The tragic story of this famous meteorite

And the boy who fought the museum that took everything from him.

In 1897, American explorer Robert Peary returned from his latest Arctic expedition to Greenland with an enormous iron meteorite, which he had taken from a small tribe of Greenlandic Inuit, the Inughuit. Also on board his ship were six Inughuit. Peary had convinced them to come with him to New York to be studied by the American Museum of Natural History in exchange for guns and tools. But soon after getting back to New York, Peary left on a promotional speaking tour. The six Inughuit never saw him again.

Within a few months of exposure to the warmer climate, four of the Inughuit — Qisuk, Nuktaq, Atangana, and Aviaq — had died of respiratory disease. And another, Uisaakasak, asked to return to Greenland on one of Peary’s ships. The only Inuk left was 9-year-old Minik, Qisuk’s son. The museum officials told Minik they buried his father’s body, but that was a lie. They had actually stored Qisuk’s remains inside the museum to study.

Minik grew up in New York and went by the name Mene Wallace. In 1907, he learned the truth about his father and publicly pleaded with the museum to return Qisuk’s remains to him so he could give him a proper burial, but the museum refused. Minik eventually returned to Greenland on one of Peary’s ships in 1909 and needed to relearn Inughuit customs and his native language, Inuktun.

The American Museum of Natural History kept the remains of the four Inughuit who died in its care until 1993. Today, there is no mention inside the museum of Minik or the other five Inughuit brought to New York in 1897. The giant meteorite Peary took, however, remains a signature exhibit.

Further reading:

“Minik the New York Eskimo” – Kenn Harper’s updated follow-up to his original book about Minik, “Give Me My Father’s Body”

“Inuit Voices: Inuit Writing in English” – this book features writing from Minik

[Vox]

We use a few different terms in this video to describe indigenous people — including Inuit, Inughuit, and Inuk. If you’re curious to learn more about how to describe Inuit, take a look at this “Style Guide for Reporting on Indigenous People” from Journalists for Human Rights:


Thanks for watching. -Coleman

[OnyxLee]

OMG, I just took my daughter to see it the past weekend, and the weekend before. We heard two different guides telling us all about how heavy it was, how difficult it was to transport it to the museum, and all about the rainbow color columns to support it at the office downstairs. Nothing about the tragedy was ever mentioned...
Thank you so much for bringing this history to light.

[luiscristianfloresgarcia]

I remember going to the museum as a child and falling in love with the meteorite
Never in my wildest dreams did I think this was stolen from a people along with the bodies of innocent humans who lost their lives for absolutely nothing

It’s true there is 0 mention of of the people who were kidnapped

And I’ve been going to the museum since I was 5 years old and now I’m 30
It’s sad really really sad

[realNoMee]

It really can't be understated how infuriating it is that all of this was done just so a rock could sit in a room for people to gawk at.

[MTemil]

I really appreciate these kinds of critical videos that force us to reckon with the history and actions of the past that have shaped the ways we live today. It's a stark reminder not to fall blindly for imperialist lies, and how even something as seemingly innocuous as a chunk of rock has had real human costs.

[JackWaParker]

Honestly, I love visiting museums, but museums need to do a better job of being transparent and showing integrity. Items that were taken improperly need to be returned, or if applicable, compensation needs to be paid to the people these items were stolen from.

[XCHDragox]

The timing of this video can't be better. We in Nunavut just went through a historical moment where the Canadian government returned the land back to the Inuit. Things are improving bit by bit

Edit: thanks for calling me out on the spelling.

[henriquesbio]

The museum needs to acknowledge this story on their gallery, engage with the Inughuit and if they want the meteorite back, give it back.

[ekolimitsLIVE]

Man. I seen this meteorite dozens of times and appreciate this hidden insight to its nature. Shame on who ever was in charge that would not grant this man his father’s remains.

[jhatt]

Good journalism that addresses human rights violations.

[notquitestranger]

It's a story many of us here in Greenland already know about, but I'm really glad that it is told in such an informal way. Thank you!
Side note: Your pronunciation is good!

[halfbloodprincess]

It's heartbreaking that Minik didn't even express anger when talking about the museum, he just said "give my fathers body back, so I can give him a burial" and they denied it.

[blatantmistakes]

Pieces like these is why I follow this channel, an incredibly meaningful piece that was worth every minute of my time

[nina.k]

I know there's probably no correlation but "Minik" means "small, tiny" in Turkish and is a term of endearment. Which breaks my heart even more. Poor Minik.

[felip]

this Peary guy seems like a true villain

[--Paws--]

In the 1900's Coney Island had held an exhibition of Filipinos to be displayed while in the Bronx Zoo a Congolese family; this is as egregious if not worse.

[tedbomba]

I have been to the Museum of Natural History countless times and have always visited the meteorite display. I've marveled at the sheer size of that specimen, but never really gave a thought about how it was acquired. This story is yet another example of how many of the artifacts in museums around the world were literally stolen from the rightful owners of them. I stopped going to museums years ago when I began to understand how my financial support was helping to underwrite the theft of new acquisitions. This video is helping to educate people about the traffic in stolen items and its impact on the rightful owners.

[sh.a.]

We need more documentaries like this to learn about history. Your work is high quality and great, thank you Vox!❤ And RIP Minik and the other Inuit tribe members who tragically and unfairly lost their lives 💔

[Achillez]

"Then an American explorer hungry for fame and fortune..."
This is our world's equivalent of "then the Fire Nation attacked"

[mtpro]

People hate on British Museum but almost all the museum have a very bad past.