The Afterlife of George Cartwright

Finished August 30
The Afterlife of George Cartwright by John Steffer

George Cartwright was a real historical figure from the 18th century. He was born in England, and spent time in India and Labrador. He ran a trading post in Labrador and developed a relationship with some of the Inuit there.
This book takes the information from Cartwright's real life and adds to it, more fully developing the character. This book was on several award shortlists when it came out and won a first novel award. The premise for the book is George Cartwright caught in a kind of limbo after his death, where he wakes up in a room in the inn he died in, and has his hunting bird there, with his horse in the stables below, and goes about activities.
These activities are mostly roaming the countryside and using his bird to hunt, but he gets occasional glimpses into the real world as it develops over the many years he is stuck in this situation, and has entered that world invisibly on occasion. But for the book, his story is in the past. He makes diary entries reflecting on his life and what he did, all of which start the same:

1819. May. Wednesday 19. Wind S.W. light. 

We also get entries from his real life diaries and the book makes connections and enlarges upon what is there so we get a better picture of the world he lived in, the people he interacted with, and how he treated them. Despite his reliance on the Inuit, and the things that he learned from them, he still regards them as lesser than himself, and that is obvious in a few different situations in the book. His companion, Mrs. Selby seems more enlightened in that regard, but still takes the advantages that the situation offers. In some cases he treats the natives with regard, but when it comes right down to it, he doesn't respect them in the same way he does his contacts in England. His relationship with Mrs. Selby is a different one, part business and part personal, and she definitely wants more than he is willing to give. He is a lonely man, but that loneliness is due to his choices as much as anything. This is a man looking at his life and regretting certain things and seeing things in a new light, but still a man of his times.
An enlightening read.

An Intimate Wilderness

Finished April 8
An Intimate Wilderness: Arctic Voices in a Land of Vast Horizons by Norman Hallendy

To understand the value of this book, you have to know the author's background. Hallendy has spent over fifty years building relationships with the Inuit, from translators to elders, to the elders' families. He was given the name Apirsuqti, which means "the inquisitive one." He is the world's leading authority on inuksuit. He has received recognition for his work from the Royal Canadian Geographic Society and the Royal Scottish Geographical Society. He is an ethnographer of international renown.
This book contains observations, descriptions of experiences, conversations, storytelling, Inuit history and legend, intricacies of the language and the importance of naming, and as with many things, the parts add up to so much more together than they do singly.
His work has allowed him to immerse himself in their culture, learning the words for places, experiences, symbols, people, nature, and ideas. He knows when to listen and when to ask questions. He respects the culture and you can tell he really wants to understand and know what he is asking about. He cares about the people he meets.
While this book tells of places, events, and ceremonies long kept to themselves, his telling of them is not a betrayal, but becomes a trusted, well-researched archive. Due to the influence of white colonizers on this culture, a disconnect has been introduced between the older people who still remember either for themselves or from their parents and grandparents the way things were done, the way lives were lived before and the younger generation who live in towns and lead a more modern way of life. As he says "There came a time when the elders no longer handed down tales, songs, customs, and mysteries. Instead, catechism and schooling were the shape the Inuit child's knowledge and future." This book is a bridge between those two world, to ensure the stories and traditional way of life are not forgotten.
There are so many beautiful and important things in this book and I am so glad they have been gathered up before they were lost to history. As one interaction goes "...when I asked him about myth and reality he explained to me that there are things said to have happened that may or may not have happened. It doesn't matter, as long as they are believed. The expression he used was sulinngikkaluaqtut ukpirijaujut, the reality of myth."
The book includes photos, drawings, maps, art, and other visual aids to understanding, some specifically made for the book.

Coppermine

Finished August 7
Coppermine by Keith Ross Leckie
Based on real events, this historical novel begins in 1913 when two Catholic priests disappear into a remote Arctic area known as the Coppermine. Three years later, RWMP officer Jack Creed is sent to find out what happened to the priests and hires a young Copper Inuit, Angituk McAndrew to serve as interpreter.
Their journey is a long one, and often difficult both physically and emotionally. Near the mouth of the Coppermine on the Arctic Ocean, the two discover the remains of the priests and Creed is able to determine from the remains that the priests were killed. After talking with local Inuit the two find and arrest two Inuit hunters. The four make their way back to Fort Norman and from there to Edmonton for the trial. The journey is long and dangerous and along the way Creed becomes friends with the Inuit and begins to understand their way of life and beliefs.
In Edmonton, the Inuit find everything very different and look to Creed for reassurance and information. We see the trial, the media interest and Creed's own issues around justice.
This is a book that looks at the historical relationship between the white man and the Inuit and about tolerance for others culture. We also see issues related to the First World War and how man treats man. Creed's character develops over the course of the book. I really enjoyed this story and respect the research involved.