SUNRISE OVER PANGNIRTUNG: the story of Dr. Otto Schaefer M.D.
Dr. Otto Schaefer, an outstanding medical doctor who gave 32 years of his life to caring for residents of the North, pioneered health care for those living in the barren lands.
He learned the Inuktitut language, lived in igloos while visiting remote Inuit camps, removed retained placentas by the light of a seal oil lamp, ate raw frozen caribou meat, and travelled by dog team--sometimes through blinding blizzards. His friendship and rapport with the Inuit enabled him to travel from Old Crow to Cape Dyer treating sick people and collecting details about their health problems for the Northern Medical Research Unit. His contribution to the medical literature was enormous: over 100 papers and publications in addition to contributions to textbooks.
Otto Schaefer loved the Inuit. As their friend, he rejoiced in some ways and agonized in others as outside forces changed their way of life forever. His story spans the period of rapid transition from dog teams and sealskin tents to snowmobiles and oil-heated houses.
Why "Sunrise Over Pangnirtung?" I think it fair to say that the work of Otto Schaefer helped to bring the dawn of a new day for the health care of Northerners. "Pangnirtung" because the treeless fjords and cliffs of this hamlet on Baffin Island were a paradise on earth for Otto Schaefer and his late wife, Editha.
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Gerald W. Hankins. All rights reserved.
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