Archibald L. Fleming, an Interested Observer? Between Christianization and Shamanism, the Census of the South Baffin Inuit in 1913-1914
On two occasions, between 1909 and 1915, Archibald Lang Fleming sojourned in the area of Lake Harbour (Kimmirut), to convert the local population to Anglicanism. Before he became the very first bishop of the Diocese of the Arctic, he had travelled by dog team with Inuit, who nicknamed him Inuktauqauq, “the Inuk who recently joined in.” His labour was essentially devoted to evangelizing the Inuit, and in virtue of that, he completed in 1913-14 a detailed census of all Inuit who lived in camps between Cumberland Sound and the Cape Dorset area. This article contextualizes this unpublished document, fundamental to the history of the Baffin Land Inuit. It shows that besides his census work, Fleming questioned himself on the “pagan” concepts of his flock and, unusually in missionary history, he even took part in a Sedna festival. These activities support the fact that, according to his own words, he acted as an “interested observer.”