exotic location such as the glacier fields north of the Arctic Circle or the uninhabited Siberian steppes. They assumed that Mowat had often stretched twelve month trips to 24 or 36 months. They were stunned to discover that Mowat's three year trips had almost invariably taken place in less than six weeks.
Naturally, when the critics discovered what Mowat had done, they rallied to his side. They noted that Mowat's lurid and wildly inaccurate tales of environmental danger, destruction of rare species and mass starvation of Inuit, Dene and Eskimos had prompted Canada's government to respond aggressively to every problem. The hunting of endangered species was banned while projects to build pipelines were shelved.
The People of the Deer addressed the great distress in the 1950s of Canada's native peoples who lived north of the tree line. The Inuit and Dene of the far north typically lived in small nomadic bands comprised of 50 or fewer people. They slept in tents in the summer and igloos in the winter. They had no electricity, running water, schools or hospitals. In Following the publication of this book, the Canadian government decided to settle all the nomadic groups to larger centres having modern infrastructures, schools and health services. Native populations have soared, illiteracy is now a thing of the past and the natives are now practicing trades and professions.
The People of the Deer is one of the very few books ever written by Mowat whose value outlived its political usefulness. This is because Mowat did spend at least 12 months in the territories he described which was not something that would ever happen again.
I endorse the reading of this book to anyone able to borrow it from a library. If you find that you must either buy it at a bookstore or download from Amazon, I would advise you not to because you run the risk of clicking on the wrong title and thus spending money on one of his other books.
November 30, 2016
People of the Deer
– Farley Mowatt
4****
From the Forward - On an evening when the sun hovered above the horizon’s lip, I sat beside a man who was not of my race, and watched a spectacle so overwhelming in its magnitude that I had no words for it.
Below us, on the undulating darkness of the barren plains, a tide of life flowed out of the dim south and engulfed the world, submerged it so that it sank beneath a living sea. The very air was heavy with the breath of life itself. There was a sound of breathing and of moving that was like a rising wind. It was as if the inanimate and brutal crust of rock had been imbued with the essential spark and had risen from its ageless rigidity to claim the rights of life.
Farley Mowatt went into the vast Barren Plains of North central Canada to study the caribou, and the Ihalmiut people who depended on “the deer” for their very existence. He lived among them in the late 1940s, when their tribe had dwindled from several thousand in about 1900 to less than 50 individuals in 1947. Mowatt examines the various factors that led to the demise of The People of the Deer in this fascinating book.
He spends a significant part of the book imparting some of the traditional stories of the Ihalmiut people, and when so doing, uses a completely different style and syntax. I felt as if I were sitting by a campfire, listening to an oral history; I was captivated and intrigued. But I still preferred those section when Mowatt was writing as himself. His writing about the landscape is poetic, and puts me smack dab in the middle of the Barrens with him. For example:
There was an absolute and tangible silence, broken only by the fluid dip of paddles and the gentle mutter of water underneath the bow of the canoe. The lake itself was frozen in the dead, unearthly grip of perfect calm.
Islands rose suddenly before us, like surfacing sea monsters. They appeared soundlessly, lifted clear of the horizon, then floated faintly in the sky as their mirage images dissolved. The shore drew away from us and twisted so that its low, uncertain progress gave us no clear conception of whether it was one mile or ten miles away. Angkuni lost all semblance of reality and of concrete form. Its shores and islands had an amorphous quality which defied the eye and left the mind with no clear memory of what has passed astern of the canoe.
The events described in the book occurred nearly 70 years ago, and I have little idea how things may have changed (or if they have changed at all) for the Ihalmiut and other native peoples. I could not help but think about global warming, the loss of habitat, the expansion of technology, etc. in the 21st century. The time of the People of the Deer must surely be past, and that saddens me.
4****
From the Forward - On an evening when the sun hovered above the horizon’s lip, I sat beside a man who was not of my race, and watched a spectacle so overwhelming in its magnitude that I had no words for it.
Below us, on the undulating darkness of the barren plains, a tide of life flowed out of the dim south and engulfed the world, submerged it so that it sank beneath a living sea. The very air was heavy with the breath of life itself. There was a sound of breathing and of moving that was like a rising wind. It was as if the inanimate and brutal crust of rock had been imbued with the essential spark and had risen from its ageless rigidity to claim the rights of life.
Farley Mowatt went into the vast Barren Plains of North central Canada to study the caribou, and the Ihalmiut people who depended on “the deer” for their very existence. He lived among them in the late 1940s, when their tribe had dwindled from several thousand in about 1900 to less than 50 individuals in 1947. Mowatt examines the various factors that led to the demise of The People of the Deer in this fascinating book.
