Roald Amundsen’s “The North West Passage”; Being the Record of a Voyage of Exploration of the Ship “Gjöa”, 1903-1907
Description
Attempts to find the Northwest Passage—a water route from Europe to Asia through the Arctic archipelago north of the Canadian mainland—began as far back as the late-15th century. After numerous failures, many involving disaster and great loss of life, the Northwest Passage finally was successfully navigated in 1903–6 by the Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen (1872–1928). Amundsen and a small crew of six left Christiania (present-day Oslo, Norway) in the converted 47-ton fishing boat Gjöa on June 16, 1903. They proceeded to the west coast of Greenland, across Baffin Bay, and on to King William Island, where they spent nearly two years, conducting scientific experiments and carrying out a sledge expedition of almost 1,300 kilometers to uncharted regions to the north. The Gjöa finally left King William Island on August 13, 1905 and headed west, before stopping for the winter at King Point on the northern coast of the Yukon Territory, in northwest Canada. After their third winter in the Arctic, Amundsen and his crew resumed their journey on July 2, 1906. They arrived in Nome, Alaska, on August 31, having completed the first successful navigation of the Northwest Passage. This book, first published in Norwegian in 1907, is Amundsen’s account of the voyage. It includes much detailed information about the Eskimo tribes that Amundsen came to know and from whom he learned many Arctic survival skills. Presented here is an English-language edition of the book published in 1908.
Father Franz Van de Velde
ARCTIC
VOL. 55, NO. 4 (DECEMBER 2002) P. 407 – 408
FRANZ VAN DE VELDE, O.M.I. (1909 – 2002)
Franz Van de Velde, O.M.I., a Roman Catholic missionary
well known in the Kitikmeot and northern Hudson Bay
regions, died in Marelbeke, Belgium, on 22 February 2002
at age 92. Member of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate
religious order, cultural historian, author, and genealogist,
Father Franz (Frans) was born in Belgium on 28 November
1909 to Arthur Van de Velde and Gabriella Lanens de Lier.
He graduated from a Jesuit secondary school in 1929, but
chose to join the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, a world-
wide missionary order founded in France. He took his first
vows as an Oblate on 8 September 1930, in Niewenhove,
and was ordained a priest by Bishop Rassneur on 8 Sep-
tember 1933 in Velaines, Belgium.
Father Van de Velde received his obedience to minister
in the Hudson Bay Apostolic Vicariate in March 1937, and
on 26 May 1937, with Bishop Arsène Turquetil, he boarded
the
Normandie
in Le Havre en route to New York, Mon-
treal, and Churchill. After overwintering in Repulse Bay,
Northwest Territories, he arrived in Pelly Bay (Kugaaruk)
on 23 April 1938. Father Pierre Henry, who had established
the Pelly Bay mission on Simpson Peninsula in 1935,
introduced him to ministry in the Kitikmeot region. Father
Franz spent the next 50 years of his life in the Canadian
Arctic, mainly in the Pelly Bay and Kitikmeot region until
1965, when he moved to Igloolik. On 12 April 1958, he
became a Canadian citizen in a ceremony at Pelly Bay, with
Justice Jack Sissons presiding. His last missionary man-
date in the Churchill Hudson Bay Diocese (1969 – 86) was
to Sanerajak (Hall Beach), where he established the Coeur
Douloureux et Immaculé de Marie parish in 1969.
A Canadian Arctic Producers publication,
Candian Inuit
Artifacts
, described Ataata Vinivi (his Inuktitut name) as
a missionary, ethnologist, author, and explorer. An avid
chronicler of many things, he contributed some 35 articles
to
ESKIMO
, the Churchill Hudson Bay diocesan maga-
zine, on a wide range of topics, such as Inuit legends, acts
of revenge and retribution, hunting stories, snow and its
uses, and Arctic wildlife encounters. His article on Inuit
rules for sharing seal meat after a hunt has been reprinted
in several other journals. A project dear to his heart was the
transliteration and translation of the autobiography and
memoirs of his faithful guide, Bernard Irqugaqtuq. He
held Bernard and his wife Agnes Nullut of Kugaaruk in
highest esteem.
