Walking on the land

by Farley Mowat

Walking on the Land

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Canada, Travel, Anthropology, Indigenous, Memoir

208 pages, Hardcover

First published September 16, 2000

About the author

Farley McGill Mowat was a conservationist and one of Canada's most widely-read authors.

Many of his most popular works have been memoirs of his childhood, his war service, and his work as a naturalist. His works have been translated into 52 languages and he has sold more than 14 million books.

Mowat studied biology at the University of Toronto. During a field trip to the Arctic, Mowat became outraged at the plight of the Ihalmiut, a Caribou Inuit band, which he attributed to misunderstanding by whites. His outrage led him to publish his first novel, People of the Deer (1952). This book made Mowat into a literary celebrity and was largely responsible for the shift in the Canadian government's Inuit policy: the government began shipping meat and dry goods to a people they previously denied existed.

The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society ship RV Farley Mowat was named in honour of him, and he frequently visited it to assist its mission.

Reviews

[Evelyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

The title refers to the tradition of the northern peoples when an elder would leave and "walk on the land" until overcome by death. The book deals with additional information not known when People of the Dawn was published. Starvation and illness devastated these people inn the l950's due to depletion of caribou population plus total lack of understanding of their needs by government agencies and missionaries. Chilling commentary of humanity at its worst.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sober, serious indictment of the mistreatment and manslaughter of the Inuit by white settlers, missionaries, traders (Hudson’s Bay Company included), Canadian police, and Canadian government officials. If you’ve ever wondered what it was like to be among a generation of indigenous North Americans who encountered whites and found your way of life upended, resulting in displacement, starvation, and genocide, this book will show you what horrors were endured. Because the Inuit were “encountered” so late/recently in white history, this book is full of first-person-interview accounts of the transitional years and sufferings. It is an emotionally painful book to read. I recommend it to those interested in Canadian and American Indian history (the Inuit do not consider themselves “Indian,” but white outsiders certainly do).

[Woody · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mowat is such a marvelous story teller. His descriptions of flying, boating and walking into remote Eskimo villages along Hudson Bay and the conversations he had in these places make you feel like you were right by his side. The story itself is a depressing account of the plight of the Inuit in northern Canada. It almost completely lacks hope or redemption. It was also sad to note that the racist language used by some to characterize the Inuit is the same kind of language that has been applied by bigots to other ethnic groups. When will we ever learn?

[Mark Geisthardt · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is centered around the deaths of several Inuit people who in the midst of starvation and the plight of the survivors in the bureaucracy that is so hard to navigate and so much more so for people who live in a social system that is so far outside of western culture. At the same time it also tells the story of this particular band of Inuit people. It is an eye opening and sad commentary on their lives which were so drastically changed with the coming of the Europeans into the high arctic.

[Colleen Mertens · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this book, Farley Mowat provides the story of what happened to the Barren Ground Inuit. It focuses on their history and their interactions with white man and the efforts of governments to basically ruin the lives of these Indigenous people, especially focusing on the time that Farley met some of these people. It is an interesting read but at times it is hard to see what evil was done to other humans. We should all read this book to learn more about North American history.

[Anna Engel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love that Mowat embraces his notoriety in the great cold north. His passion for the people of the Arctic and their misfortunes at the hands of outsiders is evident, and I'm definitely going to look for "People of the Deer." It was a bit disjointed, though, jumping between various time periods.

[Owen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Moving snap shot in time from his travels in the 40s and 50s in the far north and the struggles and sufferings of the Iniut people there.

[Ellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Found in a used bookstore; so glad I picked it up. Can completely recommend if you haven't read it.

This isn't a light-hearted read; it is a grim update of the story told in 'The People of the Deer' juxtaposed against the lure of the mystical arctic landscape mid the Cold War, seen first hand from the rivers and air.

The Author writes, "The ability of the Inuit to travel enormous distances across what some consider to be one of the harshest landscapes in the world has always fascinated me. What the Bedouin and their camels did in the desert, the Inuit and their dogs did in their country."

When modern man comes and interferes in the bio-diversity of a landscape without a plan towards the after effects, disaster ensues. In this case, a culture is all but wiped out either by well-intentioned ignorance or deliberate neglect. And it happens right here at home.

A lot of OMG's and Wow moments for me.

Lots to think about after you read this book which is really one of the things a good book should be able to do, leave a thoughtful impression behind.

p.s. A three domed snow house? A wow.

[K.H. Vaughan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Farley Mowat's strengths as a writer are also his weaknesses. He is evocative and passionate about his causes, but while that has made his stories powerful the question remains as to whether they are only that: stories. At least some of what he says is true, but given how well documented it is that his reporting is unreliable it is hard to know which parts. It would seem to me that he could have done more good by being more journalistic and less literary. Likewise his passionate rage against elements of the Canadian government and business interests exploiting resources in the Northwest Territories blinds him to a critical underlying issue. The Inuit dependent on a single resource for survival (the caribou) were at the mercy of fluctuations in that population. Caribou surged between the 20s - 40s, then collapsed in the 50s - 70s as a result of natural processes. No doubt inland Inuit populations rose and fell in this punitive environment for hundreds of years in tandem with the caribou but Mowat wants to portray the plight of the Inuit as being the sole responsibility of the invaders. There is no doubt the government, Hudson Bay Company, and various missionaries did them wrong but he is so zoned in on the horrible anecdotes that he has tunnel vision. He does evoke the harshness of Artic life and the tragedy of the collision of a stone-age culture with the modern age to great effect.

