Dorothy Margaret Eber, Dorothy Harley Eber, C.M.
gg.ca. Accessed October 11, 2022. ( Harley; March 18, 1925 – August 16, 2022) was a British-born Canadian author and one of the first people to transcribe and publish

oral histories Oral history is the collection and study of historical information about individuals, families, important events, or everyday life using audiotapes, videotapes, or transcriptions of planned interviews. These interviews are conducted with people wh ...

Inuit Inuit (; iu, ᐃᓄᐃᑦ 'the people', singular: Inuk, , dual: Inuuk, ) are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic and subarctic regions of Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories ...

in Nunavut in both English and Inuktitut. During the 1970s, she was one of the first writers to record their oral history on tape. She then completed the first oral biography of an Inuk,

Pitseolak Ashoona Pitseolak Ashoona ( – May 28, 1983;) was an Inuk Canadian artist admired for her prolific body of work. She was also a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts. Biography Pitseolak was born to Timungiak and Oootochie on Nottingham Island ...

, based on first hand accounts. Printed in both English and Inuktitut, it is said that ''Pitseolak: Pictures out of my Life'' was the first book, after the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts ...

, to be published in the

Inuit language The Inuit languages are a closely related group of indigenous American languages traditionally spoken across the North American Arctic and adjacent subarctic, reaching farthest south in Labrador. The related Yupik languages (spoken in weste ...

. Her multiple other works, including films and exhibitions, as well as her written material, have provided Canadians with a better understanding of Inuit culture. She was invited regularly to present at museums and cultural institutions worldwide, international conferences, and has contributed articles to international journals. She served on committees to judge annual

Inuit art Inuit art, also known as Eskimo art, refers to artwork produced by Inuit, that is, the people of the Arctic previously known as Eskimos, a term that is now often considered offensive. Historically, their preferred medium was walrus ivory, but s ...

competitions.

Biography

Eber was born in

Bromley Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is south-east of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 87,889 as of 2011. Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, c ...

, England of Welsh and

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

n parentage, she spent her early childhood in both Wales and England. She attended schools in Wales, England,

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

and Nova Scotia's Edgehill School for Girls. She was also a graduate of the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 ...

. After graduation she worked as a reporter and in 1968 made her first trip to the

Arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenland), Finland, Iceland, N ...

to the community of

Cape Dorset Kinngait (Inuktitut meaning "high mountain" or "where the hills are"; Syllabics: ᑭᙵᐃᑦ), formerly known as Cape Dorset until 27 February 2020, is an Inuit hamlet located on Dorset Island near Foxe Peninsula at the southern tip of Baffin ...

, famous for its Inuit artists. She returned in 1970 to do interviews with the graphic artist Pitseolak Ashoona. The book, with Ashoona's drawings and prints, was published the next year and has never been out of print. Since that time she has undertaken many more interview projects in the North. Tapes for her interviews are deposited in the

Canadian Museum of Civilization The Canadian Museum of History (french: Musée canadien de l’histoire) is a national museum on anthropology, Canadian history, cultural studies, and ethnology in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. The purpose of the museum is to promote the heritage of C ...

, Ottawa. Over two summers, she also interviewed many elderly residents of

Baddeck Baddeck () is a village in northeastern Nova Scotia, Canada. It is situated in the centre of Cape Breton, approximately 6 km east of where the Baddeck River empties into Bras d'Or Lake. Local governance is provided by the rural municipality ...

, Nova Scotia, who worked with Alexander Graham Bell on the hydrofoil and the

tetrahedral kite A tetrahedral kite is a multicelled rigid box kite composed of tetrahedrally shaped cells to create a kind of tetrahedral truss. The cells are usually arranged in such a way that the entire kite is also a regular tetrahedron. The kite can be desc ...

s which he developed there after the telephone made him famous. Her book ''Genius at Work: Images of Alexander Graham Bell'' was published in 1982 by

Viking Press Viking Press (formally Viking Penguin, also listed as Viking Books) is an American publishing company owned by Penguin Random House. It was founded in New York City on March 1, 1925, by Harold K. Guinzburg and George S. Oppenheim and then acquir ...

, New York and later by

Nimbus Nimbus, from the Latin for "dark cloud", is an outdated term for the type of cloud now classified as the nimbostratus cloud. Nimbus also may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Halo (religious iconography), also known as ''Nimbus'', a ring of ligh ...

, Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Death

Eber died from pneumonia in

Oakville, Ontario Oakville is a town in Halton Region, Ontario, Canada. It is located on Lake Ontario between Toronto and Hamilton. At its 2021 census population of 213,759, it is Ontario's largest town. Oakville is part of the Greater Toronto Area, one of the ...

, on August 16, 2022, at the age of 97.

Selected bibliography

* * * * * * *

References

External links

Listening to the North: Dorothy Harley Eber's Oral Histories
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eber, Dorothy Harley 1925 births 2022 deaths 20th-century Canadian women writers Canadian non-fiction writers Canadian women historians English emigrants to Canada Members of the Order of Canada Oral historians of indigenous American culture University of Toronto alumni