Taissumani: June 14

The Minik mural in Brooklyn. (PHOTO BY KENN HARPER)

In March of this year, I was briefly in New York City. My first trip there was in the early 1980s when I was researching the life of the Inuit boy, Minik Wallace, who had been taken to New York with his father and four others by the American explorer, Robert Peary, in 1897. I documented the results of that tragic trip in my book, Give Me My Father’s Body: The Life of Minik, the New York Eskimo.

I’ve been back to that vibrant city many times since. This year’s trip was brief, but while there I heard of a wonderful artistic tribute to Minik that was on public display in Brooklyn. When the Inuit arrived in America in 1897, their point of debarkation was the Brooklyn Navy Yard. The artists had chosen to commemorate Minik’s arrival in America as part of a mural depicting the navy yards’ complex history.

I took the subway to Brooklyn and easily found the mural. It is done in a graffiti style. This appealed immediately to me. I love graffiti and am so pleased that this wonderful art form has finally found mainstream acceptance as serious art in public spaces. We have it in Iqaluit – serious artwork on the retaining wall of the hospital and on the side of the city hall. But I was surprised to find Minik — an Inuk — on prominent display in the heart of Brooklyn.

I contacted the lead artist and met her for coffee. She is a young woman named Tanya Linn Albrigtsen-Frable. She told me of the genesis of the project that brought Minik again to the consciousness of people in Brooklyn.

She is part of a non-profit artists’ group called Groundswell. In its own words, “Groundswell brings together artists, youth, and community organizations to use art as a tool for social change.” They beautify neighbourhoods through the involvement of low-income and working class families. Their art brings out the hidden histories of communities, “stories hidden behind walls to be expressed on the walls.”

The lead artists – like Linn – are all educated in fine arts, and have experience in working with youth. In the case of the Brooklyn Navy Yard project, the first half of the mural, dedicated to Minik and two other individuals, was done by fourth and fifth grade students from Brooklyn Public School 307, across the street from the navy yard.

Linn put some of her experiences working on this project on paper for me. She explained that she had first learned about the Minik story during a conversation many years earlier that ranged in topic from Sarah Baartmann to Ota Benga, both individuals from Africa who were shamefully exploited by mainstream European and American culture because of their physical differences. In preparation for the mural project — which was called “Here Goes Something” — the students were given a tour of the yard, and were told about Robert Peary’s association with it because of his position in the navy. The guide showed the students a picture of Minik — and they broke into “raucous laughter” at his appearance.

The instructors were shocked — but recognized that this was a teachable moment. I will let Linn explain what happened next:

“Our approach to collaborating with the youth on this mural was grounded in the intent to make the youth experts in the hidden history of the Navy Yard, particularly from the perspective of the people who have worked here over time. However, due to the youth’s initial reactions, my collaborator, Esteban del Valle, and I decided it would be irresponsible of us to not have a deeper conversation. At this age, youth are beginning to fully develop empathy and are capable of reflecting on complicated narratives. We are also of the pedagogical philosophy that it is imperative to engage youth in the more difficult conversations related to imperialism and scientific racism. We explained the true, full story of Minik Wallace to the youth, and engaged them in a dialogue. We asked, “How do you think he felt?”, and “Why do you think stories like this aren’t told often?”

The result was a transformation in the young people’s attitude toward Minik. “After this conversation,” she wrote, “the youth were deeply moved by Minik’s experience, and decided they wanted to dedicate the mural to him.”

The result is a striking mural in which Minik is prominently displayed, in the same location where he, his father and four other Inuit began their sad experience of life in America. It is a tribute both to the resilience of inner-city youth and to Minik’s own triumph over tragedy.

Taissumani recounts a specific event of historic interest. Kenn Harper is a historian, writer and linguist who lives in Iqaluit. Feedback? Send your comments and questions to kennharper@hotmail.com.