Native American Women Explorers – Tookoolito
I feel like I’m freezing when just talking about the Arctic! The men and women who wanted to explore this desolate part of our planet were certainly courageous. Many of them, like Captain Sir John Franklin disappeared while leading his ships the HMS Erebus and HMS Terror to navigate the Northwest Passage. Others followed in their footsteps. They experienced hardships that they would not have survived if not for the help of some amazing indigenous women. Our story this time is about an Inuit woman, Tookoolito who rescued the crew of the USSPolaris on Smith Sound in October 1872.
Tookoolito – Northwest Passage (1838-1876)
In our series on Native American women we have discovered that many of them adopted European customs while maintaining their native culture. Tookoolito was no exception. She enjoyed dressing like European women, drinking tea, and taking an English name – Hannah. Her husband, Ebierbing became known as Joe. Yet, Tookoolito kept many of her native customs.
Tookoolito (Also known as Taqulittuq) was born in 1838 near Cumberland Sound in present-day Nunavut. She and her brother earned reputations as guides. She was wed as a teenager to Ebierbing (born around 1837 on an island in Cumberland Sound). They later had two sons and adopted a daughter. They were well-known as interpreters and guides by the time they met Englishman Thomas Bowlby.
Thomas Bowlby took them to England where they were put on display as “exotic” people. This was often done to indigenous people. We shudder at the thought today, but some indigenous people, like Tookoolito, accepted the situation and even derived some satisfaction from it. After all, she was received by Queen Victoria and even many English people did not have that privilege. While in England she learned to speak English fluently, drink tea and dress as English women. She had even adopted some Victorian attitudes. “I wish no one would swear…It is a very bad practice, I believe,” Tookoolito reportedly exclaimed, according to excerpts from Hall’s diary. About two years later she and her husband returned to Baffin Island.
They met Charles Francis Hall in 1860. He was looking for Inuk (Inuit) guides to help him search for the remains of Sir John Franklin. Tookoolito and Ebierbing worked with Hall for nearly 10 years. They did three expeditions together – two to search for Franklin’s lost expedition and one to the North Pole. Hall was impressed with this couple. He spent time learning about Inuit ways and writing about them. Tookoolito and Ebierbing significantly contributed greatly to the knowledge of the non-Inuit.
Though their reputation had preceded them, Charles Hall was immensely impressed with what he called Tookoolito’s “refinement”. Her voice, he said, “…was that of a refined woman… [he saw] a woman dressed in crinoline and wearing a large bonnet.” He gladly accepted their help in learning the customs of the Inuit because he was certain it would help the survival of his crew. Little did he know how right he was. For example, Hall shaved off his beard due to the advice of Ebierbing so that it would not become crusted with ice during a storm.
Hall’s first expedition to find the remains of Sir John Franklin ended in failure. Thanks to help from Tookoolito and Ebierbing the crew learned how to survive a storm and near starvation. During this expedition their first son, Tarralikitaq was born.
After this expedition they went to the United States. Here Tookoolito and Ebierbing were put on “exhibition” again at Barnum’s American Museum, Boston’s Aquarial Gardens and at Hall’s lectures when he was trying to raise the funding for the second expedition. During this time Tookoolito and her son became ill. Sadly, the boy died. It was said that the travels were hard on them both. Tarralikitaq was buried in Groton, Connecticut which became a home away from home for Tookoolito and Ebierbing.
Hall’s second expedition took them to Repulse Bay. They found a few clues to Sir John Franklins disappearance. Hall found some skeletal remains and objects believed to have belonged to Franklin’s crew. Sometime during this expedition Tookoolito gave birth to her second son known as “King William” probably named after King William Island. The boy died during this expedition. After this Tookoolito and Ebierbing adopted a daughter sometime before Hall’s last expedition in 1871.
Tookoolito and Ebierbing had returned to their home in Groton when Hall approached them for their help in his new project. He wanted to reach the North Pole. With their new daughter they joined this expedition, known as the Polaris expedition (named after their ship). Not long after, Hall died allegedly poisoned by a member of his crew.
