Despite the simplicity of this work, the image has been widely reproduced and celebrated for its historical resonance [1]. As one of the few visual records of early encounters between the Copper Inuit and European traders, Emerak’s lithograph holds both artistic and documentary value. Its clean lines and understated composition belie the significance of the scene depicted: a moment that marked the arrival of the first white man’s ship in the region as remembered through the eyes of a young child.

The image likely represents the Olga, a vessel that wintered at Fish Bay during 1907-1908 under the command of Captain Mogg. At the time, Emerak was just six or seven years old. After its winter at Fish Bay, the Olga continued on to Minto Inlet, where it traded with the Copper Inuit.

1. In Robert Lagasse, et. al. Northern Exposure: Inuit Images of Travel. Exhibition catalogue. Burnaby, BC: Burnaby Art Gallery, 1986; Canadian Museum of Civilization, ed., In The Shadow Of The Sun : Perspectives On Contemporary Native Art, (Hull, QC: Canadian Museum of Civilization, 1993), fig. 517, reproduced p. 518; Richard Condon & Julia Ogina. The Northern Copper Inuit: A History, (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1996), Fig. 2.6, p. 46; Fig. 13.