The Franz Boas enigma : Inuit, Arctic, and sciences

188 Pages·2014·3.67 MB·English

by  Müller-Wille

“Ludger Müller-Wille has restored a profoundly important chapter of L
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Boas’s life and allows Boas to speak again through his German-language g
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publications.” Rosemary Lévy Zumwalt, coauthor, Franz Boas and r
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W. E. B. Du Bois at Atlanta University, 1906.
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How did Franz Boas become the central founder of anthropology and W
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a driving force promoting science in public life in North America? To lle
answer this question, linguistic and cultural barriers must be overcome
to grasp the importance of Boas’s personal background and academic
achievements as a German Jew. Müller-Wille asserts that the key is in
his publications in German on Inuit and the Arctic as related to environ-
mental, geographical, and ethnological questions. These writings have
remained largely unknown and neglected in the English-speaking world,
yet they represent his emerging scientific interpretations of Inuit culture The Franz Boas Enigma
and the Arctic. They also provide insight into the crucial period of Inuit
history 130 years ago at a time of European and North American colonial
Ludger Müller-Wille
expansion into their homeland.
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“And what I want, what I will live and die for, is equal rights e

for all, equal opportunities to work and strive for poor and rich! F
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Don’t you think that when one has done even a little toward this, a
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this is more than the whole of science together?”
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Franz Boas, Baffin Land, 22 January 1884
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Ludger Müller-Wille is a Montreal anthropologist and geographer who taught n
at McGill University for thirty years. Author and editor of books and articles on i
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Franz Boas, he has conducted extensive research in the Arctic and Subarctic among m
Sámi and Finns in Finland and Inuit, Dene, and Naskapi in Canada. a
Foreword by Rosemary Lévy Zumwalt
$24.95
isbn 978-1-77186-001-7
www.barakabooks.com
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Fig. 1. Franz Boas, New York City, circa 1910 (American
Philosophical Society)
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The Franz Boas enigma
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Franz Boas.indd 4 2014-01-30 10:27
Ludger Müller-Wille
The Franz Boas enigma
Inuit, Arctic, and Sciences
Foreword by
Rosemary Lévy Zumwalt
Montréal
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Copyright © Baraka Books 2014
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form
or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any
information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the
publisher.
iSBn 978-1-77186-001-7 pbk; 978177186-014-7 epub; 978177186-015-4 pdf; 978177186-016-1
mobi/kindle
Legal Deposit, 1st quarter 2014
Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec
Library and Archives Canada

