The Icelandic Canadian - 01.08.2006, Side 41

Vol. 60 #2
THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
83
during the McCarthy era of the communist
witch-hunts. His most damming evidence
was guilt by association with a friend who
had been labeled a communist and his
praise of the truly egalitarian "communis-
tic" sharing among the Inuit.
As an anthropologist, Palsson cannot
write this monograph without, at least, one
chapter on societal values and perceptions.
He leaves us with thoughtful ideas about
changing social values towards Native peo-
ples and towards exploration. He discusses
the difficulties in documenting societies
objectively. Even though Stefansson
attempted to describe the "real" Inuit
lifestyle, he realized that he had difficulty
in not adding value laden embellishments.
Vilhjalmur Stefansson has a monument
to him in the Interlake area of central
Manitoba. During the early and mid-
1900's, he was frequently written about.
Even though he spent only the first two
years at Ames, he has been written about as
a Canadian, American and Icelandic hero.
Palsson documents a record of his consid-
erable amount of literature in recent years
although, l think, this literature remains
relatively unknown among the public.
This book is a useful reminder of his
importance to older readers and an intro-
duction to younger readers. It is no alter-
native, though, to reading his publications
on his fieldwork and research. Even with
the scandal and warts exposed, he remains
an important and interesting figure, even if
some may now consider him a somewhat
less epic hero.
This book has numerous black and
white photographs of various phases of
Stefansson' s life and photographs of the
many people with whom he was involved.
The maps, on the other hand, are rare and
poorly designed to help the readers devel-
op a sense of where in the North he was
travelling.
Perhaps the last word is but exempli-
fied in the opening remarks of the
Forward, by her Excellency the Right
Honourable Adrienne Clarkson,
Governor General of Canada:
"The more I read about Vilhjalmur
Stefansson, the more I admire him, and the
more I understand why he attracted such
controversy. He was a brilliant anthropol-
ogist and an original thinker, ..."
I»j6draeknisfelag Islendinga f Vesturheimi
PRESIDENT: Garry Oddleifson
Support Icelandic culture and heritage
by joining your local chapter, or contact:
The Icelandic National League
#103-94 First Ave. Gimli, MB ROC 1B1
Tel: (204) 642-5897 • Fax: (204) 642-7151