Suchergebnisse

In the tragic death at the age of thirty-seven of Don Foote, the Institute has lost one of its more recent active Fellows, the polar world has lost a vital force in geographical research, and his friends have lost a well-loved man. One is agonised by the stroke of fate which permits a man to live life dangerously in the Arctic, travelling by dog team, tossing in small boats, walking through sub-zero blizzards, and then allows him to be struck down by that modern civilised killer, the automobile. . Don was a product of Dartmouth College, which above all institutions in the United States has given so much to northern enterprise, including the first Executive Director of the Institute, and many subsequent Governors and Fellows. From there, we know, come not only well-trained and intelligent graduates, such as other American Universities produce, but above all real men. Don was such a man, powerful physically, a well-rounded human person, a leader who led by his personality rather than by his intellectual status which was indeed high. His early research work, stimulated by Dr. Trevor Lloyd, was in far northern Europe. He was a Summer Scholar at the University of Oslo and spent two further years travelling and working in high subarctic Scandinavia and Spitsbergen. Then he came to McGill University, where as a student taking higher degrees, and later as a member of staff, he spent the best part of ten years, and became, despite his youth, the doyen of arctic studies in the field of Human Geography. During this time his areas of research lay in Alaska and later Baffin Island. In Alaska his prime concern was with the economic base of the Eskimo hunter, caribou, whales, bears and seals. As a dedicated conservationist he was appointed in 1966 by the Canadian Government to head an Area Economic Survey of Baffin Island, and two years later under the International Biological Programme to study the 'adaptability' of the Igloolik people. Then came a sabbatical leave to join the University of Alaska's social research programme; an assignment tragically cut short. We at McGill University had missed him badly during his absence, and were looking forward to his return in 1969 to rejuvenate, as he could so well do, the basic elementary course in geography. In these days of sometimes difficult student-staff relationships Don, with his immensely sympathetic personality, was a force for mutual respect and a generator of enthusiasm. The Fellows of the Arctic Institute offer their profound sympathy to his artist wife Berit and their young son, whose father was such a fine and friendly man.

