Inuit and non-Inuit alcohol consumption in the Baffin Region, NWT, Canada.
Stereotypes about Inuit drinking would have us believe they are much more likely to be users of alcohol compared to other segments of the population. As with many other stereotypes, however, this belief is primarily rooted in fiction and selective observation. As revealed in a number of self-report surveys regarding alcohol use, a smaller proportion of Inuit in the Northwest Territories (NWT) have reported drinking when compared to the non-aboriginal of the territory. The data presented here serve to further confirm the notion of comparatively less prevalent alcohol use among NWT Inuit. Rather than using survey data, however, this paper looks to alcohol use indicators derived from territorial liquor commission mail order invoices to show that the volume of alcohol consumed by Baffin Region Inuit is much less than that of non-Inuit in and outside the territory.
Wood
D S
DS
Justice Center University of Alaska Anchorage, USA. afdsw@uaa.alaska.edu
D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D000434:Alcoholic Beverages / Q000145:classification / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003132:Commerce / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D004930:Inuit / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015873:Northwest Territories / Q000453:epidemiology; D011159:Population Surveillance / Q000379:methods; D015995:Prevalence; D013240:Stereotyping