Little is known about the production of health in Inuit society. Seal meat, oil, broth, and skin are products of North Baffin Island Inuit subsistence that are used to treat and prevent sickness. By studying the ethnomedical practice of using seal as a medicinal, the Inuit concept of health is revealed.
This concept is best viewed as a synthesis of the individual state of being combining the concepts of soul or mind and body, the social well-being of the community maintained through the hunting ritual and food sharing, and the body politic through which individuals exercise political power to provide health and well-being to others in the family and within the larger community.
It contrasts with the narrow definition of health offered by western medical experts. The Inuit concept of health influences health-seeking behavior, compliance with western medical treatment plans, and classification of illness. The health status of the community would be better served by open respect and cooperation between the two health care systems.
Journal Information
Arctic Anthropology, founded in 1962 by Chester S. Chard, is an international journal devoted to the study of Old and New World northern cultures and peoples. Archaeology, ethnology, physical anthropology, and related disciplines are represented,
with emphasis on: studies of specific cultures of the arctic, subarctic and contiguous regions of the world; the peopling of the New World; relationships between New World and Eurasian cultures of the circumpolar zone; contemporary problems and culture change among northern peoples; and new directions in interdisciplinary northern research.
