Inuit
Inuit grandmother and grandchild, 1995
Total population
150,000
Regions with significant populations
Greenland, Canada, United States, Russia
Languages
Inuit language, Eskimo-Aleut languages
Religion
Christianity, Shamanism
Related ethnic groups
Aleuts, Yupiks

Inuit (plural: the singular, Inuk, means "man" or "person") is a general term for a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions of Alaska, Greenland, and Canada. Greenland (Kalaallit Nunaat meaning "Land of the Greenlanders" Grønland is a self-governing Danish Province located between the Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending The Inuit language is traditionally spoken across the North American Arctic and to some extent in the Subarctic in Labrador. Eskimo-Aleut is a Language family native to Greenland, the Canadian Arctic, Alaska, and parts of Siberia. Christianity ( Greek Χριστιανισμός from the word Xριστός ( Christ)is a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings The Aleuts ( self-denomination from Aleut language allíthuh 'community' older or regional self-denomination Unangax̂, Unangan or The Yupik or in the Central Alaskan Yup'ik language, Yup'ik, are a group of indigenous or aboriginal peoples of western southwestern and southcentral The term Indigenous Peoples or autochthonous peoples can be used to describe any Ethnic group who inhabit a geographic region with which they have the earliest historical The Arctic is the Region around the Earth 's North Pole, opposite the Antarctic region around the South Pole. Alaska ( Аляска Alyaska) is a state in the United States of America, in the northwest of the North American continent Greenland (Kalaallit Nunaat meaning "Land of the Greenlanders" Grønland is a self-governing Danish Province located between the Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page Until fairly recent times, there has been a remarkable homogeneity in the culture throughout these areas, which have traditionally relied on fish, marine mammals, and land animals for food, pets, transport, heat, light, clothing, tools, and shelter. Marine mammals are a diverse group of roughly 120 species of Mammal that are primarily Ocean -dwelling or depend on the ocean for food The Inuit language is grouped under Eskimo-Aleut languages. The Inuit language is traditionally spoken across the North American Arctic and to some extent in the Subarctic in Labrador. Eskimo-Aleut is a Language family native to Greenland, the Canadian Arctic, Alaska, and parts of Siberia. ^[1]

The Inuit people live throughout most of the Canadian Arctic and subarctic: in the territory of Nunavut ("our land"); the northern third of Quebec, in an area called Nunavik ("place to live"); the coastal region of Labrador, in an area called Nunatsiavut ("Our Beautiful Land"); in various parts of the Northwest Territories, mainly on the coast of the Arctic Ocean and the Yukon territory. Northern Canada is the vast Northernmost Region of Canada variously defined by Geography and Politics. The Subarctic is a region in the Northern Hemisphere immediately south of the true Arctic and covering much of Alaska, Canada and The provinces and territories of Canada combine to make up the world's second largest country in total area. Nunavut (ˈnuːnəvʊt ( Inuktitut syllabics: ᓄᓇᕗᑦ is the largest and newest territory of Canada; it was separated officially from the Quebec (kwɨˈbɛk Nunavik (ᓄᓇᕕᒃ comprises the northern third of the province of Quebec, Canada. Modern Labrador Just like its island neighbour Newfoundland early settlement in Labrador was tied to the sea as demonstrated by the Montagnais, Innu and The Northwest Territories (ˌnɔrθˌwɛstˈtɛrɨtɔriz ( NWT or NT; French, les Territoires du Nord-Ouest) is a territory The Arctic Ocean, located in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Arctic north polar region is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major Yukon (ˈjuːkɒn is the westernmost and smallest of Canada's three territories. Alaskan Inupiat live on the North Slope of Alaska and the Seward Peninsula. The Inupiat or Iñupiaq (from inuit- people - and piaq/t real i The Alaska North Slope is the region of the US state of Alaska located on the northern slope of the Brooks Range along the coast of two marginal seas The Seward Peninsula is a large peninsula on the western coast of the U Greenland's Kalaallit are citizens of Denmark. Kalaallit is the Greenlandic term for the population living in Greenland. The Kingdom of Denmark ( ˈd̥ænmɑɡ̊ (archaic ˈd̥anmɑːɡ̊ commonly known as Denmark, is a country in the Scandinavian region of northern Europe

Contents 1 Nomenclature 2 Inuit, Yupik, and First Nations People 3 Early history 4 Language 5 Cultural History 5.1 Diet 5.2 Transport, navigation, and dogs 5.3 Industry, art, and clothing 5.4 Gender roles, marriage, and community 5.5 Raiding 5.6 Suicide, murder, and death 5.7 Traditional law 6 Traditional beliefs 7 Since the arrival of Europeans 7.1 Canada 7.2 Greenland 7.3 Alaska 7.4 International issues 8 Modern culture 9 Economy today 10 See also 11 Notes 12 References 13 External links

Nomenclature

Main articles: Eskimo#Nomenclature and Origin of the name Eskimo

In Canada and Greenland the term Eskimo has fallen out of favor, is considered pejorative,^[2][3] and has been replaced by the term Inuit. Eskimos or Esquimaux are Indigenous peoples who have traditionally inhabited the circumpolar region from eastern Siberia ( Russia) across Two principal competing etymologies have been proposed for the name " Eskimo " but the most commonly accepted today appears to be the Montagnais word meaning "snowshoe-netter" Eskimos or Esquimaux are Indigenous peoples who have traditionally inhabited the circumpolar region from eastern Siberia ( Russia) across Words and phrases are pejorative if they imply disapproval or contempt However, while Inuit describes all of the Eskimo peoples in Canada and Greenland, that is not true in Alaska and Siberia. In Alaska the term Eskimo is commonly used, because it includes both Yupik and Inupiat, while Inuit is not accepted as a collective term or even specifically used for Inupiat (which technically is Inuit). The Yupik or in the Central Alaskan Yup'ik language, Yup'ik, are a group of indigenous or aboriginal peoples of western southwestern and southcentral No universal replacement term for Eskimo, inclusive of all Inuit and Yupik people, is accepted across the geographical area inhabited by the Inuit and Yupik peoples. ^[4]