He spends a significant part of the book imparting some of the traditional stories of the Ihalmiut people, and when so doing, uses a completely different style and syntax. I felt as if I were sitting by a campfire, listening to an oral history; I was captivated and intrigued. But I still preferred those section when Mowatt was writing as himself. His writing about the landscape is poetic, and puts me smack dab in the middle of the Barrens with him. For example:
There was an absolute and tangible silence, broken only by the fluid dip of paddles and the gentle mutter of water underneath the bow of the canoe. The lake itself was frozen in the dead, unearthly grip of perfect calm.
Islands rose suddenly before us, like surfacing sea monsters. They appeared soundlessly, lifted clear of the horizon, then floated faintly in the sky as their mirage images dissolved. The shore drew away from us and twisted so that its low, uncertain progress gave us no clear conception of whether it was one mile or ten miles away. Angkuni lost all semblance of reality and of concrete form. Its shores and islands had an amorphous quality which defied the eye and left the mind with no clear memory of what has passed astern of the canoe.
The events described in the book occurred nearly 70 years ago, and I have little idea how things may have changed (or if they have changed at all) for the Ihalmiut and other native peoples. I could not help but think about global warming, the loss of habitat, the expansion of technology, etc. in the 21st century. The time of the People of the Deer must surely be past, and that saddens me.
April 20, 2012
Twenty-first century man doesn't goes out into the wilderness without a flight plan, GPS, satellite phones, emergency SOS beacons, a corporate sponsor. So, we ratchet up the risk level to compensate. Blind climbers on Everest, kayaks dropping down 189 foot waterfalls, swimming from Cuba.
This is the adventure tale of an old skool mid-20th century guy who just went out there to a blank spot on a map to see what was out there and report back. Let's just say he had no plan B. The author who wrote a number of first person sub-Arctic adventures has been challenged as to whether or not he actually did the things he said he did. But the story feels very real and is very engaging. It is a tale of an outsider trying to understand a foreign culture, so you have to accept that the author is struggling with his interpretations and will get things wrong.
I felt that a walked away with some small understanding of what these people's lives were like.
This is the adventure tale of an old skool mid-20th century guy who just went out there to a blank spot on a map to see what was out there and report back. Let's just say he had no plan B. The author who wrote a number of first person sub-Arctic adventures has been challenged as to whether or not he actually did the things he said he did. But the story feels very real and is very engaging. It is a tale of an outsider trying to understand a foreign culture, so you have to accept that the author is struggling with his interpretations and will get things wrong.
I felt that a walked away with some small understanding of what these people's lives were like.
December 29, 2020
A fascinating and meaningful mix of ethnography and storytelling.
November 10, 2017
"...now that the caribou are gone...."
A large number of Western ethnographers have gone forth to study various peoples all around the world, in both developed and developing countries. How many of them were able to write such a powerful work as PEOPLE OF THE DEER ? Not many. Farley Mowat, a well-known Canadian writer, trained as a zoologist, includes beautiful description of the nature he encountered in his two year sojourn in the part of (modern) Nunavut back in the 1940s when that part of North America was scarcely known to outsiders. He befriended some of the Ihalmiut, the caribou-hunting, inland Inuit (once known as 'Eskimos' which is actually an Indian term). He learned some of their language, lived with them, hunted with them, and described most aspects of their lives. A third part of the book concerns his anger at what happened to them. The Ihalmiut suffered the fate of so many peoples in history (and no doubt in pre-history), brushed aside by a more powerful group. In this case, white disease, white commercial interests, white missionaries, and white rule from faroff doomed them to extinction with few white people being aware of what happened. The Ihalmiut may or may not be extinct....I don't know....but certainly their traditional way of life died many years ago and they became 'wards of the state', moved around, led to eat different food, and prey to white ideas of 'progress'. Are there many caribou today ? I don't know, but even at best, modern life would dictate another lifestyle. Never mind controversy. This is a most powerful book, full of beautiful and fascinating details about the lives and beliefs of a people most of us will never see. I found it wonderful, a great read and recommend it to anyone with an ounce of curiosity about other cultures. My edition had attractively drawn portraits of the people he met. The truth (if it is not what Mowat wrote) about what happened up there in the Barren Lands of the far north will be written by others, not me.
