An Introduction

Photo of Robert Peary distributing gifts to Greenland Inuit on board an unidentified ship, taken between 1886 & 1909.
Courtesy of the Library of Congress.

Depending on what you have read, you probably know that Robert E. Peary is often credited with being the first person to reach the North Pole. Thanks to recent efforts to revive his legacy, you may also know that Matthew Henson accompanied Peary on his polar expeditions and that Henson was the first African-American to travel so far north. The names you are probably not familiar with, however, are Akatingwah, Ahlikahsingwah, Anaukaq and Kali--Akatingwah and Ahlikahsingwah were the respective lovers of Henson and Peary, and Anaukaq and Kali were the children from these relationships.

Photo of Robert E. Peary, circa 1895.
Courtesy of the University of Toronto - Internet Archive.

Robert E. Peary was born in Pennsylvania in 1856. After attending Bowdoin College he pursued a career as a civil engineer. Peary became interested in the Arctic and first travelled there in 1886, beginning a 23-year obsession with the region. In 1888 he married Josephine Diebitsch, with whom he would have three children: Marie, Francine (who died at the age of seven months), and Robert, Jr. Peary died in 1920 and is buried with Josephine in Arlington National Cemetery.

Photo of Matthew A. Henson wearing fur, circa 1910.
Courtesy of the Library of Congress.

As an African-American man born in the 1860s, Matthew Henson was not afforded the same opportunities available to Peary. Rather than attending college as Peary had, Henson spent his early years as a sailor and then settled down in Washington, D.C. with a job as a clerk in a hat store. It was there that Henson first met Peary, with whom he corresponded for years before being hired by him in 1887. In 1889, Peary hired Henson to work with him in Philadelphia, where Henson met his first wife, Eva Helen Flint. They divorced in 1897 after six years of marriage—S. Allen Counter suggests that the couple had a difficult time dealing with Henson’s frequent and lengthy absences. In 1907, Henson married Lucy Jane Ross (the couple had no children). Henson died in 1955 and though he was originally buried in the Bronx, in 1988 he was reinterred near Peary’s grave in Arlington National Cemetery.

Unidentified Inuit woman & child, circa 1903, taken by B.B. Dobbs.
Courtesy of the Library of Congress.

During their Arctic careers Peary and Henson spent much time among the Greenland Inuit, and it was there they met Akatingwah and Ahlikahsingwah. Over the course of their relationship, Peary and Ahlikahsingwah would have two sons, Anaukaq and Kali; Henson and Akatingwah had one son—Henson’s only child—also named Anaukaq. This online exhibit explores the nature of the relationships between Peary, Henson and Akatingwah and Ahlikahsingwah. I argue that the differences in how Peary and Henson each treated and interacted with their Inuit partners reflect their individual perspectives about gender relationships.

A Brief History of Masculinity & the Arctic

Engraving of Elisha Kent Kane
by J. Sartain from portrait by Matthew Brady, not dated.
Courtesy of the Library of Congress.

Masculinity has long been associated with the exploration of the Arctic, a place often called a male-proving ground. Michael F. Robinson argues that three explorers are key to understanding masculinity’s association with the Arctic, the first being Elisha Kent Kane (1820-1857). Due to his participation in both Grinnell Expeditions—which succeeded in finding traces of the missing English explorer Sir John Franklin—Kane was lauded as an American hero. An early death at the age of 37 only increased his fame. Though Kane’s death was due to a life-long illness, eulogists were insistent that his character (if not his body) was evidence enough of his masculinity. One biographer, William Elder, used all of the following terms to describe Kane and his attributes: “manly endurance”, “manly virtues”, “manly effort”, “manly service to the country”, “manly sensibility”, “manly ambition”. Kane became a model upon which future Arctic explorers would construct their own images, and their utilization of the masculine ideal became key to success.

Photo of General Adolphus W. Greely, taken between 1890 & 1935.
Courtesy of the Library of Congress.

The legacy of Adolphus W. Greely (1844-1935) represents a distinct change in Arctic masculinity. In 1884, after he and his crew had been missing for three years, six near-death survivors were discovered. One member of the rescue team later wrote that when Greely was found, his first words were: “Yes—seven of us left—here we are dying—like men. Did what I came to do—beat the best record.” The story took on a life of its own and clearly reflects a change in the definition of what makes a man “a man”. Whereas Kane’s character was representative of his masculinity, by the time of Greely’s expedition there had been a fundamental shift to an emphasis on physical manifestations of manliness. Now, the ideal Arctic man would not only express masculinity in his character, but also in his physical power to either survive the harshness of the North or to die “like a man”.