Inuit, Yupik, and First Nations People

The Inuit Circumpolar Conference, a United Nations-recognised non-governmental organization (NGO), defines its constituency to include Canada's Inuit and Inuvialuit, Greenland's Kalaallit Inuit, Alaska's Inupiat and Yup'ik people, and the Siberian Yupik people of Russia. The United Nations ( UN) is an International organization whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in International law, International security The Inuvialuit (in Inuvialuktun: the real people are Inuit people who live in the western Canadian Arctic region The Yup'ik people (also Central Alaskan Yup'ik, plural Yupiit) are an Eskimo people of western and southwestern Alaska ranging from southern Siberian Yupiks, or Yuits are indigenous people who reside along the coast of the Chukchi Peninsula in the far northeast of the Russian Federation and Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending ^[5] However, the Yupik of Alaska and Siberia are not Inuit, and the Yupik languages are linguistically distinct from the Inuit languages. The Yupik languages are the several distinct languages of the several Yupik (Юпик peoples of western and southcentral Alaska and northeastern Siberia ^[4] Yupik people are not considered to be Inuit either by themselves or by ethnographers, and prefer to be called Yupik or Eskimo.

Canadian Inuit do not consider themselves, and are not usually considered by others, to be one of the First Nations, a term which normally applies to other indigenous peoples in Canada. First Nations is a term of Ethnicity that refers to the Aboriginal peoples in Canada who are neither Inuit nor Métis people The term Indigenous Peoples or autochthonous peoples can be used to describe any Ethnic group who inhabit a geographic region with which they have the earliest historical ^[6] However, Inuit (and the Métis) are collectively recognised by the Constitution Act, 1982 as Aboriginal peoples in Canada. The Métis are descendants of marriages of Cree, Ojibway Algonquin, Saulteaux, and Menominee aboriginals to Europeans, The Constitution Act 1982 (Schedule B of the Canada Act 1982 (UK is a part of the Constitution of Canada. Aboriginal people in Canada, also known as Canadian aboriginal citizens, are people who belong to recognized indigenous groups in the Canadian Constitution Act

The Inuit should not be confused with the Innu, a distinct First Nations people who live in northeastern Quebec and Labrador. The Innu are the indigenous inhabitants of an area they refer to as Nitassinan, which comprises most of what other Canadians refer to as eastern Quebec

Some of the Inuit dialects were recorded in the 18th century, but until the latter half of the 20th century, most were not able to read and write in their own language. In the 1760s, Moravian missionaries arrived in Greenland, where they contributed to the development of a written system of language called Qaliujaaqpait, based on the Latin alphabet. This page is about the Moravian Church globally For information about the church in a particular geographic area use the links at Organisation below The missionaries later brought this system to Labrador, from which it eventually spread as far as Alaska. ^[7]

Early history

The Inuit are the descendants of what anthropologists call the Thule culture, who emerged from western Alaska around 1000 AD and spread eastwards across the Arctic, displacing the related Dorset culture (in Inuktitut, the Tuniit). Anthropology (/ˌænθɹəˈpɒlədʒi/ from Greek grc ἄνθρωπος anthrōpos, "human" -λογία -logia) is the study of The Thule (ˈtuːli or proto-Inuit were the ancestors of all modern Canadian Inuit. The Dorset culture (also called the Dorset Tradition were a Paleo-Eskimo culture that preceded the Inuit culture in Arctic North America. Inuktitut ( Inuktitut syllabics: iu-Cans ᐃᓄᒃᑎᑐᑦ ( fonts required literally "like the Inuit") is the name of the varieties of Inuit legends speak of the Tuniit as "giants", people who were taller and stronger than the Inuit. Researchers believe that the Dorset culture lacked dogs, larger weapons and other technologies that gave the expanding Inuit society an advantage over them. By 1300, the Inuit had settled in west Greenland, and finally moved into east Greenland over the following century.

The Tuniit survived in Aivilik, Southampton and Coats Islands, until the beginning of the 20th century. The Aivilingmiut (or Aivilik) are an Inuit people who traditionally have resided north of Hudson Bay in Canada, near Naujaat (Repulse One of the larger members of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, Southampton Island is a large island at the entrance to Hudson Bay, Canada. Coats Island ( Inuktitut: Akpatordjuark lies at the northern end of Hudson Bay in the Kivalliq Region of Nunavut. They were known as Sadlermiut (Sallirmiut in the modern spelling). The Sadlermiut (also called Sagdlirmiut, or Sallirmiut in modern Inuktitut spelling from Sadlerk, now Salliq, the Inuktitut name Their population had been ravaged by diseases brought by contact with Europeans, and the last of them fell in a flu epidemic caught from a passing whaler in 1902. The area has since been resettled by Inuit.

