If "Eskimo" is a general term for inhabitants of the Arctic are there Eskimos in Lapland?

Answer 1

My understanding is limited but I lived in Alaska for 6 years and this is what I have gleaned. First, Eskimo is only a general term for northern natives to the "lower 48". It is not used that way in the Arctic area.

Second, Eskimos in their view are Not part & parcel of the rest of the Native Americans in the Arctic. They each consider themselves separate tribes. They are a distinct (and superior) tribe. In fact, after I had lived there for a while, I began to recognize the differences between the Es and the rest. There are 13-14 tribes, including the Es, recognized by the federal government and are paid handsomly every month for past mistreatment. Eskimos do not consider themselves Native Americans and may very well be connected to Laplanders and natives of others similiar climates. I do not know if Laplanders call themselves Eskimos. I suspect, like much of Indian language, Eskimo as an English word is a transmutation of their own word for themselves.

Answer 2

The term "Eskimo" is not a designation for inhabitants of the Arctic Circle. It is only for the Native North Americans of the Arctic region. The Native American Eskimos are not related to the Lapps in any way.

Answer 3

The native Arctic people of Lapland are the Sami. In olden times the Finns to the south called the Sami "Lapp", hence the placename. The Sami are I believe related to some Siberian tribes to the east much more closely than to the Innuit. The word "Eskimo" is a name that the First Canadians to the south of them called them by. English-speaking settlers heard the word 'Eskimo' and adopted it before they heard the word 'Innuit'.

Answer 4

Eskimo is just a name for the Innuit tribe, which live around that area. So if some of them went to Lapland and they chose to remain Innuit then you would have Eskimos in Lapland.

Answer 5

The word "Eskimo" is a controversial term today especially among those who study culture. Like what Mosh mentions, indigeneous people in the northern hemisphere are referred to as Inuit. Even so, there are several different tribes within that category (as what SisterGirl mentions too).

The term "Eskimo" is just like the racial terms "whites" and "blacks," which is merely just a convenient way of lumping everybody into groups based on biology or some specific trait, and failing to take into consideration, the individual's cultural background within the group.

Answer 6

The term "Eskimo" is not appreciated by the Native American people of the polar regions. It is insulting or in the best of cases paternalistic, because it means "eaters of raw meat".
They call themselves "the Innuit" ("the People").
The inhabitants of Lapland are in no way related to the Innuit.

Answer 7

No. The native peoples of Lapland are "Laplanders" and nothing else. There is no twisted matrix of elements on that that part of the earth.

Answer 8

In our north (Canada) they are not called Eskimo. The are Inuit. The only people that I know that like to be called Eskimos are the football players from Edmonton. (-: