Harriman Alaska Expedition - Legacy

Legacy

Accomplishments

The expedition claimed to have discovered some 600 species that were new to science, including 38 new fossil species. They charted the geographic distribution of many species. They discovered an unmapped fiord and named several glaciers. Gilbert’s work on glaciers represented new thinking in the field (Goetzmann & Sloan, 1982).

Another legacy of the trip was the career of Edward Curtis. On the trip, he developed a close friendship with George Grinnell, who was an expert on Native American culture. After the expedition, Grinnell invited Curtis with him on a trip to the Blackfeet Reservation in Montana. Curtis, moved by what was commonly believed to be a dying way of life, spent much of his career documenting Native American culture (Goetzmann & Sloan, 1982).

At first, John Muir found Harriman distasteful and his hunting barbaric. But, over the course of the trip and afterward, the two became friends. Years later, Muir recruited Harriman to help with governmental lobbying on National Park legislation (Chowder, 2003). It was Muir who gave the eulogy at Harriman’s funeral in 1909.

The Intersection of 19th and 20th Century Science

In many ways, the expedition was an intersection of 19th-century science and 20th-century science. It often represented the best of the new century’s science, but it also showed how scientists thought in the previous century.

They foreshadowed practices of 20th-century science by being a truly interdisciplinary team. The wealth of disciplines represented on the voyage enabled them to work together to solve many pieces of the puzzle. They also discussed the potential loss of the wilderness and the indigenous peoples. They saw the remnants of the Yukon gold rush, and how self-serving treasure hunters were plundering the countryside and the dignity and viability of the indigenous cultures.

But in many ways, they were still firmly rooted in 19th-century science. In the 19th century, the common way to write scientific articles was to create endlessly long descriptions of the physical characteristics of a plants or animals. Most of the publications from the expedition followed this protocol. This approach to biology withered away in the early 20th century.

Another example of 19th-century thinking was their perspective on indigenous cultures. Their ethnocentric view regarded the indigenous people as savages. While the scientists remarked in horror that the indigenous cultures were disappearing, they simultaneously felt that adopting modern European-style technology, dress, and customs would somehow be a helpful step for them.

The intersection of 19th- and 20th-century science was even evident among different opinions of those on the expedition. Upon seeing the indigenous peoples involved in salmon fishing operations and canning factories, those on the Elder felt different things. Some saw the cannery operations as forced labor, akin to slavery. Other expedition members saw the cannery operations as efficient and effective.

Cape Fox Artifacts

On July 26, 1899, the expedition landed in Cape Fox, at an abandoned Tlingit village. The village had been deserted for about five years, but many piece of Tlingit artwork and totem poles were still there. Some members of the expedition (in protest of other members) removed some of the artifacts from the village. While this has been described by some as “looting,” it must be considered in the context of the times. Members of the expedition believed that the indigenous cultures of Alaska would soon be extinguished by the encroaching of modern civilization. Their desire was to save to museums what they believed would be the last remnants of the Tlingit artwork and culture. The expedition saw the artifacts as inanimate objects from a deserted village. To the Tlingit, who were living nearby, the artifacts were a sacred part of their identity.

The Cape Fox artifacts were indeed preserved in museums. In 2001, a group of scientists retraced the steps of the 1899 Harriman Expedition. The 2001 scientists and crew, including the great-great-granddaughter of Edward Harriman, returned a number of artifacts to the descendants of the original Cape Fox Tlingit residents (Litwin, 2005).