Inuit and non-Inuit alcohol consumption in the Baffin Region, NWT, Canada

Stereotypes about Inuit drinking would have us believe they are much more likely to be users of alcohol compared to other segments of the population. As with many other stereotypes, however, this belief is primarily rooted in fiction and selective observation. As revealed in a number of self-report surveys regarding alcohol use, a smaller proportion of Inuit in the Northwest Territories (NWT) have reported drinking when compared to the non-aboriginal of the territory. The data presented here serve to further confirm the notion of comparatively less prevalent alcohol use among NWT Inuit. Rather than using survey data, however, this paper looks to alcohol use indicators derived from territorial liquor commission mail order invoices to show that the volume of alcohol consumed by Baffin Region Inuit is much less than that of non-Inuit in and outside the territory.