at first I considered this notion so fatuous as to not warrant a response; but upon furher review, I'd give it this much of a guess: the combination of the generally accepted* etymology (an Indian word for eater of raw flesh) and the fact that the Inuit people don't like the word and refer to themselves as Inuit could lead one (especially a freshman!) to such a notion.

*but see this (from alt.usage.english)
http://www.alt-usage-english.org/excerpts/fxeskimo.html