Duke Among The Eskimos

Press, Volume XC, Issue 27426, 12 August 1954, Page 11

Duke Among The Eskimos

(Rec. 11 p.m.) YELLOWKNIFE (North-west

Territory), Augqst 10. The Duke of Edinburgh arrived at Yellowknife this afternoon, after a

flight from Coppermine,. A Reuter correspondent said that in a happy sunlit atmosphere by the shores of the Arctic Ocean the Duke met at Coppermine some of the Queen’s northernmost subjects—the Eskimos and a handful of whites who call the outpost home. /bout 220 Eskimos were waiting to greet the Duke on the grassy bank of the Coppermine river. The men, bright parkas over their old clothes and wearing beaded skin boots, formed one line. The women, in gailycoloured outer garments with fur collars, formed another. There was no cheering when the Duke stepped ashore from an amphibian, but merry brown faces shone with a warm welcome for the Queen’s husband. The Queen is known to Eskimos as Queen Wuninga or Atanikpat —“the big boss.” The bespectacled chief, Ikey Bolt, the only Eskimo in Western garb, took the Duke down each line in turn. The Duke had a handshake for each and often stopped to question or make a joke. Babes, strapped on the back, peeked around the heads of then' mothers.