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''Eskimo'' () is a controversial
exonym An endonym (also known as autonym ) is a common, name for a group of people, individual person, geographical place, language, or dialect, meaning that it is used inside a particular group or linguistic community to identify or designate them ...
that refers to two closely related
Indigenous peoples There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...
:
Inuit Inuit (singular: Inuk) are a group of culturally and historically similar Indigenous peoples traditionally inhabiting the Arctic and Subarctic regions of North America and Russia, including Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwe ...
(including the Alaska Native
Iñupiat The Inupiat (singular: Iñupiaq), also known as Alaskan Inuit, are a group of Alaska Natives whose traditional territory roughly spans northeast from Norton Sound on the Bering Sea to the northernmost part of the Canada–United States borde ...
, the Canadian Inuit, and the
Greenlandic Inuit The Greenlandic Inuit or sometimes simply the Greenlandic are an ethnic group and nation Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous to Greenland, where they constitute the largest ethnic population. They share a common #History, ancestry, ...
) and the Yupik (or
Yuit Central Siberian Yupik (also known as Siberian Yupik, Bering Strait Yupik, Yuit, Yoit, "St. Lawrence Island Yupik", and in Russia "Chaplinski Yupik" or Yuk) is an endangered Yupik language spoken by the Indigenous Siberian Yupik people along the ...
) of eastern Siberia and Alaska. A related third group,
Aleuts Aleuts ( ; (west) or (east) ) are the Indigenous people of the Aleutian Islands, which are located between the North Pacific Ocean and the Bering Sea. Both the Aleuts and the islands are politically divided between the US state of Alaska ...
, who inhabit the
Aleutian Islands The Aleutian Islands ( ; ; , "land of the Aleuts"; possibly from the Chukchi language, Chukchi ''aliat'', or "island")—also called the Aleut Islands, Aleutic Islands, or, before Alaska Purchase, 1867, the Catherine Archipelago—are a chain ...
, are generally excluded from the definition of ''Eskimo''. The three groups share a relatively recent common ancestor, and speak related languages belonging to the family of
Eskaleut languages The Eskaleut ( ), Eskimo–Aleut or Inuit–Yupik–Unangan languages are a language family native to the northern portions of the North American continent, and a small part of northeastern Asia. Languages in the family are indigenous to parts of ...
. These
circumpolar peoples Circumpolar peoples and Arctic peoples are umbrella terms for the various indigenous peoples of the Arctic region. Approximately four million people are resident in the Arctic, among which 10 percent are indigenous peoples belonging to a vast nu ...
have traditionally inhabited the Arctic and
subarctic The subarctic zone is a region in the Northern Hemisphere immediately south of the true Arctic, north of hemiboreal regions and covering much of Alaska, Canada, Iceland, the north of Fennoscandia, Northwestern Russia, Siberia, and the Cair ...
regions from eastern
Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...
(Russia) to
Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...
(United States),
Northern Canada Northern Canada (), colloquially the North or the Territories, is the vast northernmost region of Canada, variously defined by geography and politics. Politically, the term refers to the three Provinces_and_territories_of_Canada#Territories, terr ...
,
Nunavik Nunavik (; ; ) is an area in Canada which comprises the northern third of the province of Quebec, part of the Nord-du-Québec region and nearly coterminous with Kativik. Covering a land area of north of the 55th parallel, it is the homelan ...
,
Nunatsiavut Nunatsiavut (; ) is an autonomous area claimed by the Inuit in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The settlement area includes territory in Labrador extending to the Quebec border. In 2002, the Labrador Inuit Association submitted a proposal for ...
, and
Greenland Greenland is an autonomous territory in the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. It is by far the largest geographically of three constituent parts of the kingdom; the other two are metropolitan Denmark and the Faroe Islands. Citizens of Greenlan ...
. Some Inuit, Yupik, Aleut, and other individuals consider the term ''Eskimo'', which is of a disputed etymology, to be pejorative or even offensive. ''Eskimo'' continues to be used within a historical, linguistic, archaeological, and cultural context. The governments in Canada and the United States have made moves to cease using the term ''Eskimo'' in official documents, but it has not been eliminated, as the word is in some places written into tribal, and therefore national, legal terminology. Canada officially uses the term ''Inuit'' to describe the indigenous Canadian people who are living in the country's northern sectors and are not
First Nations First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...
or
Métis The Métis ( , , , ) are a mixed-race Indigenous people whose historical homelands include Canada's three Prairie Provinces extending into parts of Ontario, British Columbia, the Northwest Territories and the northwest United States. They ha ...
. The United States government legally uses ''
Alaska Native Alaska Natives (also known as Native Alaskans, Alaskan Indians, or Indigenous Alaskans) are the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous peoples of Alaska that encompass a diverse arena of cultural and linguistic groups, including the I ...
'' for enrolled Yupik and Inuit tribal members, and also for non-Eskimos including Aleut,
Tlingit The Tlingit or Lingít ( ) are Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America. , they constitute two of the 231 federally recognized List of Alaska Native tribal entities, Tribes of Alaska. Most Tlingit are Alaska Natives; ...
, Haida,
Eyak The Eyak are an Alaska Native people historically located on the Copper River Delta and near the town of Cordova, Alaska. They are Indigenous peoples of the Northwest Coast. Today, Eyak people live in Cordova, Yakutat, across Alaska, and the U ...
, and
Tsimshian The Tsimshian (; ) are an Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast, Indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America. Their communities are mostly in coastal British Columbia in Terrace, British Columbia, Terrace and ...
, in addition to at least nine northern Athabaskan/Dene peoples. Other non-enrolled individuals also claim Eskimo/Aleut descent, making it the world's "most widespread aboriginal group". There are between 171,000 and 187,000 Inuit and Yupik, the majority of whom live in or near their traditional circumpolar homeland. Of these, 53,785 (2010) live in the United States, 70,545 (2021) in Canada, 51,730 (2021) in Greenland and 1,657 (2021) in Russia. In addition, 16,730 people living in Denmark were born in Greenland. The Inuit Circumpolar Council, a
non-governmental organization A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...
(NGO), claims to represent 180,000 people. In the Eskaleut
language family A language family is a group of languages related through descent from a common ancestor, called the proto-language of that family. The term ''family'' is a metaphor borrowed from biology, with the tree model used in historical linguistics ...
, the Eskimo or Eskimoan branch has an Inuit language sub-branch, and a sub-branch of four
Yupik languages The Yupik languages () are a family of languages spoken by the Yupik peoples of western and south-central Alaska and Chukotka. The Yupik languages differ enough from one another that they are not mutually intelligible, although speakers of one ...
. Two Yupik languages are used in the
Russian Far East The Russian Far East ( rus, Дальний Восток России, p=ˈdalʲnʲɪj vɐˈstok rɐˈsʲiɪ) is a region in North Asia. It is the easternmost part of Russia and the Asia, Asian continent, and is coextensive with the Far Easte ...
as well as on St. Lawrence Island, and two in western Alaska, southwestern Alaska, and western
Southcentral Alaska Southcentral Alaska (), also known as the Gulf Coast Region,Alaska Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development, Northern Opportunity Alaska's Economic Development Strategy, 2016, at 84 (Alaska 2016). Accessed June 1, 2023. https: ...
. The extinct
Sirenik language Sirenik Yupik, Sireniki Yupik (also Old Sirenik or Vuteen), Sirenik, or Sirenikskiy is an extinct Eskimo–Aleut language. It was spoken in and around the village of Sireniki (Сиреники) in Chukotka Peninsula, Chukotka Autonomous Okru ...
also belongs to the Eskimoan branch.


