to ask if the term "eskimo" is politically incorrect?

[Joolyjoolyjoo]

Genuine question! DS (3) came home from nursery the other day telling me he knew how to build an igloo, having watched a film about it. After a blow by blow description of cutting ice blocks, I asked him if he knew what you call people who live in igloos. After initially saying "bears!", he told me that "indicators" lived in igloos. I was slightly puzzled and asked if he meant eskimos. He disagreed. Next day when I dropped him off he was telling his nursery teacher about the igloos, and I was laughing and said he was telling me that indicators lived in igloos. the teacher laughed and told him they were Inuits (penny dropped!)

Now I'm a bit paranoid that the term eskimo is somehow frowned upon! Have I missed something? Is it like "red Indians" now being native Americans? Please don't rip me to shreds if I am being very un-PC- I genuinely want to know!

Well if it was good enough for Ian Drury and the Blockheads.... 'Eskimo. Arapaho. Swing their bodies to and fro'

We lived in Alaska for 3 years.

The term used was "Alaskan Native", rather than Eskimo.

I don't think Eskimo was seen as derogatory, but just incorrect if anyone every used it by mistake.

They also don't have igloos in Alaska.

DS (4) has a lovely book all about a visitor trying to find a proper igloo in Alaska, and finding lots of other native traditional houses, but no igloos anywhere.

he was a very odd teacher

my mum made a complaint, i was still unaware of what was so wrong. he had a strange relationship with one of the girls at our school, she was far more mature than than the rest of us and used to leave with him after school. this was the 80's i am sure now he would be sacked

First I knew about it! I don't see anything wrong with 'oriental' either and lived in the Orient for a few years!
I genuinely find it confusing at 31 years old.

Just now acquainted with Eskimo Nell- what a wummin!

Do we really think that calling her Inuit Nell would make that poem less amusing offensive?

But I am now intrigued by the terminology surrounding arctic dwellers- I now know they shouldn't be called eskimos! I knew MN would be able to tell me! You guys are fab

alaska- so who does live in igloos?? I can't let this go, it seems!

The igloo is the most common symbol identified with Eskimos, yet most Eskimos don't live in what most people think an igloo is.

Igloo is simply the Eskimo word for "house." So, technically, most eskimos DO live in igloos, as they define them, but not as most people think of them.

Mainly through the use of cartoons, people have long thought that Eskimos live in the rounded icehouses in order to keep warm in the cold climates in which they live. This might have been true originally, but it's not true now.

Nowadays, Eskimos live in wood, stone, and even cement buildings. They have heating devices that keep them warm in the colder months.

I have learnt a very interesting fact tonight MN thanks!

Igloos are still used by Innu/it hunters when travelling on the ice, but it is very rare. The rest of the time they live is houses like ours, sadly in some very over crowded situations.
There are not year round roads for bringing in building materials, so they are brought by ice road, air or sea, making it all very expensive.

<a class="break-all" href="http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=www.canadiangeographic.ca/magazine/jf09/images/feat_nunavut1.jpg&imgrefurl=www.canadiangeographic.ca/magazine/jf09/feature_nunavut.asp&usg=__kvF5aOFvKJGBNq1B0PtplQYel24=&h=290&w=413&sz=30&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=G7_76UinYrHLQM:&tbnh=118&tbnw=156&ei=dvwETo_VD4TdgQfs48isDQ&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dnunavut%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DX%26rls%3Dcom.microsoft:en-ca:IE-SearchBox%26biw%3D1440%26bih%3D719%26tbm%3Disch%26prmd%3Divnsm&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=1125&vpy=252&dur=172&hovh=188&hovw=268&tx=242&ty=77&page=1&ndsp=32&ved=1t:429,r:15,s:0&biw=1440&bih=719" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">link

I though there was a nationality aspect.

In Alaska the two prominent groups (Yupik & Inupiat) use Eskimo to cover al indigenous people.

In Canada and Greenland, where only Iniuit (a sub-group of Inupiat iirc) reside, Eskimo is considered offensive.

I could be wrong about all of that.
And I'd check on Wikipedia but my browser is having a funny five minutes.

I'm so glad I started this thread- learning lots! goodynuff- thanks for that link, very interesting!

I have wondered if Inuits (see, i'm getting it right now!) did still actually live in igloos. Who knew AIBU could be so informative!