In Canada and Greenland the Inuit circulated almost exclusively north of the tree line, the de facto southern border of Inuit society. The tree line or timberline is the edge of the habitat at which Trees are capable of growing 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 not suited to the subarctic, so they did not displace their southern neighbours. For indigenous peoples in the United States other than Hawaii and Alaska see also Native Americans in the United States. The Subarctic is a region in the Northern Hemisphere immediately south of the true Arctic and covering much of Alaska, Canada and They had trade relations with more southern cultures, but as is the usual case boundary disputes were common and often a cause of aggressive actions.

Warfare, in general, was not uncommon among Inuit groups with sufficient population density. War is an international relations Dispute, characterized by organized Violence between National Military units Inuit, such as the Nunatamiut (Uummarmiut), who inhabited the Mackenzie River delta area experienced common warfare whereas the Central Arctic Inuit lacked the population density to engage in warfare. The Nunatamiut ( people of the land) are an Alaskan Inuit nomadic group who lived in the Alaskan interior and were known as great Caribou hunters The Uummarmiut ( people of the green trees) is the name given to the Inuvialuit who live predominantly in the Mackenzie Delta communities of Aklavik The Mackenzie River (Fleuve Mackenzie originates in Great Slave Lake, in the Northwest Territories, and flows north into the Arctic Ocean.

The first contact with Europeans came from the Vikings, who settled Greenland and explored the eastern Canadian coast. A Viking is one of the Norse ( Scandinavian Explorers Warriors Merchants, and pirates who raided and colonized wide areas Norse literature speaks of skrælingar, most likely an undifferentiated label for all the native peoples of the Americas the Norse contacted, Tuniit, Inuit and Beothuks alike. Norsemen is used to refer to the group of people as a whole who speak one of the North Germanic languages as their native language Skræling (plural skrælingjar) is the name the Norse Greenlanders gave to the Thule people they encountered in Greenland and perhaps to The Beothuk (biˈɒθʊk (also spelled Boeothuck, Beothuck, Boethuk, Boeothuk, and Boethuck) were the native inhabitants of the island

Sometime in the 13th century the Thule culture began arriving from what is now Canada. Norse accounts are scant. However, Norse made items have been found at Inuit campsites in Greenland. It is unclear whether they are the result of trade or plunder. One old account speaks of "small people" with whom the Norsemen fought. Ívar Bárðarson's^[8] 14th century account mentions that one of the two Norse settlement areas, the western settlement, had been taken over by the skrælings. The reason why the Norse settlements failed is unclear, but the last record of them is from 1408, roughly the same period as the earliest Inuit settlements in east Greenland.

After roughly 1350, the climate grew colder during the Little Ice Age and the Inuit were forced to abandon hunting and whaling sites in the high Arctic. The Little Ice Age (LIA was a period of cooling occurring after a warmer era known as the Medieval Warm Period or Medieval Climate Optimum Bowhead whaling disappeared in Canada and Greenland (but continued in Alaska) and the Inuit had to subsist on a much poorer diet. The Bowhead Whale ( Balaena mysticetus) also known as Greenland Right Whale or Arctic Whale, is a Baleen whale of the right whale family Without whales, they lost access to essential raw materials for tools and architecture that were derived from whaling. Whales are marine mammals which are neither Dolphins (ie members of the families Delphinidae or Platanistoidae) nor Porpoises Orcas Whaling is the hunting of Whales and dates back to at least 6000 BC

The changing climate forced the Inuit to also look south, pressuring them into the marginal niches along the edges of the tree line that Indians had not occupied, or where they were weak enough to coexist with. It is hard to say with any precision when the Inuit stopped their territorial expansion. There is evidence that they were still moving into new territory in southern Labrador in the 17th century, when they first began to interact with colonial North American civilisation. The start of the European colonization of the Americas is typically dated to 1492 although there was at least one earlier colonization effort

Language

The Inuit mainly speak the traditional language, Inuktitut, but they also speak English, and French. Inuktitut ( Inuktitut syllabics: iu-Cans ᐃᓄᒃᑎᑐᑦ ( fonts required literally "like the Inuit") is the name of the varieties of English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people Inuktitut is mainly spoken in the Yukon, Northwest Territories, and in some parts of Greenland.

The Inuktitut syllabary used in Canada is based on the Cree syllabary devised by the missionary James Evans. Cree syllabics, found in two primary forms are the versions of Canadian Aboriginal syllabics that are used to write Cree dialects. This article is about the Canadian missionary For other people by this name see James Evans. The present form of the syllabary for Canadian Inuktitut was adopted by the Inuit Cultural Institute in Canada in the 1970s. The Inuit in Alaska, the Inuvialuit, Inuinnaqtun speakers, and Inuit in Greenland and Labrador use the Roman alphabet, although it has been adapted for their use in different ways.

Though conventionally called a syllabary, the writing system has been classified by some observers as an abugida, since syllables starting with the same consonant have related glyphs rather than unrelated ones. An abugida ( from Ge‘ez አቡጊዳ ’äbugida or Amharic አቡጊዳ ’abugida is a segmental Writing system which All of the characters needed for the Inuktitut syllabary are available in the Unicode character repertoire. In Computing, Unicode is an Industry standard allowing Computers to consistently represent and manipulate text expressed in most of the world's (See Unified Canadian Aboriginal Syllabics character table. Canadian Aboriginal syllabic writing', or simply syllabics, is a family of Abugidas {dubious}} used to write a number of Aboriginal Canadian ) The territorial government of Nunavut, Canada has developed a TrueType font called Pigiarniq for computer displays. TrueType is an Outline font standard originally developed by Apple Computer in the late 1980s as a competitor to Adobe 's Type 1 fonts It was designed by Vancouver-based Tiro Typeworks. Vancouver (vænˈkuːvɚ is a coastal

Inuktitut is written in several different ways, depending on the dialect and region, but also on historical and political factors. Moravian missionaries, with the purpose of introducing the Inuit peoples to Christianity and the Bible, contributed to the development of an Inuktitut writing system in Greenland during the 1760s that was based on Roman orthography. They later travelled to Labrador in the 1800s, bringing the written Inuktitut with them. This roman alphabet writing scheme is distinguished by its inclusion of the letter kra. Kra (ĸ is a character once used when writing the Kalaallisut language spoken in Greenland. The Alaskan Yupik and Inupiat (who, in addition, developed their own system of hieroglyphics) and the Siberian Yupik also adopted the system of Roman orthography.

Eastern Canadian Inuit were the last to adopt the written word when, in the 1860s, missionaries imported the written system Qaniujaaqpait they had developed in their efforts to convert the Cree to Christianity. The very last Inuit peoples introduced to missionaries and writing were the Netsilik Inuit in Kugaaruk and north Baffin Island. Kugaaruk ( Inuktitut syllabics: ᑳᒑᕐᑭᓪ formerly known as Pelly Bay ( Arviligjuaq, meaning "the great bowhead whale habitat" until The Netsilik adopted Qaniujaaqpait by the 1920s.

The "Greenlandic" system has been substantially reformed in recent years, making Labrador writing unique to Nunatsiavummiutut at this time. Most Inuktitut in Nunavut and Nunavik is written using a scheme called Qaniujaaqpait or Inuktitut syllabics, based on Canadian Aboriginal syllabics. The western part of Nunavut and the Northwest Territories use a Roman orthography (alphabet scheme) usually identified as Inuinnaqtun or Qaliujaaqpait, reflecting the predispositions of the missionaries who reached this area in the late 19th century and early 20th.

Cultural History

Diet

The Inuit have traditionally been hunters and fishers. They hunted, and still hunt, whales, walruses, caribou, seals, polar bears, muskoxen, birds, and at times other less commonly eaten animals such as foxes. The walrus ( Odobenus rosmarus) is a large flippered Marine mammal with a discontinuous circumpolar distribution in the Arctic Ocean and Pinnipeds ("fin-feet" lit "winged feet" or fin-footed mammals are a widely distributed and diverse group of semi-aquatic marine Mammals comprising The polar bear ( Ursus maritimus) is a Bear native to the Arctic Ocean and its surrounding seas The muskox ( Ovibos moschatus) is an Arctic Mammal of the Bovidae family noted for its thick coat and for the strong odor emitted by males The typical Inuit diet is high in protein and very high in fat - in their traditional diets, Inuit consumed an average of 75% of their daily energy intake from fat. ^[9] While it is not possible to cultivate plants for food in the Arctic, gathering those that are naturally available has always been typical. Grasses, tubers, roots, stems, berries, and seaweed were collected and preserved depending on the season and the location (kuanniq or edible seaweed). ^{[10][11][12][13][14]}

Anthropologist Vilhjalmur Stefansson lived with and studied a group of Inuit. Vilhjalmur Stefansson (Vilhjálmur Stefánsson (November 3 1879 &ndash August 26 1962 was a Canadian Arctic explorer and ethnologist ^[15] The study focused on the fact that the Inuit's extremely low-carbohydrate diet had no adverse effects on Stefansson's health, nor that of the Inuit. Low-carbohydrate diets or low-carb diets are dietary programs that restrict Carbohydrate consumption usually for Weight control or for the treatment of Stefansson (1946) also observed that the Inuit were able to get the necessary vitamins they needed from their traditional winter diet, which did not contain plant matter. In particular, he found that adequate vitamin C could be obtained from items in the Inuit's traditional diet of raw meat such as Ringed Seal liver and whale skin. Vitamin C or L-ascorbate is an Essential nutrient for a large number of higher primate species a small number of other Mammalian The Ringed Seal ( Pusa hispida) also known as the Jar Seal and as Netsik or Nattiq by the Inuit, is an Earless seal inhabiting The liver is a vital organ in the human body and is present in Vertebrates and some other animals While there was considerable skepticism when he reported these findings, they have been borne out in recent studies. ^[16]

Transport, navigation, and dogs

Sea animals were hunted from single-passenger, covered seal-skin boats called qajaq^[17] which were extraordinarily buoyant, and could easily be righted by a seated person, even if completely overturned. Edward Sheriff Curtis ( February 16, 1868 &ndash October 19, 1952) was a photographer of the American West and of Native Cape Dorset ( Inuktitut: Kinngait; Syllabics: ᑭᙵᐃᑦ is an Inuit hamlet located Because of this property, the Inuit design was copied, along with the Inuit word, by Europeans who still make and use them under the name kayak. Since the Renaissance, Europe has had a dominating influence in culture economics and social movements in the world A kayak is a small human-powered Boat. It typically has a covered deck and a cockpit covered by a Spraydeck. They were originally the Inuit's design, but has been copied by people around the world. Kayaks have a special tube like design. Inuit also made umiak, larger, open boats made of wood frames covered with animal skins for transporting people, goods and dogs. The umiak, umiaq, umiac, oomiac or oomiak is a type of Boat used by Eskimo people both Yupik and They were 6 m (20 ft) - 12 m (39 ft) long. They also had a flat bottom so that it could come close to shore. In the winter, Inuit would also hunt sea mammals by patiently watching an aglu (breathing hole) in the ice and waiting for the air-breathing seals to use them, a technique also used by the polar bear, who hunts by seeking out holes in the ice and waiting nearby.

