Tribal Wisdom in the Modern World: From Language Comes Discoveryby Carlos Herrera

The Importance of Language

-Communication between human beings is a necessary concept. Language allows us to do just about everything that we do on a day to day basis. Without language, you would not be able to read this slide in your head. Think about it.

Importance of Language Cont’d.

-With language comes information, & the ability to share that information.

-History, stories, thoughts, all information is coded into a series of phonetics and symbols that can then be processed by other human beings.

-Language transcends generations, for example...

The Canadian Expedition of 1913

-From 1913 to 1918, Vilhjalmur Stefansson along with a few others, ventured into the Beaufort Sea to continue exploration from the previous expedition with spread from 1908 to 1912.

-In 1914, the vessel Karluk, drifted west of their initial route, stranding it in the ice, forcing the explorers to purchase a new ship The North Star and seek aid and supplies from nearby hunters, seamstresses and the like.

The Karluk trapped in Ice, 1913

Canadian Expedition Cont’d.

-Throughout the first year of exploration, exploration of the coastline ensued while at the same time planning for inland travel.

-Due to the harsh conditions of the area, the team arrived in their destination of Herschel Island one year behind schedule.

-Further complications involved the disagreement between Stefansson and the other scientists over the use of dogs for inland exploration.

Herschel Island

-A detailed view of

Herschel Island in

comparison to the rest of

the Beaufort Sea.

The Second Year

-The second half of the exploration team, led by Dr. R. M. Anderson, traveled toward present day Kugluktuk.

-The Second Year yielded positive results for Anderson’s team, leading the team to live with an Inuit family for several months.

-This time spent with the Inuit provided cultural artifacts such as tools, clothing and even sound recordings of some Inuit songs.

The Inuit & their Impact

-The explorers found refuge with the Inuit, offering a unique opportunity to learn more about their culture.

-In order to move any further, language had to be learned on both sides, otherwise the lack of communication could lead to life or death consequences.

-Through the interactions, not only did the explorers survive the conditions of the Beaufort Sea, but were able to learn and trade with an indigenous culture that not many are able to come into contact with.

Impact Cont’d.

-One of the most valuable finds on this expedition was a perfectly preserved partial tusk of a wooly mammoth. This was recovered thanks to the stories that the Inuit tell of areas in the north where the mammoths once walked.

-It is said that the best specimen of a perfectly preserved wooly mammoth was found due to an Inuit legend passed down from generation to generation that speaks of the last mammoth that walked behind a waterfall in sadness only to die.

To Sum Up...

-The end of the expedition resulted in a fruitful bounty and the discovery of three islands previously unknown that were later claimed to Canada.

-If not for the Inuit, this expedition could have taken a turn for the worst. Their interaction with the explorers led the mission to its success in 1918. This could not have been done without the effort made by both parties to achieve adequate communication, a sharing of language.

The Last Voyage of the Karluk

-A map depicting

the overall travel

in the Expedition

of 1913.

Works Cited

http://pubs.aina.ucalgary.ca/arctic/Arctic23-2-71.pdf

http://www.actioncanada.ca/en/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Canadian-Arctic-Expedition_EN.pdf

http://www.cnn.com/2013/07/13/world/americas/deadly-arctic-expedition/