I bet the headline caught your attention because the word Eskimo has been replaced by Inuit. The headline is from the front page of The Renfrew Advance of July 20, 1967. There is also a photo of the 13-year-old Eskimo girl, Jeannie Simonik, of Frobisher Bay, Baffin Island, NWT. Except for darker skin and a rounder face, she is dressed similar to the 13-year-old girl, Holly Allan, the young hostess from Ottawa, she is with. Jeannie had never before seen farm animals, green trees, or bales of hay.
Jeannie and Holly spent a weekend on the Glasgow Station farm of William and Margaret Hamilton. Margaret Hamilton was a correspondent for the Renfrew Advance. Margaret is Holly’s aunt. Here are some of the interesting details.
Jeannie was one of 99 Eskimo children who were flown to Ottawa to spend two weeks in the homes of Ottawa families with children of their own. The plan was a centennial project of the Community Council of Frobisher Bay with help and co-operation of the Department of Northern Affairs.
Many of the children had never before — except in pictures — seen green trees, grass, cattle, pigs, or horses. They had never ridden in a car or bus, never watched TV, never splashed happily in a placid blue lake, or rippling river. One doesn’t, of course, in a land where lakes and rivers are covered with ice for the greater part of the year.
The two-week “southern” holiday for the Eskimo children started off with a gala reception by Governor-General Roland Michener and his lady, including a visit to the parliament buildings, the experimental farm, and the changing of the guard. Some families took their guests to the big show in Montreal — Expo 67.
There is no mention in the article what Jeannie thought of the white man’s food and what she liked best and what she didn’t like. What did she think of our soft white bread, bacon and eggs?
I checked my Ontario Public School Geography book — the one from my school days — to see what it said about Eskimos. Well, plenty and mostly negative stuff. No wonder we now call them Inuit.
It said: “The Eskimos are a race of people quite different from us. They are shorter than the men of southern Canada, but sturdy and strong. Their skin is yellow, their hair is straight and black, their faces are broad and rather flat. During the long winter nights they play many indoor games with bones and leather strings. There are not many Eskimos, because their country is so cold and poor that there is food enough for only a few people.”
Oh, boy! The Eskimos were great hunters and fishermen and they were always able to survive in the land of the northern lights.
Before someone critiques me for using the term “Eskimo”, here is my reply: In Canada, the term Inuit is preferred over Eskimo, which is considered offensive. While Inuit can be accurately applied to all of the Eskimo people in Canada and Greenland, that is not true in Alaska and Siberia. In Alaska the term Eskimo is commonly used, because it includes both Yupik and Iñupiat. Some Inuit also prefer being called Eskimo.