Nomenclature


Etymology

A variety of theories have been postulated for the etymological origin of the word ''Eskimo''. According to Smithsonian linguist
Ives Goddard Robert Hale Ives Goddard III (born 1941) is a linguist and a curator emeritus in the Department of Anthropology of the National Museum of Natural History at the Smithsonian Institution. He is widely considered the leading expert on the Algonqui ...
, etymologically the word derives from the
Innu-aimun Innu-aimun or Montagnais is an Algonquian language spoken by over 10,000 Innu in Labrador and Quebec in Eastern Canada. It is a member of the Cree–Montagnais–Naskapi dialect continuum and is spoken in various dialects depending on the com ...
(Montagnais) word , meaning 'a person who laces a
snowshoe Snowshoes are specialized outdoor gear for walking over snow. Their large footprint spreads the user's weight out and allows them to travel largely on top of rather than through snow. Adjustable bindings attach them to appropriate winter footw ...
', and is related to ''
husky Husky is a general term for a type of dog used in the polar regions, primarily and specifically for work as sled dogs. It refers to a traditional northern type, notable for its cold-weather tolerance and overall hardiness. Modern racing huskies ...
'' (a breed of dog). The word means 'she laces a snowshoe' in Innu, and
Innu language Innu-aimun or Montagnais is an Algonquian language spoken by over 10,000 Innu in Labrador and Quebec in Eastern Canada. It is a member of the Cree–Montagnais– Naskapi dialect continuum and is spoken in various dialects depending on the c ...
speakers refer to the neighbouring
Mi'kmaq The Mi'kmaq (also ''Mi'gmaq'', ''Lnu'', ''Mi'kmaw'' or ''Mi'gmaw''; ; , and formerly Micmac) are an Indigenous group of people of the Northeastern Woodlands, native to the areas of Canada's Atlantic Provinces, primarily Nova Scotia, New Bru ...
people using words that sound like ''eskimo''. Cited in Campbell 1997 This interpretation is generally confirmed by more recent academic sources. In 1978, José Mailhot, a Quebec anthropologist who speaks Innu-aimun (Montagnais), published a paper suggesting that ''Eskimo'' meant 'people who speak a different language'. French traders who encountered the
Innu The Innu/Ilnu ('man, person'), formerly called Montagnais (French for ' mountain people'; ), are the Indigenous Canadians who inhabit northeastern Labrador in present-day Newfoundland and Labrador and some portions of Quebec. They refer to ...
(Montagnais) in the eastern areas adopted their word for the more western peoples and spelled it as or in a transliteration. Some people consider ''Eskimo'' offensive, because it is popularly perceived to mean 'eaters of raw meat' in
Algonquian languages The Algonquian languages ( ; also Algonkian) are a family of Indigenous languages of the Americas and most of the languages in the Algic language family are included in the group. The name of the Algonquian language family is distinguished from ...
common to people along the Atlantic coast. An unnamed
Cree The Cree, or nehinaw (, ), are a Indigenous peoples of the Americas, North American Indigenous people, numbering more than 350,000 in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations in Canada, First Nations. They live prim ...
speaker suggested the original word that became corrupted to Eskimo might have been (meaning 'he eats it raw'); Inuit are referred to in some Cree texts as (meaning 'eats something raw'). Regardless, the term still carries a derogatory connotation for many Inuit and Yupik. One of the first printed uses of the French word comes from
Samuel Hearne Samuel Hearne (February 1745 – November 1792) was an English explorer, fur-trader, author and naturalist. He was the first European to make an overland excursion across northern Canada to the Arctic Ocean, specifically to Coronation Gulf, vi ...
's ''A Journey from Prince of Wales's Fort in Hudson's Bay to the Northern Ocean in the Years 1769, 1770, 1771, 1772'' first published in 1795.


Usage

The term ''Eskimo'' is still used by people to encompass Inuit and Yupik, as well as other Indigenous or Alaska Native and Siberian peoples. In the 21st century, usage in North America has declined. Linguistic, ethnic, and cultural differences exist between Yupik and Inuit. In Canada and Greenland, and to a certain extent in Alaska, the term ''Eskimo'' is predominantly seen as offensive and has been widely replaced by the term ''Inuit''Usage note
"Inuit"
''American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language'': Fourth Edition, 2000
or terms specific to a particular group or community. This has resulted in a trend whereby some non-Indigenous people believe that they should use ''Inuit'' even for Yupik who are non-
Inuit Inuit (singular: Inuk) are a group of culturally and historically similar Indigenous peoples traditionally inhabiting the Arctic and Subarctic regions of North America and Russia, including Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwe ...
.
Greenlandic Inuit The Greenlandic Inuit or sometimes simply the Greenlandic are an ethnic group and nation Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous to Greenland, where they constitute the largest ethnic population. They share a common #History, ancestry, ...
generally refer to themselves as Greenlanders ( or ) and speak the
Greenlandic language Greenlandic, also known by its Endonym and exonym, endonym Kalaallisut (, ), is an Inuit languages, Inuit language belonging to the Eskaleut languages#Internal classification, Eskimoan branch of the Eskaleut languages, Eskaleut language family. ...
and Danish."Inuktitut, Greenlandic".
''Ethnologue''. Retrieved 6 Aug 2012.
Greenlandic Inuit belong to three groups: the
Kalaallit Kalaallit are a Greenlandic Inuit ethnic group, being the largest group in Greenland, concentrated in the west. It is also a contemporary term in the Greenlandic language for the Indigenous of Greenland ().Hessel, 8 The Kalaallit (singular: ) a ...
of west Greenland, who speak Kalaallisut; the Tunumiit of
Tunu Tunu, in Danish Østgrønland ("East Greenland"), was one of the three counties (''amter'') of Greenland until 31 December 2008. The county seat was at the main settlement, Tasiilaq. The county's population in 2005 was around 3,800. The county ...
(east Greenland), who speak Tunumiit oraasiat ("East Greenlandic"); and the
Inughuit The Inughuit (singular: Inughuaq), Inuhuit, or Smith Sound Inuit, historically called Arctic Highlanders or Polar Eskimos, are an ethnic subgroup of the Greenlandic Inuit. They are the northernmost group of Inuit and the northernmost people in No ...
of north Greenland, who speak
Inuktun Inuktun (, , ) is the language of approximately 1,000 Indigenous Inughuit (Polar Inuit), inhabiting the world's northernmost settlements in Qaanaaq and the surrounding villages in northwestern Greenland. Geographic distribution Apart from the t ...
. The word ''Eskimo'' is a racially charged term in Canada. In Canada's Central Arctic, is the preferred term, and in the eastern Canadian Arctic . The language is often called ''
Inuktitut Inuktitut ( ; , Inuktitut syllabics, syllabics ), also known as Eastern Canadian Inuktitut, is one of the principal Inuit languages of Canada. It is spoken in all areas north of the North American tree line, including parts of the provinces of ...
'', though other local designations are also used. Section 25 of the ''
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms The ''Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms'' (), often simply referred to as the ''Charter'' in Canada, is a bill of rights entrenched in the Constitution of Canada, forming the first part of the '' Constitution Act, 1982''. The ''Char ...
'' and section 35 of the '' Constitution Act'' of 1982 recognized Inuit as a distinctive group of
Aboriginal peoples in Canada Indigenous peoples in Canada (also known as Aboriginals) are the Indigenous peoples within the boundaries of Canada. They comprise the First Nations, Inuit, and Métis, representing roughly 5.0% of the total Canadian population. There are over ...
. Although ''Inuit'' can be applied to all of the Eskimo peoples in Canada and Greenland, that is not true in Alaska and Siberia. In Alaska, the term ''Eskimo'' is still used because it includes both
Iñupiat The Inupiat (singular: Iñupiaq), also known as Alaskan Inuit, are a group of Alaska Natives whose traditional territory roughly spans northeast from Norton Sound on the Bering Sea to the northernmost part of the Canada–United States borde ...
(singular: Iñupiaq), who are Inuit, and Yupik, who are not. The term ''
Alaska Native Alaska Natives (also known as Native Alaskans, Alaskan Indians, or Indigenous Alaskans) are the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous peoples of Alaska that encompass a diverse arena of cultural and linguistic groups, including the I ...
'' is inclusive of (and under U.S. and Alaskan law, as well as the linguistic and cultural legacy of Alaska, refers to) all Indigenous peoples of Alaska, including not only the Iñupiat (Alaskan Inuit) and the Yupik, but also groups such as the Aleut, who share a recent ancestor, as well as the largely unrelated
indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast The Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast are composed of many nations and tribal affiliations, each with distinctive cultural and political identities. They share certain beliefs, traditions and prac ...
and the Alaskan Athabaskans, such as the
Eyak people The Eyak are an Alaska Native people historically located on the Copper River Delta and near the town of Cordova, Alaska. They are Indigenous peoples of the Northwest Coast. Today, Eyak people live in Cordova, Yakutat, across Alaska, and the ...
. The term ''Alaska Native'' has important legal usage in Alaska and the rest of the United States as a result of the
Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) was signed into law by U.S. President, President Richard Nixon on December 18, 1971, constituting what is still the largest land claims settlement in United States history. ANCSA was intended to reso ...
of 1971. It does not apply to Inuit or Yupik originating outside the state. As a result, the term Eskimo is still in use in Alaska. Alternative terms, such as ''Inuit-Yupik'', have been proposed, but none has gained widespread acceptance. Early 21st century population estimates registered more than 135,000 individuals of Eskimo descent, with approximately 85,000 living in North America, 50,000 in Greenland, and the rest residing in Siberia.


