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disc number
DCHP-2 (Oct 2016)
n. — historical, Ethnicities
an identification number on a leather or metal disc that was issued to Inuit people by the federal government of Canada.
Type: 1. Origin — Disc numbers were introduced in the 1940s and used until the early 1970s. Their primary purpose was the administration of social services (see the 1990 quotation), yet the practice of issuing "tags" (see the 1997 quotation) for the Inuit population now appears questionable (see the 2001 quotation). Some Inuit, however, take pride in their number (see the first 2006 quotation) or found use for it outside of its original domain (see the 1995 quotation).
See also COD-2, s.v. "disc number", which is marked "Cdn hist.".
See also COD-2, s.v. "disc number", which is marked "Cdn hist.".
Quotations
1969
The government practise of identifying members of Canada's Eskimo population by "disc numbers" will soon be abolished, the Northwest Territories legislative council was told Monday.
1972
Two reporters and some guests were mentioned by name, but at the end it was just "and two Eskimos." Perhaps we should go back to the old system and use disc numbers. But I would be very embarrassed if I was called Peter E3-546, a name I used to have but abandoned at the age of 23 to become Mr. Ernerk.
1989
Her father would construct a wooden marker bearing the \"disc\" number given Inuit by federal government officials, and also the person\'s birthplace. No name, because the name wasn\'t known.
1990
With the introduction of formal health care and a host of other southern Canadian institutions, territorial government workers needed some way to keep track of the Inuit, so they invented disc numbers.
1995
Instead of a signature, older carvings may have a number, preceded by an "E" or a "W." These are "disc numbers," a discarded form of identification the government imposed on Inuit in the past.
1997
[Until then, Inuit were legally known only by government-issued identity numbers printed on round leather disks that resembled dog tags. People living east of Gjoa Haven received "E" numbers, and people living to the west received "W" numbers.]
2001
[The issue of naming carries a political charge for the Inuit. Until the late 1960s, the federal government issued each Inuk a metal disc with a number on it, which is how they were then referred to in government documents.]
2002
[He was also a brother of the storied Abe Ookpik, whom I had come to know quite well. In 1967, Abe was given the job of replacing the "Eskimo numbers" our government had imposed on people. [...] [M]any of whom, by the way, can still recite their old E-numbers with the same alacrity as world war vets reeling off their regimental listings.]
2006
Official correspondence always referred to an Inuk by name and number, as in \"Piqtoukun W3-1119.\" Disc numbers were also included on all birth, marriage and death certificates.
References
- COD-2