The Inuit (Alaskan Eskimos?)

 

The Inuit people are those who natively inhabit the area in and around the Arctic Circle. This encompasses the land spreading from the northeastern part of Russia, Alaska, northern Canada, and Greenland. Many may identify the Inuit people as Eskimos, however, this term, which comes from the Native American term for “speaker of foreign languages”, is viewed as insulting. The name Inuit is translated to “the real people” and it derives from the language spoken by most Inuit known as Inuit-Inupiaq. There are different dialects of Inuit-Inupiaq dependent upon the region. The Yuit, a native Arctic group of people who live primarily in southwest Alaska and Siberia, are also oftentimes referred to as Inuit. Their culture and way of life is quite similar to the Inuit, yet, they speak a completely different language called “Yupik”.

While humans have inhabited the Arctic region for well over a thousand years, scientists and anthropologists agree that the earliest dwellers were not closely related to the Inuit. This theory comes from the fact that the tools and technologies used by the early Arctic inhabitants are different than that of the Inuit who are believed to have invented their very own culture and way of life. It is believed that the Inuit people are of Asian descent and migrated from Asia somewhere around 1,000 years ago across a land bridge in what is now known as the Bering Straight. The Bering Straight is the body of water separating Siberia and Alaska. Anthropologists in Greenland at a place known as Thule first found signs of the original customs and culture, thus the Thule culture is the name most commonly used for the initial Inuit practices. While the Thule ancestors of the Inuit spread eastward towards Greenland, they sporadically dispersed themselves into separate and varying regions. It is from this spread that we now see the differing and distinct Inuit cultures.

While many traditional customs have stayed sacred and eminent in Inuit society, the arrival of European whalers and traders in the 1800s drastically impacted the Inuit way of life. Norse settles in Newfoundland, Canada were of the first to greet the Inuit. Whalers began to hunt in the Arctic region during the mid-1800s, and “many Inuit worked for them in exchange for ammunition, clothing, iron, firearms, and other foreign goods” (World Book 1996: 356a). European disease attributed to the wiping out of a large number of Inuit groups and people.

Currently, about 100,000 Inuit live in the Arctic region, primarily in small settlements along the coastline. The population is steadily growing and actually doubled between 1950 and 1970 as a result primarily stemming from increased living standards and better health care (World Book 1996: 356a). About 1 percent of the world’s Inuit live in Russia, 34 percent in Alaska, 29 percent in Canada, and 35 percent in Greenland (Boden and Morgen 1983: 64).

For fun, the Inuit partake in games such as, tug-of-war and wrestling. Another customary activity, the blanket toss, is when a blanket made of walrus hide is held tightly by a group of people and a person is tossed in the air. The objective is for the person being tossed to land on his or feet, often after performing flips in the air. Traditional dances, and arts and crafts consisting of woodcarvings, are also widespread amongst the Inuit culture.

The Inuit typically believe in spirits. They uphold that all people, animals, things, and forces of natures have spirits. To keep the spirits happy, the Inuit follow rules and collectively believe that if these rules are ignored the spirits will punish them through sickness or misfortune (World Book 1996: 356d).

For the Inuit, a cold climate is nothing new or unusual. They can expect an average temperature during the coldest months to be anywhere between -20 and -30 F (World Book 1960: 324). Because of this forced adaption to the harsh Arctic weather, the Inuit have created fur clothing even more resistant to cold than the jackets made in industrialized countries with the help of modern science (Boden and Morgen 1983: 64). Although style of clothing is dependent upon region, most Inuit prefer lightweight caribou skin, which has hairs on the inside of the skin for extra warmth. These “parkas”, as they are referred to, come in one piece and can loosely fit over the top of one’s head, neck, and shoulders. The length is dependent upon region, and varies between hanging above the waist and all the way to below the knees. In the summer, Inuit wear only one layer of clothing, along with sealskin boots. During winter, Inuit tend to wear two layers of clothing consisting of a suit on the inside with fur facing the skin, and an outer suit with the fur facing the outside. This allows the air between the two layers to create insulation, while the fur on the inside evaporates any perspiration. Oftentimes, beads, fur, and good luck charms made of woodcarvings or animal parts are used as decoration in a traditional Inuit ensemble. Furthermore, Inuit have developed sunglasses made from wood, ivory, or bone, which have small, narrow slits in them to shield their eyes from the bright glare from the sun off the snow (Boden and Morgen 1983: 64).