Portrait of President Theodore Roosevelt
by Theodor Horydczak, circa 1920-1950.
Courtesy of the Library of Congress.

It is within this construct of a newly defined masculinity that Robert E. Peary emerges as “the epitome of manliness”. Americans were becoming concerned that young men were emasculated by increasing industrialization, urbanization and the closing of the American frontier in 1890. In an effort to counteract what he perceived as a serious threat to the future of America’s men, Theodore Roosevelt spearheaded a campaign for what he called “the strenuous life”. Roosevelt’s poster-child for the strenuous life was Robert E. Peary, whom Roosevelt praised for his “Great physical hardihood and endurance, an iron will and unflinching courage, the power of command, the thirst for adventure, and a keen and farsighted intelligence”. Roosevelt seems to be listing Peary’s attributes in what he perceives to be the order of their importance, stressing physical manhood over intelligence or character.

Photo of Robert E. Peary dressed in fur,
taken between 1886 & 1909 for the New York World-Telegram.
Courtesy of the Library of Congress.

Roosevelt was not the only American to be impressed with Peary’s masculinity. The editor of National Geographic, Gilbert Grosvenor, wrote that Peary possessed “a physical endowment such as nature gives to few men”. Constance Du Bois wrote a letter to Peary stating that “The glory of manhood seems to have departed. But you, your ideals, justify it to my mind—and the response from the people, the men and growing boys, as their spirits still ring true to the appeal of noble adventure, is so encouraging that we not yet doubt the future of America”. While Peary may have carefully crafted the image of himself and his crew (including Henson) as “ideal men”, how did the expression of masculinity actually manifest itself in Peary’s and Henson’s relationships with Inuit women?

Akatingwah & Matthew Henson

Photo of Akatingwah with Anaukaq on her back from Peary’s book Nearest the Pole, 1907.
Courtesy of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution - Internet Archive.

When Matthew Henson arrived in Greenland as a member of Peary’s crew, not one of the local Inuit had ever seen a man of African descent. Henson’s kindness immediately made him a favorite among the Inuit and the women began to fawn over and develop crushes on him. Though little is known about when Henson’s relationship with Akatingwah began, what is known is that she was already married to an Inuit man named Kitdlaq. Despite this, when Akatingwah and Henson began their relationship it appears that she was not an unwilling participant.

After their son, Anaukaq, was born (like Peary’s children, Anaukaq was also legally an American), Henson had to return to America with Peary for good in 1909. It was widely believed among the Inuit that Henson would have brought his “Eskimo wife” back to America with him if he wasn’t already married and that Akatingwah was deeply saddened about their parting.

Matthew Henson with an unidentified Inuit woman (probably Akatingwah) on the deck of the USS Roosevelt, between 1908 & 1909. From the book Muskox Land by Lyle Dick.

Henson’s popularity among the Inuit was based on his respect for them, something which clearly distinguished him from Peary. Henson viewed the Inuit as his equals, rejecting the colonial male privilege which Peary believed in. As Henson wrote about the Greenland Inuit in his 1912 memoir, “I know every man, woman and child in their tribe. They are my friends and they regard me as theirs.” Henson made an incredible effort to learn Inuit culture and became fluent in their language, unlike Peary, who declared that Henson “was more of an Eskimo than some of them.”

While Henson may have been influenced by Peary’s insistence his crew enjoy “female companionship”, the relationship between Akatingwah and Henson appears to have been based on mutual affection. Henson’s happiness with the Inuit woman pictured here (who is most likely Akatingwah) is obvious, as both are smiling, looking into each other’s eyes and have their arms wrapped around one another.

Conclusion

Map showing Greenland, Canada and the United States,
printed in 1929 by the Italian Touring Club.
Courtesy of the David Rumsey Historical Map Collection.

Today, direct descendants of both Peary and Henson continue to lead their lives in Greenland and the two families have become quite close. This is a fitting legacy for the two men who worked closely together during life, despite their differences. Robert E. Peary was concerned with projecting an image of himself as the “epitome of manliness”, an ingredient which had proven vital to previous successful Arctic campaigns. Peary believed in traditional colonial power relationships and expected the Inuit he encountered to be subservient to him. As an African-American, Matthew Henson identified with the oppressed Inuit and actively worked to befriend them and understand their culture. His efforts have left a lasting impression on the Inuit he encountered and, even today, he is lauded among Greenlanders. Peary and Henson’s relationships with Ahlikahsingwah and Akatingwah reflect these fundamental differences between two very different men.