KRUPNIK, Igor and Vera Oovi KANESHIRO (editors and compilers), 2011 Neqamikegkaput / Faces We Remember: Leuman Waugh’s Photography from St. Lawrence Island, Alaska, 1929-1930, Washington, Smithsonian Institution, Arctic Studies Center, Contributions to Circumpolar Anthropology, 9, 191 pages.

At the core of this book is a collection of photographs taken on St. Lawrence Island, Alaska by Leuman Waugh during his two years (1929-30) as dentist aboard the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Northland. The significance of the volume lies not only in making these historic images available for the first time, but also in showing how the return of photographs to communities of origin elicits memories and stories that both enrich the meanings of collections and reinvigorate ties among families and generations. How did these photographs come to light? A few interesting prints stamped with Waugh’s name surfaced in Smithsonian archives when Akuzilleput Igaqullghet was being compiled. In 2000, researcher Lars Krutak traced these items to a collection of Waugh materials at the Rankin Museum of American Heritage in rural North Carolina. The Smithsonian offered to purchase the collection, and by 2001 all but the 3-dimensional objects had been moved to the NMAI. An introductory essay by anthropologists and archivists at the NMNH and the NMAI who worked most closely with the collection offers informative context about Waugh’s many trips to Alaska and eastern Canada, his interactions and correspondence with local people, and his career in dentistry. Waugh was known in medical circles as “the person who brought professional dentistry to the Arctic,” as a scholar of Arctic health, and as a strong advocate of a traditional diet. The introduction also discusses how the collection of several thousand prints, negatives, and lantern slides has been processed and organised. The 105 prints from St. Lawrence Island in this volume are the first Waugh materials to be published. They represent one small portion of the collection that was in fairly good condition and that might serve as a pilot for future publications. The introduction also recounts how the book’s multivocal format took shape. The title, Faces We Remember, is apt, as the photographs are, for the most part, portrait-like images of individuals and family groupings posing for the camera, often wearing their finest clothes (sometimes out of season!). The book is divided into sections by subject matter. Part 1 features images of people from Gambell; Part 2, people from Savoonga. Parts 3 and 4 are scenes in and around the villages of Gambell and Savoonga respectively, also primarily of people, but with houses or village scenes in the background. A few depict people engaged in an activity, such as splitting a walrus hide, preparing food, or being vaccinated. Part 5 consists of photos of St. Lawrence Islanders aboard the Coast Guard cutter. In spite of their posed quality, Waugh’s photos have a noticeable intimacy. His captions indicate that his interest in taking pictures was not medical or scientific but more personal and social. Excerpts from his writing (see Appendix 5) reveal a caring and respectful attitude toward his patients. Waugh also made efforts to send photos back to people on the island, and to correspond with some of his subjects. Waugh’s captions for his photographs, when they do exist, are minimal. Some of the St. Lawrence Island prints had handwritten notes added by a local resident or teacher, but many had no labels at all (Appendix 1 includes all original photo captions). Smithsonian anthropologists sent the images to Willis Walunga, long-time resident of St. Lawrence Island and local history expert. Walunga enlisted local elders to look them over and identify people they knew. Several other esteemed St. Lawrence Island elders and culture-bearers contributed commentaries. These stories and memories were compiled for each image, essentially giving the once-forgotten photos a “second life” (p. 15, 33). The present-day commentaries by St. …