Belcher Islands

Infobox Islands
name = Belcher Islands


image caption = Belcher Islands, Nunavut (red).
image size =
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map_custom =
native name =
native name link = Inuktikut
nickname =
location = Northern Canada
coordinates = coord|56|20|N|79|30|W|type:isle_region:CA|display=inline,title
archipelago = Belcher Islands Archipelago
total islands = 1,500
major islands = Flaherty Island, Kugong Island, Moore Island, Tukarak Island, Innetallong Island, Wiegand Island, Split Island, Snape Island, Mavor Island
area =
highest mount =
elevation =
country = Canada
country admin divisions title = Territory
country admin divisions = flag|Nunavut
country admin divisions title 1 = Qikiqtaaluk Region
country admin divisions 1 =
country admin divisions title 2 =
country admin divisions 2 =
country capital city =
country largest city =
country largest city population =
country leader title =
country leader name =
population =
population as of =
density =
ethnic groups = Inuit
additional info =

The Belcher Islands are an archipelago in Hudson Bay in Canada, belonging to the territory of Nunavut formerly part of the Northwest Territories. The hamlet of Sanikiluaq is on the north coast of Flaherty Island and is the southernmost in Nunavut. Other major islands in the 1,500 island archipelago are Kugong Island, Moore Island, Tukarak Island, Innetallong Island, Wiegand Island, Split Island, Snape Island and Mavor Island.

The geology of the Belcher Islands is Proterozoic; the exposed clastic sedimentary rocks, as well as volcanic igneous and carbonate units record rifting and subsidence of the Superior craton during this period. There are two main volcanic suites on the Belcher Islands, the Eskimo and overlying Flaherty volcanics. The islands may be a remnant uplift of an ancient extraterrestrial impact that created part or all of the bay basin.Fact|date=August 2008

The Belcher Island Murders [Summary from historical essay written by the author of this addition in 1996 as part of the Honours BA in History at Concordia University, Montreal, Canada. In the original essay, the author noted: The use of the word “Eskimo” is now obsolete. At the time of the events described below, the word “Inuit” was not in use and cannot be found in any of the documentation. Thus, for this paper, the use of “Eskimo(s)” has been retained. Many of the Eskimo names found in the documentation of the case have several spellings, for continuity the most commonly occurring spelling have been maintained it except for direct quotations.]

In March 1941 a story developed out of the sparsely populated Belcher Islands that three murders had been committed there. The story took some time to break and was reported in the Montreal Gazette on April 5, 1941. [“R.C.M.P. Starts Long Air Patrol on Triple Murder Among Eskimos,” Montreal Gazette, April 5, 1941. Held at National Archives of Canada, Record Group 85/173/541-2-1/1] By mid-month more details of the murders became known, and while reports often exaggerated the number of dead, the religious nature of the murders was confirmed. [“Religious Argument Behind Eskimo Murders,” Calgary Albertan, April 10, 1941; “Blame Religious Frenzy for 16 Eskimo Deaths,” Toronto Star, April 18, 1941.]

The number of dead was confirmed at nine in late April when police were able to investigate and have a doctor perform autopsies on the dead. Among the reports were those of the murder of several children: "Moses, aged 13 years; Alec Oomaraluk aged eight years; Johnasie, aged six years; Johnny Kokpuk, aged seven years; Nukarak, aged 55 years; and Kumudluk Sarah, aged 32 years, all froze to death after [a woman named] Mina forced them to walk onto the frozen Hudson’s Bay on the morning of March 29, 1941. [NAC RG85/173/541-2-1/1, report on the death of Sarah Apawkok, filed by Inspector Martin, April 26, 1941. NAC RG85/173/541-2-1/1, report on the death of Keytowieack, filed by Inspector Martin, April 26, 1941. NAC RG85/173/541-2-1/1, report on the death of Alec Ekpuk, filed by Corporal Kerr, April 26, 1941. NAC RG85/173/541-2-1/1, report on the deaths of Moses, Alec Oomaraluk, Johnasie, Johnny Kokpuk, Nukarak and Kumudluk Sarah, filed by Corporal Kerr, April 26, 1941.] Testimony from witnesses suggested that, for example, the woman, Mina, was under the delusion at the time that she was God or Jesus, depending on reports. Of the other murders, the death of Sarah Apawkok involved others believing she was Satan; others involved disagreement over the claims of two other men who said they were God and Jesus.

There is some suggestion that the religious nature of the murders came from the fact an Anglican missionary had left a translated Bible among the hunters on the Belchers in the 1920s.