Canada's most distinguished anthropologist, Dr. Diamond Jenness, formerly Chief of the Division of Anthropology, National Museums of Canada, and Honorary Associate of the Arctic Institute of North America, died peacefully at his home in the Gatineau Hills near Ottawa on 29 November, 1969. He was one of that rapidly-vanishing, virtually extinct kind - the all round anthropologist, who, working seriously, turned out first-class publications in all four major branches of the discipline: ethnology, linguistics, archaeology, and physical anthropology. One must also add a fifth: applied anthropology, a fitting designation for the series of monographs on Eskimo administration in Alaska, Canada, and Greenland which he wrote after his retirement and which were published by the Arctic Institute of North America. . [In response to an invitation to join Stefansson Arctic Expedition and study Eskimos for three years, Jenness found himself a member of the Southern Party with an assignment to study the Copper Eskimos around Coronation Gulf. These plans were interrupted due to the presence of sea ice.] On 30 September, Stefansson, with his secretary Burt McConnell, Jenness, two Eskimos, and the expedition's photographer G.H. Wilkins (later Sir Hubert Wilkins), left the Karluk near the mouth of the Colville River to hunt caribou and lay in a supply of fresh meat when it had become apparent that the ship, immobilized in the ice, could proceed no further. With two sleds, twelve dogs and food for twelve days the party set out for the mainland, but they never saw the Karluk again, for a week or so later the unfortunate vessel began her final drift westward. This was the inauspicious beginning of Jenness' arctic career. Few young anthropologists have faced such difficulties in beginning field-work in a new and unfamiliar area; yet none, surely, has emerged from the test with a more brilliant record of work accomplished. . Jenness' first winter's field-work on the Arctic coast of Alaska led to [an] impressive list of publications . conducted under conditions that many an ethnographer would have found intolerable. . Scarcely a hint of these personal experiences of his first winter in the Arctic will be found in Jenness' anthropological writings. They were reserved for his retrospective volume Dawn in Arctic Alaska (1957) which he wrote while on a Gugenheim scholarship in 1954, some years after his retirement. . Jenness' first year in the Arctic ended in July 1914 when the Expedition's schooners left Camden Bay and sailed eastward to Dolphin and Union Strait where he was to meet with another though very different, Eskimo people named by Stefansson the Copper Eskimos, most of whom, before Stefansson worked among them in 1910-1911, had never seen a white man. . To obtain a faithful picture of the life of the Copper Eskimos Jenness chose an approach that in those days was not often employed by ethnologists. He entered into their life directly, as one of them. He attached himself to an Eskimo family and became the adopted son of Ikpukhuak, one of the foremost hunters and respected leaders of the Puivlik tribe of southwest Victoria Island, and his wife Higilak (Ice House), who was not only proficient in the ordinary and burdensome duties of an Eskimo wife but was also a shaman in her own right, a talent that saved Jenness from a local murder charge. Jenness lived with these people in their snow houses in winter and skin tents in summer, observing and recording the vastly different modes of life according to season. . Jenness' researches extended far beyond Coronation Gulf and the arctic coast westward. . Jenness always disclaimed being an archaeologist, yet he made two discoveries that are fundamental to an understanding of Eskimo prehistory - discovery of the Dorset culture in the eastern Arctic, and of the Old Bering Sea, earliest stage of the maritime pattern of Eskimo culture that later spread from northern Alaska to Canada and Greenland to form the principal basis for modern Eskimo culture. . And so much more. In 1926, Jenness succeeded Edward Sapir as Chief Anthropologist of the National Museum of Canada. . He developed the Antiquities Legislation that has been so important for the protection of archaeological resources in the Northwest Territories. . Between 1962 and 1968 the Arctic Institute of North America published his admirable five volumes on Eskimo administration in Alaska, Canada, and Greenland. These monographs reflect his durable and compassionate concern for Canadian Indians and Eskimos and in them one can find much of the advice that he, for so many decades, provided the Canadian Government. . [Jenness' accomplishments extend beyond the realm of anthropology and his reputation was both national and international. For his services in the field of anthropology, particularly in connection with the Indian and Eskimo population of Canada, he was appointed a Companion of the Order of Canada.]

