Polar Pathways: Robert E. Peary's Arctic Expeditions
1893 - Missionaries
Two modern serpentine carvings by Gilbert Hay
that depict a missionary and his wife
Missionaries were in Greenland as early as the 16th century, attempting to convert the Inuit. The Inuit religion incorporates animism, the belief in the existence of individual spirits living in nature and natural phenomenon. A tension existed between Inuit animism and Christian monotheism. Beyond the religion, the Inuit also resented missionary intrusions into everyday aspects of life. The above images present modern work by Inuit artist Gilbert Hay. The sculptures of the two missionaries portray them in a negative light: both missionaries have sour and uptight expressions.
"First Missionary" by Gilbert Hay, February 1999, Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum
Collections
"First Missionary's Wife" by Gilbert Hay, April 1997, Peary-MacMillan Arctic
Museum Collections