Inuit Circumpolar Council

In 1977, the Inuit Circumpolar Conference (ICC) meeting in Barrow, Alaska (now
Utqiaġvik, Alaska Utqiagvik ( ; , ), formerly known as Barrow ( ), is the borough seat and largest city of the North Slope Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. Located north of the Arctic Circle, it is one of the northernmost cities and towns in the world and th ...
), officially adopted ''Inuit'' as a designation for all circumpolar Native peoples, regardless of their local view on an appropriate term. They voted to replace the word ''Eskimo'' with ''Inuit''. Even at that time, such a designation was not accepted by all. As a result, the Canadian government usage has replaced the term ''Eskimo'' with ( in singular). The ICC charter defines ''Inuit'' as including "the Inupiat, Yupik (Alaska), Inuit,
Inuvialuit The Inuvialuit (sing. Inuvialuk; ''the real people'') or Western Canadian Inuit are Inuit who live in the western Canadian Arctic region. They, like all other Inuit, are descendants of the Thule who migrated eastward from Alaska. Their homelan ...
(Canada),
Kalaallit Kalaallit are a Greenlandic Inuit ethnic group, being the largest group in Greenland, concentrated in the west. It is also a contemporary term in the Greenlandic language for the Indigenous of Greenland ().Hessel, 8 The Kalaallit (singular: ) a ...
(Greenland) and Yupik (Russia)". Despite the ICC's 1977 decision to adopt the term ''Inuit'', this has not been accepted by all or even most Yupik people. In 2010, the ICC passed a resolution in which they implored scientists to use ''Inuit'' and ''Paleo-Inuit'' instead of ''Eskimo'' or ''Paleo-Eskimo''.


Academic response

In a 2015 commentary in the journal ''
Arctic The Arctic (; . ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the North Pole, lying within the Arctic Circle. The Arctic region, from the IERS Reference Meridian travelling east, consists of parts of northern Norway ( ...
'', Canadian archaeologist Max Friesen argued fellow Arctic archaeologists should follow the ICC and use ''Paleo-Inuit'' instead of ''Paleo-Eskimo''. In 2016, Lisa Hodgetts and ''Arctic'' editor Patricia Wells wrote: "In the Canadian context, continued use of any term that incorporates ''Eskimo'' is potentially harmful to the relationships between archaeologists and the Inuit and Inuvialuit communities who are our hosts and increasingly our research partners." Hodgetts and Wells suggested using more specific terms when possible (e.g.,
Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...
and Groswater) and agreed with Frieson in using the ''Inuit tradition'' to replace ''Neo-Eskimo'', although they noted replacement for ''Palaeoeskimo'' was still an open question and discussed ''Paleo-Inuit'', ''Arctic Small Tool Tradition'', and ''pre-Inuit'', as well as Inuktitut loanwords like and , as possibilities. In 2020, Katelyn Braymer-Hayes and colleagues argued in the '' Journal of Anthropological Archaeology'' that there is a "clear need" to replace the terms ''Neo-Eskimo'' and ''Paleo-Eskimo'', citing the ICC resolution, but finding a consensus within the Alaskan context particularly is difficult, since
Alaska Natives Alaska Natives (also known as Native Alaskans, Alaskan Indians, or Indigenous Alaskans) are the Indigenous peoples of Alaska that encompass a diverse arena of cultural and linguistic groups, including the Iñupiat, Yupik, Aleut, Eyak, Tli ...
do not use the word ''Inuit'' to describe themselves nor is the term legally applicable only to Iñupiat and Yupik in Alaska, and as such, terms used in Canada like ''Paleo Inuit'' and ''Ancestral Inuit'' would not be acceptable. American linguist Lenore Grenoble has also explicitly deferred to the ICC resolution and used ''Inuit–Yupik'' instead of ''Eskimo'' with regards to the language branch.


