I am only 'sub-Arctic'! :-P It gets worse. Much worse. I agree they should have known. I do not understand why they didn't ask.

Actually, we should give them a bit of a break. The Inuit probably would not have known which of their foods was good for scurvy and they may not have even seen scurvy before the Europeans showed up. The Europeans might have noticed the Inuit avoided scurvy, but they would not have been able to figure it out easily. Muktuk--or fermented whale blubber--is an acquired taste, so the Europeans likely avoided it. :-P