Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book provides background on the archaeology of gender and of the approaches archaeologists and anthropologists have taken to Inuit gender in the past. It also presents the evidence that precontact Inuit had concepts of nonbinary gender, including a review of anthropological literature, oral history, and Inuit mythology. The book discusses the use of oral history and oral testimony as a means to democratize research by inviting people with historically marginalized identities to speak for themselves. It also provides the results of the interviews, highlighting prominent themes that ran through the interviews, such as relationships with Christianity, decolonization, community cohesion, and suicide prevention. The book outlines the basis for material exploration of gender complexity in the Inuit past, presenting issues inherent in the ways we currently interpret “gendered” objects and proposing new directions for understanding the material record.