Two fundamental premises I think can be accepted at the outset. First, if the Institute fulfils a useful and needed role in contributing to man's knowledge and understanding of the polar regions, and does it through bold, perceptive, and imaginative leadership, its future is secure. The second premise is that the future of the Institute itself is indisputably locked to the future of the polar regions. With these in mind let us consider briefly, by way of introduction, the founding of the Institute and the circumstances surrounding it. A question may be posed. Would the same kind of Institute be founded today as was founded in 1944. I think the answer would be no. In 1944 the Institute was founded to meet specific needs that were very real and pressing at that time. It is important to note that, as outlined in a previous chapter, the needs in Canada were quite different from those in the United States. In the United States there was in simple terms a desire to preserve for future use the knowledge and information that had been assembled by the U.S. Army Air Force's Arctic, Desert and Tropic Information Center, since it was almost taken for granted that this activity would just fade away in the rapid demobilization which could be expected at the end of World War II. In Canada, however, action stemmed from a comparatively small group of dedicated citizens who recognized the importance of the North to Canada and desired to cultivate more broadly a national concern and awareness of this. Curiously enough the common cause of World War II brought together those individuals from the United States and Canada who were then more intimately concerned with these needs and many of whom shared a common background of experience and interest in the North. Thus, at War's end a binational organization was founded to meet the differing needs of the two countries with responsibilities vested in the Board of Governors with joint Canadian and United States membership. The fundamental basis was a common desire to continue and foster this existing interest in the North, which had been brought into focus by wartime circumstances. To meet these differing needs the Institute was constituted to provide for two general areas of endeavour. The normal mission of a scientific organization to acquire and preserve knowledge was provided for and implemented initially through a grant-in-aid program, the scientific journal Arctic, the establishment of the Institute's library, and the publication of Arctic Bibliography. But in order to create a more general interest and awareness of the North and its emerging significance, an Institute Associate program was also established. This was later extended by the establishment of a class of Fellows, who are elected by the Institute's Board of Governors in recognition of their contributions to polar research and who participate in Institute affairs through election of a portion of the Institute's governing body. One must note that at this time, reflecting the need first for basic scientific knowledge of the North which had been emphasized by the military requirements of World War II, the early interest and concern of the Institute was almost exclusively within the natural sciences. As a result the people called upon in the early days of the Institute because of their experience were drawn largely from the ranks of the natural scientists. In perspective it must also be noted that at the time there were few social scientists with any interest or experience in the North except for a small group of archeologists and anthropologists. Now, twenty years later, circumstances are far different from those at the time the Institute was founded. The immediate needs which the Institute was intended to fill are now being met. The over-all importance of the polar regions to the modern world is recognized. A broad national effort in northern study has emerged in Canada with an increased recognition of the economic, social, and political significance of Canada's northern territories and a responsibility therefor. Prima facie evidence of the very basic concern for the future is demonstrated in the proposed Centennial Fund for Northern Research in Canada, in which the Arctic Institute can be said to have had the guiding hand. The United States now recognizes equally the significance of the North and additionally has mounted a vast national program of scientific endeavour in the Antarctic. Through these efforts there has been a manifold increase in polar research during the last twenty years, and a whole new generation of "polar scientists" has been trained in the process. The appropriate government agencies have recognized their mission and responsibility through the establishment and support of active programs. A number of universities in both Canada and the United States have developed programs of polar, boreal, or northern research through the interest of individual faculty members or in some cases through the establishment of special institutes. And of perhaps greatest practical importance, new funds and resources have become available to create and support these programs. Thus there would in fact be far less need today for the type of institute that was conceived in 1944. Correspondingly the Institute of today bears little resemblance to the Institute of twenty years ago. In response to the changing environment it has altered and expanded its scope of activities in directions which never could have been foreseen twenty years ago. The multiplicity of present Institute activities, all of which contribute effectively to a primary objective of increasing man's knowledge and understanding of the polar regions, has been amply covered in a previous chapter, thus little need be said here, but I do think it is important to consider the principal environmental changes that have affected the over-all field of polar research. .

