Page 52 - The Disasters Darwinism Brought To Humanity

52 T T H E D I S A S T E R S D A R W I N I S M B R O U G H T T O H U M A N I T Y Y
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T he famous arctic researcher equal to him. According to Peary, Eski-
mos and Negroes were members of infe-
Robert Peary brought a
group of Pole Eskimos to rior races. Although they were strong,
New York in 1897. The youngest of this intelligent, and trustworthy people who
group was a child called Minik. The provided for their families, they were
group, which included Minik and his not as good as the white man… One
father, were exhibited for a long time at time he wrote the following piece of
the American Museum of Natural Histo- insolence: "I have often been asked: 'Of
ry. During that time, Minik's father lost what use are Eskimos to the world?
his life through sickness. Minik They are too far removed to be of any
remained alone and unprotected in New value for commercial enterprises; and,
York. And one day Minik saw that his furthermore, they lack ambition. They
father's skeleton was being exhibited in value life only as does a fox, or a bear,
1
the American Museum of Natural Histo- purely by instinct." His purpose in
ry as "an example of the species." bringing Eskimos to America was
Although he asked for his father's body, explained by a researcher on the subject:
the museum authorities turned the "What were Peary's reasons for bringing
request down. these six Eskimos to New York? …Per-
Another point worthy of note regarding haps these six Eskimos were just speci-
Minik's life was Robert Peary, the mens, much like the skulls and skeletons
researcher who brought the Eskimos to he had collected earlier, but more inter-
America, held racist views. Although he esting because blood still coursed in
lived among the their veins. …He had also felt a morbid
Eskimos, Peary affinity for the bodies of other Eskimos
openly thought he knew by name, which he had
that these peo- exhumed the year before from their
ple were not fresh graves and carted off south to
grace the halls of the museum." 2
Minik, Ota Benga, and many other peo-
ple whose names are not known, suf-
fered inhuman treatment, in this and
other ways, at the hands of so-called 'sci-
entists" who looked on some races as
"inferior."
1 Ken Harper, Give Me My Father's Body, Steer-
forth Press, South Royalton, Vermont p. 8
2 Ken Harper, Give Me My Father's Body, Steer-
forth Press, South Royalton, Vermont p. 22