Abstract:

Like other Indigenous circumpolar people, the Labrador Inuit and Inuit-Métis have experienced escalating social change through the post-contact period. This change can be divided into three phases: disruption, adaptation and transformation. The final phase—through the twentieth century and ongoing—has been a time of massive social change, marked by technological change, the introduction of wage labor, the entrenchment of the capitalist economy, industrialization throughout Inuit territory, the militarization of Labrador, and a new reliance on imported foods. Thus, through the transformation phase, the Labrador Inuit are undergoing the epidemiologic transition (from mainly infectious diseases to chronic degenerative conditions). This is a mixed experience for them and should be viewed as such. The nutrition literature provides us with much useful information about the effects of social change, particularly health effects, among the Labrador Inuit. It also helps us locate Inuit communities in the three phases of social changes.

Keywords: INUIT; INUIT-METIS; LABRADOR; INUIT NUTRITION; INUIT DIET; NUTRITION LITERATURE; SOCIAL CHANGE

Document Type: Research article

DOI: 10.2752/175174408X347883