Euro-American Whaling in the Canadian Arctic: Its Effects on Eskimo Health

Euro-American whaling in Cumberland Sound, Hudson Bay, and the Mackenzie Delta had a significant impact on the health of the Eskimos who inhabited these regions. Whalemen almost certainly transmitted tuberculosis and venereal disease to the Eskimos although the impact of these diseases on the native mortality rate, especially during the early whaling period, is difficult to assess due to the lack of documentation from this time period and the limitations of the skeletal data. The introduction of acute infectious diseases resulted in numerous deaths and a dramatic population reduction, particularly in the Mackenzie Delta. New refined carbohydrate foods helped to undermine Eskimo health by increasing the incidence of dental caries and nutritional deficiencies, although at what point in time the introduction of these foods caused such changes to occur has yet to be determined.