1960 Article About Cape Dorset Art

I came across an old article written in the Time's on February 22, 1960. You can read the article called Land of the Bear here.

According to the article there was only 320 Inuit (Eskimos in the article) living in Cape Dorset at that time and art is the main industry. One amusing part in the story was this line "In a land where a man can be killed by a glass of water thrown in his face ( it freezes in flight),..." Not true but if you were to get someone wet enough and then left them outside you could accomplish the dieing part. It will just take a bit longer.

It does tell the history of the print shop and tells the tragic story of one of the artist. It was surprising to learn that even 49 years ago there was concern over the affects of the white man on the traditional lives of the Inuit. Jim Houston says "Their art is the one thing that can preserve their pride in their Eskimo identity. So long as their art remains true and vital and coveted by the outside world, they will be saved from the hopeless apathy in the face of the onslaught of the almighty Kadluna [white man]. After they learn to cope with their new world, their art may die. All I ask is that it will then have served its purpose."

Take a few minutes to read this article from the past.