In the Footsteps of Abraham Ulrikab

Book excerpt: In August 1880, two Inuit families from Labrador were recruited by Johan Adrian Jacobsen and headed to Europe to become the latest exotic attraction in Carl Hagenbeck's ethnographic shows. The group were exhibited in zoos across Europe until the Inuit relized their mistake and longed to return home. Abraham was literate and kept a diary. So did Johan Adrian Jacobsen. Even tough both diaries survived, to this day the story remained incomplete. In 2009, France Rivet's reading of the English translation of Abraham's diary left her with many unanswered questions. Where were the Inuit buried? What happened to their remains? Nobody knew. Intrigued, France set out to look for answers. The more she dug, the more riveting the story became, and totally unsuspected facets emerged. Four years and three research trips to Europe later, France's findings are revealed. At last, 133 years after the deaths of the two Inuit families, the events that unfolded in Paris are finally elucidated, and even more extraordinarily, this research has brought to light an opportunity to change the course of Abraham's story.