People of the Deer (Death of a People) [Paperback]

Farley Mowat (Author)

Book Description

Series: Death of a People | Publication Date: December 21, 2004

In 1886, the Ihalmiut people of northern Canada numbered seven thousand; by 1946, when Farley Mowat began his two-year stay in the Arctic, the population had fallen to just forty. With them, he observed for the first time the phenomenon that would inspire him for the rest of his life: the millennia-old migration of the Arctic's caribou herds. He also endured bleak, interminable winters, suffered agonizing shortages of food, and witnessed the continual, devastating intrusions of outsiders bent on exploitation. Here, in this classic and first book to demonstrate the mammoth literary talent that would produce some of the most memorable books of the next half-century, best-selling author Farley Mowat chronicles his harrowing experiences. People of the Deer is the lyrical ethnography of a beautiful and endangered society. It is a mournful reproach to those who would manipulate and destroy indigenous cultures throughout the world. Most of all, it is a tribute to the last People of the Deer, the diminished Ihalmiuts, whose calamitous encounter with our civilization resulted in their unnecessary demise.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This is a fascinating and beautiful book."

From the Publisher

"A beautifully written book...Mowat's challenge cannot be ignored."
-Saturday Night --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 287 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press (December 21, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786714786
• ISBN-13: 978-0786714780
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #444,291 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #62 in Books > Travel > Polar Regions > Antarctica
  • #66 in Books > Travel > Polar Regions > Arctic

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Remarkable first book from promising author!, April 3, 2000

By 

Owen Hughes (Montreal, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: People Of The Deer (Seal Books) (Mass Market Paperback)

First published in 1947 and available in a wide variety of editions since then, Farley Mowat's first and most distant book is still remarkably readable in the world of the 21st century. It concerns one of the stranger human sagas of the last century, that of the discovery and destruction of a remote Inuit society, the Ihalmiut, in Canada's north. The setting of the book is far enough away in time for us to marvel at how little things have changed since. The contemptuous attitude of European man for the aborigine seems hardly to have altered over the years. We are still hard put to understand the needs of the first peoples and how to answer them.

Farley Mowat has combined a fine sensitivity for the natural environment with a sharp eye for the details of man's place within it. It must be exceedingly rare in the history of anthropology that such an inexperienced investigator has taken such pains to get to the source of his information. Mowat lived among the Ihalmiut for over a year to write the book. During that time he witnessed the rapid deterioration of the small group which remained, and tried to examine the causes of their decline. With very deft prose for such a young writer, he points out the difference between the intentions and the actions of the European discoverers of The People (as they refer to themselves) and the consequences of such disparity. The Ihalmiut were exploited in much the same way as any other tribal band found wandering by the early explorers. However, as Mowat points out, this was an exceptional group which had survived the extreme rigours of a barren land (known to us simply as The Barrens) for so many generations, only to be felled by contact with the very race which might have provided them with so much assistance.

The Ihalmiut are long gone from their homeland but their story serves to remind us of our often difficult relationship with the land and the people on it. Perhaps, as a race of city-dwellers, we need to consider our place in the natural environment more than ever. Mowat's work is a just accounting of where we stand in relationship to nature. Nor does he suggest that we should all go and live in the tundra. Yet People of the Deer is a source of considerable inspiration for those now ready to reflect on the unbalancing effect of contemporary values.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Yes! A life-afirming wonderous book!, August 3, 2001

By 

Cera (Tucson, AZ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: People of the Deer (Hardcover)

This book is magic. You will never think about a small band of Indians as statistics again. This book does volumes to make people of our society really feel what goes on in traditional societies. To feel jealous of their solidarity. To feel unloved by our own. It's great! READ IT.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Poignant And Enduring Commentary, August 2, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: People of the Deer (Hardcover)

Farley Mowat tells how the Ihalmiut people of the Arctic have struggled since their first contact with the white man. This is an enduring reminder to us all of how western civilization remains aloof to the plight of races it has exploited. Poignant and powerful, it should be mandatory reading in all schools and colleges.