Nomenclature[edit]
Origin[edit]
Two principal competing etymologies have been proposed for the name "Eskimo," both derived from the Innu-aimun (Montagnais) language, an Algonquian language of the Atlantic Ocean coast. The most commonly accepted today appears to be the proposal of Ives Goddard at the Smithsonian Institution, who derives it from the Montagnais word meaning "snowshoe-netter"[10] or "to net snowshoes."[1] The word assime•w means "she laces a snowshoe" in Montagnais. Montagnais speakers refer to the neighbouring Mi'kmaq peopleusing words that sound very much like eskimo.[11][12] The second proposal, from Jose Mailhot, a Quebec anthropologist who speaks Montagnais, published a paper in 1978 which suggested, alternatively, that the meaning is "people who speak a different language".[13][14] French traders who encountered the Montagnais in the eastern areas, adopted their word for the more western peoples.
The primary reason some people consider Eskimo derogatory is the questionable but widespread perception[10][13][14][15] that in Algonkian languages it means "eaters of raw meat."[1][16][17] One Cree speaker suggested the original word that became corrupted to Eskimo might indeed have been askamiciw (which means "he eats it raw"), and the Inuit are referred to in some Cree texts as askipiw (which means "eats something raw").[16][18][19][20]
In 1977, the Inuit Circumpolar Conference meeting in Barrow, Alaska, officially adopted "Inuit" as a designation for all Eskimos, regardless of their local usages.[citation needed] The Inuit Circumpolar Council, as it is known today, uses both "Inuit" and "Eskimo" in its official documents.[21][22]