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

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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.

Where is this exhibition travelling?

Location Dates
Macaulay Heritage Park, Picton, Ont. May 12 – August 1, 2025
Swift Current Museum, Swift Current, Sask. July 2 – September 22, 2024
Alberni Valley Museum, Port Alberni, B.C. February 8 – May 11, 2024
Lacombe Museum, Lacombe, Alta. October 7 – December 31, 2023

Borrowing Museums

View all venues and tour dates.

Location Dates
Macaulay Heritage Park, Picton, Ont. May 12 – August 1, 2025
Swift Current Museum, Swift Current, Sask. July 2 – September 22, 2024
Alberni Valley Museum, Port Alberni, B.C. February 8 – May 11, 2024
Lacombe Museum, Lacombe, Alta. October 7 – December 31, 2023
Fort la Reine Museum, Portage la Prairie, Man. May 13 – September 10, 2023
Bradley Museum, Mississauga, Ont. January 19 – April 16, 2023
Sam Waller Museum, The Pas, Man. September 3 – November 27, 2022
Peterborough Museum & Archives, Peterborough, Ont. September 18 – December 5, 2021
Elgin County Museum, St. Thomas, Ont. June 1 – August 29, 2021
Château Ramezay – Historic Site and Museum of Montréal, Montréal, Que. February 4 – May 24, 2020
Glanmore National Historic Site, Belleville, Ont. February 2, 2020 – April 19, 2021

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

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