Zhigwe/aim week 5
Barry Pottle, Keeping Tabs: Eskimo Inuit Unknown (2012)
Barry Pottle, Keeping Tabs: Eskimo Inuit Unknown (2012)
-digital photograph
"As a means to identify the Inuit, in the 1940/50s, the Canadian government developed the Tag System, this system was also known as E-numbers, Disc numbers, Eskimo Tags, or simply Tags. Representatives of the federal government took it upon themselves to develop a system that they believed would solve their problems without thinking of the real consequences on the Inuit people. The system was also purportedly developed for tracking and counting for census purposes. However, according to Pottle, Inuit of Eastern and Western Artic traditionally had only one name and this created confusion for government officials and census developers, especially if Inuit were identified as having the same name as another community member. Furthermore, Inuit names were considered difficult to write and to pronounce. The Eskimo Identification Tag program allowed government to classify, record and number the Inuit.
"This system meant that Inuit people either wore or had to memorize the Eskimo identification number, Inuit even signed their names with their number, instead of their names, into stone sculptures. This practice of identifying Inuit by their number continued until 1969, when government officials decided that the E-number system was not working, and instituted Project Surname instead (which had its own problems and challenges).
"The photographs and portraits in Pottle’s ID Tag series are intended to promote awareness of this little-known living history and knowledge of its on-going effect on Inuit communities and individuals. It was a system that still has, to this day, mixed feelings for Inuit. Even in examining the word “Eskimo” there are inaccuracies; Inuit in Canada have always identified themselves as Inuit, which means the “People” in Inuktitut, the Language of Inuit. The word Eskimo is viewed as a derogatory. The work reflects an imposed system that was developed with little or no consultation with Inuit."
(from Barry Pottle, Artist’s Statement, "Decolonize Me", exhibition catalogue, Ottawa Art Gallery: Ottawa, ON, 2012).
"At the same time as implementing the tag system, the (Colonial) government was also focused on bringing people that traveled the land following the migration of animals to a more counted therefore a more “censured” lifestyle.
"The results have had far reaching effects on Inuit culture. In real terms this meant Inuit life and culture shifted from people living on the land to living in a settlement (some view as civilized). This has meant, for many, a shift from knowing one’s place in society to living between two worlds (loss of Language, culture, diet, hunting practices, food security/insecurity, roles and social problems). Inuit continue to struggle to define who they are and to bring harmony and balance to themselves, their community and culture.
E Number explanation: The E stands for Eastern, the number 6 depicts the community or region and the number (205) was the number allotted to the individual.
More information about the ID Tag series see:
For more information on Inuit culture
For more information on Inuit culture, food security and cultural prejudice:
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