The ‘European Inuit’ | The Story of Knud Rasmussen

14th February 2025 | Words by Dave Hamilton

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Born in Greenland to a Danish father and a part-Inuit mother, Knud Rasmussen is a fascinating figure in the history of Arctic exploration. He remains a much-loved character within the Inuit communities of Greenland and Canada. In Denmark he is also a national hero – but outside of these far northern countries he is virtually unknown.

In the early 20th century, when ‘Eskimo’ rather than ‘Inuit’ was the accepted term for the indigenous people of the Arctic and sub-Arctic region, Rasmussen earned himself the title of the ‘White Eskimo’. And, thanks to his extensive work studying Inuit culture, in anthropological circles he was hailed as ‘the father of Eskimology’.

A dual heritage

Rasmussen was proud of his dual Inuit and Nordic heritage. Much of the driving force behind his life’s work would have no doubt been to gain a deeper understanding of his own people. Growing up within the Kalaallit, the largest Inuit tribe in Greenland, he was arguably more Inuit than European. Indeed, he was fluent in Kalaallisut, a language with common threads woven throughout various Inuit dialects (much like the Latin roots of many western European languages). Speaking as fluently as any native, he was able to very quickly gain the trust of any tribespeople he met, in a way other European explorers never could.

Being raised amongst a community so well adapted to living in the arduous conditions of an Arctic winter meant he was similarly well suited to exploring the frozen tundra. Difficult sled rides, blizzards, biting winds and months of temperatures well below zero were second nature to him. In his book Across Arctic America he says: “I was eight years old when I drove my own team of dogs, and at ten I had a rifle of my own.”

The Thule expeditions

The field research that formed the backbone of Rasmussen’s work were his Thule expeditions, a series of polar explorations and research trips which he led between 1912 and 1933. The expeditions derived their name from the trading post of Thule (now Qaanaaq), which Rasmussen and fellow explorer Peter Freuchen established in 1910. It was subsequently used as a base of operations for all seven of the following expeditions. The trading post’s name was a fitting one, if slightly tongue and cheek. It was a reference to the semi-mythical island of Thule, referenced in Greek and Roman literature, which was said to be at the northern border of the known world.

In the days before satellite technology, the Thule expeditions were a vital element in mapping the geography and topography of Greenland, but this was by far their only accomplishment. A wealth of data was gathered from a wide range of disciplines, with geographers, botanists, geologists, archaeologists, linguists and anthropologists all playing their part in each of the expeditions.

As well as being groundbreaking, the trips involved considerable hardship. Accidents, illnesses and attacks by wild animals including wolves and polar bears ensured that death was a constant companion. On Rasmussen’s fifth and most famous expedition, two crew members died of influenza before they had even left Greenland.

The popular perception of Rasmussen as an archetypal and glamorous hunter on the ice floes was often no more than a fantasy. For example, Rasmussen and his companions spent an entire month on the second Thule expedition trudging through icy cold fjords. At times they were forced to starve themselves in order to preserve their rations. Records suggested they were often short of food. More than one crew member ultimately died of starvation. At other times they survived by eating foraged fungi and the roots of plants scarcely a few inches high. Feeding their large dog sled team was a constant struggle too, particularly when they scarcely had enough food for themselves. On occasion, they even had to resort to eating their dogs.

Other problems arose even when the going was good. Expedition records reveal that they found great herds of musk oxen and large colonies of seals, which should have ensured food for weeks. However, the oxen carcasses were too heavy and bulky to carry, so the expedition party could only consume them where they were killed. Similarly, the seals would not come ashore, which meant hunting them at sea. Unfortunately, several of the kills sank like stones to the bottom of the sea and couldn’t be retrieved.

Across Arctic America

Across Arctic America is an engrossing narrative of the fifth Thule expedition, which became the most celebrated and well known of all Rasmussen’s journeys. He travelled via dog sled across the far north of Canada from the Atlantic seaboard to the Pacific, with a skilled crew including two Greenlandic Inuit. Rasmussen’s objective was to meet and catalogue every tribe inhabiting the regions from Greenland to Siberia, in an aim to trace their common origin. He met with various tribal groups including the Caribou, Copper, Iglulik, McKenzie and Netsilik, spending anything from a few days to a few months with each. Many had never met a European and so the journey would have been just as groundbreaking as those of Christopher Columbus, Marco Polo or James Cook. The trip opened up the far north and gave Rasmussen the accolade of being the first European to successfully navigate the ‘holy grail’ of Arctic exploration, the fabled Northwest Passage.

