Taissumani: April 8, 1921 – A murderer deputized as RCMP Special Constable

KENN HARPER
In the summer of 1922, the great explorer and ethnologist, Knud Rasmussen, a man of mixed Greenlandic and Danish ancestry, was travelling in the interior of the Keewatin region on the most famous of his Arctic travels, the Fifth Thule Expedition. Greenlandic was his native tongue and Canadian Inuit called him Kunu.

In a small camp of only three tents at the lake known as Hikoligjuaq, he found a man whom he had been hoping to meet, a man about whom he had heard a great deal. This was Igjugaarjuk – the name means “the little testicle” – a man held in high esteem by his countrymen.

To prove his worth, Igjugaarjuk immediately handed Kunu a document which bore the seal of the Canadian government, issued to him by one Alfred E. Reames, an officer of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police acting as Justice of the Peace. Reames had been at the same lake on April 8, 1921 on a manhunt for an Inuk suspected of murder, and had himself sought the assistance of Igjugaarjuk. The document that he issued to Igjugaarjuk was captioned “Appointment as Special Constable” and addressed “To whom it may concern.” It read as follows:

“This is to certify that the bearer, one Ed-jo-a-juk, Padlermiut Escimo (sic), of Lake She-ko-lig-you-ak, North West Territories, Canada, has this day been appointed by me… one of His Majesty’s Justices of the Peace, in and for the North West Territories, for the purposes of apprehending and bringing to justice, one Ouangwak, Padlermiut Escimo (sic), wanted on two charges of murder, and for whose arrest warrants have been duly issued. The said Ed-jo-a-juk to have all the privileges, rights and appertenances (sic) duly connected with the said office of Special Constable in the Territories.”

Reames had, in effect, deputized Igjugaarjuk.

Kunu was immediately impressed by this man. He described him as wise, independent and intelligent and thought that he exercised a great deal of authority over his fellows. In a land where there were far fewer women than men, as a result of female infanticide, he demonstrated his might and authority by having two wives.

Kunu spent considerable time at Igjugaarjuk’s camp and collected a number of legends from him. On this expedition, Kunu was to eventually travel as far as Siberia, meeting all the groups of Inuit along his sled route. So it is high praise indeed when he describes Igjugaarjuk in this manner: “…of all the people I have met on the long stretch between Greenland and Siberia, he occupies an outstanding place among all the prominent Eskimos.”

But, despite Igjugaarjuk’s qualities of leadership, Kunu found it amazing that he was able to brandish a paper naming him as a Special Constable of the RCMP. For what Kunu already knew was that Igjugaarjuk himself was guilty of a mass murder.

Kunu tells the tale succinctly:

“As a young man Igjugaarjuk had been in love with a woman named Kibgarjuk, but her family were opposed to the match. When he heard later that they thought of giving her to another man, he turned up unexpectedly one day, with his eldest brother, Harpik, at the entrance to the snow house where Kibgarjuk lived, and from there shot down her father, mother, two brothers with their respective wives and finally, when Kibgarjuk had become alone, sprang in, carried her off and married her.”

It is doubtful that the policeman, Reames, knew anything of Igjugaarjuk’s past. It is equally doubtful that Igjugaarjuk put much energy into bringing the accused Ouangwak into custody.

Taissumani: A Day in Arctic History recounts a specific event of historic interest, whose anniversary is in the coming week. Kenn Harper is a historian, writer and linguist who lives in Iqaluit. Feedback? Send your comments and questions to kennharper@hotmail.com.