| Names, Numbers, and Northern Policy: Inuit, Project Surname, and the Politics of Identity is a brief study of the politics of naming in the Canadian Arctic. The author is a journalist and social scientist whose life-long interest in the study of naming brought her to this little-known facet of Inuit history. From 1969 to 1972 the Canadian government sponsored a program that resulted in every Inuit being renamed. The history of naming in the Arctic is traced to early missionaries and traders. Their attempts to pronounce and write Inuit names for their official business were hampered by what they perceived as difficult names. So in an effort to simplify their life they developed a program that assigned numbers to each Inuit person. The author traces this development with the assistance of limited archival documents and extensive oral testimony of many Inuit who lived with the number system. The book begins by explaining the cultural significance of names for traditional Inuit. The author concludes that this traditional namesake system served to continue the life of the community. With the introduction of numbers and surnames, this constituted an assault on Inuit culture and relationships. However, Inuit have found ways to counteract this assault and continue to name their children according to tradition. This book is an important contribution to the study of the Canadian North and the Inuit. It serves as an example of the racism and colonialism that has marred Canada-Inuit relations. The book includes a chronology, glossary, and bibliography. |