The expedition continued. It is believed that the ship had drifted about 1200 miles off course. Morale was deteriorating. They anchored to an ice floe in Smith Sound. A storm in 1872 0r 1873 caused the new captain, Sidney Buddington to order everyone to abandon ship. The crew and Tookoolito, Ebierbing and their daughter were marooned for six months. They drifted about 2,000 km southward where they were eventually rescued by a sealer off in the Labrador Sea. They had survived the ordeal thanks to the hunting skills of the Inuits.
Tookoolito and Ebierbing and their daughter returned to Groton. There, they were once again exhibited as curiosities from the Arctic. Mother and daughter had suffered in their health during the expedition. Tookoolito’s daughter died in 1875. Tookoolito died in 1876 at the age of 38. She was laid to rest in the Starr Burying Ground in Connecticut along with her children. After her death, Ebierbing accompanied the American Eothen expedition in 1878 to find the Northwest Passage. He remained in the Arctic and died around 1881. He never went back to Groton but his name is inscribed on Tookoolito’s grave marker.
Tookoolito was brave and adventurous. Without her many explorers would have died from freezing or starvation in the Arctic. She helped Hall and others with the language and survival skills. It is sad that many history books contain the names of the male explorers but do not mention their success let alone their survival due to an indigenous woman – Tookoolito. Her name should be remembered along with the explorers she saved.
Some have remembered Tookoolito and honored her by naming places for her, including Tookoolito Inlet (near Cornelius Grinnell Bay). Butterfly Bay (Tukeliketa Bay) is found sough of Tookoolito Inlet.
A Belgian pianist named Auguste Dupont composed the “Tickalicktoo Polka” to honor Tookoolito for her visit to Queen Victoria. A copy of the sheet music can be found in the British Library in London.
Native American Women Explorers – Tookoolito
“why men should have all the glory, and women none, especially when there are women just as brave and capable as there are men.”
Women who applied to join Shackleton’s Endurance expedition to the South Pole in 1914
Native American Women Explorers – Tookoolito
I feel like I’m freezing when just talking about the Arctic! The men and women who wanted to explore this desolate part of our planet were certainly courageous. Many of them, like Captain Sir John Franklin disappeared while leading his ships the HMS Erebus and HMS Terror to navigate the Northwest Passage. Others followed in their footsteps. They experienced hardships that they would not have survived if not for the help of some amazing indigenous women. Our story this time is about an Inuit woman, Tookoolito who rescued the crew of the USSPolaris on Smith Sound in October 1872.
Tookoolito – Northwest Passage (1838-1876)
In our series on Native American women we have discovered that many of them adopted European customs while maintaining their native culture. Tookoolito was no exception. She enjoyed dressing like European women, drinking tea, and taking an English name – Hannah. Her husband, Ebierbing became known as Joe. Yet, Tookoolito kept many of her native customs.
Tookoolito (Also known as Taqulittuq) was born in 1838 near Cumberland Sound in present-day Nunavut. She and her brother earned reputations as guides. She was wed as a teenager to Ebierbing (born around 1837 on an island in Cumberland Sound). They later had two sons and adopted a daughter. They were well-known as interpreters and guides by the time they met Englishman Thomas Bowlby.
Thomas Bowlby took them to England where they were put on display as “exotic” people. This was often done to indigenous people. We shudder at the thought today, but some indigenous people, like Tookoolito, accepted the situation and even derived some satisfaction from it. After all, she was received by Queen Victoria and even many English people did not have that privilege. While in England she learned to speak English fluently, drink tea and dress as English women. She had even adopted some Victorian attitudes. “I wish no one would swear…It is a very bad practice, I believe,” Tookoolito reportedly exclaimed, according to excerpts from Hall’s diary. About two years later she and her husband returned to Baffin Island.