History

Genetic evidence suggests that the Americas were populated from northeastern Asia in multiple waves. While the great majority of indigenous American peoples can be traced to a single early migration of
Paleo-Indians Paleo-Indians were the first peoples who entered and subsequently inhabited the Americas towards the end of the Late Pleistocene period. The prefix ''paleo-'' comes from . The term ''Paleo-Indians'' applies specifically to the lithic period in ...
, the
Na-Dené Na-Dene ( ; also Nadene, Na-Dené, Athabaskan–Eyak–Tlingit, Tlina–Dene) is a family of Native American languages that includes at least the Athabaskan languages, Eyak, and Tlingit languages. Haida was formerly included but is now general ...
,
Inuit Inuit (singular: Inuk) are a group of culturally and historically similar Indigenous peoples traditionally inhabiting the Arctic and Subarctic regions of North America and Russia, including Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwe ...
and Indigenous Alaskan populations exhibit admixture from distinct populations that migrated into America at a later date and are closely linked to the peoples of far northeastern Asia (e.g. Chukchi), and only more remotely to the majority indigenous American type. For modern
Eskimo–Aleut The Eskaleut ( ), Eskimo–Aleut or Inuit–Yupik–Unangan languages are a language family native to the northern portions of the North American continent, and a small part of northeastern Asia. Languages in the family are indigenous to parts of ...
speakers, this later ancestral component makes up almost half of their genomes. The ancient
Paleo-Eskimo The Paleo-Eskimo meaning ''"old Eskimos"'', also known as, pre-Thule people, Thule or pre-Inuit, were the peoples who inhabited the Arctic region from Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Chukotka (e.g., Chertov Ovrag) in present-day Russia across North Am ...
population was genetically distinct from the modern circumpolar populations, but eventually derives from the same far northeastern Asian cluster. It is understood that some or all of these ancient people migrated across the
Chukchi Sea The Chukchi Sea (, ), sometimes referred to as the Chuuk Sea, Chukotsk Sea or the Sea of Chukotsk, is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean. It is bounded on the west by the Long Strait, off Wrangel Island, and in the east by Point Barrow, Alaska, ...
to North America during the pre-neolithic era, somewhere around 5,000 to 10,000 years ago. It is believed that ancestors of the
Aleut Aleuts ( ; (west) or (east) ) are the Indigenous people of the Aleutian Islands, which are located between the North Pacific Ocean and the Bering Sea. Both the Aleuts and the islands are politically divided between the US state of Alaska ...
people inhabited the Aleutian Chain 10,000 years ago. The earliest positively identified
Paleo-Eskimo The Paleo-Eskimo meaning ''"old Eskimos"'', also known as, pre-Thule people, Thule or pre-Inuit, were the peoples who inhabited the Arctic region from Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Chukotka (e.g., Chertov Ovrag) in present-day Russia across North Am ...
cultures (
Early Paleo-Eskimo The Early Paleo-Eskimo is the first of three distinct periods of human occupation recognized by archaeologists in the eastern North American Arctic, the others being the Late Paleo-Eskimo and the Thule. Dates for these occupations vary according ...
) date to 5,000 years ago. Several earlier indigenous peoples existed in the northern circumpolar regions of eastern Siberia, Alaska, and Canada (although probably not in Greenland). The Paleo-Eskimo peoples appear to have developed in Alaska from people related to the Arctic small tool tradition in eastern Asia, whose ancestors had probably migrated to Alaska at least 3,000 to 5,000 years earlier. The Yupik languages and cultures in Alaska evolved in place, beginning with the original
pre-Dorset The Pre-Dorset is a loosely defined term for a Paleo-Eskimo culture or group of cultures that existed in the Eastern Canadian Arctic from c. 3200 to 850 cal BC, and preceded the Dorset culture. Due to its vast geographical expanse and to histor ...
Indigenous culture developed in Alaska. At least 4,000 years ago, the Unangan culture of the
Aleut Aleuts ( ; (west) or (east) ) are the Indigenous people of the Aleutian Islands, which are located between the North Pacific Ocean and the Bering Sea. Both the Aleuts and the islands are politically divided between the US state of Alaska ...
became distinct. It is not generally considered an Eskimo culture. However, there is some possibility of an Aleutian origin of the
Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...
people, who in turn are a likely ancestor of today's Inuit and Yupik. Approximately 1,500 to 2,000 years ago, apparently in northwestern Alaska, two other distinct variations appeared. Inuit language became distinct and, over a period of several centuries, its speakers migrated across northern Alaska, through Canada, and into Greenland. The distinct culture of the
Thule people The Thule ( , ) or proto-Inuit were the ancestors of all modern Inuit. They developed in coastal Alaska by 1000 AD and expanded eastward across northern Canada, reaching Greenland by the 13th century. In the process, they replaced people of the ...
(drawing strongly from the Birnirk culture) developed in northwestern Alaska. It very quickly spread over the entire area occupied by Eskimo peoples, though it was not necessarily adopted by all of them.


