The Indigenous woman who survived a desolate Arctic island | History

On September 16, 1921, Ada Blackjack watched as four white men planted a British flag on the shore of a desolate Siberian island. The group had been sent by Vilhjalmur Stefansson, the Canadian-born explorer, to colonise Wrangel Island, 140km (87 miles) off the coast of Siberia, on behalf of the British Empire.

As well as being a prime spot for fur trapping and walrus hunting – both profitable industries – Vilhjalmur saw the potential for a future airbase on the island, which could aid his search for the uncharted northern continent he was convinced existed. For the young, adventure-seeking explorers recruited, the prospect of being involved in such a mission was too great to refuse.

The plan was for the team to stay there for up to two years, with a supply ship scheduled to arrive after a year. Ada, a 23-year-old Iñupiat woman, would be their seamstress, sewing fur clothing to withstand the Arctic temperatures.

The only problem was that she did not want to be there, but by then it was too late. Behind her, the Silver Wave – the ship they’d arrived on and her sole connection to home – drifted towards the horizon as her eyes filled with tears.

“When we got to Wrangel Island, the land looked very large to me, but they said that it was only a small island,” said Ada in a statement published in Vilhjalmur’s book, Adventure of Wrangel Island, four years later in 1925. “I thought at first that I