"Jim Carter" wrote:
"Dr. Dr. K.G. Sherlock" wrote:
This in depth discussion with James and Floyd shows the confusion about the
natives of the North.

I found this web site and I would like to hear James and Floyds review of
the information provided.

That web site demonstrates a significant problem with learning
much of anything about Eskimo people or their cultures. The
site is filled with both correct and incorrect information. And
generally speaking that is true of almost anything you can find
on the Internet or in any library.

"Eskimo" is one of the most misunderstood topics that exist. A
researcher practically has to be an expert to find useful
information, simply because it requires knowing what to accept
and what to reject. For the average person that is simply
impossible. For example, just about every tale you've ever
heard about Eskimos is wrong. They don't give you their wife,
they don't put old people out to die, and despite 200 years of
claims to the contrary, they do have a *very* sophisticated
concept of private property, and a *very* sophisticated form of
governance.

This web site agrees with Floyd.
http://www.quarkexpeditions.com/arctic/culture.shtml

Hi Dr. Sherlock: The following is a cut and paste from the above web
site.....

** The word "Eskimo" comes from eskipot, an Algonquian word meaning "an
eater of raw flesh." Some Eskimos feel this attribution puts them in a poor
light with modern audiences and prefer to use other terms. The most widely
used is "Inuit" which really refers specifically to the Eskimos of the
eastern Canadian Arctic.**

"Refers specifically to the Eskimos of the eastern Canadian
Arctic"? No, it doesn't.

Nor does "Eskimo" come from a single Algonquian word having
anything to do with eating raw flesh.

Here is a more complete quote, demonstrating the mix of accurate
and inaccurate statements:

"The most widely used is "Inuit" which really refers
specifically to the Eskimos of the eastern Canadian Arctic. In
the Bering Sea region, Eskimos prefer to be called "Yup'ik,"
while the North Slope Alaska Eskimos prefer "Inupiat" and
Mackenzie Delta Eskimos prefer "Inuvialuit." (The word
"Eskimo" will be used occasionally to refer to all native
Arctic people.)"

The use of geography to draw the lines between differing Eskimos
is erroneous. There are, for example, many Inupiat people
living in the Bering Sea region. And of course many of the
Yupik people are Alutiiq or Siberia Yupik, not Yup'ik. (The
writer of that text is apparently unaware that Yup'ik means only
Central Alaskan Yupik, not all Yupik.) It also totally ignores
Greenland.

There are other similar problems with the entire text. For
example the section on cultural history is based on several
false premises. It should be noted that the migration of the
Inuit language and the Thule technology eastward into Canada and
Greenland was a migration of culture, not people. DNA studies
have indicated that probably not more that 250 individuals
actually migrated into Greenland from more western locations,
yet virtually the entire Dorset population of Greenland
eventually adopted Thule technology and eventually became
today's modern Inuit.

This is exactly what I was referring to. I am a Canadian. The Inuit are
Canadian from the Eastern Arctic. I said that numerous times. ( You will
note that the web site is from CT. USA. )

That is an incorrect statement. There are Inuit people from
western Alaska all the way to eastern Greenland.

However, the only people who typically refer to themselves as
Inuit, when speaking English or Inuit, are the Canadian Inuit
you speak of. All of the others use different words to describe
themselves, both in their language and in English.

Please, DO NOT refere to the Inuit as "Eskimos". They really don't like it
at all!

That isn't true in the sense that you continue to claim.

I'm glad that you live in the same country that some Eskimos do,
and have an interest in being polite to them. I've lived most
of my life in the same house with Eskimos...

Quyanukpuk

--
Floyd L. Davidson http://web.newsguy.com/floyd_davidson
Ukpeagvik (Barrow, Alaska)