| Reference Re Eskimos | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Hearing: 17 June 1938 Judgment: 5 April 1939 | |
| Full case name | Reference whether "Indians" includes "Eskimo" |
| Citations | [1939] 2 DLR 417; [1939] SCR 104 |
| Prior history | None (reference question) |
| Holding | |
| For the purposes of section 91(24) of the British North America Act, 1867, the Inuit are Indians. | |
| Court membership | |
| Chief Justice: Lyman Duff Puisne Justices: Thibaudeau Rinfret, Lawrence Arthur Dumoulin Cannon, Oswald Smith Crocket, Henry Hague Davis, Patrick Kerwin, Albert Hudson | |
| Reasons given | |
| Majority | Duff CJ, Hudson and Davis JJ, joined by Crocket J |
| Concurrence | Cannon J, joined by Crocket J |
| Concurrence | Kerwin J, joined by Cannon and Crocket JJ |
| Rinfret J took no part in the consideration or decision of the case. | |
Reference Re Eskimos, 1939 CanLII 22, [1939] SCR 104 is a decision by the Supreme Court of Canada regarding the constitutional status of Canada's Inuit, then called "Eskimos." The case concerned section 91(24) of the Constitution Act, 1867, then the British North America Act, 1867, which assigns jurisdiction over "Indians, and Lands reserved for the Indians" to the federal government. The Supreme Court found that for the purposes of section 91(24), Inuit should be considered Indians.