Minik

October 1897: The Arctic explorer Robert Peary returns to New York from his latest Greenland expedition. On board he is carrying the largest meteorite ever taken to the USA - and 5 Polar Eskimos.

Some time previously, Franz Boas, the curator of the American Museum of Natural History, had proposed bringing an Eskimo to New York to study him at leisure. For at the turn of the last century, the embryonic science of anthropology regarded the Eskimos as a rare species and the arrival of a clan of 5 Eskimos in New York ranked as a sensation.

But by October 1897 Boas has long since forgotten his “order“ of Eskimos. The 10-year-old Minik, his father Keeshuh and his relatives are provided with makeshift accommodation in the cellar of the museum. Within 10 days they have all fallen sick and are admitted to Bellevue Hospital, diagnosed with pneumonia and tuberculosis.

In the ensuring period, the Eskimos commute between their new dwelling in the Bronx, the hospital and the museum.