Languages


Language family

The
Eskimo–Aleut The Eskaleut ( ), Eskimo–Aleut or Inuit–Yupik–Unangan languages are a language family native to the northern portions of the North American continent, and a small part of northeastern Asia. Languages in the family are indigenous to parts of ...
(also known as Eskaleut or Inuit–Yupik–Unangan) family of languages includes two cognate branches: the
Aleut Aleuts ( ; (west) or (east) ) are the Indigenous people of the Aleutian Islands, which are located between the North Pacific Ocean and the Bering Sea. Both the Aleuts and the islands are politically divided between the US state of Alaska ...
(Unangan) branch and the Inuit–Yupik branch. The number of cases varies, with Aleut languages having a greatly reduced case system compared to those of the Inuit–Yupik subfamily. Inuit–Yupik–Unangan languages possess voiceless plosives at the
bilabial In phonetics, a bilabial consonant is a labial consonant articulated with both lips. Frequency Bilabial consonants are very common across languages. Only around 0.7% of the world's languages lack bilabial consonants altogether, including Tling ...
, coronal,
velar Velar may refer to: * Velar consonant Velar consonants are consonants articulated with the back part of the tongue (the dorsum) against the soft palate, the back part of the roof of the mouth (also known as the "velum"). Since the velar region ...
and uvular positions in all languages except Aleut, which has lost the bilabial stops but retained the
nasal Nasal is an adjective referring to the nose, part of human or animal anatomy. It may also be shorthand for the following uses in combination: * With reference to the human nose: ** Nasal administration, a method of pharmaceutical drug delivery * ...
. In the Inuit–Yupik subfamily a voiceless alveolar
lateral Lateral is a geometric term of location which may also refer to: Biology and healthcare * Lateral (anatomy), a term of location meaning "towards the side" * Lateral cricoarytenoid muscle, an intrinsic muscle of the larynx * Lateral release ( ...
fricative A fricative is a consonant produced by forcing air through a narrow channel made by placing two articulators close together. These may be the lower lip against the upper teeth, in the case of ; the back of the tongue against the soft palate in ...
is also present. The Inuit–Yupik sub-family consists of the
Inuit Inuit (singular: Inuk) are a group of culturally and historically similar Indigenous peoples traditionally inhabiting the Arctic and Subarctic regions of North America and Russia, including Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwe ...
and Yupik language sub-groups. The
Sirenik language Sirenik Yupik, Sireniki Yupik (also Old Sirenik or Vuteen), Sirenik, or Sirenikskiy is an extinct Eskimo–Aleut language. It was spoken in and around the village of Sireniki (Сиреники) in Chukotka Peninsula, Chukotka Autonomous Okru ...
, which is virtually extinct, is sometimes regarded as a third branch of the Inuit–Yupik language family. Other sources regard it as a group belonging to the Yupik branch. Inuit languages comprise a
dialect continuum A dialect continuum or dialect chain is a series of Variety (linguistics), language varieties spoken across some geographical area such that neighboring varieties are Mutual intelligibility, mutually intelligible, but the differences accumulat ...
, or dialect chain, that stretches from Unalakleet and
Norton Sound The Norton Sound ( Inupiaq: ''Imaqpak'') is an inlet of the Bering Sea on the western coast of the U.S. state of Alaska, south of the Seward Peninsula. It is about 240 km (150 mi) long and 200 km (125 mi) wide. The Yukon Riv ...
in Alaska, across northern Alaska and Canada, and east to Greenland. Changes from western (Iñupiaq) to eastern dialects are marked by the dropping of vestigial Yupik-related features, increasing consonant assimilation (e.g., ''kumlu'', meaning "thumb", changes to ''kuvlu'', changes to ''kublu'', changes to ''kulluk'', changes to ''kulluq'', ) and increased consonant lengthening, and lexical change. Thus, speakers of two adjacent Inuit dialects would usually be able to understand one another, but speakers from dialects distant from each other on the dialect continuum would have difficulty understanding one another.
Seward Peninsula The Seward Peninsula is a large peninsula on the western coast of the U.S. state of Alaska whose westernmost point is Cape Prince of Wales. The peninsula projects about into the Bering Sea between Norton Sound, the Bering Strait, the Chukchi ...
dialects in western Alaska, where much of the
Iñupiat The Inupiat (singular: Iñupiaq), also known as Alaskan Inuit, are a group of Alaska Natives whose traditional territory roughly spans northeast from Norton Sound on the Bering Sea to the northernmost part of the Canada–United States borde ...
culture has been in place for perhaps less than 500 years, are greatly affected by phonological influence from the Yupik languages. Eastern Greenlandic, at the opposite end of Inuit range, has had significant word replacement due to a unique form of ritual name avoidance. Ethnographically,
Greenlandic Inuit The Greenlandic Inuit or sometimes simply the Greenlandic are an ethnic group and nation Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous to Greenland, where they constitute the largest ethnic population. They share a common #History, ancestry, ...
belong to three groups: the
Kalaallit Kalaallit are a Greenlandic Inuit ethnic group, being the largest group in Greenland, concentrated in the west. It is also a contemporary term in the Greenlandic language for the Indigenous of Greenland ().Hessel, 8 The Kalaallit (singular: ) a ...
of west Greenland, who speak Kalaallisut; the Tunumiit of
Tunu Tunu, in Danish Østgrønland ("East Greenland"), was one of the three counties (''amter'') of Greenland until 31 December 2008. The county seat was at the main settlement, Tasiilaq. The county's population in 2005 was around 3,800. The county ...
(east Greenland), who speak Tunumiit oraasiat ("East Greenlandic"), and the
Inughuit The Inughuit (singular: Inughuaq), Inuhuit, or Smith Sound Inuit, historically called Arctic Highlanders or Polar Eskimos, are an ethnic subgroup of the Greenlandic Inuit. They are the northernmost group of Inuit and the northernmost people in No ...
of north Greenland, who speak
Inuktun Inuktun (, , ) is the language of approximately 1,000 Indigenous Inughuit (Polar Inuit), inhabiting the world's northernmost settlements in Qaanaaq and the surrounding villages in northwestern Greenland. Geographic distribution Apart from the t ...
. The four
Yupik languages The Yupik languages () are a family of languages spoken by the Yupik peoples of western and south-central Alaska and Chukotka. The Yupik languages differ enough from one another that they are not mutually intelligible, although speakers of one ...
, by contrast, including
Alutiiq The Alutiiq (pronounced in English; from Promyshlenniki Russian Алеутъ, "Aleut"; plural often "Alutiit"), also called by their ancestral name ( or ; plural often "Sugpiat"), as well as Pacific Eskimo or Pacific Yupik, are a Yupik ...
(Sugpiaq), Central Alaskan Yup'ik, Naukan (Naukanski), and
Siberian Yupik Siberian Yupiks, or Yuits (), are a Yupik peoples, Yupik people who reside along the coast of the Chukchi Peninsula in the far Russian Far East, northeast of the Russia, Russian Federation and on St. Lawrence Island in Alaska. They speak Si ...
, are distinct languages with phonological, morphological, and lexical differences. They demonstrate limited mutual intelligibility. Additionally, both Alutiiq and Central Yup'ik have considerable dialect diversity. The northernmost Yupik languages – Siberian Yupik and Naukan Yupik – are linguistically only slightly closer to Inuit than is Alutiiq, which is the southernmost of the Yupik languages. Although the grammatical structures of Yupik and Inuit languages are similar, they have pronounced differences phonologically. Differences of vocabulary between Inuit and any one of the Yupik languages are greater than between any two Yupik languages. Even the dialectal differences within Alutiiq and Central Alaskan Yup'ik sometimes are relatively great for locations that are relatively close geographically. Despite the relatively small population of Naukan speakers, documentation of the language dates back to 1732. While Naukan is only spoken in Siberia, the language acts as an intermediate between two Alaskan languages: Siberian Yupik and Central Yup'ik. An overview of the Inuit–Yupik–Unangan languages family is given below: * Inuit–Yupik–Unangan **
Aleut Aleuts ( ; (west) or (east) ) are the Indigenous people of the Aleutian Islands, which are located between the North Pacific Ocean and the Bering Sea. Both the Aleuts and the islands are politically divided between the US state of Alaska ...
or Unangan ****Western-Central dialects: Atkan, Attuan, Unangan, Bering (60–80 speakers) ****Eastern dialect: Unalaskan, Pribilof (400 speakers) **Inuit–Yupik or Eskimo (Yup'ik, Yuit, and Inuit) *** Yupik **** Central Alaskan Yup'ik (10,000 speakers) ****
Alutiiq The Alutiiq (pronounced in English; from Promyshlenniki Russian Алеутъ, "Aleut"; plural often "Alutiit"), also called by their ancestral name ( or ; plural often "Sugpiat"), as well as Pacific Eskimo or Pacific Yupik, are a Yupik ...
or Pacific Gulf Yup'ik (400 speakers) **** Central Siberian Yupik or Yuit (Chaplinon and St Lawrence Island, 1,400 speakers) **** Naukan (700 speakers) ***
Inuit Inuit (singular: Inuk) are a group of culturally and historically similar Indigenous peoples traditionally inhabiting the Arctic and Subarctic regions of North America and Russia, including Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwe ...
or Inupik (75,000 speakers) **** Greenlandic (Greenland, 47,000 speakers) ***** Kalaallisut (West Greenlandic, 44,000-52,000 speakers) *****
Tunumiisut (), also known as East Greenlandic (), is the language of the Tunumiit in East Greenland. It is generally categorised as a dialect A dialect is a Variety (linguistics), variety of language spoken by a particular group of people. This may ...
(East Greenlandic, 3,500 speakers) **** Iñupiaq (northern Alaska, 3,500 speakers) ****
Inuvialuktun Inuvialuktun (part of ''Western Canadian Inuit'' / ''Inuktitut'' / '' Inuktut'' / '' Inuktun'') comprises several Inuit language varieties spoken in the northern Northwest Territories by Canadian Inuit who call themselves ''Inuvialuit''. Some d ...
(western Canada; together with Siglitun, Natsilingmiutut,
Inuinnaqtun Inuinnaqtun (, ; natively meaning 'like the real human beings/peoples') is an Inuit language. It is spoken in the central Canadian Arctic. It is related very closely to Inuktitut, and some scholars, such as Richard Condon, believe that Inuinna ...
and Uummarmiutun 765 speakers) ****
Inuktitut Inuktitut ( ; , Inuktitut syllabics, syllabics ), also known as Eastern Canadian Inuktitut, is one of the principal Inuit languages of Canada. It is spoken in all areas north of the North American tree line, including parts of the provinces of ...
(eastern Canada; together with
Inuktun Inuktun (, , ) is the language of approximately 1,000 Indigenous Inughuit (Polar Inuit), inhabiting the world's northernmost settlements in Qaanaaq and the surrounding villages in northwestern Greenland. Geographic distribution Apart from the t ...
and
Inuinnaqtun Inuinnaqtun (, ; natively meaning 'like the real human beings/peoples') is an Inuit language. It is spoken in the central Canadian Arctic. It is related very closely to Inuktitut, and some scholars, such as Richard Condon, believe that Inuinna ...
, 30,000 speakers) ****
Inuktun Inuktun (, , ) is the language of approximately 1,000 Indigenous Inughuit (Polar Inuit), inhabiting the world's northernmost settlements in Qaanaaq and the surrounding villages in northwestern Greenland. Geographic distribution Apart from the t ...
(Avanersuarmiutut, Thule dialect or Polar Eskimo, approximately 1,000 speakers) ***
Sirenik Sirenik Yupik, Sireniki Yupik (also Old Sirenik or Vuteen), Sirenik, or Sirenikskiy is an extinct Eskimo–Aleut language. It was spoken in and around the village of Sireniki (Сиреники) in Chukotka Peninsula, Chukotka Autonomous Okru ...
(Sirenikskiy) American linguist Lenore Grenoble has explicitly deferred to the ICC resolution and used ''Inuit–Yupik'' instead of ''Eskimo'' with regards to the language branch.


Words for ''snow''

There has been a long-running linguistic debate about whether or not the speakers of the Inuit–Yupik–Unangan language group have an unusually large number of words for snow. The general modern consensus is that, in multiple Inuit–Yupik languages, there are, or have been in simultaneous usage, indeed fifty plus words for snow.


