The Collapse of the Sadlermiut: From Isolation to Extinction

For centuries, the Sadlermiut people lived in isolation on the shores of Hudson Bay in the Canadian Arctic. Cut off from the rest of the world, they believed they were the only people on Earth. Their way of life was harsh but stable, relying on hunting, fishing, and traditions passed down through generations. This isolation kept them free from outside influence, but it also made them vulnerable in ways they could not foresee.

In 1818, everything changed when European whalers ventured into the Arctic. At first, the contact seemed minor, but it introduced something far more dangerous than ships or weapons: disease. With no immunity to illnesses carried by outsiders, the Sadlermiut population began to collapse. Epidemics spread rapidly, wiping out communities that had survived for centuries in one of the harshest environments on Earth. By 1903, the Sadlermiut were gone.

However, archaeologists and genetic studies suggest the Sadlermiut may have been the last descendants of the Dorset culture, an older Arctic people who lived before the Inuit. Because of this, while the Sadlermiut as a people disappeared, traces of their ancestry may still survive within the broader Inuit population today. Their story is both tragic and fascinating, showing how fragile isolation can be when the outside world finally breaks in.