Abstracts
Abstract
Through many years of dedicated fieldwork in the Canadian Arctic, Captain George Comer laid a solid foundation for the future of museum anthropology. With the support of Franz Boas, Captain Comer—a New England whaling master with little formal schooling—assembled an extensive collection of Inuit ethnographic and archaeological artifacts, photographs, sound recordings, and natural history specimens for the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, as well as major museums in Berlin, Ottawa, and Philadelphia. This article examines a remarkable segment of that collection, the production of Inuit facial casts—portraits of over two hundred men, women, and children—created by Comer at Qatiktalik (Cape Fullerton), a whaling site on the west coast of Hudson Bay. In tandem with photographs taken by Comer, Geraldine Moodie, and others at the time, these facial casts comprise a vital chapter of Inuit social history, preserving the memory of individuals and families who lived, worked, and traded at Qatiktalik. Accompanied by detailed biographical documentation prepared by Captain Comer, this extraordinary collection acknowledges the significance of personhood, a key concept in modern anthropological theory, and provides meaningful insight into the early social, cultural, and political history of Nunavut in the Canadian Arctic.
Keywords:
- Inuit social history,
- Arctic whaling,
- Hudson Bay,
- facial casts,
- Nunavut
Résumé
Après de nombreuses années sur le terrain dans l’Arctique canadien, le capitaine George Comer a jeté des bases solides pour l’avenir de l’anthropologie muséale. Avec le soutien de Franz Boas, le capitaine Comer – un maître baleinier de la Nouvelle-Angleterre peu scolarisé – a rassemblé une vaste collection d’artefacts ethnographiques et archéologiques inuit, de photographies, d’enregistrements sonores et de spécimens d’histoire naturelle pour le compte du musée américain d’histoire naturelle de New York, ainsi que pour les grands musées de Berlin, Ottawa et Philadelphie. Cet article examine une section remarquable de cette collection, la production de moulages faciaux inuit – portraits de plus de 200 hommes, femmes et enfants – créés par Comer à Qatiktalik (cap Fullerton), un site de chasse à la baleine sur la côte ouest de la baie d’Hudson. En lien avec les photographies prises par Gerald Comer, Geraldine Moodie et d’autres à l’époque, ces moulages de visage constituent un chapitre vital de l’histoire sociale des Inuits, préservant la mémoire des individus et des familles qui ont vécu, travaillé et échangé à Qatiktalik. Accompagné d’une documentation biographique détaillée préparée par le capitaine Comer, cette collection extraordinaire reconnaît l’importance de l’identité individuelle, concept clé de la théorie anthropologique moderne, et fournit un aperçu significatif de l’histoire sociale, culturelle et politique du Nunavut dans l’Arctique canadien.
Mots-clés:
- Histoire sociale des Inuit,
- chasse à la baleine dans l’Arctique,
- baie d’Hudson,
- moulages faciaux,
- Nunavut
Appendices
Archival Sources
- Boas, Franz, 1910 Letter to R.W. Brock, April 11, 1910. Canadian Museum of History Archives, Gatineau, QC.
- Comer, George, 1875 Journal kept on the Nile, American Museum of Natural History Archives, New York.
- Comer, George, 1902–1978 Correspondence with Franz Boas. American Museum of Natural History, New York.
- Comer, George, 1906–1917 Correspondence with Franz Boas. American Philosophical Society Archives, Philadelphia.
- Comer, George, 1913 Correspondence with Edward Sapir. Canadian Museum of History Archives, Gatineau, QC.
- Commonwealth of Massachusetts, 1865 Massachusetts State Census 1865. Massachusetts Archives, Boston.
- Moodie, Geraldine, 1904–1905 “Diary of the S.S. ‘Arctic’ Expedition, October 18, 1904–July 7, 1905.” Typescript, M-9718-34. Glenbow Museum Archives, Calgary, AB.
- Moodie, J. Douglas, 1903–1905 Journal of Hudson Bay Expeditions. M-9718-8, M-9718a, Glenbow Museum Archives, Calgary, AB.
- Stefansson, Vilhjalmur, 1919 “Interview with Captain George Comer. October 21st, 1919.” Typescript. Stefansson Collection, folder 1, manuscript 204. Special Collections, Rauner Library, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH.
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