Last
time I hit on the recording about the Inuit. I was surprised and I
didn't know what was the meaning of this word. Actually, I know it
but in the different name : the Eskimo. Before to continue, I post a
little explanation about it made by Lawrence Kaplan:
„Inuit
or Eskimo: Which name to use?
Although
the name "Eskimo" is commonly used in Alaska to refer to
all Inuit and Yupik people of the world, this name is considered
derogatory in many other places because it was given by non-Inuit
people and was said to mean "eater of raw meat."
Linguists
now believe that "Eskimo" is derived from an Ojibwa word
meaning "to net snowshoes." However, the people of Canada
and Greenland prefer other names. "Inuit," meaning
"people," is used in most of Canada, and the language is
called "Inuktitut" in eastern Canada although other local
designations are used also. The Inuit people of Greenland refer to
themselves as "Greenlanders" or "Kalaallit" in
their language, which they call "Greenlandic" or
"Kalaallisut."
Most
Alaskans continue to accept the name "Eskimo,"
particularly because "Inuit" refers only to the Inupiat
of northern Alaska, the Inuit of Canada, and the Kalaallit of
Greenland, and it is not a word in the Yupik languages of Alaska
and Siberia.”
Let
us return to the matter in hand. Before, I have known about Eskimo,
but it was rather stereotypical and I didn't know how their life is
difficult.
When
I was listening to this recording, I was feeling two emotions at once
in the inhabitants of a village in Alaska: hopelessness and sadness.
There are lots of suicides of young people in this village. When we
listen on the over the world that the youth is the best time of the
life, in the Inuit it is the worst time, especially because they
don't have hope for a better future.
In
this minority the demografic increase is very high, the villages are
over-populated. Ten people living in three rooms is a very common
thing.
The
old inhabitants of the village think that the past was better even if
they had to sleep in tents, hunt and fish to survive.
There
are few reasons of the suicides of the young people. Firstly, there
have a big problem with alcohol, drugs and sexual harassment.
Secondly, there is no future for them. Thirdly, they think that life
is too difficult.
For
me, it is extremely sad that the young people have the vision of life
like that. It is a vicious cicrcle because they want to find some
solace in the alcohol. They say directly that they are not happy
which is very sad for me.
I
feel the injustice because minorities are something that should be
protected during the the minority of Inuit is completely forgot by
the government. If the old Inuit die and the young suicide, there
will be no one to pass the tradition which certainly has a lot of
value.
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