Vilhjalmur Stefansson

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Vilhjalmur Stefansson

1879-1962

Canadian anthropologist who studied the Inuit language and spent many years on the south side of Victoria Island living among and observing a group of so-called Copper Inuit. He moved to the United States when he was two, eventually attending the University of North Dakota and later studying anthropology. His interest in the Inuit people began when he joined an Arctic expedition led by Ejnar Mikkelsen in 1906, and continued with other expeditions, including the first Canadian Arctic Expedition in 1913.

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