Eskimos kill their young?

[snopes]

Comment: I recently heard that eskimos kill, or have killed, their own
babies because they are a nomadic people. I understand the reasoning
behind this (although it's a bit twisted coming from my neck of the woods)
and was just wondering if it were true. I realize cutting down on weight
and having fewer mouths to feed would make it easier to travel and
survive.

[iskinner]

I have also heard this about Eskimos. I can not say for sure, yes they did. But it was not a very uncommon occurrence in cultures past, so it would not surprise me that Eskimos did, as did Aztecs, Incas and Carthaginians, to name a few of which I am aware. And as most of those, probably overblown in how frequent this happened.

[Spam & Cookies-mmm]

According to this movie The Savage Innocents, eskimos kill first-born girl babies, and weak or sickly babies. We watched this movie in Anthropology class in 8th grade, so I know it must be true.

Wiki says

A far more common response to desperate conditions and the threat of starvation was infanticide, which did sometimes entail abandoning an infant in hopes that someone less desperate might find and adopt it before the cold or the wildlife finished it off.

[MapleLeaf]

For the record, they much much much prefer to be called "Inuit".

[Spam & Cookies-mmm]

Aren't there some who are Inuit, and some who are... um, something else?

[MapleLeaf]

Originally Posted by Spam & Cookies-mmm

Aren't there some who are Inuit, and some who are... um, something else?

I can't speak for the US, but in Canada, there are Aboriginals and there are Inuit. The Inuit are the ones who live in the Arctic.

[Ryda Wong, EBfCo.]

I'm pretty sure that this kind of thing is/was not uncommon (during some time period) in all cultures. If you don't have ready B.C., and you have one too many, it makes sense to get rid of it. Kinda like a momma cat killing of the runt in a large litter.

I'm kinda curious why the commentor's informant focused on "Eskimos," though. Oh, right, they're them brown, savage folk that kill baby seals and live in Igloos. They'd be likely to do anything, right? Not like us genteel people from this neck of the woods (by which I'm guessing he means something below the Mason/Dixon line, or do you northerner's use that too?).

[Cervus]

Originally Posted by Spam & Cookies-mmm

Aren't there some who are Inuit, and some who are... um, something else?

Aleut or Unangan?

A few years ago a poster on the ULMB became very upset that the word Eskimo was being used to refer to these tribes. According to her it was a racial slur on par with the n-word. She became further upset upon hearing that none of us posting in the thread knew it was considered a racial slur. The first I heard of it being an offensive term was on this board. Until then I'd thought it was the name of the tribe.

[snopes]

Originally Posted by Ryda Wong, EBfCo.

I'm kinda curious why the commentor's informant focused on "Eskimos," though.

Because a common perception of Eskimos is that they're a nomadic people living in a harsh climate were conditions are difficult and food (and other necessities) is often scarce.

Oh, right, they're them brown, savage folk that kill baby seals and live in Igloos. They'd be likely to do anything, right? Not like us genteel people from this neck of the woods (by which I'm guessing he means something below the Mason/Dixon line, or do you northerner's use that too?).

Do you think maybe you could read a little more of your own vitriol into it?

- snopes

[MapleLeaf]

The first I heard of it being an offensive term was on this board. Until then I'd thought it was the name of the tribe.

Nope, just the name of Edmonton's CFL team.

[UEL]

I know at one time it was spelled Esquimaux, a la the French. I was always under the understanding that it was because the words Eskimo was a form of the words "eaters of raw meat" from the Algonquin language.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eskimo#...he_term_Eskimo

Wikipedia backs me up.

[FloridaGirl]

I feel stupid now, but we read a Greek play (I think it was a Greek Play) and a baby son was born, but he was a bastard or something (ETA: a deformed foot, maybe?), and he was left in the mountains to die.

If I remember right he came back and slept with his mother unknowingly, or something. GAh! Anyone know what I'm talking about?

So, yes, leaving babies out to die has happened, as others have said. However, I've always associated this with times past.

[black roses19]

Originally Posted by FloridaGirl

I feel stupid now, but we read a Greek play (I think it was a Greek Play) and a baby son was born, but he was a bastard or something (ETA: a deformed foot, maybe?), and he was left in the mountains to die.

If I remember right he came back and slept with his mother unknowingly, or something. GAh! Anyone know what I'm talking about?

So, yes, leaving babies out to die has happened, as others have said. However, I've always associated this with times past.

I believe you are referring to Oedipus.

[FloridaGirl]

That would be it. At least I sorta remembered it.