A large number of Western ethnographers have gone forth to study various peoples all around the world, in both developed and developing countries. How many of them were able to write such a powerful work as PEOPLE OF THE DEER ? Not many. Farley Mowat, a well-known Canadian writer, trained as a zoologist, includes beautiful description of the nature he encountered in his two year sojourn in the part of (modern) Nunavut back in the 1940s when that part of North America was scarcely known to outsiders. He befriended some of the Ihalmiut, the caribou-hunting, inland Inuit (once known as 'Eskimos' which is actually an Indian term). He learned some of their language, lived with them, hunted with them, and described most aspects of their lives. A third part of the book concerns his anger at what happened to them. The Ihalmiut suffered the fate of so many peoples in history (and no doubt in pre-history), brushed aside by a more powerful group. In this case, white disease, white commercial interests, white missionaries, and white rule from faroff doomed them to extinction with few white people being aware of what happened. The Ihalmiut may or may not be extinct....I don't know....but certainly their traditional way of life died many years ago and they became 'wards of the state', moved around, led to eat different food, and prey to white ideas of 'progress'. Are there many caribou today ? I don't know, but even at best, modern life would dictate another lifestyle. Never mind controversy. This is a most powerful book, full of beautiful and fascinating details about the lives and beliefs of a people most of us will never see. I found it wonderful, a great read and recommend it to anyone with an ounce of curiosity about other cultures. My edition had attractively drawn portraits of the people he met. The truth (if it is not what Mowat wrote) about what happened up there in the Barren Lands of the far north will be written by others, not me.
March 17, 2013
This is a very powerful piece of work and an indictment of the policies of greed and prejudice which have destroyed the Ihalmiut, the inland Eskimos of Canada's Great Barrens.
OK, well first one should know that there is controversy as regards the absolute truth of what Farley Mowatt has written in his books, I guess especially regarding the Wolf (Never Cry Wolf) but I tend to believe what he writes, at least as much as one can believe anyone. Of course this is Farley Mowatt's truth, a person's truth is to some extent only their own. He does have a goal to influence government policies in regards to native peoples, animal populations and environmental usage; and he has been to some extent successful in this. He has also been successful in educating and influencing public opinion in regards to the above subjects.
I want to put a quote in this review from Wiki:
"His stories are fast-paced, gripping, personal, and conversational."
This description is exactly the way I found "People of the Deer" to read. The book also includes drawings of the Eskimo people he got to know personally and spent time living with. I am assuming that Farley drew them himself and they depict the actual people he is writing about.
The book is constantly startling and engaging. If I started to write quotes here I would soon be engaged in writing whole pages of this book into the review, so I won't do that. But I highly recommend that if you have not read this book that you do so. It is entertaining, enlightening and very moving.
OK, well first one should know that there is controversy as regards the absolute truth of what Farley Mowatt has written in his books, I guess especially regarding the Wolf (Never Cry Wolf) but I tend to believe what he writes, at least as much as one can believe anyone. Of course this is Farley Mowatt's truth, a person's truth is to some extent only their own. He does have a goal to influence government policies in regards to native peoples, animal populations and environmental usage; and he has been to some extent successful in this. He has also been successful in educating and influencing public opinion in regards to the above subjects.
I want to put a quote in this review from Wiki:
"His stories are fast-paced, gripping, personal, and conversational."
This description is exactly the way I found "People of the Deer" to read. The book also includes drawings of the Eskimo people he got to know personally and spent time living with. I am assuming that Farley drew them himself and they depict the actual people he is writing about.
The book is constantly startling and engaging. If I started to write quotes here I would soon be engaged in writing whole pages of this book into the review, so I won't do that. But I highly recommend that if you have not read this book that you do so. It is entertaining, enlightening and very moving.
January 22, 2010
I'm interested so many people give this book shining reviews. Did they read it recently, or are they remembering enjoying it back in their youth?
A member of my book club had heard of it, so we chose it to try something off the beaten path, so to speak. But I soon found the book terribly dated with politically incorrect language (half breed, primitive peoples, etc.) and the writing painfully pretentious. On any given page I found sentences such as "The sterile, unbreathing land of winter breathed deeply now, and its breath was that of a strong woman in the grip of passion." (p. 21) Oh, come on!
But I don't think its the dated language or the mediocre writing that has placed this book in the dust bin of history,(or that it should have!) but the fact that Farley Mowat is basically discredited as a non-fiction writer. (See http://www.salon.com/people/bc/1999/0... for a sample rant.)
There are some interesting stories in the books - which might be true - and Mowat's heart seems to be in the right place, but I'm guessing that these days there are better books out there about the indigenous people of northern Canada.
A member of my book club had heard of it, so we chose it to try something off the beaten path, so to speak. But I soon found the book terribly dated with politically incorrect language (half breed, primitive peoples, etc.) and the writing painfully pretentious. On any given page I found sentences such as "The sterile, unbreathing land of winter breathed deeply now, and its breath was that of a strong woman in the grip of passion." (p. 21) Oh, come on!
But I don't think its the dated language or the mediocre writing that has placed this book in the dust bin of history,(or that it should have!) but the fact that Farley Mowat is basically discredited as a non-fiction writer. (See http://www.salon.com/people/bc/1999/0... for a sample rant.)
There are some interesting stories in the books - which might be true - and Mowat's heart seems to be in the right place, but I'm guessing that these days there are better books out there about the indigenous people of northern Canada.
September 22, 2015
As a Canadian, I was deeply moved by this book and the plight of the Ihalmiut people (the Inland Eskimos whose survival depended on the Deer). Mowat's intelligence, his sensibility, his great gift for story telling, kept me enthralled.
He told the story as if it were the Barrens themselves he was breathing into the pages...The elements, the loneliness, the sense of urgency, the beauty and simplicity, the grandeur, the complex solutions to a simple problem: starvation...He painted all this with honesty and trust in his fellow men. Sometimes, I felt as if he truly believed who ever read this book would gladly and immediately, pledge money or time to the cause of The People of the Deer. And I liked that most about him. His beautiful and heartbreaking naivety.
Then, I wonder what I would have done if I had lived in the late forties and been aware of this.
But, the real question remains: why didn't I learn this in school?
True and Free North?
Yes, we are pure as snow...
Snow in Montreal, on garbage day.
He told the story as if it were the Barrens themselves he was breathing into the pages...The elements, the loneliness, the sense of urgency, the beauty and simplicity, the grandeur, the complex solutions to a simple problem: starvation...He painted all this with honesty and trust in his fellow men. Sometimes, I felt as if he truly believed who ever read this book would gladly and immediately, pledge money or time to the cause of The People of the Deer. And I liked that most about him. His beautiful and heartbreaking naivety.
Then, I wonder what I would have done if I had lived in the late forties and been aware of this.
But, the real question remains: why didn't I learn this in school?
True and Free North?
Yes, we are pure as snow...
Snow in Montreal, on garbage day.
October 29, 2007
a lesson in empathy. mowat takes readers to northern canada where he lives among the inuit people. with the development of the continent, their land, livelihood, and population are all disappearing. this book haunts because it doesn't preach. 12 years after reading it, i vividly remember the inuit reduced to eating their boots and blankets to survive the winter. as i remember it, there was nothing righteous about the story, but it was profoundly humbling.
May 23, 2020
This was one of those books that should have been in ever school library, if it wasn't already. And part of teaching in either grade 9 geography, Canadian History in grade 10, or History of other grades, possibly even when we learned in grade 7 about the voyageurs, of the 1700's as a final lead in to what was being or had been discovered in Canada. This is such an impassioned story of the north and I truly believe more Canadians and historians should be talking about this extreme circumstance which traders ended up bringing a downfall to the north. I so wish to speak with someone else who has read this, so if you have, feel free to send me a message or comment on this review.
December 7, 2024
This book really articulates the sad decline of a once thriving Eskimo network through out the Barrens of the NWT. It shows the ignorance and lack of compassion our Canadian government had in its role that led to the decimation of a once self sufficient race of humans. It was very sad to learn about the first hand accounts of the suffering these people endured. Starvation, smallpox and the great pain was the result of the interference into their ways of life. I however felt very astonished to learn about the adversity that the human race can show in harsh climate and geographical conditions.
August 19, 2022
Just wow. The absolute endurance of the characters in this book is mind blowing
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September 30, 2016Before reading this book, I would never have believed it would receive all 5 stars. However, it is truly beautifully written about the death of a people. The author - who lived with the tribe for 2 years to attempt to understand the people from their point of view - did an expert job of recanting what happened, how it happened. He makes a very determined attempt to see things differently than his point of view. My opinion is that he succeeds in doing so.
Though a sociologist, the book is luridly written. It is easy for one to visualize what the writer is experiencing. In modern times, you'd expect such good writing from travel journalist/book writers. Here it is holey unexpected and appreciated.
A wonderful book about the encroachment of modernization and it's mal-effects on an unsuspecting people.
Though a sociologist, the book is luridly written. It is easy for one to visualize what the writer is experiencing. In modern times, you'd expect such good writing from travel journalist/book writers. Here it is holey unexpected and appreciated.
A wonderful book about the encroachment of modernization and it's mal-effects on an unsuspecting people.
