Arctic Justice: On Trial for Murder, Pond Inlet, 1923 (McGill-Queen's Native and Northern) [Hardcover]

Shelagh D. Grant (Author)

Book Description

Series: McGill-Queen's Native and Northern | Publication Date: December 2002

Arctic Justice is the story of the execution of a white fur trader by an Inuk. Shelagh Grant recounts how this event was crucial in establishing law enforcement in the High Arctic and documents its tragic consequences for Inuit in the subsequent decades. This compelling and generously illustrated account combines archival history with Inuit oral history to shed light on the conflicting values and perceptions of two disparate cultures. Despite the fact that Nuqallaq was following Inuit customary law in carrying out a collectively sanctioned act to defend the community from the dangerously crazed trader Robert Janes, Canadian authorities made the unprecedented decision to put him and two accomplices on trial for murder. Grant shows how this decision was motivated by Canada's international political concerns for establishing sovereignty over the Arctic and how the outcome of the trial - Nuqallaq's sentence to ten years of hard labour in Stony Mountain Penitentiary and subsequent death from tuberculosis - was determined more by fear than evidence. In what amounts to a social history of North Baffin Island in the twentieth century, Grant offers telling portraits of the people involved, including the victim, Robert Janes of Newfoundland; Captain J.E. Bernier of the CGS Arctic, explorer and friend to the Inuit; English trader and entrepreneur Henry Toke Munn; the investigating RCMP officer Staff-Sargeant A. H.; Judge L. A. Rivet, and others. Most importantly we meet the remarkable Nuqallaq, his wife Ataguttiaq, and the Inuit of North Baffin Island. Arctic Justice will appeal to anyone interested in the Arctic and its indigenous peoples, contact history, anthropology, legal history, and RCMP history.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This is a fascinating story and a valuable contribution to the history of Northern Canada. Most significantly, because Grant has talked to the Inuit, this is the first time that the story of the relations between Inuit and newcomers has been told from the Inuit perspective." William Morrison, history, University of Northern British Columbia and the author of True North: The Yukon and Northwest Territories "Grant provides a riveting illustration of how Inuit traditionally handled dangerous people in their society. She gives an excellent and dramatic account of the trial, the circumstances behind it, and the tragic aftermath." Dorothy Harley Eber, author of When the Whalers Were Up North and Images of Justice

From the Publisher

Peeking through the Keyhole is about transformations in the way we live and the places we call home. Until the past few decades, transitions in the style of homes and types of households were slow and gradual. With today's instant communication, the way we observe other people, other cultures, and other times has altered, and been altered by, the homes we live in. Avi Friedman and David Krawitz guide the reader through the trends and changes that have influenced residential design and construction over the last fifty years. From kitchens to home offices to entire neighbourhoods, they unravel the effect of technology and consumerism on the way we perceive and use domestic space, arguing that the home is no longer a product of pure design but a response to factors and forces beyond the control of designers, builders, and users. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Mcgill Queens Univ Pr (December 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0773523375
• ISBN-13: 978-0773523371
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,707,952 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #99 in Books > History > Americas > Greenland