Introduction:
On April 6, 1909, explorers Robert E. Peary and Matthew A. Henson along with a team of Inuit became
the first men to reach the North Pole. Peary and his entourage of 23 men, 133 dogs, and 19 sleds set off
from Ellesmere Island on a bitterly cold March 1, 1909.
As the men traveled farther and farther north, they lightened their loads and reduced the size of their
party. Only six men, Peary, Henson, and four Polar Inuit, Oatah, Egingwah, Seegloo, and Ookeah, were left
to step foot on the North Pole. For 80 years, skeptics disputed the claim. Although the Navigation
Foundation upheld it in 1989, the controversy remains.
On February 17, 2009, polar explorer Lonnie Dupre, a team of Arctic explorers and Inuit companions will
begin an epic 1,600-mile dog sled journey through the polar reaches of the high Arctic in the footsteps of
Robert E. Peary and other explorers of his time.
The Peary Centennial Expedition is homage to the Inuit people, unsung heroes of countless Arctic expeditions,
whose culture now hangs on the edge of existence due to the ravages of global warming and pollution.
"Robert E. Peary's discovery of the North Pole in 1909, where all other explorers had failed, was due largely to his wisdom in taking Polar Inuit dog drivers. For they can handle dog teams and sleds with grace and style better than any Arctic adventurer ever hoped to."
—— Lonnie Dupre
Courtesy of
the Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum,
Bowdoin College