The celebrated
Netsilik Eskimo Film Series
, shot in
Kugaaruk in the early 1960s, and directed by Dr. Asen
Balikci, could not have been made without the help of
Father Guy Mary-Rousselière and Father Van de Velde.
Currently distributed in video format by the National Film
Board of Canada, the film series remains a valuable edu-
cational asset to this day.
In 1984, the Government of Canada officially adopted
the Inuktitut names of 313 Arctic geographic features, a
decision based on Father Van de Velde’s efforts to record
Father Franz Van de Velde, O.M.I., at the age of 70, photographed at Sanerajak,
(Hall Beach), N.W.T., April 1979. (Photo: Ron Dervoir, Co-op Manager.)
some 600 names he had collected from 1938 to 1958 in the
Kugaaruk–Taloyoak–Gjoa Haven area. Because these names
are descriptive, Father Van de Velde wrote, “With all the
Eskimo names in their proper places, the country is an open
book for living and travel.” He certainly recognized the
value of traditional ecological knowledge. His painstak-
ingly recorded genealogical records of the Pelly Bay people
back to the time of Roald Amundsen (1903 – 06) occupy
4250 handwritten and typed pages. Photographs of elders,
now kept in the local government offices of Kugaaruk,
came from his vast, carefully annotated photograph collec-
tion, now located in the Oblate Archives in Ottawa. Any
archivist knows how rare it is for a donor to send identified
photographs! His collection remains a splendid legacy for
the Kitikmiut and for all the people of Nunavut.
As the only permanent white resident at Pelly Bay until
1960 (when a federal school opened there), Ataata Vinivi
stayed close to his parishioners, and he became their
strongest advocate when he felt new developments from
the South would adversely affect them. When he was
convinced the cause was just, be it a protest about fuel
barrels dumped in a lake by the DEW Line station (Site 26)
or perceptions of inadequate health care delivery, he was
tenacious, and at times abrasive. Yet he deeply appreciated
people of good will, like RCMP Captain Henry Larsen,
who were dedicated to advancing the interests of northern
residents.
Father Van de Velde was befriended and aided by many
individuals associated with the DEW Line stations in
Sanerajak (Fox Main) and Pelly Bay (Site 26), as well as the
Borealis Mine near Hall Beach. His many contacts with
people outside the North brought wonderful gifts, such as
the bell mounted in the old stone church in Pelly Bay and
some rare northern books donated by the American botanist
Margaret E. Oldenburg. Those volumes have since found
their way to the Eskimo Museum library in Churchill.
Ataata Vinivi promoted the production of Inuit art in the
Kugaaruk–Repulse Bay area, and especially that of mini-
ature stone pieces and exquisitely carved ivory scenes set
on walrus tusk boards. He knew this region well from his
many trips with the
Arviligdjuarmiut
to the H.B.C. trading
post at Repulse Bay. Father Van de Velde’s family in
Belgium and collectors such as the late Dr. Jean Paul
Drolet were beneficiaries of his keen eye and interest in
promoting Inuit art. Some of the finest items he purchased
are on display at the Eskimo Museum in Churchill.
Father Van de Velde had a good, strong stature and large
hands that showed the consequences of many years of
working in the extreme cold. Seeing his striking white beard
and twinkling eyes, you could easily imagine him as your
grandfather. He and his Oblate confreres, especially Father
Rogatien Papion, have faithfully encouraged and kindled
my own interest and understanding of the North. Their
collaboration has been a consistent support for my work.
Father Van de Velde knew the value of the data that he had
collected, and he carefully deposited originals or copies of
his reports in the Archives Deschâtelets, Ottawa, the Uni-
versity of Leuven archives in Belgium, and the Diocese of
Churchill Hudson Bay headquarters at Churchill.
Several university professors and graduate students
based their own theses on fieldwork done in conjunction
with Father Van de Velde and the people of Kugaaruk. He
himself had a special confidence in Dr. Cornelius Remie,
a scholar who has made major contributions to our under-
standing of the religion and culture of the Pelly Bay region.
