Abstract This paper focuses on how contact with Europeans and their descendants affected native populations of the Inuit in terms of introduced diseases and changes in existing patterns of trade and inter-tribal relations. It cites examples from different Inuit tribes ranging from Baffin Island in north-eastern Canada, to Alaska.
From the Paper "Since time immemorial, the Inuit existed as some of the most isolated populations on Earth, living in some of the harshest environments imaginable. The Inuit's traditional social customs, trade patterns, and overall health and vitality all came under intense strain as a result of contact with Westerners. The individual bands? isolation proved to be fundamental to the rapid disintegration of traditional Inuit society, culture, and economics. Although the disastrous impact of European colonial exploits on the native peoples of South and Central America are well documented, Western contact and colonialism also forever changed the lives of native people half a world away in the high Arctic."