Diet


Inuit

Inuit inhabit the
Arctic The Arctic (; . ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the North Pole, lying within the Arctic Circle. The Arctic region, from the IERS Reference Meridian travelling east, consists of parts of northern Norway ( ...
and northern
Bering Sea The Bering Sea ( , ; rus, Бе́рингово мо́ре, r=Béringovo móre, p=ˈbʲerʲɪnɡəvə ˈmorʲe) is a marginal sea of the Northern Pacific Ocean. It forms, along with the Bering Strait, the divide between the two largest landmasse ...
coasts of Alaska in the United States, and Arctic coasts of the
Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories is a federal Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada. At a land area of approximately and a 2021 census population of 41,070, it is the second-largest and the most populous of Provinces and territorie ...
,
Nunavut Nunavut is the largest and northernmost Provinces and territories of Canada#Territories, territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the ''Nunavut Act'' and the Nunavut Land Claims Agr ...
,
Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...
, and
Labrador Labrador () is a geographic and cultural region within the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is the primarily continental portion of the province and constitutes 71% of the province's area but is home to only 6% of its populatio ...
in Canada, and Greenland (associated with Denmark). Until fairly recent times, there has been a remarkable homogeneity in the culture throughout this area, which traditionally relied on fish,
marine mammal Marine mammals are mammals that rely on marine ecosystems for their existence. They include animals such as cetaceans, pinnipeds, sirenians, sea otters and polar bears. They are an informal group, unified only by their reliance on marine enviro ...
s, and land animals for food, heat, light, clothing, and tools. Their food sources primarily relied on seals, whales, whale blubber, walrus, and fish, all of which they hunted using harpoons on the ice. Clothing consisted of robes made of wolfskin and reindeer skin to acclimate to the low temperatures. They maintain a unique
Inuit culture The Inuit are an indigenous people of the Arctic and subarctic regions of North America (parts of Alaska, Canada, and Greenland). The ancestors of the present-day Inuit are culturally related to Iñupiat (northern Alaska), and Yupik peoples, Yup ...
.


Greenland's Inuit

Greenlandic Inuit The Greenlandic Inuit or sometimes simply the Greenlandic are an ethnic group and nation Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous to Greenland, where they constitute the largest ethnic population. They share a common #History, ancestry, ...
make up 90% of Greenland's population. They belong to three major groups: *
Kalaallit Kalaallit are a Greenlandic Inuit ethnic group, being the largest group in Greenland, concentrated in the west. It is also a contemporary term in the Greenlandic language for the Indigenous of Greenland ().Hessel, 8 The Kalaallit (singular: ) a ...
of west Greenland, who speak Kalaallisut * Tunumiit of east Greenland, who speak
Tunumiisut (), also known as East Greenlandic (), is the language of the Tunumiit in East Greenland. It is generally categorised as a dialect A dialect is a Variety (linguistics), variety of language spoken by a particular group of people. This may ...
*
Inughuit The Inughuit (singular: Inughuaq), Inuhuit, or Smith Sound Inuit, historically called Arctic Highlanders or Polar Eskimos, are an ethnic subgroup of the Greenlandic Inuit. They are the northernmost group of Inuit and the northernmost people in No ...
of north Greenland, who speak
Inuktun Inuktun (, , ) is the language of approximately 1,000 Indigenous Inughuit (Polar Inuit), inhabiting the world's northernmost settlements in Qaanaaq and the surrounding villages in northwestern Greenland. Geographic distribution Apart from the t ...
or Polar Eskimo.


Canadian Inuit

Canadian Inuit live primarily in
Inuit Nunangat Inuit Nunangat (; ), formerly Inuit Nunaat (), is the homeland of the Inuit in Canada. This Arctic homeland consists of four Northern Canada, northern Canadian regions called the Inuvialuit Settlement Region (, home of the Inuvialuit and th ...
(lit. "lands, waters and ices of the
nuit Nuit (alternatively Nu, Nut, or Nuith) is a goddess in Thelema, the speaker in the first chapter of ''The Book of the Law'', the sacred text written or received in 1904 by Aleister Crowley. Nuit is based on the Ancient Egyptian deities, Ancient ...
people"), their traditional homeland although some people live in southern parts of Canada. Inuit Nunangat ranges from the Yukon–Alaska border in the west across the Arctic to northern Labrador. The
Inuvialuit The Inuvialuit (sing. Inuvialuk; ''the real people'') or Western Canadian Inuit are Inuit who live in the western Canadian Arctic region. They, like all other Inuit, are descendants of the Thule who migrated eastward from Alaska. Their homelan ...
live in the
Inuvialuit Settlement Region The Inuvialuit Settlement Region, abbreviated as ISR (; ), located in Canada's western Arctic, was designated in 1984 in the Inuvialuit Final Agreement by the Government of Canada for the Inuvialuit (''the real people''). It spans , including ...
, the northern part of
Yukon Yukon () is a Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada, bordering British Columbia to the south, the Northwest Territories to the east, the Beaufort Sea to the north, and the U.S. state of Alaska to the west. It is Canada’s we ...
and the
Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories is a federal Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada. At a land area of approximately and a 2021 census population of 41,070, it is the second-largest and the most populous of Provinces and territorie ...
, which stretches to the
Amundsen Gulf Amundsen Gulf is a gulf located mainly in the Inuvik Region, Northwest Territories, Canada with a small section in the Kitikmeot Region of Nunavut. It lies between Banks Island and Victoria Island (Canada), Victoria Island and the mainland. It i ...
and the
Nunavut Nunavut is the largest and northernmost Provinces and territories of Canada#Territories, territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the ''Nunavut Act'' and the Nunavut Land Claims Agr ...
border and includes the western
Canadian Arctic Islands The Arctic Archipelago, also known as the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, is an archipelago lying to the north of the Canadian continental mainland, excluding Greenland (an autonomous territory of the Danish Realm, which is, by itself, much larger ...
. The land was demarked in 1984 by the Inuvialuit Final Agreement. The majority of Inuit live in Nunavut (a territory of Canada),
Nunavik Nunavik (; ; ) is an area in Canada which comprises the northern third of the province of Quebec, part of the Nord-du-Québec region and nearly coterminous with Kativik. Covering a land area of north of the 55th parallel, it is the homelan ...
(the northern part of
Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...
) and in
Nunatsiavut Nunatsiavut (; ) is an autonomous area claimed by the Inuit in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The settlement area includes territory in Labrador extending to the Quebec border. In 2002, the Labrador Inuit Association submitted a proposal for ...
(Inuit settlement region in
Labrador Labrador () is a geographic and cultural region within the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is the primarily continental portion of the province and constitutes 71% of the province's area but is home to only 6% of its populatio ...
).


Alaska's Iñupiat

The Iñupiat are Inuit of Alaska's Northwest Arctic and North Slope boroughs and the
Bering Strait The Bering Strait ( , ; ) is a strait between the Pacific and Arctic oceans, separating the Chukchi Peninsula of the Russian Far East from the Seward Peninsula of Alaska. The present Russia–United States maritime boundary is at 168° 58' ...
s region, including the Seward Peninsula.
Utqiaġvik Utqiagvik ( ; , ), formerly known as Barrow ( ), is the borough seat and largest city of the North Slope Borough, Alaska, North Slope Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. Located north of the Arctic Circle, it is one of the List of northernmost ...
, the northernmost city in the United States, is above the
Arctic Circle The Arctic Circle is one of the two polar circles, and the northernmost of the five major circle of latitude, circles of latitude as shown on maps of Earth at about 66° 34' N. Its southern counterpart is the Antarctic Circle. The Arctic Circl ...
and in the Iñupiat region. Their language is known as Iñupiaq. Their current communities include 34 villages across ''Iñupiat Nunaŋat'' (Iñupiaq lands) including seven Alaskan villages in the North Slope Borough, affiliated with the
Arctic Slope Regional Corporation Arctic Slope Regional Corporation, or ASRC, is one of 13 Alaska Native Regional Corporations created under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971 (ANCSA) in settlement of aboriginal land claims. ASRC was incorporated in Alaska on June 22, ...
; eleven villages in
Northwest Arctic Borough Northwest Arctic Borough is a List of boroughs and census areas in Alaska, borough located in the U.S. state of Alaska. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 7,793, up from 7,523 in 2010. The borough seat is Kotze ...
; and sixteen villages affiliated with the Bering Straits Regional Corporation."Inupiaq (Inupiat)—Alaska Native Cultural Profile."
''National Network of Libraries of Medicine.'' Retrieved 4 Dec 2013.


