Sadlermiut
Encyclopedia
The Sadlermiut were an Eskimo
group living in near isolation mainly on and around Coats Island
, Walrus Island, and Southampton Island
in Hudson Bay
. They are sometimes thought to have been the last remnants of the Dorset culture
as they had preserved a distinct culture and dialect from the mainland Inuit
. However, their culture and local traditions seem to have combined elements of both the Dorset and Thule
societies, which may indicate otherwise.
, anchored off Cape Pembroke
on Coats Island in Hudson Bay. The whalers
then discovered a band of Eskimos who were said to have spoken a "strange dialect" and were called Sadlermiut.
Since then, the Sadlermiut continued to establish contact with Westerners. However, as with many North America
n aboriginals
, the Sadlermiut were often susceptible to Western diseases. By 1896, there were only 70 of them remaining. Then, in the fall of 1902, the British
trading/whaling vessel named the Active had made a stop at Cape Low, Southampton Island. It is said that some of the Sadlermiut caught a disease, possibly an influenza
, typhoid
or typhus
, from a sick sailor aboard the Active, which then spread to the entire community. By winter 1902-03, the entire Sadlermiut population had died as a result.
In 1954 and 1955, Henry B. Collins of the Smithsonian Institution
studied Eskimo house ruins in the Canadian Arctic
. He determined that the ruins found at Native Point
were characteristic of Sadlermiut culture which had once been quite extensive. He also found evidence that the Sadlermiut were the last remnants of the Dorset culture. Recent genetic research has, moreover, supported the continuity between Sadlermiut and the Dorset peoples.
groups. Because of this, various theories were established in order to try and explain the Sadlermiut's cultural
differences. One of the such tries to establish a clear link between the Sadlermiut as direct descendants of the Dorset culture. A second explains that rather than being related to the Dorset, the Sadlermiut were in fact descendants of the Thule, whose geographically isolated culture would have developed idiosyncratically from the mainland Thule culture. A third theory indicates that the Sadlermiut did not necessarily belong to either group, but because of intermarriage, their roots may have in fact been part of both Dorset and Thule cultures.
In recent years, human mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) research on skeletal remains has provided a greater insight into the genetic relationship between the Sadlermiut and various other related ethnic groups. As it turns out, the Sadlermiut show the presence of both haplogroups A
(46%) and D
(54%), attributed to the Thule (A 100%) and Dorset (D 100%) cultures respectively. This evidence, along with statistical differences, suggests that the Sadlermiut would have been remnants of the Dorset culture, with more recent gene flow from the Thule, providing further evidence for a cultural displacement between the two groups approximately one thousand years ago. Similarly, the same percentage of the presence of both haplogroup A and D was discovered among paleo-Aleut skeletal remains, while it also discovered D 27% and A 73% among the "Neo-Aleut" population. This inconsistency may be attributed to the fact that a population displacement did not occur within the Aleutian Islands between the Dorset and Thule transition, meaning that the Sadlermiut may have not in fact been the very last remnants of the Dorset culture.
hunting, although they also hunted seals
, polar bear
s, and walrus
es. Unlike the mainland Inuit, the Sadlermiut were reported to show very little interest in hunting whales and trapping and were thus of little use to traders who frequented Coral Harbour. In addition, the Sadlermiut often kept a "vigilant distance" between them and the traders, the explorers and the Aivilingmiut
. This may be in part due to historical confrontations with the Aivilingmiut who sought Southampton island for its prosperous whaling potential, and the Dene
peoples who moved Northwards during the summer in pursuit of caribou.
Eskimo
Eskimos or Inuit–Yupik peoples are indigenous peoples who have traditionally inhabited the circumpolar region from eastern Siberia , across Alaska , Canada, and Greenland....
group living in near isolation mainly on and around Coats Island
Coats Island
Coats Island lies at the northern end of Hudson Bay in the Kivalliq Region of Nunavut. At in size, it is the 107th largest island in the world, and Canada's 24th largest island....
, Walrus Island, and Southampton Island
Southampton Island
Southampton Island is a large island at the entrance to Hudson Bay at Foxe Basin. One of the larger members of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, Southampton Island is part of the Kivalliq Region in Nunavut, Canada. The area of the island is stated as by Statistics Canada . It is the 34th largest...
in Hudson Bay
Hudson Bay
Hudson Bay , sometimes called Hudson's Bay, is a large body of saltwater in northeastern Canada. It drains a very large area, about , that includes parts of Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Alberta, most of Manitoba, southeastern Nunavut, as well as parts of North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota,...
