Franz Boas Among the Inuit of Baffin Island, 1883-1884: Journals and Letters

Barry M. Gough is a professor of history at Wilfrid Laurier University
and the author of The Northwest Coast: British Navigation, Trade, and
Discoveries to 1812 and First Across the Continent.

In the summer of 1883 anthropologist Franz Boas sailed from Germany to
Baffin Island to spend a year among the Inuit of Cumberland Sound. His
book, The Central Eskimo (1888), chronicling that experience is a
classic in the field.

The work under review, which was originally published in 1994,
presents, for the first time in English translation, Boas’s letters
and journals. During that year, Boas learned the Inuit language,
traveled widely, and took extensive field notes. His writings are a rich
testament to his skill as a participatory observer among the Inuit.
Adding value to the text are superb illustrations, a comprehensive
bibliography, and a serviceable index.

Franz Boas Among the Inuit of Baffin Island, 1883–1884 is another
classic that will be welcomed by students of anthropology, Inuit
studies, and northern Canadian affairs, as well as general readers.