The Desperate People

About: They were rich, the caribou were abundant. Their dogs were many and strong. The children in the tents were happy and there was never any fear of going hungry. Then came the ruthless white man's civilzation. And with it came slaugther of the herds, starvation of the flesh, and torture of the spirit. Courageous, proud in their age old way of life and now fighting to save themselves from extinction.

This book is the continuation of the story of the Caribou-Eskimo (Ihalmiut), of whom Mowat first wrote about in his first book, People of the Dear. The latter was an account of his experiences among these people while doing research for the government in 1947 and 1948. The Desperate People relates the plight of the Ihalmiut over the course of the next ten years. During this time, the Ihalmiut suffer considerably, the victims of exploitation, prejudice, governmental bungling, ignorance, and willful mistreatment. It is a chronicle of the decline of a once independent, self-sufficient people into a wretched, servile and dependent lot. The book left me feeling angered and ashamed. It is a book that should be read by all Canadians.

"The Desperate People" is a very different book from its sister volume, "People of the Deer." Although it tells a continuing story, it was written many years later and, unlike the previous volume, Farley Mowat himself does not play a direct role in the narrative. Although one feels that he is never more than a heartbeat away from the action, he does not intrude upon it. It is the People's story; he is just the teller. As for the story he tells, it is not a pretty one.In the book, he evokes a scene in a coastal town of the Arctic, in which a supply ship is making a stopover. Excitement runs through the townspeople as the ship's crew and passengers are brought to shore. It is a very bright moment in an otherwise dull, monotonous routine. One of the passengers detaches himself from the crowds leaving the vessel and makes his way through the town to an encampment on its edge. Tents are struck there and as he approaches, it happens that one of the occupants is outside and sees him approaching. It is an Eskimo dressed in rags and wearing an unmistakable air of dejection. Suddenly the visitor recognizes the man and hails him, but is not answered. The visitor is Mowat and the Eskimo is Ohoto, a member of the Ihalmiut, one of the People. The two have not set eyes on each other for more than ten years. From that last meeting, looking backwards, Farley Mowat reconstructs the life of this little-known inland tribe as they prepare, unknowingly, to meet their doom. The story has grandeur as well as the appalling odour of decay. It has the sensitivity to show us that the fragility of the Ihalmiut may well turn out to be our own. It is also a finely written work, which had me yearning for some of the places described within and it may affect you that way too. At any rate, this second and perhaps final book about the People is so plainly filled with human understanding that one has to be very indifferent indeed, to take nothing from it.