Yupik

The Yupik are indigenous or aboriginal peoples who live along the coast of western Alaska, especially on the
Yukon Yukon () is a Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada, bordering British Columbia to the south, the Northwest Territories to the east, the Beaufort Sea to the north, and the U.S. state of Alaska to the west. It is Canada’s we ...
-
Kuskokwim The Kuskokwim River or Kusko River ( Yupʼik: ''Kusquqvak''; Deg Xinag: ''Digenegh''; Upper Kuskokwim: ''Dichinanekʼ''; (''Kuskokvim'')) is a river, long, in Southwest Alaska in the United States. It is the ninth largest river in the Unit ...
delta and along the Kuskokwim River ( Central Alaskan Yup'ik); in southern Alaska (the
Alutiiq The Alutiiq (pronounced in English; from Promyshlenniki Russian Алеутъ, "Aleut"; plural often "Alutiit"), also called by their ancestral name ( or ; plural often "Sugpiat"), as well as Pacific Eskimo or Pacific Yupik, are a Yupik ...
); and along the eastern coast of Chukotka in the Russian Far East and St. Lawrence Island in western Alaska (the
Siberian Yupik Siberian Yupiks, or Yuits (), are a Yupik peoples, Yupik people who reside along the coast of the Chukchi Peninsula in the far Russian Far East, northeast of the Russia, Russian Federation and on St. Lawrence Island in Alaska. They speak Si ...
). The Yupik economy has traditionally been strongly dominated by the harvest of
marine mammal Marine mammals are mammals that rely on marine ecosystems for their existence. They include animals such as cetaceans, pinnipeds, sirenians, sea otters and polar bears. They are an informal group, unified only by their reliance on marine enviro ...
s, especially seals,
walrus The walrus (''Odobenus rosmarus'') is a large pinniped marine mammal with discontinuous distribution about the North Pole in the Arctic Ocean and subarctic seas of the Northern Hemisphere. It is the only extant species in the family Odobeni ...
, and
whale Whales are a widely distributed and diverse group of fully Aquatic animal, aquatic placental mammal, placental marine mammals. As an informal and Colloquialism, colloquial grouping, they correspond to large members of the infraorder Cetacea ...
s.


Alutiiq

The Alutiiq language is relatively close to that spoken by the Yupik in the
Bethel, Alaska Bethel () is a city in the U.S. state of Alaska, located on the Kuskokwim River approximately from where the river flows into Kuskokwim Bay. It is the largest community in western Alaska and in the Unorganized Borough and the List of cities in ...
area. But, it is considered a distinct language with two major dialects: the Koniag dialect, spoken on the
Alaska Peninsula The Alaska Peninsula (also called Aleut Peninsula or Aleutian Peninsula, ; Sugpiaq language, Sugpiaq: ''Aluuwiq'', ''Al'uwiq'') is a peninsula extending about to the southwest from the mainland of Alaska and ending in the Aleutian Islands. T ...
and on
Kodiak Island Kodiak Island (, ) is a large island on the south coast of the U.S. state of Alaska, separated from the Alaska mainland by the Shelikof Strait. The largest island in the Kodiak Archipelago, Kodiak Island is the second largest island in the Un ...
, and the Chugach dialect, spoken on the southern
Kenai Peninsula The Kenai Peninsula ( Dena'ina: ''Yaghenen'') is a large peninsula jutting from the coast of Southcentral Alaska. The name Kenai (, ) is derived from the word "Kenaitze" or "Kenaitze Indian Tribe", the name of the Native Athabascan Alaskan tribe ...
and in
Prince William Sound Prince William Sound ( Sugpiaq: ''Suungaaciq'') is a sound off the Gulf of Alaska on the south coast of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is located on the east side of the Kenai Peninsula. Its largest port is Valdez, at the southern terminus of the ...
. Residents of Nanwalek, located on southern part of the Kenai Peninsula near Seldovia, speak what they call Sugpiaq. They are able to understand those who speak Yupik in Bethel. With a population of approximately 3,000, and the number of speakers in the hundreds, Alutiiq communities are working to revitalize their language.


Central Alaskan Yup'ik

''Yup'ik'', with an apostrophe, denotes the speakers of the Central Alaskan
Yup'ik language The Yupʼik or Yupiaq (sg & pl) and Yupiit or Yupiat (pl), also Central Alaskan Yupʼik, Central Yupʼik, Alaskan Yupʼik ( own name ''Yupʼik'' sg ''Yupiik'' dual ''Yupiit'' pl; Russian: Юпики центральной Аляски), are an ...
, who live in western Alaska and southwestern Alaska from southern
Norton Sound The Norton Sound ( Inupiaq: ''Imaqpak'') is an inlet of the Bering Sea on the western coast of the U.S. state of Alaska, south of the Seward Peninsula. It is about 240 km (150 mi) long and 200 km (125 mi) wide. The Yukon Riv ...
to the north side of
Bristol Bay Bristol Bay (, ) is the easternmost arm of the Bering Sea, at 57° to 59° North 157° to 162° West in Southwest Alaska. Bristol Bay is 400 km (250 mi) long and 290 km (180 mi) wide at its mouth. A number of rivers flow in ...
, on the
Yukon–Kuskokwim Delta The Yukon–Kuskokwim Delta is a river delta located where the Yukon and Kuskokwim rivers empty into the Bering Sea on the west coast of the U.S. state of Alaska. At approximately in size, it is one of the largest deltas in the world. It is lar ...
, and on Nelson Island. The use of the apostrophe in the name ''Yup'ik'' is a written convention to denote the long pronunciation of the ''p'' sound; but it is spoken the same in other
Yupik languages The Yupik languages () are a family of languages spoken by the Yupik peoples of western and south-central Alaska and Chukotka. The Yupik languages differ enough from one another that they are not mutually intelligible, although speakers of one ...
. Of all the
Alaska Native languages Alaska Natives are a group of indigenous people that live in the state of Alaska and trace their heritage back to the last two great migrations that occurred thousands of years ago. The Native community can be separated into six large tribes and ...
, Central Alaskan Yup'ik has the most speakers, with about 10,000 of a total Yup'ik population of 21,000 still speaking the language. The five dialects of Central Alaskan Yup'ik include General Central Yup'ik, and the Egegik, Norton Sound, Hooper Bay-Chevak, and Nunivak dialects. In the latter two dialects, both the language and the people are called ''Cup'ik''.


Siberian Yupik

Siberian Yupik reside along the Bering Sea coast of the
Chukchi Peninsula The Chukchi Peninsula (also Chukotka Peninsula or Chukotski Peninsula; , ''Chukotskiy poluostrov'', short form , ''Chukotka''), at about 66° N 172° W, is the easternmost peninsula of Asia. Its eastern end is at Cape Dezhnev near the village ...
in Siberia in the Russian Far East and in the villages of Gambell and Savoonga on St. Lawrence Island in Alaska. The Central Siberian Yupik spoken on the Chukchi Peninsula and on St. Lawrence Island is nearly identical. About 1,050 of a total Alaska population of 1,100 Siberian Yupik people in Alaska speak the language. It is the first language of the home for most St. Lawrence Island children. In Siberia, about 300 of a total of 900 Siberian Yupik people still learn and study the language, though it is no longer learned as a first language by children.


Naukan

About 70 of 400 Naukan people still speak Naukanski. The Naukan originate on the Chukot Peninsula in
Chukotka Autonomous Okrug Chukotka ( ; ), officially the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, is the easternmost federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia. It is an Autonomous okrugs of Russia, autonomous okrug situated in the Russian Far East, and shares a border wi ...
in Siberia. Despite the relatively small population of Naukan speakers, documentation of the language dates back to 1732. While Naukan is only spoken in Siberia, the language acts as an intermediate between two Alaskan languages: Siberian Yupik Eskimo and Central Yup'ik Eskimo.