Father Van de Velde’s latest and last project was a joint
paper with Dr. Ian Stirling, the chief polar bear biologist
with the Canadian Wildlife Service, who has completed
their article on the bears of Simpson Peninsula and their
denning habits for a future issue of
Arctic
. Father Van de
Velde also worked tirelessly with film crews in his home
country to promote the cause of the northern missions.
Father Van de Velde was honoured by Belgium as
“Knight in the Order of the Crown” (Decoration de Cheva-
lier de l’Ordre de la Couronne) in Ottawa on 25 February
1986. He received the Order of Canada award from His
Excellency Edward Schreyer on 11 April 1984. In 1981,
Princess Margriet unveiled a granite sculpture dedicated
to him in his Flemish hometown of Landskouter. Carved
by Belgian artist Frans Heirbaut, it depicts Ataata Vinivi,
an Inuk woman, and the famous Pelly Bay stone church.
Father Van de Velde retired from northern parish min-
istry in 1986 and spent the rest of his life in Belgium.
Sidonie and Barthelemy Nirlungayuk have been faithful
leaders in his beloved St. Peter’s Parish at Kugaaruk since
the late 1960s. On learning of Father Van de Velde’s death,
Sidonie wrote:
Ataata Vinivi always helped people, most of all those who
were very poor. He gave them food and clothing, and
helped them in so many different ways. I believe we all
saw him not only as our priest, but also as someone who
had many unusual skills. He did everything. He was for us
a builder, hunter, teacher, doctor, manager, administrator,
social worker, and sometimes even a police officer. I
remember many things, but most of all his words:
Help
people, and pray for them!
Last year, Mr. Ovide Alakannuark, MLA for the Akulliq
riding in Nunavut, spoke to the Legislative Assembly about
Ataata Vinivi’s kindness and generosity. Indeed, this leg-
endary figure, described by Bishop Reynald Rouleau as
“an example of immense determination,” has left an indel-
ible mark on the spiritual and cultural landscape of Nunavut.
Note: A more comprehensive article about Father Van de
Velde’s life, written by Father Charles Choque, O.M.I.,
will be published in issue no. 64 of
ESKIMO
magazine.
REFERENCES
TANGHE, O. 1981. ‘Nog Even voor je strerft’…ontmoetingen met
Ataata Vinivi, laatste Noordpoolpionier. Maarkedal: Ceres.
VAN DE VELDE, O.M.I., F. 1958. Vitipik of Eenetwintig Jaar
Eskimo met de Eskimo’s. Waregem: Vitgaven Voorposten
Paters Oblaten. (re-issued as Vinivi of vijftig jaar Eskimo met de
Eskimo’s. Nazareth: Schaubroek, 1987.)
———. 1970. Canadian Eskimo Artists: A biographical description of
Pelly Bay. Yellowknife: Government of the Northwest Territories.
———. 1980. Eskimo’s mensen zonder tijd: Met een reisverslag
van H.K. H. Prinses Margriet en Pieter van Vollenhoven. Bussem:
Van Holkema a Warendorf; Apeldoorn: Semper Agenda.
VAN DE VELDE, O.M.I., F., and JACOBS, L. 1972. Eskimo’s op
de grens van oud en nieuw (AO-boekje 1404, 14 April 1972).
VAN DE VELDE, O.M.I., F., and MITCHELL, E. 1970. Canadian
Eskimo Artifacts. Ottawa: Canadian Arctic Producers, 1970 (re-
issued as Canadian Inuit Artifacts, 1973).
VAN DE VELDE, O.M.I., F., CONSTANDSE-WESTERMANN,
T.S., REMIE, C.H.W., and NEWELL, R.R. 1993. One hundred
fifteen years of Arviligjuarmiut demography, Central Canadian
Arctic. Arctic Anthropology 30(2):1 – 45.
Lorraine E. Brandson
Curator, Eskimo Museum and Editor, ESKIMO
Box 10, Churchill, Manitoba
R0B 0E0
http://www.canadianmysteries.ca/sites/franklin/interpretation/experts/interpretationEberLong_en.htm