Published by Baraka Books of Montreal.
6977, rue Lacroix
Montréal, Québec h4e 2V4
Telephone: [phone]
[email protected]
www.barakabooks.com
Printed and bound in Québec
Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
Müller-Wille, Ludger, 1944-, author
The Franz Boas enigma : Inuit, Arctic, and sciences / Ludger
Müller-Wille; foreword by Rosemary Lévy Zumwalt.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Issued in print and electronic formats.
iSBn 978-1-77186-001-7 (pbk.).—iSBn 978-1-77186-014-7 (epub).—iSBn 978-1-77186-015-4
(pdf).—iSBn 978-1-77186-016-1 (mobi)
1. Boas, Franz, 1858-1942—Knowledge—Arctic regions.  2. Boas, Franz, 1858-1942—
Knowledge—Inuit.  3. Anthropologists—Germany—Biography.  4. Anthropologists—
United States—Biography.  I. Title.
gn21.B56m85 2014                     301.092                    C2014-900088-X
                                                                                      C2014-900089-8
Baraka Books acknowledges the generous support of its publishing
program from the Société de développement des entreprises cul-
turelles du Québec (SODEC) and the Canada Council for the Arts.
We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of
Canada, through the National Translation Program for Book
Publishing for our translation activities and through the Canada
Black Black
Book Fund (CBF) for our publishing activities.
Trade Distribution & Returns
Canada and the United States
Independent Publishers Group
CMYK 1CM-Y8K00-888-4741 (IPG1);
[email protected]
Pantone Pantone
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Table of Contents
List of Figures 9
Abbreviations and Author’s Note 13
Dedication 15
Foreword by Rosemary Lévy Zumwalt 17
Introduction:
Franz Boas, Inuit, Arctic, and Sciences 23
1. “... the elementary relationship between land
and people ...”: Geographical and Ethnological
Paradigms 31
2. Early Geographical Studies, 1881-1883: Inuit
Occupancy in the Arctic 47
3. Arctic Research and Publicity, 1883-1885: Articles
in Germany and the United States 53
4. Life with Inuit and Whalers, 1883-1884: “I am
now truly just like a typical Eskimo” 63
5. Pathways in Geography and Ethnology, 1884-1886:
Inuit, Environment, and Beliefs 79
6. The American Period, September 1884 - March
1885: Searching for Scientific Grounding
and Responses 83
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7. Return to Germany, March 1885 - July 1886:
Seeking and Testing Academic Pursuits in
Geography 89
8. Baffin-Land - Surveys and Inuit Place Names, 1885:
Coping with Map Design and Language 97
9. Vagaries of Arctic Geography, 1886: Landscapes
and Human Occupancy 105
10. Getting settled in the United States, 1886-1888:
Ethnological and Geographical Writings 123
11. Inuit Tales and Lexicon, Arctic Ice and Climate,
1887-1894: Assessing Culture, Language,
and Nature 127
12. Lasting Contributions by Franz Boas: Knowledge,
Science, and Universality of Equality 137
Acknowledgements 145
List of People 149
Bibliography 157
Index 185
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List of Figures
Fig. 1 Franz Boas, circa 1910 2
Fig. 2 Franz Boas demonstrates a seal hunt on the ice
in a photo studio in Minden, 1885 18
Fig. 3 Franz Boas as a student in Kiel, Germany,
circa 1880-1881 22
Fig. 4. The Boas Family in Minden, circa 1878-80 41
Fig. 5 Franz Boas and Marie Krackowizer
in New York City, 1887 41
Fig. 6 Settlements and travel corridors of Inuit
in Arctic America in the 1880s 50
Fig. 7 Franz Boas’s planned travel routes on Baffin
Land, 1883 55
Fig. 8 Cuxhaven, last German harbour before sailing
for Baffin Land, 1883 56
Fig. 9 Title page of the Berliner Tageblatt and a section
of the article by Franz Boas, August 4, 1883 68
Fig. 10 Franz Boas (right) and a sailor on board the
Germania off the coast of Baffin Land, August 6,
1883 69
Fig. 11 The German polar research station at Kingua,
Cumberland Sound, 1882-1883 70
Fig. 12 Franz Boas’s journals – June 1883 to September 1884
– in the library of the American Philosophical
Society 70
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10 the franz boas enigma
Fig. 13 Franz Boas’s first survey map of the northern Region
of Cumberland Sound with Inuit place names,
September 6, 1883 71
Fig. 14 Travel routes of Franz Boas and Wilhelm Weike
on Baffin Land, 1883-1884 72
Fig. 15 Northward view from the Scottish whaling station
toward Kekerten Harbour, circa September 13-15,
1883 73
Fig. 16 Noon break at Ujarasugdjuling, Cumberland
Sound, October 16, 1883 73
Fig. 17 Camp at Supivisortung, Cumberland Sound,
October 1883 74
Fig. 18 Nachojaschi, Signa, and Utütiak landing Boas’s
boat Marie through ice floes, Cumberland Sound,
October 1883 74
Fig. 19 Wilhelm Weike poses with dog whip in a photo
studio, Minden, Germany, circa 1885 75
Fig. 20 Franz Boas imitates seal hunting with a harpoon
on the ice in a photo studio, Minden, Germany,
1885 76
Fig. 21 Mark Tungilik positioned to harpoon seal at the
breathing hole on the ice at Naujaat/Repulse Bay,
November, 1973 77
Fig. 22 Hunter, dog team, and igloo on a frozen fiord
at Davis Strait, Baffin Land, June 1884 78
Fig. 23 Visit to Professor Heinrich Kiepert - letter by
Franz Boas to Marie Krackowizer, July 21, 1885 100
Fig. 24 Baffin-Land - the title page of Franz Boas’s first
major German publication, 1885 106
Fig. 25 Map of Cumberland Sound and Cumberland
Peninsula, 1883-1884 107
Fig. 26 Map of Baffin Land and the distribution of Inuit
in the 1880s 108
Fig. 27 North side of Pangnirtung Fiord, Cumberland
Sound, about seven km east into the fiord,
October 1883 112
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