Lyall - An Arctic man: the classic account of sixty-five years in Canadas North

Aerial view of Taloyoak

Background

Ernie Lyalls autobiography is more than a personal story. By his presence at key places and events at a critical time in Canadian Arctic history, his account has become a front line history of the opening up of the Eastern Arctic to southern interests and an inside look at the issues facing Inuit as the tentacles of the South extended into the Canadian North in the earlier part of the twentieth century. Ernie passed away in Taloyoak in 1986.

Writing the book in the 1970s

In the early 1970s, the first Commissioner of the Government of the Northwest Territories (gnwt), Stuart Hodgson, knowing the interesting life Ernie had led, suggested that he record his experiences. Ernie twice tried to put something on paper but with a family, a full-time job as a wildlife officer, and community commitments, writing his autobiography got put on the back burner. However, in 1976 he and I, a local teacher, teamed up and the project took off. I became the interviewer, researcher, and organizer while Ernie became the fountain of northern knowledge. Every Thursday evening for twelve months, with a tape recorder, Ernies Hudsons Bay Company (hbc) diary, and a few glasses of rum and Coke to help jog the memory, we made our way through Ernies unique northern life. The chapters almost shaped themselves, wrapping naturally around each of the Arctic postings he had been sent to, as laid out in his hbc diaries. It was also decided that a chapter should be dedicated to each member of the northern Holy Trinity, namely the hbc, the rcmp, and the missions, the three bastions of southern influence. Each weekly question-and-answer session was taped and lasted about three hours. The tapes were then sent to Ed Ogle, the Time Life correspondent for Canada. He had written about the Canadian North and was drawn into the book project through meeting the nwt Commissioner and Ernie during some of his northern trips. Using a typewriter, his wife Ruth-Margaret transcribed the hundred hours of dialogue for her husband to work on. Mindful that one of Ernies reasons for writing his memoirs was to refute both the style and content of much that was written about the North, Ed then shaped the interviews into an almost oral prose, retaining as often as possible the flavour and lilt of Ernies Newfoundland style of speech. Since photographs were a publication requirement, Ernie and I spent three entire days going through the Lyall photo collection: little pieces of history tucked away in no particular order in biscuit tins, yellowing envelopes, and battered cardboard boxes. When all was finally ready, the proofs were sent to Mel Hurtig, the owner of a well-known Canadian publishing company. Mel started to read the book one evening and then stayed up all night to finish it, deciding the next day to become its publisher!