February 8, 2018
While its immersive look at the lives of an otherwise seemingly under-documented people is compelling for its era, I can't finish this book. It's been dragging out in fits and starts for a year now and I haven't been able to put my finger on exactly what bothers me so much about it until now. I feel like I am reading the transcript of a 1970s wildlife documentary and not the story of a group of people. The main characters of the story might as well be caribou and not human beings for all the story really goes into any details about them or their emotional lives, as opposed to just the bare bones of their survival and surroundings, i.e. their behavioural adaptations to the north. Perhaps in part because I keep putting the book down, I can't distinguish one character from the other. I don't think it's just me, though. This is an ecological work, not a human story, and it's disturbing.
May 11, 2016
In the late 1940s, Farley Mowat spent a couple of years in Northern Canada (what would be part of Nunavut now). This recounts his time there, spent with the local Inuit. He tells the story of the people and also explains the habits of the “deer” (caribou).
I like Farley Mowat, but (no surprise) I definitely prefer his books when the focus is on animals. In this book, I really enjoyed the parts about the caribou, but the rest varied – some of it held my interest and other parts didn't. I was impressed with his suggestions to help the people at the end of the book, though (and it's sad to see some things still haven't changed).
I like Farley Mowat, but (no surprise) I definitely prefer his books when the focus is on animals. In this book, I really enjoyed the parts about the caribou, but the rest varied – some of it held my interest and other parts didn't. I was impressed with his suggestions to help the people at the end of the book, though (and it's sad to see some things still haven't changed).
June 25, 2008
One of my favorite books from high school days. Farley Mowat is probably Canada's best author. His most commercially successful work, "Never Cry Wolf" was adapted for the big screen, too. "People of the Deer" is about Mowat's time spent studying the Native people known as the Ihalmuit, and their nomadic lives following the enormous Caribou herds and migrations in the far north of Canada. Yes, he gets some "Eskimo bootie", too, so it's not all dry academia.
February 25, 2008
Mowat always has an engaging writing style. I get so immersed in his world. This book, greatness and sadness. Basically an ethnography of the Inuit (inland Eskimoes) and their trials and way of life.
July 9, 2018
Although this story is quite dated, it contains a message about the dangerous costs of "progress" on our natural resources and the people who rely on them for survival.
Mowat is a fantastic story teller, and this novel keeps the reader absorbed form cover to cover.
Mowat is a fantastic story teller, and this novel keeps the reader absorbed form cover to cover.
July 30, 2014
This was my introduction to Farley Mowat as an author. I've never been able to get enough. His passing is sad.
October 23, 2025
Read this about a decade ago and I was done with Mowat thereafter. I had read Never Cry Wolf as a kid (partially) then re-read it right before this and found it kind of sketchy and too much of what I came to see as the old style of romanticizing of nature and history to paint the picture you want at the expense of facts and reality.
This book sounded better, like it might be more fact based, but it was the same thing. Like it is based on some facts, like he met with these people and interacted with them and got information from them, but then he perhaps fictionalized a lot to make it more interesting and compelling. I think that has become less common and I prefer authenticity even when it makes the story less exciting. Here there were a few things where he recounts something told to him by one of the inuit and its so outlandish even he just kind of leaves it hanging out there like he doesn’t even buy it; but then in other stories which he is involved it felt too melodramatic to have happened. And there a lot of simplistic tribe good, white man bad stuff that felt pedantic. We can figure it out, just give us facts.
After reading this and re-reading Wolves I looked up Mowat and was all kinds of stuff about him being accused of being a fraud. I won’t go into everything, but in the end it appears this book was attacked by the government and other groups from the get go as fraud. I see where some say it was proven true and he was “vindicated” but there are no facts behind those claims. Many facts against him including proof he didn’t spend anywhere close to the amount of time in this region as he claimed; at most a few months, not years. Just like in Wolf. His story of this “tribe” is referred to as “creative non-fiction” by actual researchers who interacted with them, and Mowat himself said of this book that facts were not as important as the story, and he later wrote another book on this tribe (though in that one its a larger recognized group others had already written on) conceding some effors and mistakes in this book, while blaming them on the government not sharing information without addressing all the real issues raised. Once again, his book seems like a cute story based on a few things that might have happened which then he exaggerated into a fictional story.
He clearly had a “the ends justifies the means” philosphy with his writing of “non-fiction” which fortunately is less common where sourcing/footnotes, photos, etc… are now the expectation. Again, a cute story, I probably would have loved it back when it was written and been a huge Mowat fanboy, but I have expectations for truth and authenticity in non-fiction. Calling his work “creative non-fiction” is just a euphanism for fraud. 1/5 but should be a 0/5 for fraud.
This book sounded better, like it might be more fact based, but it was the same thing. Like it is based on some facts, like he met with these people and interacted with them and got information from them, but then he perhaps fictionalized a lot to make it more interesting and compelling. I think that has become less common and I prefer authenticity even when it makes the story less exciting. Here there were a few things where he recounts something told to him by one of the inuit and its so outlandish even he just kind of leaves it hanging out there like he doesn’t even buy it; but then in other stories which he is involved it felt too melodramatic to have happened. And there a lot of simplistic tribe good, white man bad stuff that felt pedantic. We can figure it out, just give us facts.
After reading this and re-reading Wolves I looked up Mowat and was all kinds of stuff about him being accused of being a fraud. I won’t go into everything, but in the end it appears this book was attacked by the government and other groups from the get go as fraud. I see where some say it was proven true and he was “vindicated” but there are no facts behind those claims. Many facts against him including proof he didn’t spend anywhere close to the amount of time in this region as he claimed; at most a few months, not years. Just like in Wolf. His story of this “tribe” is referred to as “creative non-fiction” by actual researchers who interacted with them, and Mowat himself said of this book that facts were not as important as the story, and he later wrote another book on this tribe (though in that one its a larger recognized group others had already written on) conceding some effors and mistakes in this book, while blaming them on the government not sharing information without addressing all the real issues raised. Once again, his book seems like a cute story based on a few things that might have happened which then he exaggerated into a fictional story.
He clearly had a “the ends justifies the means” philosphy with his writing of “non-fiction” which fortunately is less common where sourcing/footnotes, photos, etc… are now the expectation. Again, a cute story, I probably would have loved it back when it was written and been a huge Mowat fanboy, but I have expectations for truth and authenticity in non-fiction. Calling his work “creative non-fiction” is just a euphanism for fraud. 1/5 but should be a 0/5 for fraud.
November 22, 2020
This is an interesting, informative, and historically important book that suffers from a few significant flaws.
It's historically important, because it brought significant attention to the Ihalmiut people of what is now Nunavut, resulting in actual political action to assist their situation. The results were mixed (and the Canadian government - just a few years ago - issued a formal apology), but it was a substantial attempt.
It's interesting, because it's a smoothly-written, often poetic introduction to a people and their way of life. There's a nice rhythm to it. Mowat's language is a little rimey and highfalutin by today's standards, but it strikes home pretty frequently. He's a talented storyteller.
It's also an informative look at both the Ihalmiut and their land (the Ennadai Lake district and surrounding areas). Mowat is observant, and the book is unusually rich in lots of little, subtle details that are given a kind of reverence and attention. The clattering sound of caribou hoofs. The fine work on a pipe made of crystaline stone and repurposed ammunition shells.
It loses two stars, because of the author's infamously questionable accuracy, and for its tendency to drag. The fact is that a lot of the narrative of this book - as it is with most of Mowat's "nonfiction" books - is mostly made up. So these are fictional stories being presented as a factual account. No doubt they are based in fact, but a fair amount has been spun. Supposedly the historical and scientific facts (aside from Mowat's theories about wolf populations - which he developed later in "Never Cry Wolf") are not really in doubt, but I was a little skeptical and did periodic fact-checking as I read.
This is me diving into my own theory about what makes a book interesting, but I think that Mowat's arrogance and lack of interest in the truth of the situation robs the book of a certain vitality it would otherwise have had, had he been more factual. One has to have a properly humble and respectful relationship to one's material, for it to really shine through. But that's me.
It's historically important, because it brought significant attention to the Ihalmiut people of what is now Nunavut, resulting in actual political action to assist their situation. The results were mixed (and the Canadian government - just a few years ago - issued a formal apology), but it was a substantial attempt.
It's interesting, because it's a smoothly-written, often poetic introduction to a people and their way of life. There's a nice rhythm to it. Mowat's language is a little rimey and highfalutin by today's standards, but it strikes home pretty frequently. He's a talented storyteller.
It's also an informative look at both the Ihalmiut and their land (the Ennadai Lake district and surrounding areas). Mowat is observant, and the book is unusually rich in lots of little, subtle details that are given a kind of reverence and attention. The clattering sound of caribou hoofs. The fine work on a pipe made of crystaline stone and repurposed ammunition shells.
It loses two stars, because of the author's infamously questionable accuracy, and for its tendency to drag. The fact is that a lot of the narrative of this book - as it is with most of Mowat's "nonfiction" books - is mostly made up. So these are fictional stories being presented as a factual account. No doubt they are based in fact, but a fair amount has been spun. Supposedly the historical and scientific facts (aside from Mowat's theories about wolf populations - which he developed later in "Never Cry Wolf") are not really in doubt, but I was a little skeptical and did periodic fact-checking as I read.
