"Land of Ice, Hearts of Fire: Inuit Art and Culture" is the title of an art exhibition set to open Sept. 10, at the University of Delaware, home of a comprehensive collection of rare Canadian Inuit drawings from the Frederick and Lucy S. Herman Native American Art Collection. Also on display will be related artifacts and archival materials from Alaskan Yup'ik villages from the Harley and Mabel McKeague Collection of Alaskan Inuit Art.
Until recently, Inuit were a semi-nomadic people who roamed from British Columbia to the Arctic Circle. Although known as carvers of whalebone and soapstone, it was not until the late 1940s and early 1950s that Canadian Inuit were introduced to the concept of drawing.
Drawing, as it is understood in a Western sense, did not exist in Inuit culture until it was introduced by Canadian Northern Services Officer James Houston in 1949 as a "make work" project of the Canadian government. This project encouraged the development of native art forms as a way to bring economic growth and financial stability to Inuit communities. In 1959, Houston and his first wife, Alma, helped establish the West Baffin Eskimo Co-op at Cape Dorset as a vehicle to help sell Inuit works of art.
The success of Inuit art and artists has influenced the evolution of the Inuit from a semi-nomadic culture to a political entity in contemporary Canadian society. On April 1, 1999, the Canadian government officially recognized Nunavut, home of the Inuit, as a newly formed territory. Nunavut means "our land" and its birth represents the first time Canadian boundaries had been redrawn since 1949, demonstrating the respect and success the Inuit gained during the second half of the 20th century.
The UD exhibit, planned in observance of the concluding year of the United Nations' International Decade of the World's Indigenous People (1994-2004) and the 50th anniversary of the first Inuit art exhibition in the United States, will be on display through Dec. 14. It is sponsored by the University Gallery and the UD Center for American Material Culture Studies.
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