[Ken · Rating 3 out of 5]

Farley Mowat's strengths as a writer are also his weaknesses. He is evocative and passionate about his causes, but while that has made his stories powerful the question remains as to whether they are only that: stories. At least some of what he says is true, but given how well documented it is that his reporting is unreliable it is hard to know which parts. It would seem to me that he could have done more good by being more journalistic and less literary. Likewise his passionate rage against elements of the Canadian government and business interests exploiting resources in the Northwest Territories blinds him to a critical underlying issue. The Inuit dependent on a single resource for survival (the caribou) were at the mercy of fluctuations in that population. Caribou surged between the 20s - 40s, then collapsed in the 50s - 70s as a result of natural processes. No doubt inland Inuit populations rose and fell in this punitive environment for hundreds of years in tandem with the caribou but Mowat wants to portray the plight of the Inuit as being the sole responsibility of the invaders. There is no doubt the government, Hudson Bay Company, and various missionaries did them wrong but he is so zoned in on the horrible anecdotes that he has tunnel vision. He does evoke the harshness of Artic life and the tragedy of the collision of a stone-age culture with the modern age to great effect.

[Sage · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gah. Heartwrenching and at times stomach-turning true story of a tiny Inuit community in the 1950s. Published in 2001, Mowat did NOT write this story when he published People of the Deer in the late 50s because this was deemed too horrific.

The GLBT-interest tag is used because the male rural settlement nurse was raping the men and boys of the village -- and they couldn't lock him up because he was the only person qualified to administer care to the ill.


Mowat was about 80 when he wrote this book and he mellowed considerably. There's anger in the book, but mostly helpless grief for the needless deaths of all those people he knew.

What I'm most left with is the impression of 1950s Canada as a place with a fundamental absence of sane leadership. Crazy missionaries. Autocratic RCMP post-heads. Inuit who, against all logic, stayed where they were instead of packing up and moving someplace with food. If there's a rational explanation for any of this, Mowat doesn't give it. And I don't get it. I would sled or canoe or walk until I found a community to take me in; this whole lying down to die thing is almost as bad as the white leadership's criminal neglect of their obligations.

My American frontierism is showing, I know, but honestly. *headdesk*

[Robb Coulter · Rating 4 out of 5]

The other evening I was invite to a good friends house for what as always turned into great food, great company and animated political discussion. My friend Steve is much more conservative than I. I am only slightly more right wing than Michael Moore. During our discussion I asked whether my hosts had recently read any of Farley Mowat's excellent books and suggested that they should consider it. On the way home I realized I had not read any of Farley's books for years and maybe I should walk the talk! Walking the Land is based on a follow up visit to the Arctic 2 decades later than Farley's great book The People of the Deer. He writes the book in his semi historical/travelogue style that he is well known for. The book is not an easy read and very clearly describes the terrible tragedies facing the Inuit. Its not for the feint of heart and was written in 1980 but describes the famine, government bungling and prejudices that basically destroyed the Inuits way of life from the 1950's through 1980. Bring lots of kleenex but no one describes our country's greatness and our greatest shames better than Farley Mowat.

[Megan Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

another canadian whose work is rooted in the intricacies of land and culture, Mowat’s work Walking on the Land is a painful portait of the north in the 1940s and 50s when white euro-canadians were finally getting around to destroying the lives of the indigenous people there. this book is the story of the Ilhalmiut people who were moved around by the canadian government producing the “unwitting genocide? that saw people starved and drive

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Haven't read Farley in years and I had forgotten how compelling his storytelling is. This story of the decimation via starvation, neglect and governmental bullying of the inland Inuit is a tragedy that has repercussions to this day - Rankling Inlet. You can't help but be moved by the genocide of a people, not half a world away but in our own country.

[Bcoghill Coghill]

Those who love being in the out of doors and are readers may like this book or any of Mowats books. They are of the people but the people who live out of doors are the most interesting of people, to me.

[Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy to read but I like Farley Mowat's writing style. Sad stories of interventions with the Inuit people of Hudson Bay area. We should have just left them be as they have survived hundreds of years without us.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

More of the same... governments fixing things badly.

[Deborah · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing compilation of human lives ... true Farley gold!

[Lisadoran · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book kept me reading for two days. Riveting and maddening. Brilliant story.

[Avary Doubleday · Rating 4 out of 5]

Man's inhumanity to man, big time! Though the actions and conditions described are horrible, the writing is good and engaging. Glad I read it, but it makes me sad -- and angry.

[Helenshor · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was not as good as Never Cry Wolf. The story is desperately sad but beautifully written.

[Beverly]

About the Barren Ground Inuit

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

An eloquent tale of the injustices inflicted on the Inuit people of Northern Canada.