michaelm@3comvax.UUCP (Michael McNeil) (02/08/86)
In article <15600029@uiucdcsb> render@uiucdcsb.CS.UIUC.EDU writes: >> 'Eskimo' is a derogatory term meaning 'eater of raw meat'. >> Their name for themselves is 'Inuit'. > > Having learned about Inuit culture as a child (progressive schooling) >and having a great deal of respect for them as a people, let me also state >that I did not know that 'Eskimo' was a derogatory term to them. I think it >is possible to inform people of this fact without being condescending and >pedantic. > Hal Render I remember hearing (on a nature program about the far north I believe it was, but I don't recall which right now), that only in Canada is the term Inuit used for Eskimos. In Alaska they are still known as Eskimo. As far as I'm able to recollect from my memory of the program, Alaskan Eskimos do not find this name offensive. Can someone with more direct knowledge of the Eskimo in contemporary Alaska shed more light on this? -- Michael McNeil 3Com Corporation "All disclaimers including this one apply" (415) 960-9367 ..!ucbvax!hplabs!oliveb!3comvax!michaelm The way that can be walked on is not the perfect way. The word that can be said is not the perfect word. Lao-Tzu, 3rd century B.C., *Tao Te Ching*, Poem 1, translated as *The Way of Life*
abh6509@ritcv.UUCP (A. Hudson) (02/11/86)
In article <406@3comvax.UUCP> michaelm@3comvax.UUCP (Michael McNeil) writes: >In article <15600029@uiucdcsb> render@uiucdcsb.CS.UIUC.EDU writes: > >I remember hearing (on a nature program about the far north I believe >it was, but I don't recall which right now), that only in Canada is the >term Inuit used for Eskimos. In Alaska they are still known as Eskimo. > >As far as I'm able to recollect from my memory of the program, Alaskan >Eskimos do not find this name offensive. Can someone with more direct >knowledge of the Eskimo in contemporary Alaska shed more light on this? > >Michael McNeil Eskimo is a traditional name for a certain ethnic group inhabiting Northern and Western Alaska. They call themselves eskimo. The Inuit are a separate ethnic group of Northern Canada. To us they may seem pretty similar and they may have evolved from the same asiatic migration. They, however, consider themselves different. When I was a kid I spent a couple years in a small fishing village on the Western face of Alaska and learned some of the culture. I think the real point of this discussion (why is it in net.singles???) is whether or not Northern Native Americans have a more relaxed attitude towards sex. Can anyone answer this?? A. Hudson
paul@ccunix.UUCP (Paul Killey) (02/12/86)
If Eskimo is derogatory, no one's told the NY Times. They just used it in a headline the other day.
weemba@brahms.BERKELEY.EDU (Matthew P. Wiener) (02/14/86)
In article <406@3comvax.UUCP> michaelm@3comvax.UUCP (Michael McNeil) writes: >I remember hearing (on a nature program about the far north I believe >it was, but I don't recall which right now), that only in Canada is the >term Inuit used for Eskimos. In Alaska they are still known as Eskimo. > >As far as I'm able to recollect from my memory of the program, Alaskan >Eskimos do not find this name offensive. Can someone with more direct >knowledge of the Eskimo in contemporary Alaska shed more light on this? A friend was at the University of Alaska one year. He told me they called them Native Americans in all official University material. ucbvax!brahms!weemba Matthew P Wiener/UCB Math Dept/Berkeley CA 94720
mac@uvacs.UUCP (Alex Colvin) (02/18/86)
> A friend was at the University of Alaska one year. He told me they called > them Native Americans in all official University material. > Same at Dartmouth College, founded as an "Indian school". On the other hand, many of us are native Americans without being (closely) related to the native American peoples. The term Eskimo is useful to distinguish that population from the Athabascans & Algonquins and the Aleutians.