Traditionally, the Inuit people live in groups ranging from a single family to several hundred members, and have little contact with other cultures except infrequent and sometimes hostile encounters with people living farther south in the Arctic. The scattering of Inuit groups has led to widespread differences in cultural practices making it quite impossible to collectively group the Inuit into one culture. However, with the arrival of Europeans in the Arctic, many of the Inuit traditions are no longer followed.

Inuit groups are sized depending upon seasons and the availability of food. In spring and fall for example, Inuit come together in sizable groups to hunt large animals to ensure that all necessities are met. During the rest of the year however, these communities spread out along the coast and countryside in search of fish and other game. The family structure is customarily flexible, oftentimes including a married couple, their children, and any spouses of their sons or daughters. Sometimes parents of the married couple and any unmarried siblings live in a household as well. Marriage for Inuit women happens usually around puberty, and for men, around the time when they prove themselves to be adequate and efficient hunters. Inuit society is not strictly monogamous and includes open marriages, polygamy, divorce, and remarriage (World Book 1996: 356b). While there is a strong sense of gender roles, it does not define the culture nor is it absolute. Men are traditionally hunters, and women raise the children and take care of the household. It is advised and common that all members of society be knowledgeable in both male and female roles.

Inuit groups are self-governing with a moral code of unwritten, traditional, rules of conduct, most importantly being that each person involves oneself daily to contribute to the groups’ survival. If conflict arises it is usually settled through peaceful tests of strength and courage. If an individual is threatening to the overall wellbeing and safety of the group, they will be banished. Because people cannot survive alone in the Arctic, banishment usually means death.

Contrary to common belief, most Inuit do not call igloos home. That stereotype is only true during winter for those inhabiting the regions of central Canada and the islands north of Canada in the Arctic Circle. For other Inuit however, igloos, also known as snow houses, provide temporary shelter when traveling. Most Inuit claim to have a summer and winter home. During summer, wooden framed tents draped with caribou and sealskin are typically built. However, building a winter home in the Arctic proves to be trickier. First, a large hole is dug in the ground. Then, rock and sod is piled high around the outer boundary of the hole to create walls  (Boden and Morgen 1983: 64). The ceiling encompasses wooden or whalebone rafters, which are then covered with sod. To keep warm air inside the house, the Inuit will oftentimes dig a sod-covered doorway a level below the floor of the house (World Book 1996: 356c). This entrance is where food is usually kept. 

Depending upon location and season, food for the Inuit varies from whale to foxes and includes caribou, hares, fish, and seal. During winter on the coast a bowhead whale can provide meat for an entire Inuit community, while inland, caribou hunted in the fall can mean the same thing. The meat is usually eaten raw or frozen, however, when the meat is cooked, use of pots made from soft stone known as “soapstone” to the Inuit are implemented. An ulu, a curved knife in the form of a half moon made from metal or slate, is used to cut the meat (World Book 1996: 356g). Wooden plates and bowls, along with forks from bones, and cups made of musk oxen horns, account for the utensils in a traditional Inuit meal (World Book 1996: 356g). For the Inuit, beluga whale skin and fat from caribou’s backs are viewed as delicacies.

Transportation for the Inuit people during summer consists of walking on foot over land or water by boat. The two boats typically used are known as umiaks and kayaks. Umiaks carry up to ten people, are wooden, and open. They are most commonly used for long distance travel and for hauling back game after a hunt. A kayak, which has become a popular boat in modern society, usually carries one person and has a body consisting of a fitted wooden frame that is pointed at both ends. During the winter months the Inuit travel via sled pulled by dogs. For Inuit living in the coldest areas of the Arctic normally only 1 or 2 dogs are kept. However, in other Inuit regions one can find groups keeping up to 10 dogs. In the summer months these dogs are commonly used to carry items and packs while the group is traveling (World Book 1996: 356f).

Traveling across thick sheets of ice in such harsh, cold weather seems so unusual to most people, however, for the Inuit living in the Arctic Circle, it is just another aspect of daily life. While survival for all humans is an essential task, for the Inuit, it is even more heavily emphasized. With an average temperate below 0 F, it is quite an achievement that a culture has lasted for over a thousand years and stayed so in tuned with their original customs, traditions, beliefs, and way of living.

 

 

 

 

 

References Cited

1996   The World Book Encyclopedia I, Volume 10.  New York City, New York:  World Book Incorporated.

 

1960  The World Book Encyclopedia A, Volume 1. New York City, New York:  World Book, Incorporated. 324

 

Boden, Jurgon F., and Lael Morgan

1983  Alaska and the Yukon, New York City, New York:  Facts on File  Publications New York City 1983 64-84