When the Arctic Institute of North America was established in 1945 as a membership institution, it was understood that the membership expected the Institute to publish a journal. It appeared for the first time in 1948, as Arctic, The Journal of the Arctic Institute of North America, and has been published continuously for 40 years since then. It is now a leading academic journal publishing research papers from a variety of disciplines on a wide range of subjects dealing with the Arctic. Over the 40 years it published 40 volumes comprising 1231 research papers and other related material. The present study reports a content analysis of the 1231 papers revealing that trends over the last 40 years of research in the North were guided by the economic and academic pressures of the day for northern research. The bulk of papers in the 40 years involved three major areas: biological sciences, earth sciences and social sciences. The proportion of research papers in earth sciences showed a decline, accompanied by a strong growth in biological science papers and a modest growth in social science papers. Over the 40 years, subjects sited in the Canadian Arctic always dominated, with a steady growth from 23% of the total papers per volume to 42%. In particular, significant increases in the numbers of papers in the last 10 years came from resource-related work in the North, as well as from political, educational, cultural and sovereignty-related research. Research in the North leading to publication in Arctic was conducted largely by biologists and earth scientists. Canadian and American authors accounted for most of the papers, with the proportion being roughly equal. . Numbers of manuscripts received by Arctic increased steadily over the years . Acceptance rates declined slightly over the years to the present rate of 60%. .Key words: Arctic Institute of North America, Arctic, content analysis, trends, subject matter, location of study area, author's discipline, author's nationality ; Quand l'Institut arctique de l'Amérique du Nord fut établi en 1945, en tant qu'organisme composé de membres, il était entendu que l'Institut devait publier un journal. Il parut pour la première fois en 1948 sous le nom de Arctic, The Journal of the Arctic Institute of North America, et il a été publié sans interruption depuis 40 ans. C'est maintenant un journal académique de premier plan, qui publie des articles de recherche dans diverses disciplines sur des sujets très variés se rapportant à l'Arctique. Au cours de ces 40 années, le journal a publié 40 volumes comprenant 1231 articles de recherche et d'autres documents connexes. La présente étude offre une analyse du contenu des 1231 articles, qui révèle qu'au cours des 40 dernières années, les sujets de recherche dans le Nord ont été influencés par les pressions économiques et académiques de l'heure. La majorité des articles publiés au cours de ces 40 ans couvrent trois domaines principaux: les sciences biologiques, les sciences de la terre et les sciences sociales. L'analyse montre une diminution de la proportion des articles de recherche sur les sciences de la terre, accompagnée d'une forte augmentation du nombre d'articles sur les sciences biologiques et d'une augmentation modeste de ceux sur les sciences sociales. Pendant ces 40 ans, les sujets situés dans l'Arctique canadien ont toujours dominé, avec une croissance soutenue de 23% à 42% des articles par volume. En particulier, l'augmentation importante du nombre d'articles dans les 10 dernières années est due aux travaux reliés aux ressources naturelles dans le Nord, ainsi qu'aux recherches sur les questions de politique, d'éducation, de culture et de souveraineté. La recherche dans le Nord qui a donné lieu à des publications dans Arctic a été menée en grande partie par des biologistes et des spécialistes en sciences de la terre. Les auteurs canadiens et américains ont été responsables de la majorité des articles, en proportions à peu près égales. Le nombre d'auteurs américains est resté presque constant au cours des 40 années, tandis que celui des auteurs canadiens a légèrement augmenté. Pendant la même période, le nombre de pages et le nombre d'articles par volume ont augmenté et ils atteignent maintenant respectivement environ 400 et 45. Les articles sont devenus plus courts durant ces 40 années, et le nombre d'auteurs part article s'est accru continuellement pour atteindre 1,8 vers la fin de cette période. Le nombre de manuscrits reçus par Arctic a augmenté de façon continue au cours des années, sauf lors d'une interruption causée par le déménagement de l'Institut de Montréal à Calgary. Le taux d'acceptation a diminué légèrement pendant cette période jusqu'au taux actuel de 60%. La plupart des auteurs ayant publié dans Arctic n'ont écrit qu'un seul article et 14 auteurs en ont écrit plus de 5. On peut considérer Arctic comme une publication viable car elle est un véhicule unique en son genre qui permet de faire circuler des informations multidisciplinaires sur un grand nombre de sujets reliés au Nord.Mots clés: Institut arctique de l'Amérique du Nord, Arctic, analyse du contenu, tendances, sujet, emplacement de la zone d'étude, discipline de l'auteur, nationalité de l'auteur

On 8 December 1953, the Rt. Hon. Louis St. Laurent, Prime Minister of Canada, while moving the second reading of the bill to create the Department of Northern Affairs and National Resources, said in the Canadian House of Commons: "Apparently we have administered these vast territories of the north in an almost continuing state of absence of mind." Some ten years earlier, a few Canadians, concerned over the wholly inadequate attention being paid by both Canadian government and people to the rising importance of the northern regions of the world and the significance for Canada of her own huge northern territories, were discussing among themselves what might be done to remedy this state of affairs. Could a group of Canadians, as private citizens, take action that would focus attention on the North? If so, what would be of the most worth? The group, many of them friends, living within easy reach of each other, increased from some three or so in 1942-43 to about half a dozen by early 1944. Their discussions, at that time solely concerned with a Canadian problem, led to a sequence of events that, by 1945, had culminated in the creation and finally the legal incorporation of the Arctic Institute of North America. The object of this article is to tell the story of how this came to pass. It is an attempt by a Canadian founder of the Institute to describe the atmosphere in which it was founded, and to provide some historical documentation. .

