I actually emailed an Inuit organization about the term "Eskimo" and if it should be avoided, and after a bit of a discussion, the respondent's opinion was that while it isn't a hateful word, it should be avoided in most situations.
Basically, he said that the word is equal to the word "Indian" when talking about First Nations people. It's not a word from the Inuit language, it was applied by colonialists and it doesn't describe their culture or who they are. He did acknowledge that "Eskimo" does not carry all the negative stereotypes that the word "Indian" has been burdened with.
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