"Dr. Dr. K.G. Sherlock" wrote:
Jim C,

He does agree with you that Eskimo is considered derogatory in some areas of
the north ..... "but is still acceptable in Alaska, mainly because Alaska
includes Yup'ik people who are closely related
culturally and linguistically but are not Inuit. 'Eskimo' includes Yup'ik as
well as Inuit."**

I think where you and Floyd disagree is if natives from the Alaska area
would prefer to be called Inuit or Eskimos. According to the two experts I
cited, those native to Alaska prefer to be called Eskimos verses Inuit.

There are *no* people in Alaska who commonly refer to themselves
or anyone else as Inuit. The Inupiat people (and the majority
of people where I live are Inupiat) are in fact Inuit Eskimos.
And of course the more numerous Eskimos in Alaska are Yupik,
not Inuit. (My children and grandchildren are all Yupik.)

And we should note that appropriate use of the term Eskimo is
impossible to avoid in Alaska, since there is no other word with
the same meaning. That makes it a commonly used word here, but
in Canada and Greenland it is rarely needed simply because all
Eskimos there are in fact Inuit, and that *is* what they should
be called.

Since I live in the lower 48 I meet very few Alaskan natives, but I did find
this discussion interesting.

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