"...the Calgary Albertan reported that the Toronto Star had received details of the murders over short-wave radio. The murders, according to the Star, occurred during a religious dispute, concerning God’s return to earth, between two unnamed Eskimo families. In view of the religious nature of the dispute, the Star contacted Archibald Fleming, Anglican Bishop of the Arctic, for comments. Fleming explained that “it had been many years since there was a missionary on the Belchers who could help the Eskimos solve their theological difficulties.” He admitted that he tried to visit the Belchers in 1938, but there had been too much fog to make the crossing. He did not mention how long this fog lasted, nor any other attempts to visit. It appears that he made little effort to ensure a missionary visit to the Belchers. [See ref 1]

All of those put on trial for the murders were relocated away from the group of hunters. "At the conclusion of the trials, Mina, Akeenik, Adlaykok, Charlie and Peter were all removed to Moose Factory. Mina and Adlaykok had already been to Moose Factory in the Spring. In a Toronto Star follow up to the trial, William Kinmond expressed that the Eskimos understood, this time, that they had traveled a great distance from home. Air travel confused their perception of how far they had journeyed, but “Adlaykuk [sic] , in particular realize [d] that he [was] many sleeps away from the Belchers.” The reporter’s sympathy for the Eskimos is clear in his report. “To judge from the actions of the five Eskimos,” he wrote, “no one would have thought that they had deliberately and in cold blood disposed of eight [sic] other Eskimos.” The Eskimos did commit those crimes, and justice, in some way, had to be served." [See ref 1. NOTE: the use of the word Eskimo comes from the 1940s context of the original news and government papers held at the National Archives of Canada]

The story of those "exiled" from the Belchers vanishes after 1944 and is briefly noted in 1953. "In April 1953, he was reported by RCMP Corporal Webster as living in the Port Harrison area. Peter, Mina and Adlaykok were also living in the Port Harrison area. Corporal Webster reported that there was some local concern for the special treatment accorded to these four Eskimos. Uncertain of the history of the case, Webster wrote that, “it [had] been alleged for instance that they cannot return to the Belchers without permission, and because of this they are entitled to a relief ration.” Webster also suggested that Peter Sala wanted to return to the Belchers. " [NAC RG85/175/541-2-1/3, report of A.A. Webster, April 15, 1953.]

The lengthy gaps between many of these later documents make them difficult to follow. Conjecture suggests that the Belcher Islands Murders, and the religious frenzy that caused them, influenced the building of schools in Arctic Canada. The Belcher Islands Eskimos had been left on their own to understand the Bible; they were not successful and the murders were the nadir of their failures. The best way to avoid a recurrence of the events at the Belchers would be to educate the Eskimos. Schools would be able to help them understand the white man’s religion and his world. The trial taught the Eskimos a valuable lesson about the ‘white man’s’ ways. Without a follow up that lesson would have been useless. Schools were that follow up. It is sensible, then, to conclude with some optimism. The government took responsibility for the Eskimos and began trying to help them understand and interact with the rest of the world. Nine murders took place fifteen years before the schools were planned, but those murders seem to have inspired a hopeful future for all natives. [See ref 1, this is a direct quote from the paper.] [All documents cited in the original research paper were provided from the collected research of the professor responsible for the Honours seminar in 1995-1996. The project did not permit students to refer to any sources other than those provided; that is, no secondary works and thus only the primary documents provided were allowed as historical evidence. The author of the essay cited here can be contacted at rhp96 at yahoo dot com.]

References

#Scott, D.I. An Overview of the Geology of Nunavut. [Online] . University of Western Ontario. http://instruct.uwo.ca/earth-sci/300b-001/seg/scott.htm.

Further reading

* Bell, Richard T. "Report on Soapstone in the Belcher Islands, N.W.T". St. Catharines, Ont: Dept. of Geological Sciences, Brock University, 1973.
* Caseburg, Deborah Nancy. "Religious Practice and Ceremonial Clothing on the Belcher Islands, Northwest Territories". Ottawa: National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1994. ISBN 0315880295
* Flaherty, Robert J. "The Belcher Islands of Hudson Bay Their Discovery and Exploration". Zug, Switzerland: Inter Documentation Co, 1960s.
* Fleming, Brian, and Miriam McDonald. "A Nest Census and the Economic Potential of the Hudson Bay Eider in the South Belcher Islands, N.W.T". Sanikiluaq, N.W.T.: Brian Fleming and Miriam McDonald, Community Economic Planners, 1987.
* Guemple, D. Lee. "Kinship Reckoning Among the Belcher Island Eskimo". Chicago: Dept. of Photoduplication, University of Chicago Library, 1966.
* Hydro-Québec, and Environmental Committee of Sanikiluaq. "Community Consultation in Sanikiluaq Among the Belcher Island Inuit on the Proposed Great Whale Project". Sanikiluaq, N.W.T.: Environmental Committee, Municipality of Sanikiluaq, 1994.
* Jonkel, Charles J. "The Present Status of the Polar Bear in the James Bay and Belcher Islands Area". Ottawa: Canadian Wildlife Service, 1976.
* Manning, T. H. "Birds and Mammals of the Belcher, Sleeper, Ottawa and King George Islands, and Northwest Territories". Ottawa: Canadian Wildlife Service, 1976.
* Oakes, Jill E. "Utilization of Eider Down by Ungava Inuit on the Belcher Islands". [Ottawa, Ont.] : Canadian Home Economics Journal, 1991.
* Richards, Horace Gardiner. "Pleistocene Fossils from the Belcher Islands in Hudson Bay". Annals of the Carnegie Museum, v. 23, article 3. Pittsburgh: Carnegie Museum] , 1940.
* Twomey, Arthur C., and Nigel Herrick. "Needle to the North, The Story of an Expedition to Ungava and the Belcher Islands". Houghton Mifflin, 1942.
* Robert H Pearson, "The Belcher Island Murders: White Man’s Justice in the Canadian Arctic," unpublished essay, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada, 1996. For a copy of the work, please contact rhp96 at yahoo dot com.