Between 1921 and 1924, a Danish anthropological expedition led by the Inuktitut-speaking anthropologist Knud Rasmussen documented traditional Inuit societies before relocation to settlements. This 10-volume archive includes oral traditions, place names, linguistic information, Inuit drawn maps, photographs, and objects, and it ended up at the National Museum of Denmark. In 2014, we began working with the National Museum of Denmark to digitally repatriate all of the knowledge and objects collected. We created an online atlas that could be accessed anywhere and perform with low-bandwidth. Visitors to the atlas can track Rasmussen’s adventures through an interactive map, and explore connections between people, regions, stories and historical photographs.

In this video, taken during a 2017 visit to the National Museum of Denmark, Bessie Pihoak Omilgoetok talks about her experience with qajaq construction when she was young.