Artifact #1: Photo of a Man Holding His 'Eskimo' Disc Number

Citation:

Arthur H. Tweedle, Man [David Arnatsiaq] holding a small chalk board with the number 6008 at Pond Inlet (Mittimatalik/Tununiq), Nunavut. August 1945. Library and Archives Canada, number 3606623.  https://recherche-collection-search.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/home/record?idnumber=3606623&app=fonandcol

Label:

The photo shows an Inuit man holding a chalk board bearing his “Eskimo Disc Number” in present day Nunavut, 1945. Non-Inuit residents and government officials in the Northwest Territories (NWT) struggled at pronouncing Inuit names and keeping accurate records on many Inuit individuals as they lacked surnames.  To rectify the issue in the early 1940s, small leather or pressed fibre disks imprinted with identification numbers were distributed to all Inuit peoples living in the present-day regions of the NWT, Yukon, Nunavut, and Québec.  These discs were required to be kept on one’s person at all times and the numbers assumed an individual’s default form of identification for nearly all interactions with the government.  Increasingly, Inuit people found themselves referred to by their number as opposed to their name in official settings.  Although authorities floated several less demoralizing alternatives, ultimately identification numbers were chosen as they were the easiest option.  The “Eskimo Disc” identification system serves as an example of the mid 20^th century government’s flagrant lack of respect and humanity towards the Inuit people, sentiments that would set the stage for the forcible High Arctic relocation.

Bibliography:

Osborne, Season. “Inuit Disc Numbers.” The Canadian Encyclopaedia. Historica Canada. February 21, 2023. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/inuit-disc-numbers