Eskimos...
I don't think it's actually mean or derogatory, it's just the name given to those people by white people, and they'd prefer to call themselves by the name they gave themselves.
There is the same issue in Australia with "Australian Aboriginals" and the term "indigenous Australians" is more politically correct (or even better are the names of each specific tribe or group).
Inuit isn't really correct either, as it refer specifically to the indigenous people of Canada and Greenland, while Eskimo also refers to the indigenous people of Alaska and Siberia, so if you're going to call them "Inuit" you also need to learn "Yupik" and "Unangam" (or "Aleut," which I think are the same as Unangam). Yupik and Unangam are both found in Alaska and Siberia.
Apparently Yupik people would prefer to be called "Eskimos" than be called "Inuit" and find "Inuit" more offensive.
There is the same issue in Australia with "Australian Aboriginals" and the term "indigenous Australians" is more politically correct (or even better are the names of each specific tribe or group).
Inuit isn't really correct either, as it refer specifically to the indigenous people of Canada and Greenland, while Eskimo also refers to the indigenous people of Alaska and Siberia, so if you're going to call them "Inuit" you also need to learn "Yupik" and "Unangam" (or "Aleut," which I think are the same as Unangam). Yupik and Unangam are both found in Alaska and Siberia.
Apparently Yupik people would prefer to be called "Eskimos" than be called "Inuit" and find "Inuit" more offensive.
I had a teacher who lived with Inuit people for a few years straight and they told him (*doesn't mean it's completely historicallyaccurate*) that the white people asked a different group of native people, "who are those people," asking about the Inuit people. The other native people responded, "Eskimo" which basically means eaters of raw flesh (and they do eat raw meat) which the Inuit people were pretty unhappy with because it makes them sound bad.Jeremy wrote:I don't think it's actually mean or derogatory, it's just the name given to those people by white people, and they'd prefer to call themselves by the name they gave themselves.
Wikipedia says that the translation of the word in that story is wrong, but:
Wikipedia wrote:Nevertheless, while the word is not inherently pejorative, owing to folklore and derogatory usage, since the 1970s in Canada and Greenland Eskimo has widely been considered offensive.
"I contend we are both atheists, I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours."
Emily Kulczyk
Emily Kulczyk
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Eskimo Joe
- Cold Blooded
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- Location: Iqaluit, Nunavut, Canada
I am an Inuk.
I am not offended by people saying Eskimo. It is half of my user name!Neither is my mom who was born on the land. But it is true that Canadian natives of the North wish to be called Inuit, which means the people, where an inuk is a person.
But I don't get why you posted the link to the "woman..." thread. What was the relation to the title of this thread and the the link?
And in regards to what Moxie wrote, I was told that as well. That a tribe in the western arctic area refered to Inuit as Eskimo's, which was native to that tribe/band's tongue meaning raw meat eaters. Which of course most of us are.
I am not offended by people saying Eskimo. It is half of my user name!Neither is my mom who was born on the land. But it is true that Canadian natives of the North wish to be called Inuit, which means the people, where an inuk is a person.
But I don't get why you posted the link to the "woman..." thread. What was the relation to the title of this thread and the the link?
And in regards to what Moxie wrote, I was told that as well. That a tribe in the western arctic area refered to Inuit as Eskimo's, which was native to that tribe/band's tongue meaning raw meat eaters. Which of course most of us are.
Eskimo Joe
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Blue_turnip
- Egyptian Footgod
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hacksterbator
- Washed-Up Child Star
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Just because you don't have a problem with racist terms being directed at you, doesn't mean that other people don't either. I've had racist comments directed at me over the years, especially in school, and some were just funny because the people were so stupid, but others were definitely genuinely insulting. I don't think people can comprehend real racism unless they're subjected to it, so I think the only morally acceptable thing to do is acknowledge that there are some people out there who are offended with the use of particular words, even if you know some people who are not, and that there are alternative words that get across the same meaning without being offensive and to use those alternatives so as not to avoid people.Blue_turnip wrote:I get called "ang mo" all the time, but do you see me complaining?
Jesus...