what does the word Eskimo means to the Eskimo people?

Answer 1

"Eaters of raw meat"

Answer 2

Eskimo is a term used by non-Eskimo people. For most part it's considered derogatory, "eater of raw meat". Inuit, Inupiaq and Yupik are the 3 indigenous tribes.

Answer 3

The term "Eskimo" is an exonym that is not necessarily used by Eskimos themselves. The terms "Eskimo" and "Inuit" are frequently used interchangeably, however the term "Inuit" does not properly include the Alutiiq, Inupiaq, Sug'piak, and Yup'ik Eskimo populations of Alaska, or the Yupik population of Eastern Russia. “Inuit” refers to Arctic Native populations in Canada. Most Inuit do not call themselves "Eskimo", and many find the latter term highly offensive. The speakers of the Yupik languages don't usually share this view, and may self-identify as Eskimo.

Some Algonquian languages call Eskimos by names that mean "eaters of raw meat" or something that sounds similar. The Plains Ojibwe, for example, use the word êškipot ("one who eats raw," from ašk-, "raw," and -po-, "to eat") to refer to Eskimos. But in the period of the earliest attested French use of the word, the Plains Ojibwe were not in contact with Europeans, nor did they have very much direct contact with the Inuit in pre-colonial times. It is entirely possible that the Ojibwe have adopted words resembling "Eskimo" by borrowing them from French, and the French word merely sounds like Ojibwe words that can be interpreted as "eaters of raw meat". Furthermore, since Cree people also traditionally consumed raw meat, a pejorative significance based on this etymology seems unlikely.

The Montagnais language, a dialect of Cree which was known to French traders at the time of the earliest attestation of esquimaux, does not have vocabulary fitting this etymological analysis. 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. (Mailhot, J. L'étymologie de «Esquimau» revue et corrigée Etudes Inuit/Inuit Studies 2-2:59-70 1978; Goddard 1984 in Campbell 1997.)

The term "Eskimo" is still used in Alaska to refer to the state's Arctic peoples in general, whether or not they are Eskimos culturally or linguistically. For example, while some Yupik people prefer to be called "Yup'ik", they do not generally object to being called "Eskimo", but they do not consider themselves "Inuit". [1]

Among many non-Eskimos, the word "Eskimo" is falling out of use to refer to the Eskimo peoples in favor of the term "Inuit", which leads to much confusion as to the relationship between the Inuit and the Yup'ik. Much of the impetus behind this change probably traces to the books of Farley Mowat, particularly People of the Deer and The Desperate People. However, in Canada at least, a belief in the pejorative etymology of the word and the rejection of the term by the Inuit peoples were a major factor.

The term "Eskimos" is now used by some to refer to rugged and brave individuals who are able to deal with cold and ice even if they are not natives of the far North. For example, the Cambridge Eskimos, established in the 1930s and still active, are an ice hockey team based at the University of Cambridge in Britain, as well as the Abitibi Eskimos hockey team, based out of Iroquois Falls, Ontario, Canada. In somewhat the same vein, the Canadian Football League's Edmonton team is called the Eskimos.

Answer 4

I've heard "To Eat Raw Meat" before, but, more often I've heard it to mean "The People."

My Grandmother was Eskimo, though long removed from her people (taken when she was but a little thing by Missionary Christians who "wanted to save the Eskimo children from their un-godly, barbaric heritage..... yadda, yadda, yadda...") and she always translated it to "The People."

Funny, I noticed that in most "native" languages, whether Native American or Alaskan, or African, or whatever, the name of their people is simply "The People."
I suppose that they didn't see any other reason for any other classification.
Wouldn't it be nice if we were all not Americans or Brits or Arabs or whatever? Wouldn't it be nice if we were all just "The People?"

Just a thought.

The Chronicler

Answer 5

it propably means to them that they are eskimos.

Answer 6

It's Inuit for "dude".

Answer 7

pride

Answer 8

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