. This chapter begins in 1945 when the Institute's first full-time Executive Director, A. Lincoln Washburn, climbed the stairs to the first quarters in a couple of rooms in the administration wing of McGill University's Arts Building in Montreal. Washburn, as mentioned in Parkin's chapter, was largely responsible for the new organization becoming well-oriented on a course of broad and imaginative service to the cause of northern research in both the natural and the social sciences. It was found difficult to replace him when he resigned in 1950 and the post of Executive Director was left vacant until 1952 when R. C. Wallace, who had recently retired as Principal of Queen's University, became the Executive Director and served until his untimely death in 1954. Wallace was followed by T. H. Manning, who occupied the position until the end of 1955, after which the post was left unfilled until April 1957 when A. T. Belcher, formerly of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, assumed the office. Belcher directed the Institute until the spring of 1960 when the author of this article became the Executive Director. After running quickly over the first few years, this chapter will deal mainly with what the Institute is doing in the environment in which it now finds itself at the dawn of the space age, when research appreciation is blossoming and the scientist is a man of stature. In 1945, the first year of actual operation, the Institute carried on its business on an income of about $10,000. By 1950 the level of activity had risen to approximately $156,000 and, in the next five years, to around $400,000 a year. Since 1958 the yearly revenues have fluctuated between about $1,000,000 and $1,500,000; the total revenue for 1965 was $1,167,000. This gives a fair idea of the level of activity through the years. Most of the funding of the Arctic Institute has been, and continues to be, from government sources through a variety of grants and contracts, mostly for specified purposes. Nevertheless continuing and significant support has come from other sources, including some foundations, industry, and private individuals. In respect to the non-governmental category, the Institute owes a great deal indeed to Walter A. Wood, a Governor of the Institute through many of its twenty years and currently the President of the American Geographical Society. Since the late 1940's Dr. Wood has given generously of his time, his thought, and his substance to the Institute, especially in the New York area, in assisting the organization to develop and improve its public image among foundations, industry, and individuals, and in enlisting financial support from those sources. For years he sparked the efforts of a formally designated committee in New York. The Montreal Office and headquarters of the Institute which was first in the McGill Arts Building was next housed in the University's Ethnological Museum in the Medical Building. Subsequently the Office occupied the Bishop Mountain House on University Street where it remained until, in December 1961, it moved into its present quarters, also a McGill University Building. The Office has been headed by a Director since 1948, except for a period between 1957 and 1960. The sequence of Office Directors has been P. D. Baird, Svenn Orvig, George Watson, M. Marsden, K. de la Barre (Acting) and, since February 1965, H. W. Love. The New York Office pf the Institute has been headed by Walter A. Wood continuously since its establishment in 1948. It was first in the building of the American Geographical Society, then at the New York Academy of Sciences, and is now in the recently acquired building of the Explorers Club. In 1949 and 1950 the Institute maintained an office in The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore through the courtesy of the University. It was headed by M. C. Shelesnyak, formerly of the U.S. Office of Naval Research. Subsequently, at the generous invitation of the Carnegie Institution of Washington, an office was opened in its building in Washington where it remained for twelve years until, in 1963, it moved into the present building purchased by the Institute. Successive Office Directors have been A. L. Washburn; L. O. Colbert, formerly Director of the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey; and, since 1959, Robert C. Faylor. A small office headed by J. Cantley was occupied in Ottawa in 1956 and 1957, and other project offices have been maintained from time to time. . Of all the organizations that have markedly influenced the Arctic Institute perhaps four should be singled out for special brief mention because of their effect on the Arctic Institute of North America during the period covered by this article. These are: the Office of Naval Research of the United States Department of the Navy, the U.S. National Science Foundation, the National Research Council of Canada, and McGill University. Many others could and should be mentioned and would be if space permitted. .