. They are sometimes thought to have been the last remnants of the Dorset culture
Dorset culture
The Dorset culture was a Paleo-Eskimo culture that preceded the Inuit culture in Arctic North America. It has been defined as having four phases, with distinct technology related to the people's hunting and tool making...
as they had preserved a distinct culture and dialect from the mainland Inuit
Inuit
The Inuit are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions of Canada , Denmark , Russia and the United States . Inuit means “the people” in the Inuktitut language...
. However, their culture and local traditions seem to have combined elements of both the Dorset and Thule
Thule people
The Thule or proto-Inuit were the ancestors of all modern Inuit. They developed in coastal Alaska by AD 1000 and expanded eastwards across Canada, reaching Greenland by the 13th century. In the process, they replaced people of the earlier Dorset culture that had previously inhabited the region...
societies, which may indicate otherwise.
History
In 1824, HMS Griper, under Captain George Francis LyonGeorge Francis Lyon
George Francis Lyon was a rare combination of Arctic and African explorer. By all accounts a fun loving extrovert, he also managed to be a competent British Naval Officer, Commander, explorer, artist and socialite...
, anchored off Cape Pembroke
Cape Pembroke (Nunavut)
Cape Pembroke is an uninhabited headland at the northeastern tip of Coats Island in northern Hudson Bay within the Kivalliq Region of Nunavut, Canada.-Geography:...
on Coats Island in Hudson Bay. The whalers
Whaling
Whaling is the hunting of whales mainly for meat and oil. Its earliest forms date to at least 3000 BC. Various coastal communities have long histories of sustenance whaling and harvesting beached whales...
then discovered a band of Eskimos who were said to have spoken a "strange dialect" and were called Sadlermiut.
Since then, the Sadlermiut continued to establish contact with Westerners. However, as with many North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
n aboriginals
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
, the Sadlermiut were often susceptible to Western diseases. By 1896, there were only 70 of them remaining. Then, in the fall of 1902, the British
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
trading/whaling vessel named the Active had made a stop at Cape Low, Southampton Island. It is said that some of the Sadlermiut caught a disease, possibly an influenza
Influenza
Influenza, commonly referred to as the flu, is an infectious disease caused by RNA viruses of the family Orthomyxoviridae , that affects birds and mammals...
, typhoid
Typhoid fever
Typhoid fever, also known as Typhoid, is a common worldwide bacterial disease, transmitted by the ingestion of food or water contaminated with the feces of an infected person, which contain the bacterium Salmonella enterica, serovar Typhi...
or typhus
Typhus
Epidemic typhus is a form of typhus so named because the disease often causes epidemics following wars and natural disasters...
, from a sick sailor aboard the Active, which then spread to the entire community. By winter 1902-03, the entire Sadlermiut population had died as a result.
In 1954 and 1955, Henry B. Collins of the Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
studied Eskimo house ruins in the Canadian Arctic
Arctic
The Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...
. He determined that the ruins found at Native Point
Native Point
Native Point is a peninsula in Kivalliq Region, Nunavut, Canada. It is located on Southampton Island's Bell Peninsula at the mouth of Native Bay.-Archaeological site:...
were characteristic of Sadlermiut culture which had once been quite extensive. He also found evidence that the Sadlermiut were the last remnants of the Dorset culture. Recent genetic research has, moreover, supported the continuity between Sadlermiut and the Dorset peoples.
Origins
The Sadlermiut are most often cited for having maintained a unique culture and dialect apart from other Inuit, similar to the Unangam (Aleut), which is principally the result of an adaptation to environmental and historical constraints, whereas they may have had at least some genetic influx from paleo-EskimoPaleo-Eskimo
The Paleo-Eskimo were the peoples who inhabited the Arctic region from Chukotka in present-day Russia across North America to Greenland prior to the rise of the modern Inuit and/or Eskimo and related cultures...
groups. Because of this, various theories were established in order to try and explain the Sadlermiut's cultural
Culture
Culture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...
differences. One of the such tries to establish a clear link between the Sadlermiut as direct descendants of the Dorset culture. A second explains that rather than being related to the Dorset, the Sadlermiut were in fact descendants of the Thule, whose geographically isolated culture would have developed idiosyncratically from the mainland Thule culture. A third theory indicates that the Sadlermiut did not necessarily belong to either group, but because of intermarriage, their roots may have in fact been part of both Dorset and Thule cultures.
