Eskimos on Mars — a rich tradition

KENN HARPERWeekly World News reported recently — and Nunatsiaq News carried it — that Eskimos had been found living on Mars!

While there is no limit to the outlandish stories carried by Weekly World News, that article presumably stretched their unknown limits. But I was surprised last week to learn that even they were not the first to make such a claim.

In 1892, at a time when there was intense interest in Mars, none other than Edward S. Holden, a prestigious astronomer and first director of the Lick Observatory of the University of California in Berkeley, made statements which appeared in the press at the time.

Noting that there was intense interest in Mars, he stated, “We are simply endeavouring to observe more accurate information regarding the planet,” and that, “We also wish to know how closely Mars resembles the earth, and whether it is fit to be inhabited by beings like ourselves… In my opinion the time has not yet come to even speculate on this question.”

But speculate he did, for he then went on to add — out of the blue amidst his discussion of what was known about Mars — “If there are people on Mars, I think they are Esquimaux.”

And that was it. No reasons given. No indication why the inhabitants would be “Esquimaux” and not Caucasians, or Hottentots for that matter. His comments were reported in, among other places, The Hamilton Daily Republican, Hamilton, Ohio, on August 4, 1892. I stumbled across a copy recently while doing other research.

Is a land claim in order?

The esteemed astronomer, though long dead, could be considered an expert witness.

But before Canadian land claims negotiators come out of retirement and hone their debating skills, it should be noted that Jose Kusugak spoke on the issue of Eskimos on Mars at a conference in Calgary in August. Waving a copy of the Weekly World News report, which contained pictures, he remarked, “They sure look like Alaskans to me!”