In the spring of 1848 the first expeditions sailed in search of the lost Franklin expedition. Unfortunately Franklin and most of his men were already dead. Although this was unknown to the early relief expeditions, it must have seemed increasingly probable to the crews of the forty ships which followed during the next eleven years. Increasingly they felt free to turn their attention to the discovery of those unknown islands among which the expedition had so mysteriously disappeared. Before clear evidence of the tragedy was found, the northwest passage had been negotiated and most of the Canadian Arctic archipelago had been outlined. Today it is appropriate to look back a century and realize that these same inhospitable regions are the scene of activity such as they have not known in the intervening years. Spurred by no tragedy, assisted by aids unknown even a generation ago, the exploration, mapping and scientific study of the North American Arctic is now being pursued on a scale never before possible. What an unique opportunity it is! The world revolves about the polar regions. The magnetic poles, the aurora, the effects of continuous summer sunlight, the winter's cold are strange physical attributes that make the background to this exploration of the world's last undiscovered frontiers as fascinating today as it has ever been. Discovery was not the only achievement of the Franklin search, for it elicited world wide sympathy and support from many nations. Bellot Strait at the extreme northern boundary of the mainland was named for a French volunteer. The Danish and Russian governments assisted search parties. Henry Grinnell of Philadelphia equipped two expeditions which were commanded by United States Navy officers. Although De Haven and Kane did not find Franklin, their discoveries first aroused that American interest in Ellesmere Island and northern Greenland that led to later expeditions in search of the pole. All these efforts, inspired by noble motives, were happily marked by an absence of quarrelling and a generous recognition of the achievements of others. As an international, scientific society the Arctic Institute of North America can wish for no better guide to its conduct than these examples of international goodwill a hundred years ago. The small group of men who four years ago formed this private society and maintained control of it until it was established upon a secure foundation, are now anxious to see a larger number of those interested in the North American Arctic take an active part in the Institute's affairs. As a means of bringing this about they invite all persons interested to join the Institute; they have limited the number of times any Governor may be re-elected and they now launch this journal as a means of communicating information about the Arctic and the activities of the Institute to all its members and to the wider public that may be interested in the ends of the earth.

"News From High Latitudes" includes brief reports or correspondence on a number of expeditions or scientific research efforts in both the Arctic and the Antarctic. Many of the news items relate to transportation and communication issues and include such topics as shipping at Churchill; reforms in Greenland; H.B.C. trading transport in Arctic Canada; Norwegian polar activities; news items from beyond the North Pole; roster of Arctic specialists; free ride to Arctic port; Aklavik on the air; Canadian need for qualified scientists and administrators in the North; explorers in Carnegie Hall, New York; new land in Foxe Basin; French expedition to Greenland; French Antarctic expedition; university seminar in North American Arctic; Antarctic whaling; Alaska railroad being modernized; trichinosis from polar bear meat; new Arctic fishing bank; and short-wave to Antarctica.

The articles include: 1) information on the hydrographic work carried out by the Cancolim expedition in the Canadian Beaufort Sea and Amundsen Gulf; 2) an account of the first Greenland Provincial Council election by N.O. Christensen and Trevor Lloyd, reprinted from Arctic Circular, v. 4, 1951, p. 83-85; 3) T.P. Bank's description of the last four years of anthropological and botanical expeditions from the University of Michigan to the Aleutian Islands; 4) a list of the 18 projects studied in 1951 from the Arctic Research Laboratory, Point Barrow; 5) the founding of the Stefansson Library at Dartmouth College, New Hampshire; 5) the potential use of lichen woodlands in Labrador for domestic reindeer grazing by A.E. Porsild; 6) the announcement of an essay competition run by the quarterly scientific review Endeavour; and 7) a notice that a complete set of Meddelelser om Grønland is for sale by an Arctic Institute Associate.

Anna Magnella Thomas, wife of Rear Admiral Charles W. Thomas, USCG (Ret.), a Fellow of the Arctic Institute of North America, died at Tripler Army Hospital, Honolulu, Hawaii, 20 October 1966. Mrs. Thomas was born in Denmark in 1903 and in 1930 became a registered nurse. She served in the Danish Military Nursing Corps until 1938 when she was appointed to the Crown Colony hospital at Ivigtut, Greenland. In addition to Ivigtut patients she also gratuitously attended Greenlanders from the village of Arsuk and U.S. Coast Guard and Naval personnel at the Naval Operating Facility at Grondal. During her eight years in Greenland she became proficient in the Greenlandic language. In 1946 she married Captain Charles W. Thomas, then Commander Greenland Patrol, U.S. Atlantic Fleet. She was commended by the U.S. Navy for services to U.S. Naval and Coast Guard personnel during World War II. In addition to her husband, she is survived by a daughter, Trina Anne (14) and a sister, Mrs. J. M. Leroy, wife of Commander Leroy, U.S.N. and three sisters and a brother in Denmark.

