Give me my father's body : the life of Minik, the New York Eskimo

Book

Give me my father's body : the life of Minik, the New York Eskimo / Kenn Harper ; foreword by Kevin Spacey.

Summary:

A compelling biography of the Eskimo boy who was brought back to the U.S. by explorer Robert Peary recreates the twelve agonizing years little Minik spent living as an alien in New York City, an experience that culminates with the discovery that his father's body is on display at the Museum of Natural History. In his search for the North Pole at the turn of the twentieth century, the renowned Robert E. Peary, long celebrated as an icon of modern exploration, used the Eskimos of northwestern Greenland as the human resources for his expeditions. Sailing aboard a ship called Hope in 1897, Peary entered New York harbor with six Eskimos as his cargo. Depositing them with the American Museum of Natural History as live "specimens" to be poked, measured, and observed by the paying public, Peary soon abandoned any responsibility for their care. Four of the Eskimos died in less than a year. One managed to gain passage back to Greenland. Only the sixth, a boy of six or seven with a precociously solemn smile, remained, orphaned and adrift in a bewildering metropolis. His name was Minik.

Record details

ISBN: 074341005X (pbk.)
ISBN: 9780743410052 (pbk.)
Physical Description: xvi, 277, [40] p. of plates : ill., map ; 21 cm.
Publisher: New York : Washington Square Press, 2001.

Content descriptions

General Note:: Originally published: Frobisher Bay, NWT : Blacklead Books, c1986.

"WSP Readers Club"--Cover.
Formatted Contents Note:: Foreword -- Introduction -- Peary's people -- Iron mountain -- Arrival in America -- Eskimo orphan in New York -- Minik, the American -- Wallace affair -- Scam -- Destined to a life of tears -- Give me my father's body -- Interest of science -- Very pitiful case of Minik -- Hopeless condition of exile -- Polar plan -- Runaway -- Iron-clad agreement -- Return to Greenland -- Eskimo again -- Thule station --Uisaakassak: Big liar -- Wanted: Dead or alive -- Crocker land expedition -- Back on broadway -- North country.