On land, the Inuit used dog sleds (qamutik) for transportation. A dog sled is a Sled pulled by one or more Sled dogs used to travel over Ice and through Snow. The husky dog breed comes from Inuit breeding of dogs for transportation. Sled dogs, known also as sleightman dogs sledge dogs or sleddogs are types of Dogs that are used to pull a wheel-less vehicle A team of dogs in either a tandem/side-by-side or fan formation would pull a sled made of wood, animal bones, or the baleen from a whale's mouth, over the snow and ice. Baleen or whalebone is the means by which Baleen whales feed These whales do not have Teeth, but instead have rows of baleen plates in They used stars to navigate at sea and landmarks to navigate on land and possessed a comprehensive native system of toponymy. Toponymy refers to the scientific study of place-names ( toponyms) their origins meanings use and Typology. Where natural landmarks were insufficient, the Inuit would erect an inukshuk to compensate. An inuksuk (plural inuksuit) (from the Inuktitut: ᐃᓄᒃᓱᒃ plural ᐃᓄᒃᓱᐃᑦ alternatively inukshuk in English or inukhuk

Dogs played an integral role in the annual routine of the Inuit. During the summer they became pack animals, sometimes dragging up to 20 kg (44 lb) of baggage. In the winter they pulled the sled and yearlong they assisted with hunting by sniffing out seal's holes and pestering polar bears. They loyally protected the Inuit villages by barking at bears and strangers. The Inuit generally favoured and tried to breed the most striking and handsome of dogs, especially ones with bright eyes and a healthy coat. Common husky dog breeds used by the Inuit were the Canadian Eskimo Dog (Qimmiq; Inuktitut for dog), the Greenland Dog, the Siberian Husky and the Alaskan Malamute. The Canadian Eskimo Dog is a larger breed of Arctic Dogs which are often considered to be North America ’s oldest and The Alaskan Malamute is a large breed of Domestic dog ( Canis lupus familiaris) originally When the dog was newborn, the Inuit would perform rituals on the dog to give the pup favourable qualities. Its legs were pulled to make it grow strong and its nose was poked with a pin to enhance its sense of smell.

Industry, art, and clothing

Inuit industry relied almost exclusively on animal hides, driftwood, and bones, although some tools were also made out of worked stones, particularly the readily-worked soapstone. Driftwood is Wood that has been washed onto a shore or beach of a sea or river by the action of winds tides waves or man Soapstone (also known as steatite or soaprock) is a Metamorphic rock, a talc- Schist. Walrus ivory was a particularly essential material, used to make knives. Walrus tusk Ivory comes from two modified upper canines The tusks of a Pacific walrus may attain a length of one meter. Art is a big part of Inuit history. Small sculptures of animals and human figures were made out of ivory and bone usually depicting everyday activities such as hunting and whaling. Ivory is formed from Dentine and constitutes the bulk of the Teeth and Tusks of animals such as the Elephant, Hippopotamus, Hunting is the practice of pursuing Animals for Food, Recreation, or Trade.

Inuit made clothes and footwear from animal skins, sewn together using needles made from animal bones and threads made from other animal products such as sinew. A tendon (or sinew) is a tough band of Fibrous connective tissue that usually connects Muscle to Bone and is capable of withstanding tension The anorak (parka) is in essence made in a similar fashion by Arctic peoples from Europe through Asia and the Americas, including by the Inuit. An anorak or parka is a type of heavy Jacket with a hood, often lined with Fur or Fake fur, so as to protect the face from a The Americas are the lands of the Western hemisphere or New World, consisting of the Continents of North America and South America In some groups of Inuit the hoods of women's parkas (amauti, plural amautiit) were traditionally made extra large, to protect the baby from the harsh wind when snuggled against the mother's back. The amauti (also amaut or amautik, plural amautiit) is the traditional eastern Arctic Inuit parka designed Styles vary from region to region, from shape of the hood to length of the tails. Boots (kamik or mukluk) could be made of caribou or sealskin, and designs varied for men and women. Mukluks or Kamik (singular kamak) are a soft Boot traditionally made of Reindeer skin or sealskin and were originally worn by

Certain Inuit also lived in temporary shelters made from snow in winter (the famous igloo), and during the few months of the year when temperatures were above freezing, they lived in tents made of animal skins and bones. An igloo ( Inuit language: iglu, Inuktitut syllabics: ᐃᒡᓗ "house" plural iglooit or igluit, but in English

Gender roles, marriage, and community

The division of labour in traditional society had a strong gender component, but it was not absolute. Division of labour or specialization is the specialization of cooperative labour in specific circumscribed tasks and roles intended to increase the Productivity The men were traditionally hunters and fishermen. The women took care of the children, cleaned huts, sewed, processed food, and cooked. However, there are numerous examples of women who hunted out of necessity or as a personal choice. At the same time, men who could be away from camp for several days, would be expected to know how to sew and cook.

