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When she makes a house caJJ, it may
mean wending her way among 10-story
icebergs in 75-beIow-zero weather
Photos and Text by
ARTHUR SCHATZ
When DR. ingrid GivsKUD gets an emergency call, it
could mean a two-day trek by dog sled through the
21-hour polar darkness in 75-below-zero weather over a
frozen coastal sea where 10-story icebergs are routine
hazards. And when she gets there, it could mean perform
ing an appendectomy in an Eskimo hut by the light of a
whale-blubber lamp, while serving as her own anesthetist.
Since 195G, this cheerful, strong-willed woman has been
the Danish government's medical officer for the 550 Eski
mos living in a 400-square-mile territory around Kanak,
Greenland, 700 miles above the Arctic Circle. Dr. Givskud
has won the respect of her patients not only through her
medical help but also by learning to drive her own dog
sled, hunt sea lions, and eat whale steaks like a native.
To show their appreciation, the Eskimos elected her to
their hunting council the first woman ever so honored.
r.lmill; Wrelli. July 1W3
By the light of a whale-oil
lamp, Dr. Givskud (upper
left) examines a child for
mumps. She pays a social
call on one of the village
patriarchs and his wife
(upper right) and joins
some young patients (left)
in a religious celebration.
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