Minik Wallace

Minik Wallace
Minik in New York shortly after his arrival, 1897.
Born	ca. 1890 Greenland
Died	October 29, 1918 (aged 28) Pittsburg, New Hampshire, United States

Minik Wallace (also called Minik or Mene ) (ca. 1890 – October 29, 1918) was an Inuk brought as a child in 1897 from Greenland to New York City with his father and others by the explorer Robert Peary. The six Inuit were studied by staff of the American Museum of Natural History, which had custody. The adults and one child died soon of tuberculosis (TB), and one young man was returned to Greenland. After deceiving Minik by a staged burial, the museum put the skeleton of his father on exhibit. Adopted by the museum's building superintendent, William Wallace, Minik did not return to Greenland until after 1910. A few years later, he came back to the United States, where he lived and worked until dying of influenza in the 1918 pandemic.

Minik spent his early childhood in northern Greenland among his people, the Inughuit, the northernmost band of indigenous Inuit (Eskimos, as formerly called). He met Robert Peary when the explorer employed men of Minik's band during several Arctic expeditions.

In 1897, Robert Peary brought the Inuit Qisuk, his son Minik, and four members of the Northern Greenland band to the American Museum of Natural History in New York. Although Peary had invited the adults on the trip, it is unlikely they were clearly informed as to its purpose. Some agreed to travel to see new places; others did not want to be parted from relatives. Peary had promised that they would be able to return to Greenland. Soon after their arrival, the group became the objects of study, together with a meteorite which Peary had brought. The museum staff had not made plans for their care, nor for their return.

The adult Inuit soon contracted tuberculosis (TB), a widespread infectious disease in those years, which also occurred among indigenous peoples. Three adults and one child died. (Another young adult, the sixth member of the group, survived and was returned to Greenland.) One of the first to die was Minik's father, and the boy suffered. William Wallace, chief curator and superintendent of buildings, adopted the boy and cared for him. Minik pleaded for a proper burial for his father, with the traditional rites which only he as an Inuit could give. The curatorial staff wanted to preserve Qisuk's body for study, research that would be impossible if his remains were buried. They staged a fake burial for Minik's benefit: filling a coffin with stones for weight, and placing a stuffed "body" covered with a cloth on top. They performed the burial by lantern light, with Minik attending.