The marital customs among the Inuit were not strictly monogamous: many Inuit relationships were implicitly or explicitly sexually open marriages; polygamy, divorce and remarriage were fairly common. Monogamy is the custom or condition of having only one mate in a Relationship, thus forming a Couple. Open marriage typically refers to a Marriage in which the partners agree that each may engage in extramarital sexual relationships, without this being regarded as The term polygamy (a Greek word meaning "the practice of multiple marriage" is used in related ways in Social anthropology, Sociobiology, and Divorce or dissolution of marriage is the termination of a Marriage. Among some Inuit groups divorce required the approval of the community, if there were children, and particularly the agreement of the elders. Marriages were often arranged, sometimes in infancy, and occasionally forced on the couple by the community. Arranged marriage (also called prearranged marriage) is a Marriage arranged by someone other than the persons getting married curtailing or avoiding the process Child marriage usually refers to two separate social phenomena which are practiced in some societies Forced marriage is a term used to describe a marriage in which one or more of the parties is married without his or her consent or against his or her will Marriage was common for men when they became productive hunters, and for women at puberty. Family structure was flexible: a household might consist of a man and his wife or wives and children; it might include his parents or his wife's parents as well as adopted children; or it might be a larger formation of several siblings with their parents, wives and children; or even more than one family sharing dwellings and resources. Every household had its head, an elder or a particularly respected man.

There was also a larger notion of community, generally several families who shared a place where they wintered. Goods were shared within a household, and also to a significant extent within a whole community.

The Inuit were hunter-gatherers,^[18] although it is commonly mistakenly believed that they were nomadic, had no government, and had no conception of either private property or ownership of land. A hunter-gatherer society is one whose primary subsistence method involves the direct procurement of edible plants and animals from the wild Foraging and Hunting Nomadic people, (from the νομάδες nomádes, "those who let pasture herds" also known as nomads, are communities of people that In fact they had very sophisticated concepts of private property and of land ownership that, as with their form of governance, was so drastically different than the Western concepts understood by European observers that the existence of such went entirely undocumented until well into the 20th century. ^[19]

Raiding

Virtually all Inuit cultures have oral traditions of raids by other indigenous peoples such as the Bloody Falls Massacre, even including fellow Inuit, and of taking vengeance on them in return. Oral tradition, oral culture and oral lore is a way for a society to transmit history, literature, law and other Knowledges The Massacre at Bloody Falls was an incident that took place during Samuel Hearne 's exploration of the Coppermine River on July 17 1771 Western observers often regarded these tales as generally not entirely accurate historical accounts, but more as self-serving myths. But evidence shows that Inuit cultures had very accurate methods of teaching historical accounts to each new generation. ^[20]

The historic account of violence against outsiders does make clear that there was a history of hostile contact within the Inuit cultures and with other cultures. ^[21] It also makes it very clear that Inuit nations existed, and at times confederations of those nations too. The known confederations were usually formed for defensive purposes, generally to defend against a very prosperous, and thus very strong, nation. Alternately, people who lived in less productive geographical areas tended to be less warlike, having to spend more time producing food.

Justice with Inuit cultures was moderated by the form of governance that gave significant power to the elders in such decisions. But even then, as in most cultures around the world, it could be harsh and often included capital punishment for serious crimes against the community or even against an individual. It is also noted that during raids the Inuit, like their non-Inuit neighbors, tended to be merciless. ^[22]

Suicide, murder, and death

"A pervasive European myth about Inuit is that they killed elderly and unproductive people. "^[23] This is not generally true. ^[24][25][26] In a culture with an oral history, elders are the keepers of communal knowledge, effectively the community library^[27], and there are cultural taboos against sacrificing elders because they are of extreme value as the repository of knowledge. Oral history can be defined as the recording preservation and interpretation of historical information, based on the personal experiences and opinions of the speaker ^[28][29]

When food is not sufficient there is little doubt that the elderly are the least likely to survive. It is also true that in an extreme case of famine the Inuit fully understood that a hunter was necessarily the one to feed on whatever food was left if there was to be any hope of obtaining more food. A famine is a widespread shortage of food that may apply to any Faunal species which phenomenon is usually accompanied by regional Malnutrition, Starvation

However, a common response to desperate conditions and the threat of starvation was infanticide, which did sometimes entail abandoning an infant in hopes that someone less desperate might find and adopt him or her before the cold or the wildlife finished him or her off. Infanticide is the practice of someone intentionally causing the death of an Infant. Child abandonment is the practice of abandoning offspring outside of legal Adoption. All Inuit tribes practiced some form of infanticide.

It was long presumed by anthropologists that Inuit cultures routinely killed children born with physical defects. The type of presumption has been based mostly on theorizing by people educated in Western cultures about how an Inuit culture could survive and function, and had very little to do with science or archaeology. Between 1982 and 1994, however, a storm with high winds caused ocean waves to erode part of the bluffs near Barrow, Alaska, and a body was discovered to have been washed out of the mud. Barrow is a city in and the borough seat of the North Slope Borough of the state of Alaska, United States. Unfortunately the storm claimed the body, which was not recovered. But examination of the eroded bank indicated that an ancient house, perhaps with other remains, was likely to be claimed by the next storm. The site (known as the "Ukkuqsi archaeological site") was excavated. Several frozen bodies (now known as the "frozen family") were recovered, autopsies were performed, and they were interred as the first burials in the then new Imaiqsaun Cemetery south of Barrow. ^[30] Years later another body washed out of the bluff - that of a female child, approximately 9 years old, who had clearly been born with a congenital birth defect. ^[31] This child had never been able to walk, but must have been cared for by family throughout her life. ^[32] That body, dated at about 1200 AD, suggests that Inuit culture has long valued children, including those with birth defects.

