Newsletter Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History May 2018 www.mnh.si.edu/arctic Number 25 NOTES FROM THE DIRECTOR increasing threats of pollution, legal and military issues, impacts on subsistence species, and the rights By William Fitzhugh of indigenous peoples all intersect with the present The past year was a relatively quiet time for the ASC, a and future status of this species. The iconic nature of period that gave us time to consolidate and think about the narwhal has promoted media coverage and makes the future. It’s been thirty years since we ‘hung out our a useful vehicle for journalism and education. Most shingle’ in 1988, when initiatives were easier to launch pleasing to the exhibit team headed by Christyna than in today’s fiscal and political climate. Devolution, Solhan was the positive feedback from our Inuit decentralization, and populism facilitated by new partners. Our narwhal book, prepared with the media affect our central institutions and make them assistance of 48 co-authors, recieved the 2017 Polar challenged from many Libraries Colloquy's William Mills prize for Arctic directions. Fortunately, literature. The exhibit the Smithsonian has will be up until July managed to chart a 2019 and after that steady course and has will tour several years done better than the for the Smithsonian regulatory agencies in Traveling Exhibit maintaining its staff and Service (SITES.) This budget, despite overall broad exposure will institutional growth, help spread Narwhal’s most recently seen by themes of history, the huge success of folklore, biology, the National Museum Inuit knowledge, of African American climate change, History and Culture. and environmental protection at a time One major when the changing accomplishment in 2017 Arctic environment was the August opening and its wider impacts of Narwhal: Revealing are receiving an Arctic Legend in a widespread attention. prime space near the Rotunda. Narwhal had Exhibition Narwhal: Revealing an Arctic Legend. Another major been under development Model by Paul Brodie accomplishment for three years, curated has been a new by Fitzhugh and Martin Nweeia, a dental surgeon and exhibition plan for Anchorage. Our loans for the clinical instructor at the Harvard School of Medicine current exhibition are expiring, and most of the whose investigation of narwhal tusk brought this existing collections will be returning to storage in mysterious animal to scientific and public attention. Washington. Aron Crowell has devised a plan based The exhibit has helped create a space for narwhals on the theme of indigenous knowledge that requires in the current discussion of the changing Arctic. fewer objects, adds materials from non-Smithsonian Decreasing ice cover (this year’s winter ice extent institutions, and demonstrates the contributions of new nearly matched the lowest ever recorded), plans for scientific analyses.Kirk Johnson and Julie Decker trans-Arctic shipping, industrialization and mining, of the Anchorage Museum have generaly agreed on 2 ASC Newsletter terms for extending the NMNH-Anchorage Memo- Other activities in 2017 included our 3rd annual Ernest S. of Agreement (MOU), and Anchorage has begun Burch Memorial lecture—this time by Hannah Voorhees fund-raising anticipating an opening date of 2022. and Rhonda Sparks, studying climate change and polar bear exploitation in northwest Alaska. Bill Fitzhugh In addition to SITES’ interest in Narwhal, Stephen attended the Arctic Circle meetings in Reykjavik, Loring, Rob Mullen and others have been working to the Labrador Research Forum in Goose Bay, spent a produce Boreal: Visions of the Wilderness, the northern week studying and lecturing in Basque Country, and forest exhibit that once was a Natural History project. had productive field projects in Labrador and Quebec. As awareness has risen about the adverse impacts of Stephen Loring explored the Labrador interior by canoe global warming and commercial encroachment upon and helped shepherded a vintage St. Lawrence Island this largest forest on Earth, SITES’ Carol Bossert angyapik skin boat from Oregon to Washington DC (more hosted a workshop to identify themes and approaches. on this below.) Aron Crowell and Dawn Biddison of the The workshop produced a rough plan that is being Arctic Studies Center's Alaska Office created the program, circulated nationally to identify venue prospects. Tanning and Sewing Moosehide in the Dene Way. Also looking forward, the ASC staff has begun Igor Krupnik and Aron Crowell finished editing papers consulting with international colleagues about for our forthcoming Arctic Crashes: People and Animals programs connected to the 100th anniversary in the Changing North and Igor reached the halfway point of the Danish Fifth Thule Expedition led