Names we call each other

The names we call each other as a group and the names that groups use to refer to themselves make a fascinating study. Technically, such words are called “ethnonyms.”

Inuit is an ethnonym, as is the out-of-fashion Eskimo. But there are other ethnonyms used in the Arctic, and each one has its own fascinating derivation. Some have gone out of fashion; others are still used.

Scottish and English whalers called Inuit Yakkies, or Yacks. It comes from the same word as our modern word “to yack,” meaning to talk incessantly or unintelligibly. A logical description to apply to people whom you didn’t understand.

Whalers also called the Inuit Huskies, a variant of Eskies, which was an abbreviation for Eskimos.

Whalers also referred to the Inuit of Baffin Island as Westlanders because, of course, the Greenlanders were the Eastlanders, these groups being on the west and east coasts, respectively, of the Davis Strait.

Those are the words whalers applied to Inuit. But what did the Inuit call the whalers? Of course, they were known as Qallunaat — white people. And, as a group, they were referred to as Arviqsiuqtiit (also Arvagasuaqtiit or Arvaniaqtiit), those who hunt the bowhead whale.

But in the eastern Canadian Arctic, some of these whalers were Scottish and some were American. And words were needed to differentiate the two.

Inuit simply adopted the word Scotch into Inuktitut to describe the Scottish whalers. They were known then, and remembered today, as Sikaatsi.

The word “American” was less malleable and required some adaptation to fit the sound system of the Inuktitut language. First, the initial vowel was dropped so the word would start with “m.” The “r” in the middle became an “l,” something that happens often when English words are borrowed into Inuktitut. The “c” became a “g,” and so on until the word became Mialigaq in the singular and Mialigait in the plural.

This word is commonly used in south Baffin to describe Americans, because the American presence in Frobisher Bay was so dominant during the Second World War and the post-war years.

It even became incorporated into a place name. Crowell Island, named after Major John Crowell, who was in charge of the Crystal Two site, was named Mialigaqtalik — the place where there are Americans. If it had an earlier Inuktitut name, it has been forgotten, according to elders interviewed by Melanie Gagnon for an Arctic College project.

Once the Americans were no longer there, the name acquired a suffix and became Mialigaqtaliminiq — the place where Americans once lived.

In whaling days, farther west, the word “American” may have been incorporated differently into Inuktitut.

An Inuk born near Repulse Bay who worked closely with Capt. George Comer and his whaling crews in Hudson Bay around the turn of the century was called Maliki (spelled also Meliki or Melichi in whaling literature), although this was not his birth name.

In 1983, his granddaughter, Kanayuk Bruce, told writer Dorothy Eber, “He got the name Meliki because Inuit couldn’t pronounce ‘American.’”

Eventually, Inuit needed a word to describe French speakers. They called them Uiuimiut (oui-oui-miut).

Many of the American whalers were Black men. Inuit called them Puatugi. If you think this word bears a resemblance to the English word Portuguese, you’re right. But why? Portuguese may be darker than northern Europeans, but they are not black. And where would Inuit have come across Portuguese anyway?

The answer is not immediately obvious.

Portugal is of course a country on the European Atlantic coast. Its people are called Portuguese.

The word Portuguese may be an adjective or a noun, and may be singular or plural. But to English speakers, it sounded like a plural and so their natural tendency was to create a singular form, which was Portugee. (Linguists call this a “back formation.”)

This word was not coined as a pejorative term, but over time it acquired a derogatory implication. As a pejorative, it was often used, especially among sailors, to apply to all foreigners.

The Cape Verde Islands off the coast of Africa had a Black population, and these islands belonged to Portugal. So Cape Verdeans were Portuguese by nationality, but not by ethnicity.

Many Cape Verdeans emigrated to the United States, particularly to the city of New Bedford, Mass., then an affluent community made wealthy because it was the major whaling port on the American Atlantic coast. Many of these transplanted Black Cape Verdeans sailed to Cumberland Sound or to Hudson Bay on American whaling ships.

Whaling captains and the white crew members of their ships referred to the Cape Verdean whalers as Portugee. But because the Cape Verdeans were Black, the other whalers referred to all Black whalers as Portugee, whether they were Cape Verdean or the descendants of Black American slaves.

A few men from the Azores — a group of Atlantic islands belonging to Portugal — may also have been among the American crews, although that has never been proven.

Brass Lopes and Manuel Soares, who were both in Capt. George Comer’s crews in Hudson Bay, were Cape Verdean Black men. Hearing the word Portugee from the whalers, Inuit would naturally make the necessary changes to make it flow mellifluously from their own lips as Puatugi.

The word survived the demise of whaling and is still used today to refer to Black people. It is not a pejorative or a slang term. It is a valid descriptor with an interesting history.

Taissumani is an occasional column that recalls events of historical interest. Kenn Harper is a historian and writer who lived in the Arctic for more than 50 years. He is the author of “Minik: The New York Eskimo” and “Thou Shalt Do No Murder,” among other books. Feedback? Send your comments and questions to kennharper@hotmail.com.