During the 19th century, the Western Arctic suffered a population decline of close to 90% of their population resulting from foreign diseases including tuberculosis, measles, influenza, and smallpox. Autopsies near Greenland reveal that, more commonly pneumonia, kidney diseases, trichinosis, malnutrition, and degenerative disorders may have contributed to mass deaths among different Inuit tribes. Pneumonia is an inflammatory illness of the Lung. Frequently it is described as lung Parenchyma / alveolar inflammation and abnormal Nephrology (from Greek nephros, " Kidney " and λόγος Logos, "speech" lit Trichinosis, also called trichinellosis, or trichiniasis, is a Parasitic disease caused by eating raw or undercooked Pork and Wild game Malnutrition is a general term for a medical condition caused by an improper or insufficient diet. The Inuit believed that the cause of the disease came from a spiritual origin, and cures were said to be possible through confession. ^[33]

Traditional law

Inuit traditional laws are anthropologically different to Western law concepts. 'Customary law' was thought nonexistent in Inuit society before the introduction of the Canadian legal system. Hoebel, in 1954, concluded that only 'rudimentary law' existed amongst the Inuit.

Indeed, prior to about 1970 it is impossible to find even one reference to a Western observer who was aware that any form of governance existed among any Inuit people. ^[19]

• maligait refers to what has to be followed
• piqujait refers to what has to be done
• tirigusuusiit refers to what has to be not done

If someone's action went against the tirigusuusiit, maligait or piqujait, the angakkuq might have to intervene, lest the consequences be dire to the individual or the community. The Angakkuq ( Inuktitut) ( Inuktitut syllabics ᐊᖓᑦᑯᖅ) Angatkuq ( Inuvialuktun) Angakok or Ilisitsok ^[34]

We are told today that Inuit never had laws or "maligait". Why? They say because they are not written on paper. When I think of paper, I think you can tear it up, and the laws are gone. The laws of the Inuit are not on paper.
--Mariano Aupilaarjuk, Rankin Inlet, Nunavut, "Perspectives on Traditional Law"^[35]

Traditional beliefs

See also: Inuit mythology and Shamanism among Eskimo peoples

The Inuit people inhabit the land stretching from southeast Alaska to Greenland, an environment that heavily influenced a mythology filled with adventure tales of whale and walrus hunts. Inuit mythology has many similarities to the Religions of other Polar regions Inuit traditional religious practices could be very briefly summarised as a Shamanism among Eskimo peoples refers to those aspects of the various Eskimo cultures that are related to the shamans’ role as a mediator between The word mythology (from the Greek grc μυθολογία mythología, meaning "a story-telling a legendary lore" Long winter months of waiting for caribou herds or sitting near breathing holes hunting seals gave birth to stories of mysterious and sudden appearance of ghosts and fantastic creatures. Some Inuit looked into the aurora borealis, or northern lights, to find images of their family and friends dancing in the next life, and they relied upon the angakkuq (shaman), while the nearest thing to a central deity was the Old Woman (Sedna), who lived beneath the sea. In Inuit mythology, Sedna ( Inuktitut Sanna, ᓴᓐᓇ is a Deity and god of the marine animals especially mammals such as seals The waters, a central food source, were believed to contain great gods.

The Inuit practiced a form of shamanism based on animist principles. Animism (from Latin anima ( Soul, Life) commonly refers to a religious belief that Souls or Spirits exist in Animals They believed that all things had a form of spirit, just like humans, and that to some extent these spirits could be influenced by a pantheon of supernatural entities that could be appeased when one required some animal or inanimate thing to act in a certain way. A pantheon (from Greek Πάνθειον - pantheion, literally "a temple of all gods " neut The angakkuq of a community of Inuit was not the leader, but rather a sort of healer and psychotherapist, who tended wounds and offered advice, as well as invoking the spirits to assist people in their lives. Psychotherapy is an Interpersonal, relational intervention used by trained psychotherapists to aid clients in problems of living His or her role was to see, interpret and exhort the subtle and unseen. Angakkuqs were not trained, they were held to be born with the ability.

Inuit religion was closely tied to a system of rituals that were integrated into the daily life of the people. These rituals were simple but held to be necessary. According to a customary Inuit saying, "The great peril of our existence lies in the fact that our diet consists entirely of souls. " By believing that all things, including animals, have souls like those of humans, any hunt that failed to show appropriate respect and customary supplication would only give the liberated spirits cause to avenge themselves.

The harshness and randomness of life in the Arctic ensured that Inuit lived with concern for the uncontrollable, where a streak of bad luck could destroy an entire community. To offend a spirit was to risk its interference with an already marginal existence. The Inuit understand that they work in harmony with supernatural powers to provide the necessities of day-to-day survival.

Since the arrival of Europeans

Canada

The lives of Paleo-Eskimos of the far north were largely unaffected by the arrival of visiting Norsemen except for mutual trade^[36]. Labrador Eskimo have had the longest continuous contact with Europeans ^[37]. After the disappearance of the Norse colonies in Greenland, the Inuit had no contact with Europeans for at least a century. By the mid 16th century, Basque fishermen were already working the Labrador coast and had established whaling stations on land, such as been excavated at Red Bay. The Basques (Euskaldunak are a people who inhabit a region spanning over parts of north-central Spain and southwestern France. Red Bay is a fishing village and former site of several Basque whaling stations on the southern coast of Labrador in the Province The Inuit appear not to have interfered with their operations, but they raided the stations in winter for tools, and particularly worked iron, which they adapted to native needs.

