Inuit

Inuit is the term used to identify the indigenous peoples of the Canadian Arctic. Inuit (singular, Inuk) means “people” in Inuktitut, Innuinaqtun, and Inuvialuktun, the three dialects of the Canadian High Arctic. The term has replaced “Eskimo” in most political discourse. Eskimo is an external label, long believed to have its origins as an Algonquian Indian word thought to mean “raw-meat eater.”

Despite the narrow meaning of Inuit as a designate for Canadian Arctic indigenous peoples, the term has sometimes been more broadly applied to other Arctic peoples who share their origins with Canadian Inuit. These peoples all speak languages from the Eskimo branch of the Eskimo-Aleut family and include Kalaalit (in Greenland), Inuvialuit (Western Canada),Iñupiat (in Alaska), Central Yup'ik (Alaska), Siberian Yup'ik (Alaska and Russia), and Asiatic Eskimo (Russia). These are all peoples who, like Canadian Inuit, find “Eskimo” an unsatisfactory referent but also prefer to use their own self-designates instead of “Inuit.”

Deciding on appropriate labels for particular groups can be somewhat hazardous, especially since categories and labels can change rapidly as indigenous peoples acquire greater self-determination and autonomy and develop regional, national, and international identities. Anthropologists are quite aware of these shifting sands but continue to use “Eskimo” as an appropriate referent in historical and comparative work.

Canadian Inuit, the subject of this entry, have been attractive subjects for southerners because of their ability to survive in an especially difficult and inhospitable environment, and to do so with a particular style and grace. Their ability to survive is based on a toolkit known for its technical complexity despite very limited materials for constructing that toolkit. The toggling harpoon head, for example, makes ideal use of scarce materials, conserves those materials for reuse, and also ensures the capture of marine mammals that might otherwise escape. As another example, Inuit clothing design and manufacture makes ideal use of furs and skins in a manner that conserves heat without restricting movement or blood flow.

Inuit technical sophistication has translated to the contemporary arena as well. Every anthropologist who has traveled with Inuit has firsthand knowledge [Page 1318]of the ability, honed by experience, experimentation, and necessity, to make equipment repairs with limited and seemingly unsuitable materials.

Inuit are also highly regarded by southerners for behavioral attributes. Equanimity and even cheerfulness in trying circumstances is highly prized by Inuit, and a particular point of emphasis in Inuit culture is the high value placed on helpfulness. Inuit gain greater prestige through giving gifts of food, sharing labor, and the exchange of knowledge than they ever could by being a great hunter or seamstress alone.

Because of the harsh environment in which Inuit live and the sophisticated technology they use to survive in that environment, they were natural subjects for anthropologists interested in understanding human–environment relationships. The Arctic during the 1950s and1960s became one of the principal testing grounds for the cultural ecology approach developed by Julian Steward.

David Damas's Environment, History, and Central Eskimo Society, published in 1969, exemplifies this kind of work. Damas examined the three Central Eskimo groups, Copper, Netsilik, and Iglulik, paying particular attention to the relationships between ecological factors, subsistence patterns, and social features of each of these groups. Although they all shared a common and recent ancestry, some particular social formations, such as the large winter villages that typically contained up to 50 and occasionally up to 200 people, were present or absent in these groups due to ecological circumstances. The method of hunting ringed seals through the sea ice, most commonly found among Netsilik and Copper Eskimos but absent among Iglulik Eskimos, is most successfully accomplished by large groups of hunters working cooperatively. Damas did not discount other, purely social factors that could promote large seasonal aggregations, but most anthropologists assume that the need for food outweighs concerns about sociality.

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