A Note on Terminology

Eskimo, Inuit and Greenlander: Eskimo is the historical term for the culturally similar indigenous peoples who inhabit Greenland, northern Canada and Alaska. There are various possibilities for the meaning of Eskimo, such as “people who speak a different language,” “people who make snowshoes” and “people who eat raw meat.” None of these descriptions are universally accepted by linguists or the people themselves.

Although considered by many to be a slur today, Eskimo is not inherently a pejorative word and was originally how all Arctic peoples were known. Now, the term Inuit is generally preferred by the people of Arctic Canada. In Alaska, the preferred terms are Eskimo or Alaska Native, and in Greenland the common term is Greenlander or, among English speakers, Inuit. In academic literature, the word Inuit is now prevalent.

In this work, I have opted to use the word Inuit except when quoting from historical documents.

In his time, Rasmussen was sometimes called a white Eskimo.

Tribe: In his writings, Rasmussen referred to the various small nomadic and seminomadic groups of Inuit he encountered throughout the Arctic as tribes. Today the term is rarely used, the sense sometimes being captured by the words band and community. For the sake of clarity and continuity, I have opted to retain Rasmussen’s use of the word tribe to describe these groups of Inuit hunters as they existed a century ago.