The Mission’s Competing Beliefs

The North Water

The mission’s encounter between Christian certainty and Indigenous belief exposes how both sides use spiritual explanations to interpret survival and suffering.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

An Unknown Survivor An Unknown Survivor from "The North Water". A Man Without a Story The hunters’ interpretation The hunters bring Patrick Sumner from the ice after finding him in a bear carcass.

An Unknown Survivor from "The North Water". A Man Without a Story The hunters’ interpretation The hunters bring Patrick Sumner from the ice after finding him in a bear carcass.

A Man Without a Story The hunters’ interpretation The hunters bring Patrick Sumner from the ice after finding him in a bear carcass. They consider him lucky and debate whether he is a spiritual guide or dangerous spirit. The priest’s skepticism The priest rejects the idea that Sumner appeared from nowhere, yet he cannot explain the circumstances of the rescue either.

The Priest’s Translation The Priest’s Translation from "The North Water". A Missionary’s Purpose Scripture as a project The priest explains his effort to translate the Bible into Inuktitut.

The Priest’s Translation from "The North Water". A Missionary’s Purpose Scripture as a project The priest explains his effort to translate the Bible into Inuktitut.

A Missionary’s Purpose Scripture as a project The priest explains his effort to translate the Bible into Inuktitut. He believes that Christian teaching will develop the community’s spiritual understanding. A hierarchy embedded in charity His care is genuine, but his description of the hunters as primitive and childlike reveals the assumptions behind his mission. Sumner listens without endorsing his certainty.

The Hunters’ Lucky Man The Hunters’ Lucky Man from "The North Water". A Role Sumner Refuses A reputation grows After a large seal is caught, the hunters credit Sumner with bringing luck. Children touch him in hopes of sharing it.

The Hunters’ Lucky Man from "The North Water". A Role Sumner Refuses A reputation grows After a large seal is caught, the hunters credit Sumner with bringing luck. Children touch him in hopes of sharing it.

A Role Sumner Refuses A reputation grows After a large seal is caught, the hunters credit Sumner with bringing luck. Children touch him in hopes of sharing it. Belief left undisturbed Sumner does not correct them. He dislikes the priest’s certainty but also refuses responsibility for dispelling the hunters’ interpretation.

Medicine and Authority Medicine and Authority from "The North Water". Two Treatments A sick infant The priest gives a child calomel, while Sumner believes charcoal and water are safer.

Medicine and Authority from "The North Water". Two Treatments A sick infant The priest gives a child calomel, while Sumner believes charcoal and water are safer.

Two Treatments A sick infant The priest gives a child calomel, while Sumner believes charcoal and water are safer. He quietly advises Anna to tell the mother to choose. A challenge to the priest Sumner calls himself an Angakoq and claims greater medical knowledge. The contest concerns both treatment and who may claim authority in the community.

The Priest’s Question The Priest’s Question from "The North Water". What Is Sumner For? Disagreement over belief The priest accuses Sumner of encouraging superstition.

The Priest’s Question from "The North Water". What Is Sumner For? Disagreement over belief The priest accuses Sumner of encouraging superstition.

What Is Sumner For? Disagreement over belief The priest accuses Sumner of encouraging superstition. Sumner says he has no better truths to offer and does not wish to interfere. Purpose remains unsettled The priest asks what Sumner is for. Sumner answers that he is tired and hungry, resisting any identity that makes his survival part of a providential design.

When hunters bring Sumner to the mission

During Sumner’s early recovery

During Sumner’s first visit to the hunting camp

At a Sunday gathering in the mission

After Sumner returns from the seal hunt