Project Surname

Indigenous peoples in Canada
First Nations Inuit Métis
History Timeline Pre-colonization Genetics Settler colonialism Genocide Residential schools Indian hospitals Reconciliation
Politics Indigenous law British Columbia Treaty Process Crown and Indigenous peoples Health Policy Idle No More Indian Act Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada Land Back Land claims Land defender Land title Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Numbered Treaties Royal Commission Self-government Specific claims Treaty rights Genocide Case law Organizations Politics
Culture Art Indigenous cultures Indigenous personalities Country food Music
Demographics Indian reserves AB FN Métis Atlantic CA BC MB ON QC SK Territories Pacific Coast
Linguistics Indigenous languages Inuit languages Chinuk Wawa Indigenous English Dialects NAPA Aboriginal syllabics Chinuk pipa Inuit grammar
Religions Traditional beliefs Inuit religion
Index Index of articles Indigenous First Nations Inuit Métis Stubs
Indigenous North Americas Canada portal
v t e

Project Surname was a project enacted by the Northwest Territories Council and Government of Canada to assign surnames to Inuit.^[1] Project Surname was also known as Operation Surname.^[2] These assigned surnames eventually replaced the disc number system, where numbers were assigned and kept on discs that people were obligated to wear from the 1940s onward.^[3] Family surnames were not used by Inuit until this system was introduced.^[3][4] Traditionally, children received multiple names after birth which reflected their personality, named for a dead relative or sometimes after a living relative. Names would be changed if they were not deemed to suit the child.^[1] Project Surname was perceived as less offensive compared to the disk number system but was also criticized as paternalistic intervention from the Canadian government.^[1]