The Inuit People

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					         The Inuit People

The Inuit are the aboriginal inhabitants of the North American Arctic, from Bering
Strait to East Greenland, a distance of over 6000 kilometers. As well as Arctic Canada,
Inuit also live in northern Alaska and Greenland, and have close relatives in Russia.
They are united by a common cultural heritage and a common language. Until
recently, outsiders called the Inuit "Eskimo." Now they prefer their own term, "Inuit,"
meaning simply "people." There are about 40,000 Inuit in Canada.
Historical Background
                According to
                 archaeological research,
                 the origins of the Inuit lie
                 in northwestern Alaska.
                 These first Alaskan Inuit
                 lived on the seacoast and
                 tundra, where they
                 hunted seals, walrus,
                 whales, and caribou.
                 They and their ancestors
                 were the first Arctic
                 people to become expert
                 at hunting the larger sea
                 mammals, such as the
                 bowhead whale.
Historical background 2
   First Nations and Inuit in Canada find themselves
    living in "Fourth World" conditions. This means that
    many of them experience Third World
    socioeconomic conditions within the boundaries of a
    wealthy, industrialized, First World nation
   First Nations and Inuit, families, and communities
    find themselves with decreased levels of self-
    sufficiency. For instance, as a result of their
    upbringing in residential shools, generations of First
    Nations and Inuit have been unable to develop
    traditional knowledge and skills, including basic
    parenting skills.
             The Inuit were a nomadic
              culture that circulated almost
              exclusively north of the
              timberline, the de facto
              southern border of Inuit
              society. To the south, Native
              American Indian cultures were
              well established, and the
              culture and technology of Inuit
              society that served them so
              well in the Arctic was ill-suited
              to the sub-Arctic, so they did
              not displace their southern
              neighbours. Their relations
              with southerners were
              generally hostile, but at other
              times cordial enough to
              support trade.

   Inuit games
   Traditional Inuit games were individual
    tests of strength, skill or agility. Most
    were designed to be used in small
    spaces , such as an igloo or tent, and
    required little or no equipment.
   Throat Singing Music In
    Inuit Culture

    Originally, Inuit throat
    singing was a form of
    entertainment among Inuit
    women while the men were
    away on hunting trips. It was
    an activity that was primarily
    done by Inuit women although
    there have been some men
    doing it as well. In the Inuit
    language Inuktitut, throat
    singing is called katajjaq,
    pirkusirtuk or nipaquhiit
    depending on the Canadian
    Arctic region. It was regarded
    more as a type of vocal or
    breathing game in the Inuit
    culture rather than a form of
Religious Practices
   Christianity, Shamanism

   The Inuit religion was
    very complex nature
    worship. Everything had
    a soul and was spiritually
    connected. The universe
    was at harmony with its
    elements and the powers
    of nature possessed a
    neutral position towards     Shaman's Coat
Religious practice 2
   The Inuit didn’t have sacred buildings.
    The nature was sacred, and the Inuit
    was a child of nature; but life was not
    a paradise; man’s capability of doing
    evil represented a constant threat to
              Warm clothing was
               important to the
               Inuit tribes.
               Sealskin was
               usually wore in the
               summer. In the
               winter caribou skin
               was worn. Caribou
               skin was light
               weight yet very
              Clothing consisted of coat,
               trousers, stockings, shoes
               or boots. In very cold
               weather two of each
               garment were worn. The
               inner one had the fur
               against the skin, the outer
               one had the fur outside.
              Boots are called
               kamiks. They are made
               from sealskin because it
               lasts long, is warm, and
               isn't hurt when it gets wet.
              One Inuit garment,
               the hooded coat
               called the parka,
               has been adopted
               by skiers and others
               who spend time in
               the cold. An atiqik
               is a Inuit parka
               made with goose
Housing and Travel

                They lived in houses
                 made of driftwood and
                 sod, and almost
                 certainly spoke an
                 early version of the
                 Inuit language,
                That picture shows
                 how they moved. They
                 could move with their
                 house on sled.
Housing and Travel 2
                            An igloo translated sometimes
                             as snow house, is a shelter
                             constructed from blocks of
                             snow, generally in the form of
                             a dome
                            Other Inuit people tended to
                             use snow to insulate their
                             houses which consisted of
                             whalebone and hides. The use
                             of snow is due to the fact that
                             snow is an insulator (due to its
                             low density). On the outside,
                             temperatures may be as low
 Constructing an igloo       inside the temperature may
                             range from -7 °C (19 °F) to
                             16 °C (61 °F) when warmed by
                             body heat alone
Family Life
   Family ties have always been of great importance to the Inuit.
    Having a large family was always considered desirable.

Traditionally, women have often assumed a
secondary role in Inuit society. At mealtime,
an Inuit woman was required to serve her
husband and any visitors before she herself
was permitted to eat. But at the same time,
a common Inuit saying extolled women in
this way: "A hunter is what his wife makes
him." The women were the ones who
gathered firewood, butchered the animals,
and erected tents in summer and igloos in
              Inuktittut, the
               language used by the
               Inuit in the eastern
               Arctic, had no written
               form until one was
               developped by a
               missionary in the
               1800's. The language
               is written in syllabic
               symbols corresponding
               to groups of sounds.
Map of geographic area

   Greenland, Canada, United States, Russia
How they adapted the
land in which they lived
                The Inuit are the descendants of
                 what anthropologists call the Thule
                 culture, a nomadic people who
                 emerged from western Alaska
                 around 1000 and spread eastwards
                 across the Arctic, displacing the
                 related Dorset culture (in Inuktitut,
                 the Tuniit). Inuit legends speak of
                 the Tuniit as "giants", people who
                 were taller and stronger than the
                 Inuit, but who were easily scared
                 off and retreated from the
                 advancing Inuit. By 1300, the Inuit
                 had settled west Greenland, and
                 finally moved into east Greenland
                 over the following century.
3 images

   An Inuit man works on a traditional house
3 sources in Bibliography