Rasmussen’s expansive narrative goes far beyond the preoccupations of the expedition itself and shows that hardships were not solely the preserve of the European explorer. By way of example, he recites the harrowing story of an old woman he meets called Takornaoq, who tells him of a journey she and her husband undertook from Igdiulik to Ponds Inlet, across the frozen sea of Baffin Bay. Most of their provisions had to be carried with them from the start, for there would have been very little to hunt on the ice. During this difficult journey, Takornaoq and her husband had one particularly disturbing encounter, after spotting a lone snow shelter built on the ice:

“And going nearer again we found a human head, with the flesh gnawed away. And at last, entering into the shelter, we found a woman seated on the floor. Her face was turned towards us, and we saw that blood was trickling from the corners of her eyes; so greatly had she wept… she said, ‘I have eaten my husband and my children!’

“She was but skin and bone herself, and seemed to have no life in her. And she was almost naked, having eaten most of her clothing. My husband bent down over her, and she said: ‘I have eaten him who was your comrade when he lived’. And my husband answered: “But you had the will to live, and so you are still alive.”

Preservation of Inuit culture

Rasmussen was acutely aware of how easily Inuit culture could be polluted and diluted by Western influence. He had the foresight to understand that if it wasn’t documented, it could be lost forever. But his work went above and beyond simple recording and observation of traditional customs and practices. He collected folk tales in a way that other explorers might butterflies or beetles. He wrote them up in a multi-volume collection of folk tales, a small selection of which are still available in print and online, in his book titled Eskimo Folk Tales. These often-brutal stories tell of magical beings, wizards and inter-tribal feuds. Although they must have seemed strange and barbaric to the genteel world of early twentieth century Europe, they give a deep insight into the harsh realities of life in this inhospitable region.

A united people

Fundamentally, despite the fact that the disparate tribal groups of the Arctic region were often separated by vast geographical distances, Rasmussen wanted to prove that more united the Inuit people than divided them. He theorised that the people from Greenland to Siberia all shared common beliefs, as well as similar linguistic roots and even a common origin emanating from the west, an idea that seemed very radical in the early 1900s.

Although there was no doubt much diversity within the polar regions, Rasmussen was able to identify common threads running through the different and distinct tribal cultures. He found a near universal belief in a spirit called ‘Silup Inua’ or ‘Sila’. This manifestation differed slightly from tribe to tribe; sometimes being described as a life force, wind spirit or god of breath. Alternatively, it translated as the universe or spirit of all living things. Central to Inuit belief, it can be seen as the life force which leaves the body of both people and animals after death. Some believe that once released, it combines with the rest of the universe, making it an intrinsic part of all living things.

Although Rasmussen’s work did not directly prove that the Inuit shared a common origin to the west, he did contribute significantly to our collective understanding of these remote tribes and their people. He also documented a culture which could trace its roots back to ancient migrations across the Bering Strait, helping us understand the migration of early humans across this remote polar region.

Legacy

Rasmussen achieved a lot in a relatively short lifespan. He died in Copenhagen aged just 54 after contracting pneumonia following a bout of food poisoning.

Without his work, our understanding of the Inuit people would be far more limited. In his time, he was made an honorary doctor at both the University of Copenhagen and the University of St Andrews. He was also given medals and accolades by the American, Danish and Royal Geographic Societies. Since his death, he continues to be recognised in his native countries, with a mountain, a cape, a basin, a mountain range and an ice sheet in Greenland all named after him, as well as two Danish ships.

During his expeditions he sent countless artefacts back to Denmark. So numerous were these that the Danish National Museum today has one of the world's most distinguished Arctic collections. Without his work, it’s unlikely that the Danish National Museum’s Sila Centre (which focuses on the study of Inuit people and exhibits artifacts of the Inuit) would have existed at all. In fact, it is hard to quantify quite how much he influenced his country of birth and how much he preserved the culture of the Inuit people.

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Dave Hamilton is a writer, photographer, forager and explorer of historic sites and natural places. He is the author of six books, including "Where the Wild Things Grow: the Foragers Guide to the Landscape", published by Hodder and Stoughton. He has led the Guardian Masterclass in foraging and currently works as an instructor for Britain’s leading foraging course company, Wild Food UK.