First Nations actually refers to those native 'tribes' who first signed tr. eaties with the English and French representatives of the crown(s), not sure what those who made treaties after are called other than indigenious. There are many indigenious tribes in Canada who have no treaties, and thus no special rights under the law. yet are treated and were treated to the same way ie having there children rounded up and removed to residential schools up until the mid to late 70's. The term first nations has nothing to do with who arrived first in what is now North America (Turtle Mountain). It has never to my knowledge be pejorative, and the term has been in use for about 25 or so years indeed is more repectful and accurate term for Government relations and media usage and in its strictest use refers only to those having official treaties.

In summation - the terms used in America are different than those used in Canada. To call First Nations people who live in Canada native Americans sounds very weird over here as while we are North Americans (in Canada) we are not Americans. Above the 49th we say First Nations or Aboriginal (or use the specific band name as someone mentions upthread, eg Tlingit nation), Metis, Inuit and Inui. Not that most of you will have a chance to put this into practice.

Fwiw, we grew up saying Eskimo & Indian and have all managed to switch over. I think people should be called what they prefer to be called & that can change over time.

Yeah, Eskimo is definitely un-pc. Regardless of the origin of the word it's associated with caricatures of native peoples not the actual people. I think Inuit refers to one particular ethnic group, rather than anyone who is a native person in the arctic circle. I think I'd go for native or indigenous people myself.

Native seems the preserve of non-polar people though. Not sure of the thinking there. Indigenous would work. In Canada we say Inuit, though the people of Labrador are Innu. I notice this site seems to lump all polar and sub-polar (like Dene) under Inuit. www.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca/eng/1100100010023/1100100010027

Good God, do people really still say 'red indian'?!

Yes, Eskimo is not an appropriate term. Better to refer to groups by their name (Innuit, Inpiat) or if you need a collective term, use aboriginal or indigenous arctic people. First nations isn't a catch all phrase, as it specifically refers to groups that had treaties with the British. So not only to arctic peoples not fall into this category, but many indigenous North Americans who live in Canada also do not.

Innuit are also an Atlantic Arctic group, not Arctic peoples of Alaska or Western Canada, so it can be confusing.

basically: Eskimo (not an appropriate term)= collective noun for Innuit, Inpiak, Yupik and other aboriginal Arctic peoples. Inuit is not a synonym or PC term that means Eskimo, but rather one group of the many different arctic peoples.

Collective terms are always problematic. Best to use indigenous or aboriginal arctic people.

As for igloos- it is simply a Innuit word for "house". So yes, they still live in 'igloos' but they are standard houses made of wood with foundations/ electricity/ plumbing and look like many other houses throughout the world. The stereotypical snow block creations were mostly used like tents as temporary hunting housing or emergency housing. So yes, they slept in them but didn't ever "live" out of them- they were always temporary structures.

What about Eskimo kisses?!

First I knew about it! I don't see anything wrong with 'oriental' either and lived in the Orient for a few years!
I genuinely find it confusing at 31 years old.
I think a lot of it depends on how the word is used - 'oriental' was often a used as a racial slur in America, whereas I don't think it has the same history in the UK. Ditto 'eskimo' in Canada.

I think the problem with 'Oriental' (which just means Eastern) is that it is othering, as it describes someones origins relative to Europe, rather than in their own terms (e.g. Japanese/Nihon-jin) or purely descriptively (e.g. South-East Asian).

I'm not surprised that many were unaware that Eskimo is non-PC. It's not something people in the UK would hear about. Similarly, I think many people in North America wouldn't be aware that "gypsy" is a pejorative term.

I did a quick google and found this, below. Admittedly, I only scanned through the blog but this quote from the second paragraph covers it:

"In America, however, the word "gypsy" is a cliche'. It is over (and improperly) used to describe a lifestyle rather than an actual race."

gypsyappropriations.blogspot.ca/2010/04/problem-with-word-gypsy.html

I'm sure most people who are made aware that such terms are offensive would stop using them.

Wow. Noone lives in ice houses.....

Zoe, I've worked in govt in Canada and the term First Nations is thrown about w gay abandon as a collective. First I've heard of it as having anything to do with treaties. Most of BC was not treated for over a hundred years post-contact, but we still said First Nations. I took more as a poke in the eye to calling the French & English "the founding nations". I've got close family members who are Indigenous & my exp (prior to exh) was from the territories & they say First Nations as a collective. But maybe I'm not up to speed, or perhaps there's a discrepancy between the legal term & how people use it? Though again, govt uses it as a catch-all.

treatied not treated.