Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Humanities/2016 June 15

= June 15 =

Inuit kinship in anthropology?
The previous discussion about not having names for certain relations took me to the page Eskimo kinship, which notes that "Eskimo" is a term that is not used in Canada, replaced by "Inuit". It doesn't say so, but does that mean that in Canadian anthropological circles the concept is called "Inuit kinship"? Or do they still use "Eskimo kinship" in the anthropological context? Or do they use a different term altogether? --PalaceGuard008 (Talk) 11:25, 15 June 2016 (UTC)
 * Yes, "Inuit kinship" is a term widespread in the literature. Here are some scholarly sources (as early as the mid 1990s) using the phrase. "Eskimo" has morphed from the standard exonym, with no disparagement intended, to almost a racial slur in Canada, whereas across the border in Alaska it is still a useful and used term. I'm reminded of the evolution of the word "Negro", which I've been working on. Our articles Native American name controversy, Inuit and Eskimo provide context. Carbon Caryatid (talk) 12:57, 15 June 2016 (UTC)
 * Thanks, especially for the refs. I've added a line to the article to complete the sentence there. --PalaceGuard008 (Talk) 14:54, 15 June 2016 (UTC)