Duncan Pryde
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Duncan McLean Pryde (June 8, 1937 – November 15, 1997) was a hunter, trapper, lexicographer and politician from
Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories is a federal Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada. At a land area of approximately and a 2021 census population of 41,070, it is the second-largest and the most populous of Provinces and territorie ...
, Canada. He served as a member of the Northwest Territories Council from 1966 to 1975. His book based on his experiences, ''Nunaga'' (1971), has been reprinted several times.


Early life

Duncan McLean Pryde was born on June 8, 1937, in Dunbartonshire,
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
. He was raised in an orphanage along with four brothers and a sister. He joined the Merchant Navy at the age of 15 and eventually covered himself with tattoos. Pryde remained for three years in the Merchant Navy, then was forced to resign due to an eye injury, and went to work for
Singer Corporation Singer Corporation is an American manufacturer of consumer sewing machines, first established as I. M. Singer & Co. in 1851 by Isaac Singer, Isaac M. Singer with New York lawyer Edward Cabot Clark, Edward C. Clark. Best known for its sewing mac ...
in the Clydebank sewing machine factory. He left Singer at the age of 18 in 1955 after seeing an advertisement in ''
The Sunday Post ''The Sunday Post'' is a weekly newspaper published in Dundee, Scotland, by DC Thomson, and characterised by a mix of news, human interest stories and short features. The paper was founded in 1914 and has a wide circulation across Scotland, U ...
'' looking for traders to work for the
Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), originally the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading Into Hudson’s Bay, is a Canadian holding company of department stores, and the oldest corporation in North America. It was the owner of the ...
in the Canadian North. After arriving in Canada, Pryde spent three years working in
Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...
and
Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...
where he learned to speak the
Cree language Cree ( ; also known as Cree–Montagnais language, Montagnais–Naskapi language, Naskapi) is a dialect continuum of Algonquian languages spoken by approximately 86,475 people across Canada in 2021, from the Northwest Territories to Alberta to ...
before transferring to the
Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories is a federal Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada. At a land area of approximately and a 2021 census population of 41,070, it is the second-largest and the most populous of Provinces and territorie ...
. After moving to the
Arctic The Arctic (; . ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the North Pole, lying within the Arctic Circle. The Arctic region, from the IERS Reference Meridian travelling east, consists of parts of northern Norway ( ...
, determined to learn
Inuktituk Inuktitut ( ; , syllabics ), also known as Eastern Canadian Inuktitut, is one of the principal Inuit languages of Canada. It is spoken in all areas north of the North American tree line, including parts of the provinces of Newfoundland and La ...
or Eskimo as it was then known, Pryde began writing his own dictionary after being given a poorly written dictionary by a Catholic Missionary. Pryde began adopting the way of life of the
Inuit Inuit (singular: Inuk) are a group of culturally and historically similar Indigenous peoples traditionally inhabiting the Arctic and Subarctic regions of North America and Russia, including Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwe ...
and learned the skills to live off the land. He became fluent in communication after three or four years. He also fathered a number of children with Inuit women.


Political career

Pryde's political career began in 1966. The Northwest Territories opened up territorial elections for the first time in the Eastern Arctic after amendments to the ''Northwest Territories Act''. Pryde was elected by Acclamation for a by-election held on September 19, 1966, in the new electoral district of Central Arctic. Pryde was unable to make ends meet from the meager salary paid to members of the Council, a substantial pay decrease from the Hudson's Bay Company. While serving on Council he continued to live a nomadic Inuit lifestyle. Pryde ran for re-election a year later in the
1967 Northwest Territories general election The 1967 Northwest Territories general election took place on July 4, 1967. Tragedy would ensue after this election as member-elect Bill Berg died in a plane crash while flying into Yellowknife on October 1, only a few days before the new council ...
. He ran in the electoral district of
Western Arctic Northwest Territories () is a federal electoral district represented in the House of Commons of Canada. The electoral district covers the entire territory. This riding was created in 1962 from Mackenzie River riding. It was composed of the ...
and won his second term in office.