This is me diving into my own theory about what makes a book interesting, but I think that Mowat's arrogance and lack of interest in the truth of the situation robs the book of a certain vitality it would otherwise have had, had he been more factual. One has to have a properly humble and respectful relationship to one's material, for it to really shine through. But that's me.
July 30, 2021
"People of the Deer", 1952, was one of the first major voices calling for an end to the senseless slaughter of essential food animals by the white man’s guns. Farley Mowat also spoke up for the native people whose lives were destroyed by the destruction of essential food animals.
He also exposed and publicised the horrific truth of plague and utter destruction of whole villages in few short months. He did this by joining a dying Eskimo (Innuit) tribe for a few short months, and got them to develop and teach him a kind of “pidgin” Ihalmiut so he could communicate to some extent. Then he simply chronicled the terrors of deadly disease using the very words of the few who somehow survived. He translated the pidgin Ihalmiut into proper English, using powerful expression, and got this published as a book that would sell well.
“People of the Deer” was instrumental in changing Government policy, and Government began airlifting supplies of meat and fat to starving Innuit communities, but I have no details on this program.
People of the Deer also describes this extraordinary tribe of Eskimo (Inuit) people who had the technology to survive in the Barrens in winter. We can examine the difficulties they faced and how they solved them. Then we can compare them to our own difficulties, and this helps put our troubles into better perspective. What really is important in our lives?
He also exposed and publicised the horrific truth of plague and utter destruction of whole villages in few short months. He did this by joining a dying Eskimo (Innuit) tribe for a few short months, and got them to develop and teach him a kind of “pidgin” Ihalmiut so he could communicate to some extent. Then he simply chronicled the terrors of deadly disease using the very words of the few who somehow survived. He translated the pidgin Ihalmiut into proper English, using powerful expression, and got this published as a book that would sell well.
“People of the Deer” was instrumental in changing Government policy, and Government began airlifting supplies of meat and fat to starving Innuit communities, but I have no details on this program.
People of the Deer also describes this extraordinary tribe of Eskimo (Inuit) people who had the technology to survive in the Barrens in winter. We can examine the difficulties they faced and how they solved them. Then we can compare them to our own difficulties, and this helps put our troubles into better perspective. What really is important in our lives?
February 14, 2020
I picked “People of the Deer” by Farley Mowat because I love hunting and just the outdoors in general. I’ve hunted for quite some time and I think it would be fun to go hunt for something bigger than deer. That’s why I picked this book because I thought it would be fun to hear about his experience hunting.
The book ”People of the Deer” is a good book and it has a good flow to it. I really liked how it keeps you interested and makes you want to read more. I enjoy the atmosphere he is surrounded by such as quiet, no neighbors, no stores or even heated indoors. The way it tells you how he had to travel miles to hunt with the Eskimos. I enjoy hearing about all the obstacles he had to overcome to simply survive.
Although I enjoyed this book there are a couple flaws such as, he doesn't get into good detail about what he does, for example when he goes on hunting trips with the Eskimos he doesn't really go into depth about the detail leading up to the hunt.
Overall, it was a good book and I would recommend it to someone that likes hunting or survival trips. It definitely meet my expectations. I found myself really getting into this book and not wanting to put it down. I really did enjoy the read and I would like to read another one of his books in the future. I would rate this 4 out of 5 stars.
The book ”People of the Deer” is a good book and it has a good flow to it. I really liked how it keeps you interested and makes you want to read more. I enjoy the atmosphere he is surrounded by such as quiet, no neighbors, no stores or even heated indoors. The way it tells you how he had to travel miles to hunt with the Eskimos. I enjoy hearing about all the obstacles he had to overcome to simply survive.
Although I enjoyed this book there are a couple flaws such as, he doesn't get into good detail about what he does, for example when he goes on hunting trips with the Eskimos he doesn't really go into depth about the detail leading up to the hunt.
Overall, it was a good book and I would recommend it to someone that likes hunting or survival trips. It definitely meet my expectations. I found myself really getting into this book and not wanting to put it down. I really did enjoy the read and I would like to read another one of his books in the future. I would rate this 4 out of 5 stars.
