Shocking history of Inuit trapped in 'human zoos' revealed in documentary

Media | Trapped in a Human Zoo – The First Exhibit

Caption: Abraham and his family were first exhibited at a museum in Hamburg, Germany — where they even helped to assemble the exhibit themselves.

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Audio | The Current : Diary preserves story of Inuit trapped in European 'human zoos'

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Read story transcript
Trapped in a Human Zoo(external link), a documentary that focuses on a small group of Inuit people from Labrador in the late 1800s, tells the story of how indigenous people wound up in Europe, on display.
It's estimated that some 35,000 indigenous people from all over the world were recruited for these human zoos.
In the case of the group from Labrador, they were lured to Europe with promises of wealth and adventure, only to be exhibited like animals.

Media Video | The Nature of Things : Trapped in a Human Zoo – Abraham's Mistake

Caption: Abraham quickly realized that agreeing to be shown in zoos was a huge mistake, but he placed the blame on himself.

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Trapped in a Human Zoo traces the work of France Rivet, author of In the footsteps of Abraham Ulrikab(external link). She has been piecing this story together for years and helped with the research for the documentary.
Inuit elder ​Johannes Lampe(external link) has been working with his community in Nain, Labrador, to repatriate the bodies and bring his ancestors home.

Trapped in a Human Zoo airs on (external link)The Nature of Things(external link) Thursday, Feb. 11, 2016, 8 p.m. on CBC-TV

This segment was produced by The Current's Shannon Higgins and Cathy Simon.