Publishings

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
magazine made Duncan Pryde internationally recognized by featuring him on the cover of the May 2, 1969, edition of the magazine. Later British journalist
Cliff Michelmore Arthur Clifford Michelmore (11 December 1919 – 16 March 2016) was an English television presenter and producer. He is best known for the BBC Television programme ''Tonight'', which he presented from 1957 to 1965. He also hosted the BBC's tel ...
filmed a feature about Pryde for British television in 1970. Pryde authored a book on his experience in the Northwest Territories which was first published in 1971. The book was titled ''Nunaga : Ten Years of Eskimo Life.'' The name of the book had a few variations and a translation was also published in a number of other languages including Dutch, French, Hungarian, Swedish and Danish. A second edition was published by Eland in 1985, incorporating material that was cut from the first printing. Ed Ogle, the Calgary-based correspondent for Time magazine, was the man behind Duncan's initial publicity success. Ogle told Val Wake, a CBC News reporter based in
Yellowknife Yellowknife is the capital, largest community, and the only city in the Northwest Territories, Canada. It is on the northern shore of Great Slave Lake, about south of the Arctic Circle, on the west side of Yellowknife Bay near the outlet of t ...
, that he, Ogle, ghost wrote Pryde's non fiction work "Nunaga: Ten Years of Eskimo Life." Shortly after the book was published in 1972 rumours about Ogle's authorship circulated in Yellowknife. Ed Ogle accused Val Wake of revealing his secret. Val Wake maintained he never did. During Val Wake's four-year stint in Yellowknife, 1969 to 1973, Duncan Pryde was a constant source of "good copy". He married a
First Nations First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...
woman, Georgina Blondin in 1969. The book ''Nunaga'' is dedicated to Gina which was Duncan Pryde's pet name for her. The couple were guests for an official dinner when Queen Elizabeth visited Yellowknife in 1970. Georgina presented the Queen with an armful of white
Arctic fox The Arctic fox (''Vulpes lagopus''), also known as the white fox, polar fox, or snow fox, is a small species of fox native to the Arctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere and common throughout the Tundra#Arctic tundra, Arctic tundra biome. I ...
furs, a gift from the Northwest Territories Government. The couple divorced in 1975.Ancestry records of Duncan Pryde’s family tree Before Duncan and Georgina became a couple, he had relationships with a number of Inuit women, by whom he had several children. In Yellowknife Duncan Pryde sometimes boasted about his Arctic children with the phrase: "every woman should have a bit of Pryde in them." Val Wake found these claims objectionable, especially as Duncan Pryde apparently did nothing to support his children. Wake's reporting of Pryde's activities as a member of the Territorial Council became less positive. Pryde later moved to
Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...
to work on his dictionary at the
University of the Arctic The University of the Arctic (UArctic) is an international cooperative network based in the Circumpolar Arctic region, consisting of universities, colleges, and other organizations with an interest in promoting education and research in the Arcti ...
. He had problems with
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and was forced to leave the United States until his residency issues were settled.


Later life

After leaving Alaska, Pryde moved back to the United Kingdom and moved in with his brother in London. He had trouble adjusting away from northern life but never returned to the Arctic. Pryde met his second wife and moved to the
Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight (Help:IPA/English, /waɪt/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''WYTE'') is an island off the south coast of England which, together with its surrounding uninhabited islets and Skerry, skerries, is also a ceremonial county. T ...
, setting up a newspaper shop called Pryde of Cowes and continuing work on his dictionary. He lived a quiet life and ended up losing touch with his United Kingdom family. Pryde died on November 15, 1997.


References

This article appears to be based on his obituary in ''The Independent'
here


Publications

* Nunaga: Ten Years Among the Eskimos: Eland Publishing Ltd (September 26, 2003) * Nunaga Ten years among the Eskimos, Duncan Pryde, Batam Books, New York City, New York, February 1972, republished by Eland, 61 Exmouth Market, London EC1R 4QL in 1985 and 2003.


External links


Archive of Duncan Pryde's dictionary.

Info on his linguistics and work
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pryde, Duncan 1937 births 1997 deaths 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories