The stone inuksuk that now stands on a hill next to the Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum (PMAM) is a symbol of the resilience and survival of the Inuit people, its sculptor, Piita Irniq, said at a lecture in Kresge Auditorium last Thursday.
Among century-old artifacts held in the Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum (PMAM)—sleds, maps, four taxidermy polar bears—the museum also houses a new exhibition: “Inuit Qiñi?aa?ii: Contemporary Inuit Photography,” featuring select works from five different Inuit photographers from Alaska, Canada and Greenland.
For over 160 years, Bowdoin has been connecting students and faculty members with the Arctic, forging intellectual and community relationships across Norway, Finland, Canada, Alaska and Greenland. This summer, the Arctic studies program sent student researchers to Greenland and the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador to continue this legacy of years past.
Next Friday, November 18, the Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum will close its doors in Hubbard Hall forever and enter hibernation until spring 2023 when it will establish a new, permanent home in the John and Lile Gibbons Center for Arctic Studies.
On Thursday evening, the Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum welcomed Andrew Hartsig ’95, director of the Arctic Program at Ocean Conservatory; Susan Kaplan, professor of anthropology and director of the Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum and Arctic Studies Center and Laura Henry, professor of government, to discuss the most prominent difficulties and environmental challenges in the Arctic region today.
For photographer Rhea Banker, qamutits, or Greenlandic ice sleds, are more than just a vehicle for traversing an unforgiving arctic landscape—they are objects that tell unique cultural stories. In her virtual lecture, “Qamutit: Portraits in the Landscape,” hosted by the Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum on Wednesday night, Banker spoke about her work in the Arctic, where she photographed Greenland and the ice sleds that dot its terrain.
On Wednesday the College announced that the new building that will house the Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum will be named the John and Lile Gibbons Center for Arctic Studies in honor of trustee emeritus John A Gibbons Jr.