They met Charles Francis Hall in 1860. He was looking for Inuk (Inuit) guides to help him search for the remains of Sir John Franklin. Tookoolito and Ebierbing worked with Hall for nearly 10 years. They did three expeditions together – two to search for Franklin’s lost expedition and one to the North Pole. Hall was impressed with this couple. He spent time learning about Inuit ways and writing about them. Tookoolito and Ebierbing significantly contributed greatly to the knowledge of the non-Inuit.
Though their reputation had preceded them, Charles Hall was immensely impressed with what he called Tookoolito’s “refinement”. Her voice, he said, “…was that of a refined woman… [he saw] a woman dressed in crinoline and wearing a large bonnet.” He gladly accepted their help in learning the customs of the Inuit because he was certain it would help the survival of his crew. Little did he know how right he was. For example, Hall shaved off his beard due to the advice of Ebierbing so that it would not become crusted with ice during a storm.
Hall’s first expedition to find the remains of Sir John Franklin ended in failure. Thanks to help from Tookoolito and Ebierbing the crew learned how to survive a storm and near starvation. During this expedition their first son, Tarralikitaq was born.
After this expedition they went to the United States. Here Tookoolito and Ebierbing were put on “exhibition” again at Barnum’s American Museum, Boston’s Aquarial Gardens and at Hall’s lectures when he was trying to raise the funding for the second expedition. During this time Tookoolito and her son became ill. Sadly, the boy died. It was said that the travels were hard on them both. Tarralikitaq was buried in Groton, Connecticut which became a home away from home for Tookoolito and Ebierbing.
Hall’s second expedition took them to Repulse Bay. They found a few clues to Sir John Franklins disappearance. Hall found some skeletal remains and objects believed to have belonged to Franklin’s crew. Sometime during this expedition Tookoolito gave birth to her second son known as “King William” probably named after King William Island. The boy died during this expedition. After this Tookoolito and Ebierbing adopted a daughter sometime before Hall’s last expedition in 1871.
Tookoolito and Ebierbing had returned to their home in Groton when Hall approached them for their help in his new project. He wanted to reach the North Pole. With their new daughter they joined this expedition, known as the Polaris expedition (named after their ship). Not long after, Hall died allegedly poisoned by a member of his crew.
The expedition continued. It is believed that the ship had drifted about 1200 miles off course. Morale was deteriorating. They anchored to an ice floe in Smith Sound. A storm in 1872 0r 1873 caused the new captain, Sidney Buddington to order everyone to abandon ship. The crew and Tookoolito, Ebierbing and their daughter were marooned for six months. They drifted about 2,000 km southward where they were eventually rescued by a sealer off in the Labrador Sea. They had survived the ordeal thanks to the hunting skills of the Inuits.
Tookoolito and Ebierbing and their daughter returned to Groton. There, they were once again exhibited as curiosities from the Arctic. Mother and daughter had suffered in their health during the expedition. Tookoolito’s daughter died in 1875. Tookoolito died in 1876 at the age of 38. She was laid to rest in the Starr Burying Ground in Connecticut along with her children. After her death, Ebierbing accompanied the American Eothen expedition in 1878 to find the Northwest Passage. He remained in the Arctic and died around 1881. He never went back to Groton but his name is inscribed on Tookoolito’s grave marker.
Tookoolito was brave and adventurous. Without her many explorers would have died from freezing or starvation in the Arctic. She helped Hall and others with the language and survival skills. It is sad that many history books contain the names of the male explorers but do not mention their success let alone their survival due to an indigenous woman – Tookoolito. Her name should be remembered along with the explorers she saved.
Some have remembered Tookoolito and honored her by naming places for her, including Tookoolito Inlet (near Cornelius Grinnell Bay). Butterfly Bay (Tukeliketa Bay) is found sough of Tookoolito Inlet.
A Belgian pianist named Auguste Dupont composed the “Tickalicktoo Polka” to honor Tookoolito for her visit to Queen Victoria. A copy of the sheet music can be found in the British Library in London.
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