The news items include: 1) a summary of round table conference concerning Eskimo affairs that was held in Ottawa on May 19-20, 1952 (reprinted from Arctic Circular, v. 5, no. 4, 1952, p. 41-43); 2) information on the Canadian ice distribution survey by J. Keith Fraser (reprinted from Arctic Circular, v. 5, no. 5, 1952, p. 56); 3) a summary of two articles written by Provst Aage Bugge (an obituary of Provst C.W. Schultz-Lorentzen and a book review of a novel, "Kateketen Johannes", by Karl Heilmann) that were published in pamphlet no. 79 of Meddelelser om Den grønlandske Kirkesag; and 4) a notice that the Shorey Book Store of Seattle has issued a catalogue of their books on Alaska and the Arctic.

The news items include: 1) a new twin-screw icebreaker that will be built for the Canadian Dept. of Transport for supplying northern stations; 2) the launching of the C.D. Howe, a new Canadian Eastern Arctic Patrol ship; 3) the laying of the keel of the new Royal Canadian Navy icebreaker which is under construction; 4) archaeological work on Cornwallis Island near Resolute Bay; 5) the trial of two young Netsilik Eskimo men on charges of assisting the suicide of a woman, who was the mother of one of the men, with tuberculosis; 6) the announcement by the U.S. Transportation Corps that they are sending modified half-track vehicles north to test their usefulness; 7) various articles about Greenland affairs including the creation of funds for increased cultural relations between Greenland and Denmark, population statistics of Greenland, the establishment of air transportation between Greenland and Denmark, the construction of vacation homes for convalescing Greenlandic children, and the free distribution of fresh vegetables - a gift from Danish market gardeners.

The R.C.N. ice-breaker which is being built at Marine Industries, Sorel, Quebec, will in many respects be similar to the United States Coast Guard Eastwind Class. The R.C.N. ship will include, however, some modifications which have been suggested by experience with the U.S. ships and by observations of the behaviour of these and other ice-breaking vessels. The ice-breaker will be 269 feet long with a breadth of 63 feet, 6 inches. Displacement will be 5,400 tons, and the maximum draught 29 feet. It will be propelled by a 10,000 hp. diesel-electric system. The machinery layout will be similar to that of Eastwind, but the bow propeller will be omitted. Accommodation will be provided for a crew of 13 officers and 160 other ranks and for a number of observers of officer rank; for this reason the Ward Room will be enlarged and improved. The vessel is not expected to operate single-handed against enemy concentrations, so the gun armament which was a feature of the original American ship, is to be considerably reduced. This will allow more room for quarters and stores, together with increased provision for radio and radar. A flight deck aft will take helicopters of the type now in use in the R.C.A.F. If necessary, a seaplane can be carried in place of the helicopters. As a result of experience in recent years, the shell plating on icebreakers has been increased. The new R.C.N. ship will have plates 1 5/8 inches thick and of special high-tensile steel. It seems inconceivable that any ice could penetrate such a massive steel wall, but in case it did there will be an inner skin protecting the vital parts of the ship. As with the U.S. ice-breakers the Canadian vessel will be fitted with heeling tanks as a safeguard against being frozen in. Temperatures at sea in the Arctic are not, of course, so extreme as those inland, but even so, special steps are necessary to maintain suitable temperatures inside. In the R.C.N. ship this will be effected throughout by four inches of fiberglass insulation in place of the cork formerly used. The boats carried will be of two types, motor lifeboats for use in open water, and Landing Craft specially strengthened for use in ice, where stores and personnel have to be landed. Experience has shown that this type of vessel is very useful under arctic conditions where the ice-covered beaches are very hard on conventional boats.

Describes the Northumberland Strait train ferry Abegweit owned by the Canadian government and operated by Canadian National Railways; the Hudson's Bay Company vessels Rupertsland, intended for use in the Eastern Arctic, and an as yet unnamed Western Arctic vessel; and a new Canadian government vessel for the Eastern Arctic Patrol, also as yet unnamed.