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The Ones We Met – Inuit Traditional Knowledge and the Franklin Expedition

About this travelling exhibition

Travelling exhibition
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A travelling exhibition developed by the Canadian Museum of History, in collaboration with the Inuit Heritage Trust

This exhibition explores the importance of Qaujimajatuqangit — Inuit traditional knowledge — which made it possible to determine the fate of the Franklin Expedition, which had set out in 1845 to complete a Northwest Passage. For generations, Inuit shared memories of meetings with sick and starving men, as well as visits to an abandoned ship locked in the ice.

These oral histories, combined with modern archaeological research, proved instrumental in the eventual location of the wrecks of Franklin’s ships, HMS Erebus and HMS Terror.

Photo:
Watercolour illustration by Inuit artist Heather Campbell of Nunatsiavut (Labrador).

Travelling exhibition

Content

The exhibition’s graphic panels are printed on fabric and mounted on a free-standing modular display system.

The audiovisual station features excerpts from oral histories and an animated map (one touchscreen, one media player, and one loudspeaker).

This exhibition is presented in Inuktitut, Inuinnaqtun, English and French — Nunavut’s four official languages.

Space required

30 to 50 m² (325 to 540 ft²)

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Travelling exhibitions

Download our brochure for information on available and upcoming travelling exhibitions.

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A man and a girl looking at a display at the Canadian Museum of History in Ottawa.
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