Historical Dictionary of the Inuit

Second Edition

Pamela R. Stern

The Inuit do not represent a very large population, only 160,000 or so, spread over a very large portion of the Arctic region and located in four different countries. This means that, although a “people,” there are many variations from one group to the next and any study of them must consider both the similarities and differences. This is done amazingly well by the Historical Dictionary of the Inuit. It introduces us to the Inuit, as they actually are and not as they have been traditionally pictured and some would still like to see them, looking after their traditional chores and engaged in time-honored practices but rather as a modern people trying to shape their worlds in their own interest.

This is now the second edition and it has definitely become larger, and also more up-to-date than before. The chronology already shows this, adding events that occurred over the past decade. The introduction then provides a broader view, explaining who the Inuit are, where they live, and what they do. But it is the dictionary section which is most interesting, with many more informative entries on persons, places, events and institutions, shedding light not only on the culture but also the society, economy, and politics. For those seeking further information, there is a considerably expanded bibliography. This book is thus of interest not only to researchers but anyone who wants to know more about a people we think we are familiar with but more as they used to be than as they are today

Scarecrow Press

Pages: 290 • Trim: 6¼ x 9⅜

978-0-8108-7911-9 • Hardback • September 2013 • $166.00 • (£129.00)

978-0-8108-7912-6 • eBook • September 2013 • $157.50 • (£121.00)

Series: Historical Dictionaries of Peoples and Cultures

Subjects: History / Canada / General

Historical Dictionary of the Inuit

Second Edition

Hardback

eBook

Summary

The Inuit do not represent a very large population, only 160,000 or so, spread over a very large portion of the Arctic region and located in four different countries. This means that, although a “people,” there are many variations from one group to the next and any study of them must consider both the similarities and differences. This is done amazingly well by the Historical Dictionary of the Inuit. It introduces us to the Inuit, as they actually are and not as they have been traditionally pictured and some would still like to see them, looking after their traditional chores and engaged in time-honored practices but rather as a modern people trying to shape their worlds in their own interest.

This is now the second edition and it has definitely become larger, and also more up-to-date than before. The chronology already shows this, adding events that occurred over the past decade. The introduction then provides a broader view, explaining who the Inuit are, where they live, and what they do. But it is the dictionary section which is most interesting, with many more informative entries on persons, places, events and institutions, shedding light not only on the culture but also the society, economy, and politics. For those seeking further information, there is a considerably expanded bibliography. This book is thus of interest not only to researchers but anyone who wants to know more about a people we think we are familiar with but more as they used to be than as they are today

Details

Scarecrow Press

Pages: 290 • Trim: 6¼ x 9⅜

978-0-8108-7911-9 • Hardback • September 2013 • $166.00 • (£129.00)

978-0-8108-7912-6 • eBook • September 2013 • $157.50 • (£121.00)

Series: Historical Dictionaries of Peoples and Cultures

Subjects: History / Canada / General

Author

Pamela R. Stern is an adjunct professor of anthropology at Simon Fraser University in Canada. She has been studying the Inuit for three decades already and, during this time, she has visited many Inuit communities in Alaska, Canada and Greenland. Her own research is rather varied ranging from adolescent life, employment and resource development to citizenship. It has resulted in numerous articles and several books, the most recent being Daily Life of the Inuit.

Reviews

The second edition of this reference book covers the social, political, and economic history of the Inuit of many Arctic countries. Stern, an anthropologist specializing in Arctic peoples, focuses on the recent cultural and political life of the Inuit. Included is information on Inuit interaction with the dominant culture and government, self-determination, political activism, globalization, hydrocarbon development, climate change, and more. The author provides entries for individual people who have made important contributions to Inuit social and political life and education and for many government agencies and social organizations that influence that life. Stern also supplies a list of acronyms and special terms used in the book, simple maps of the geographic areas the Inuit inhabit, and a chronology of major events in Inuit history around the globe. The book has expanded its content from the first edition. . . . The volume is a must for libraries building significant Arctic collections Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-level undergraduates and above; general readers.
— Choice Reviews

For those interested in studying the Inuit—in learning more about their history, their culture, and their contemporary people, lives, and issues—this is the basic reference that should be in their library. In this small, revised volume users will find an overview and more than 450 entries that address the social, political, and economic history of the Inuit. Special emphasis is given to the recent history of Inuit communities. This new edition has and updated chronology and the introduction provides a broader scope of the lives of the Inuit people.
— American Reference Books Annual

Historical Dictionary of the Inuit

Second Edition

Pamela R. Stern

Historical Dictionary of the Inuit

Second Edition

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