[Richard W]

In his book Collapse, Jared Diamond uses the example of a Pacific society on the remote island of Tikopia that routinely practiced infanticide as a method of population control. (They also used coitus interruptus and late-term abortion, presumably^* because late-term was more reliable and easier to deal with than early-term) It's a tiny island that can't support more than about 1,500 people. Another method of reducing the population was apparently "virtual suicide", where young adults voluntarily set out on voyages of exploration from which they weren't expected to return. Diamond uses Tikopia as an example of a society that was successful in difficult conditions.

The thing that struck me about the thread was the word "young", rather than "babies", in the title. Don't animals have young?

[Nick Theodorakis]

Originally Posted by Spam & Cookies-mmm

Aren't there some who are Inuit, and some who are... um, something else?

In Alaska, the Yupik and the Inupiat are often called "Eskimos" and although related to the Inuit, prefer not to be called "Inuit."

cite
cite
cite

There are also other Native Alaskan groups such as the Aleuts (Unangan) which are also somewhat related to the Inuit, but are never called Inuit nor Eskimos.

Nick

[Hero_Mike]

In the movie, "The Mission", the aboriginal "Indians" of South America are described as barbaric because they only parents only have two children. If a third is born, it is left to die. The reason for this was that each parent can only carry one child when travelling through the jungle, usually trying to escape from slave traders. (Slave-trading is central theme in the movie.)

Whether they are apocryphal or not, there are many stories of infanticide by aboriginal people, regardless of where they lived, or when.

[Avu]

Originally Posted by UEL

I know at one time it was spelled Esquimaux, a la the French. I was always under the understanding that it was because the words Eskimo was a form of the words "eaters of raw meat" from the Algonquin language.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eskimo#...he_term_Eskimo

Wikipedia backs me up.

Not entirely. From your cite:

A variety of competing etymologies have been proposed over the years, but the most likely source is the Montagnais word meaning "snowshoe-netter". Since Montagnais speakers refer to the neighbouring Mi'kmaq people using words that sound very much like eskimo, many researchers have concluded that this is the more likely origin of the word.

Ok, here goes.

A Brief Treatise on Ethnicity and Nomenclature in Alaska

By Avu

So, there are two types of Eskimos in Alaska, Inupiaq and Yup'ik. I'm half Inupiaq. "Eskimo" is not considered a slur here, but it's better to be more specific if you can. Inupiaq people are originally from the northern and northwestern coast of Alaska. We are anthropologically and linguistically almost identical to the Inuit of Canada, but we just like to call ourselves Inupiaq. I don't know why.

Yup'ik people are originally from the western and southwesten coast of the mainland. There are several subgroups, such as central Yup'ik, Siberian Yup'ik and Alutiiq. More in Russia.

The Aleuts from the Aleutian Islands are not considered Eskimos, but they are more closely related to Eskimos than Inupiaq.

Then you have Indians.

"Indian" is not considered a slur either, but again, it's best to be more specific if you can. Tone of voice goes a long way too.

The largest Indian group, by both population and land area are the Athabascans. They are from the interior of the state. there are many, many subgroups, mostly distinguished by dialect. Athabascans can also be found in the western interior of Canada. The language, I understand, is very similar to Dine' Navajo.

In the panhandle, you have Tlingit, Tsimshian, and Haida. I'm pretty sure all three of these groups are in Canada also.

All of the above, incidentally, will answer to Native or Alaska Native. We dont' say aboriginal here. People would give you a funny look or think you were talking about Native Australians.

And there you have it.

Originally Posted by Richard W

The thing that struck me about the thread was the word "young", rather than "babies", in the title. Don't animals have young?

Aren't humans animals?

As to if Eskimos kill their young, I have no idea, but it wouldn't suprise me if it was done in the past in desperate situations. I'd rather freeze to death in a couple hours than starve to death for a month.

[Troberg]

For the record, they much much much prefer to be called "Inuit".

If the accusation is about infanticide, I suspect they'd prefer that the word Aztec (or any other word not related to them at all) is used, as it is less likely to be associated with Eskimos/Inuits. I sure would...

[Bonnie]

Originally Posted by UEL

I know at one time it was spelled Esquimaux, a la the French. I was always under the understanding that it was because the words Eskimo was a form of the words "eaters of raw meat" from the Algonquin language.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eskimo#...he_term_Eskimo

Wikipedia backs me up.

Originally Posted by Avu

Not entirely. From your cite:

In that vein, then, I'll point out that we've had at least one previous discussion about possible derivations of "Eskimo,"

http://msgboard.snopes.com/message/ultimatebb.php?/ubb/get_topic/f/47/t/000368/p/1.html#000005

(The discussion starts with Baikal's post and goes on a bit in that thread.)

-- Bonnie