in his editorial task assembling the opening summary by Knud Rasmussen in 1921-24. The volume for the Smithsonian Handbook of North American expedition and Rasmussen’s concluding dog- Indians. Our collection volume, Early Inuit Studies sled dash across Arctic America, eventually (2016), a product of the 18th Inuit Studies Conference reaching Bering Strait and Chukotka, Russia, of 2012 that we hosted at the Smithsonian, received laid the groundwork for many subsequent the NMNH Science Achievement Award. Last but not anthropological studies. We envision something least, the NMNH Arctic ethnology collections received like our former Jesup-2 program, a series of a major addition in the form of a beautifully preserved conferences, research projects, and public events large skin boat (angyapik) from St. Lawrence Island, taking place during this period with venues Alaska, formerly in the possession of the University distributed around the circumpolar region. of Oregon Museum of Natural and Cultural History. The move was carefully orchestrated by Igor, Stephen, Last year also saw progress on what may become an David Rosenthal (Anthropology collection manager), important knowledge infrastructure system supporting and our generous colleagues in Oregon. These and many digital resources. The National Science Foundation other activities are reported in the following pages. (NSF)—supported workshops in 2017 and early 2018 identified the need for a centralized retrieval system As usual, I thank all those who have worked with the for the Arctic's highly dispersed information resources, ASC during 2017, including our dynamic exhibit core a more advanced version of a shared web portal. team, advisors, and authors, photographers, and our NMNH’s experience with the Encyclopedia of Life book designers and publishers. Our office assistants has demonstrated the power of such a system for the led by Nancy Shorey have performed wonders: biological sciences. An Arctic Digital Library (ADL) Chelsi Slotten, Mary Maisel, Igor Chechushkov, project would be more complicated but would have Jacob Marchman, and many more. Anthropology great benefits to science, the public, and indigenous Chair’s office help came fromTorben Rick, Laurie Arctic groups. During the coming year, we plan to test Burgess, Zaborian Payne, and Michelle Reed. the ADL concept by cross-connecting collections and archives from the 1881-83 International Polar Year in We hope you enjoy more detailed stories in our the Stefansson papers of Dartmouth College’s Rauner review of the past year’s ASC activities. You can Special Collections Library and International Polar follow our current work online, using Twitter Year (IPY) materials in Smithsonian collections. @ArcticStudies and on our blog, Magnetic North. ASC Newsletter 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS Notes from the Director...............................................1 Collections..................................................................45 Arctic Digital Library ASC Anchorage, Alaska Office...................................5 A New National Museum for the Ainu Indigenous Knowledge of Alaska and the Charles Francis Hall: Searching for Circumpolar North – A New Exhibition Franklin and Discovering the Arctic Planned for Anchorage in 2022 Further Adventures of Charles Francis Hall Glacial Retreat at Yakutat Bay, Alaska, Based On St. Lawrence Island Yupik Skin Boat Geology, Archaeology, and Indigenous Oral Arrives at the Smithsonian Tradition The General Thomas Gage Birch- Tanning and Sewing Moosehide in the Dene Way Bark Canoe at Firle, U.K. Ivory Advocacy Session Firle Place: Visiting an Indian Canoe in British Rafters Polar Lab: Collective Sharing Knowledge Alaska: Microsite Update Outreach.....................................................................59 Captain George Comer and the Inuit Notice..........................................................................14 of Hudson Bay Exhibit Preview Arctic Studies Center Website Change A Sweet Saga: Building a Chocolate Viking Ship News............................................................................15 Research Associates, Fellows and Interns................62 Narwhal: Revealing an Arctic Legend From One Pole to the Other: an Intern’s Exhibit View: Ningiukulu Teevee: Kinngait Stories Summer Introduction to the Arctic A Russian Archaeology Conference in Salekhard After 68 Years McBride' Return to Hokkaido, Japan Up From the Dead: Labrador’s First Uncovering F. W. Stokes Snowmobile Drives Again! The Antarctic Snow Cruiser Book reviews...............................................................65 A Labrador Research Forum: Truth, Respect, Discovering Uummannaq: an Arctic Reciprocity, Humility, and Reconciliation Greenland Community Arctic Circle