February 19, 2025
I really enjoyed this book! I found it really interesting how this book is set in the late 1940s and is very time oriented with calls for action intended to be implemented within a few years. This allowed me as the reader to reflect on Mowats writing knowing what has happened over the past ~70 years. I also really enjoyed this firsthand perspective of Inuit life from a lens that completely lacked any sense of being a “white savior”. I’m not sure if I feel disheartened that people have been pushing for preservation of arctic ecosystems including indigenous people for so long yet so little has changed or hopefully that we may be nearing a tipping point given the length and amount of support for this cause. Anyway, I really enjoy Mowats style of writing and the stories he tells about his adventures in the barrens are perspective alternating. I specifically liked his unbiased and open storytelling of Inuit religious beliefs and mythology. Overall, very well written and thought provoking book
July 9, 2017
I picked up this musty old book at the library used book sale because it had a book cover that showed Eskimos on it, and I'm so glad I did. It was published in 1952, but the author Farley Mowat was ahead of his time, because he lovingly portrayed the culture of the Ihalmiut people without belittling them because their life was different Western civilization. Mowat lived with the Ihalmiut people for several years and learned their language. The Ihalmiuts are Inuits that lived in the "Barrens" west of Churchill in Canada, and they depended on Caribou for their survival. There was a lot to admire about the Ihalmiut culture. They treated their children with love, and never used corporal punishment. Ihalmiut people shared their food, and tools generously with their neighbors. And they spent the long winter nights, singing, dancing and playing games. Sadly, People of the Deer, reminded me of the book, Things Fall Apart. This book doesn't have a happy ending, but it is worth reading.
July 20, 2018
In a book that is written in the same laid-back, conversational tone as his other works, Farley Mowat took me on a journey to and through a place that I've never been to and will likely never see. It was entirely unexpected and wholly engrossing to spend some time with the Ihalmiut of the Barrens, whose everyday existence can be so alien and so familiar all at once.
This is not a diary or logbook of his interactions, but a collection of highlights from what was clearly a trip far outside the comfort zone of all of his readers. Mowat carries you along over the open moonscape of the barrens to meet a small group of Ihalmiut, to live and die with them as they surf the crest of the great caribou migration and suffer through the great changes and calamities brought on by their first interactions with white men.
A great read and I would highly recommend it for anyone interested in the Canadian Arctic, adventure/exploration writing and/or anthropology.
This is not a diary or logbook of his interactions, but a collection of highlights from what was clearly a trip far outside the comfort zone of all of his readers. Mowat carries you along over the open moonscape of the barrens to meet a small group of Ihalmiut, to live and die with them as they surf the crest of the great caribou migration and suffer through the great changes and calamities brought on by their first interactions with white men.
A great read and I would highly recommend it for anyone interested in the Canadian Arctic, adventure/exploration writing and/or anthropology.
February 1, 2023
Do I think this is a 100% accurate book about the Inuit living in The Barren Lands?
Maybe, maybe not.
Do I think it's an excellent read that not only introduces Inuit culture (specifically the Ahiarmiut) to someone who's never heard of them, but also shows vividly how colonization and white civilization's misguided efforts drove them to extinction?
Absolutely.
It is a haunting book, because for all we know the stories, the culture, the very -soul- of the People of the Deer may have starved away from the Canadian government's 'band-aid' charity or just blatant exploitation. This book could have very well been a memorial to the Ahiarmiut, as well as a lasting reminder of the sins of colonization.
However, Farley Mowat himself has claimed that the book is not wholly accurate. So take it all with a grain of salt!
Maybe, maybe not.
Do I think it's an excellent read that not only introduces Inuit culture (specifically the Ahiarmiut) to someone who's never heard of them, but also shows vividly how colonization and white civilization's misguided efforts drove them to extinction?
Absolutely.
It is a haunting book, because for all we know the stories, the culture, the very -soul- of the People of the Deer may have starved away from the Canadian government's 'band-aid' charity or just blatant exploitation. This book could have very well been a memorial to the Ahiarmiut, as well as a lasting reminder of the sins of colonization.
However, Farley Mowat himself has claimed that the book is not wholly accurate. So take it all with a grain of salt!
April 27, 2025
This book stands as an interesting piece of Canadian history. The book discusses Mowat's visits to the Ihalmiut of NWT, Canada, and how their traditional lifestyles were being disrupted by economic exploitation of the caribou by government and business. This exploitation had led to displacement, famine, and population decline. The book was received negatively by the establishment when it was published, who sought to protect the reputation of the large companies and government policies. Time, however, proved Mowat correct. Although the book is written in a language and style that is now discredited (he speaks regularly about "races" and their "character"), it was simultaneously a product of its time and well ahead of its time. As with all of Mowat's writing, is is compelling and well written from a perspective of genuine humility and curiosity.
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