Sireniki

Some speakers of Siberian Yupik languages used to speak a divergent Inuit–Yupik variant in the past, before they underwent a
language shift Language shift, also known as language transfer, language replacement or language assimilation, is the process whereby a speech community shifts to a different language, usually over an extended period of time. Often, languages that are perceived ...
. These former speakers of the
Sirenik language Sirenik Yupik, Sireniki Yupik (also Old Sirenik or Vuteen), Sirenik, or Sirenikskiy is an extinct Eskimo–Aleut language. It was spoken in and around the village of Sireniki (Сиреники) in Chukotka Peninsula, Chukotka Autonomous Okru ...
inhabited the settlements of Sireniki, Imtuk, and some small villages stretching to the west from Sireniki along south-eastern coasts of Chukchi Peninsula.Vakhtin 1998
162
They lived in neighborhoods with Siberian Yupik and
Chukchi people The Chukchi, or Chukchee (, ''ḷygʺoravètḷʹèt, o'ravètḷʹèt''), are a Siberian ethnic group native to the Chukchi Peninsula, the shores of the Chukchi Sea and the Bering Sea region of the Arctic Ocean all within modern Russia. They s ...
s. As early as in 1895, Imtuk was a settlement with a mixed population of Sireniki and Ungazigmit (the latter belonging to Siberian Yupik). Sirenik culture has been influenced by that of Chukchi, and the language shows
Chukchi language Chukchi ( ), also known as Chukot, is a Chukotko-Kamchatkan languages, Chukotko–Kamchatkan language spoken by the Chukchi people in the easternmost extremity of Siberia, mainly in Chukotka Autonomous Okrug. The language is closely related to K ...
influences.Menovshchikov 1990
70
Folktale motifs also show the influence of Chuckchi culture.Menovshchikov 1964: 132 The above peculiarities of this (already
extinct Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...
) Inuit–Yupik language amounted to mutual unintelligibility even with its nearest language relatives: in the past, Sireniki had to use the unrelated Chukchi language as a
lingua franca A lingua franca (; ; for plurals see ), also known as a bridge language, common language, trade language, auxiliary language, link language or language of wider communication (LWC), is a Natural language, language systematically used to make co ...
for communicating with Siberian Yupik. Many words are formed from entirely different
root In vascular plants, the roots are the plant organ, organs of a plant that are modified to provide anchorage for the plant and take in water and nutrients into the plant body, which allows plants to grow taller and faster. They are most often bel ...
s from in Siberian Yupik,Menovshchikov 1964: 42 but even the grammar has several peculiarities distinct not only among Inuit–Yupik languages, but even compared to Aleut. For example,
dual number In algebra, the dual numbers are a hypercomplex number system first introduced in the 19th century. They are expressions of the form , where and are real numbers, and is a symbol taken to satisfy \varepsilon^2 = 0 with \varepsilon\neq 0. D ...
is not known in Sirenik, while most Inuit–Yupik–Unangan languages have dual,Menovshchikov 1964: 38 including its neighboring Siberian Yupikax relatives.Menovshchikov 1964: 81 Little is known about the origin of this diversity. The peculiarities of this language may be the result of a supposed long isolation from other Inuit and Yupik groups,Menovshchikov 1964: 9 and being in contact only with speakers of unrelated languages for many centuries. The influence of the Chukchi language is clear. Because of all these factors, the classification of the Sirenik language is not settled yet:Vakhtin 1998
161
Sireniki language is sometimes regarded as a third branch of Inuit–Yupik (at least, its possibility is mentioned).Linguist List's description abou
Nikolai Vakhtin
's book
''The Old Sirinek Language: Texts, Lexicon, Grammatical Notes''
. The author's untransliterated (original) name is

".
Sometimes it is regarded rather as a group belonging to the Yupik branch.Kaplan 1990
136


See also

*
Alaska Native religion Traditional Alaskan Native religion involves mediation between people and spirits, souls, and other immortal beings. Such beliefs and practices were once widespread among Inuit (including Iñupiat), Yupik, Aleut, and Northwest Coastal Indian c ...
* Blond Eskimos *
Disc number Disc numbers (, singular: ujamik, dual: ujamiik, plural: ujamiit; ) were used by the Government of Canada in lieu of surnames for Inuit. They were similar to dog tags. Prior to the arrival of European customs, Inuit had no need of family names ...
* Eskimo archery *
Eskimo kinship Eskimo kinship (or Inuit kinship in Canada) is a category of kinship used to define family organization in anthropology. Identified by Lewis H. Morgan in his 1871 work ''Systems of Consanguinity and Affinity of the Human Family'', the Eskimo syst ...
*
Eskimo kissing An Eskimo kiss, nose kiss, or nose rub is a gesture of affection where one rubs the tip of one's nose against another person's face. In Inuit culture, the gesture is known as a ''kunik'', and consists of pressing or rubbing the tip of one's nose ...
* Eskimo yo-yo * Eskimology *
Inuit religion Inuit religion is the shared spiritual beliefs and practices of the Inuit, an indigenous people from Alaska, northern Canada, Greenland, and parts of Siberia. Their religion shares many similarities with some Alaska Native religions. Traditional ...
* Kudlik * Maupuk * ''
Nanook of the North ''Nanook of the North'' is a 1922 American silent film that combines elements of documentary and docudrama/docufiction, at a time when the concept of separating films into documentary and drama did not yet exist. In the tradition of what would ...
'', 1922 documentary *
Saqqaq culture The Saqqaq culture was a Paleo-Eskimo culture in southern Greenland. It was named after the settlement of Saqqaq, the site of many archaeological finds. The Saqqaq were the longest-residing residents of Greenland in all of history. Timeframe T ...


Citations


General and cited sources

* * * * *


Cyrillic

*


Further reading


Adapting to climate change: social-ecological resilience in a Canadian western arctic community. Conservation Ecology 5(2)

Canadian Council on Learning, State of Inuit Learning in Canada

Contemporary Food Sharing: A Case Study from Akulivik, PQ. Canada





Inuit Exposure to Organochlorines through the Aquatic Food Chain. Environmental Health Perspectives 101(7)

Inuit Women and Graphic Arts: Female Creativity and Its Cultural Context. The Canadian Journal of Native Studies 9(2)

We the People: American Indians and Alaska Natives in the United States. Census 2000 Special Reports February 2006

University of Washington Libraries Digital Collections – Frank H. Nowell Photographs
Photographs documenting scenery, towns, businesses, mining activities, Native Americans, and Eskimos in the vicinity of Nome, Alaska from 1901 to 1909.
University of Washington Libraries Digital Collections – Alaska and Western Canada Collection
Images documenting Alaska and Western Canada, primarily Yukon and British Columbia, depicting scenes of the Gold Rush of 1898, city street scenes, Eskimo and Native Americans of the region, hunting and fishing, and transportation.
University of Washington Libraries Digital Collections – Arthur Churchill Warner Photographs
Includes images of Eskimos from 1898 to 1900.
Inuit Myopia: an environmentally induced "epidemic"?


External links


''Some Psychological Aspects of the Impact of the White Man upon the Labrador Eskimo'' Manuscript
at Dartmouth College Library
''The Traditional Labrador Eskimos'' (1960) Manuscript
at Dartmouth College Library
Victor Levine Manuscripts on origins of the Eskimos
at Dartmouth College Library {{Authority control Algonquian ethnonyms Hunter-gatherers of the Arctic Hunter-gatherers of Asia Hunter-gatherers of the United States Hunter-gatherers of Canada Indigenous peoples of North America Indigenous peoples of Siberia Modern nomads