In recent years, human mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) research on skeletal remains has provided a greater insight into the genetic relationship between the Sadlermiut and various other related ethnic groups. As it turns out, the Sadlermiut show the presence of both haplogroups A
Haplogroup A (mtDNA)
In human mitochondrial genetics, Haplogroup A is a human mitochondrial DNA haplogroup.-Origin:Haplogroup A is believed to have arisen in Asia some 30,000-50,000 years before present...
(46%) and D
Haplogroup D (mtDNA)
In human mitochondrial genetics, Haplogroup D is a human mitochondrial DNA haplogroup.-Origin:Haplogroup D is believed to have arisen in Asia some 48,000 years before present. It is a descendant haplogroup of haplogroup M.-Distribution:...
(54%), attributed to the Thule (A 100%) and Dorset (D 100%) cultures respectively. This evidence, along with statistical differences, suggests that the Sadlermiut would have been remnants of the Dorset culture, with more recent gene flow from the Thule, providing further evidence for a cultural displacement between the two groups approximately one thousand years ago. Similarly, the same percentage of the presence of both haplogroup A and D was discovered among paleo-Aleut skeletal remains, while it also discovered D 27% and A 73% among the "Neo-Aleut" population. This inconsistency may be attributed to the fact that a population displacement did not occur within the Aleutian Islands between the Dorset and Thule transition, meaning that the Sadlermiut may have not in fact been the very last remnants of the Dorset culture.
Lifestyle
The Sadlermiut were a hunter–gatherer people whose subsistence relied primarily on fishing and caribouReindeer
The reindeer , also known as the caribou in North America, is a deer from the Arctic and Subarctic, including both resident and migratory populations. While overall widespread and numerous, some of its subspecies are rare and one has already gone extinct.Reindeer vary considerably in color and size...
hunting, although they also hunted seals
Ringed Seal
The ringed seal , also known as the jar seal and as netsik or nattiq by the Inuit, is an earless seal inhabiting the Arctic and sub-Arctic regions...
, polar bear
Polar Bear
The polar bear is a bear native largely within the Arctic Circle encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. It is the world's largest land carnivore and also the largest bear, together with the omnivorous Kodiak Bear, which is approximately the same size...
s, and walrus
Walrus
The walrus is a large flippered marine mammal with a discontinuous circumpolar distribution in the Arctic Ocean and sub-Arctic seas of the Northern Hemisphere. The walrus is the only living species in the Odobenidae family and Odobenus genus. It is subdivided into three subspecies: the Atlantic...
es. Unlike the mainland Inuit, the Sadlermiut were reported to show very little interest in hunting whales and trapping and were thus of little use to traders who frequented Coral Harbour. In addition, the Sadlermiut often kept a "vigilant distance" between them and the traders, the explorers and the Aivilingmiut
Aivilingmiut
The Aivilingmiut are an Inuit people who traditionally have resided north of Hudson Bay in Canada, near Naujaat , Chesterfield Inlet, Southampton Island, and Cape Fullerton. They are descendants of the Thule people and are considered a southern subgroup of the Iglulik Inuit...
. This may be in part due to historical confrontations with the Aivilingmiut who sought Southampton island for its prosperous whaling potential, and the Dene
Dene
The Dene are an aboriginal group of First Nations who live in the northern boreal and Arctic regions of Canada. The Dené speak Northern Athabaskan languages. Dene is the common Athabaskan word for "people" . The term "Dene" has two usages...
peoples who moved Northwards during the summer in pursuit of caribou.
External links
- In the bones of the world at the Nuntsiaq News website.
- Article on the Sadlermiut from the Canadian encyclopedia
- Dorset Paleoeskimo Culture at Civilization.ca.
- The Way West: Blocked Passage, by John N. Harris
- Tooth wear and sexual division of labour in an Inuit population, by Shannon Raye Wood