Increased social problems among circumpolar peoples have been the subject of much academic, political and community discourse. The Inuit have been described as being overrepresented in terms of numerous psychopathologies. However, it is alcohol abuse which is considered to be the most serious concern of the Inuit in the Canadian Arctic, both by themselves and by observers. While social scientists and medical academics have discussed the connection between social conditions and health, this relationship is too often assumed, but not demonstrated. This thesis attempts such a demonstration, by inquiring into the history, socioeconomic conditions, quality of housing, education, and acculturation of the Inuit, and looking at how these factors shape perception of life chances and result in high levels of alcohol abuse. This thesis argues that strategies for eliminating alcohol abuse which focus on improving the social conditions of the Canadian Inuit are more likely to be successful than those which are acontextual, such as the medical treatment approach, and which do not address these underlying factors.