Social Science Native American Studies
The Diary of Abraham Ulrikab
Text and Context
- Publisher
- University of Ottawa Press
- Initial publish date
- Sep 2005
- Category
- Native American Studies, Native Americans
-
eBook
- ISBN
- 9780776617084
- Publish Date
- Sep 2005
- List Price
- $14.99
-
Paperback / softback
- ISBN
- 9780776606026
- Publish Date
- Sep 2005
- List Price
- $29.95
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Recommended Age, Grade, and Reading Levels
- Age: 14
- Grade: 9
Description
In August 1880, businessman Adrian Jakobsen convinced eight Inuit men, women, and children from Hebron and Nakvak, Labrador to accompany him to Europe to be "exhibited" in zoos and Völkerschauen (ethnographic shows). Abraham, Maria, Noggasak, Paingo, Sara, Terrianiak, Tobias, and Ulrike agreed, partly for the money and partly out of curiosity to see the wonders of Europe, which they had heard about from Moravian missionaries.
The Inuit arrived in the fall of 1880 and were much talked and written about in the local press. Meanwhile, the Moravian missionaries, who had begged them not to embark on the journey, were busily writing letters and trying to stay in contact with Abraham and his family. By January 1881 all eight Inuit had died of smallpox.
This story is told through several different perspectives, from Abraham's diary, the earliest known Inuit autobiography, and the missionaries’ letters and reports, to a scholarly article, newspaper pieces, and even advertising. Many illustrations, including portraits done of the Inuit visitors, scans of some of the original documents in German, and recent photos of the abandoned Moravian mission in Hebron, round out Abraham’s intriguing and unfortunate story.
About the authors
Hartmut Lutz taught North American Studies in Germany, specializing in Indigenous literatures. He won awards and professorships in North America and Europe. His publications include Contemporary Challenges: Conversations with Canadian Native Authors (1991), The Diary of Abraham Ulrikab (2005) and Contemporary Achievements (2015).
Alootook Ipellie was born in a camp near Iqaluit, Northwest Territories. He spent his childhood and early teenage years adjusting to the transition from the traditional nomadic Inuit way of life to life in government-sponsored Inuit settlements. He died in 2007. Arctic Dreams and Nightmares is his first book with Theytus.
Alootook Ipellie's profile page
Hans Blohm, born in Germany, is an internationally acclaimed photographer, who has travelled across Canada extensively. Canada's North and Northern People have long held a particular fascination for Hans and he has explored by sailboat the fjords of Labrador and their villages, including Hebron.
Librarian Reviews
The Diary of Abraham Ulrikab: Text and Context
Based on the translated diary of Abraham Ulrikab, this book tells of the 1880 exhibition of Inuit people in Europe. Ulrikab and seven other Inuit men, women and children from Labrador agreed to travel to Germany with Adrian Jakobsen, a Norwegian ethnographer, who put them on display at Germany’s Hagenbeck Zoo. The Inuit “acted out” their way of life for “civilized” Europeans who viewed them as primitive and hedonistic beings. Five months after arrival, all eight Inuit had died from smallpox. Translated European newspaper clippings, letters written by the missionaries who had known Ulrikab and his family, and the diary entries of Jakobsen corroborate the events recounted.Lutz is chair of the American and Canadian Studies at the University of Greifswald in Germany.
Source: The Association of Book Publishers of BC. Canadian Aboriginal Books for Schools. 2008-2009.