Martin Frobisher's 1576 search for the Northwest Passage was the first well-documented post-Columbian contact between Europeans and Inuit. Sir Martin Frobisher (c 1535 or 1539 &ndash November 22, 1594) was an English seaman (from Wakefield, Yorkshire) who made three The Northwest Passage is a sea route through the Arctic Ocean, along the northern coast of North America via waterways amidst the Canadian Arctic Archipelago Christopher Columbus (1451 &ndash May 20 1506 was an Italian Navigator, colonizer Frobisher's expedition landed on Baffin Island, not far from the town now called Iqaluit, but long known as Frobisher Bay. Baffin Island (ᕿᑭᖅᑖᓗᒃ Qikiqtaaluk, Île de Baffin Old Norse: Helluland) in the territory of Nunavut is the largest member Iqaluit (iqaluit ᐃᖃᓗᐃᑦ in Inuktitut syllabics; often pronounced ɨˈkæljuːɨt in English is the territorial This first contact went poorly. Martin Frobisher, attempting to find the Northwest Passage, encountered Inuit on Resolution Island. Resolution Island is one of the Canadian arctic islands in Nunavut, Canada. Five sailors jumped ship and became part of Inuit mythology. The homesick sailors, tired of their adventure, attempted to leave in a small vessel and vanished. Frobisher brought an unwilling Inuk to England, doubtless the first Inuk ever to visit Europe. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland The Inuit oral tradition, in contrast, recounts the natives helping Frobisher's crewmen, whom they believed had been abandoned.

The semi-nomadic eco-centred Inuit were fishers and hunters harvesting lakes, seas, ice platforms and tundra. While there are some allegations that Inuit were hostile to early French and English explorers, fishers and whalers, more recent research suggests that the early relations with whaling stations along the Labrador coast and later James Bay were based on a mutual interest in trade^[38]. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. James Bay (Baie James is a large body of water on the southern end of Hudson Bay in Canada. In the final years of the 18th century, the Moravian Church began missionary activities in Labrador, supported by the British who were tired of the raids on their whaling stations. The Moravian missionaries could easily provide the Inuit with the iron and basic materials they had been stealing from whaling outposts, materials whose real cost to Europeans was almost nothing, but whose value to the Inuit was enormous and from then on contacts in Labrador were far more peaceful.

The European arrival tremendously damaged the Inuit way of life, causing mass death through new diseases introduced by whalers and explorers, and enormous social disruptions caused by the distorting effect of Europeans' material wealth. Nonetheless, Inuit society in the higher latitudes had largely persisted in isolation in the 19th century. The Hudson's Bay Company opened trading posts such as Great Whale River (1820), today the site of the twin villages of Whapmagoostui and Kuujjuarapik, where whale products of the commercial whale hunt were processed and furs traded. Whapmagoostui ("place of the beluga " in Cree is the northernmost Cree village in Quebec, located at the mouth of the Grande Rivière de Kuujjuarapik ( small great river in Inuktitut) is the southernmost Inuit village at the mouth of the Great Whale River (Grande Rivière de la The British Naval Expedition (1821-3) led by Admiral William Edward Parry, which twice over wintered in Foxe Basin, provided the first informed, sympathetic and well-documented account of the economic, social and religious life of the Inuit. For the later admiral (1893-1972 see Edward Parry; for the New Zealand politician see William Parry (New Zealand Sir William Edward Not to be confused with Fox Bay, Falkland Islands Foxe Basin ( is a shallow basin north of Hudson Bay, in Nunavut, Canada, located Parry stayed in what is now Igloolik over the second winter. Igloolik, ( Syllabics: ᐃᒡᓗᓕᒃ sometimes spelled Iglulik) is an Inuit community Qikiqtaaluk Region in Nunavut, northern Parry's writings with pen and ink illustrations of Inuit everyday life (1824) and those of Lyon (1824) were widely read^[39]. Captain George Comer's Inuit wife Shoofly known for her sewing skills and elegant attire^[40] was influential in convincing him to acquire more sewing accessories and beads for trade with Inuit. Captain George Comer (April 1858 &ndash 1937 was considered the most famous American whaling captain of Hudson Bay, and the world's foremost authority on Hudson Bay Inuit A few traders and missionaries circulated among the more accessible bands, and after 1904 they were accompanied by a handful of policemen. Unlike most Aboriginal peoples in Canada, however, the lands occupied by the Inuit were of little interest to European settlers-- to the southerners, the homeland of the Inuit was a hostile hinterland. The hinterland is the land or district behind the borders of a coast or river Southerners enjoyed lucrative careers as bureaucrats and service providers in the north, but very few southerners chose to retire there. In the early years of the 20th century, Canada, with its more hospitable lands largely settled, began to take a greater interest in its more peripheral territories, especially the fur and mineral rich hinterlands. By the late 1920s, there were no longer any Inuit who had not been contacted by traders, missionaries or government agents. In 1939, the Supreme Court of Canada found in Re Eskimos that the Inuit should be considered Indians and were thus under the jurisdiction of the federal government. The Supreme Court of Canada ( French: Cour suprême du Canada) is the highest court of Canada and is the final court of appeal in the Canadian Background The case arose due to controversy as to whether Inuit in Quebec were under federal or provincial jurisdiction

Native customs were worn down by the actions of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, who enforced Canadian criminal law on Inuit who often could not understand what they had done wrong, and by missionaries who preached a moral code very different from the one they were used to. Criminal law in Canada is under the exclusive jurisdiction of the federal government. A missionary is a member of a Religion who works to convert those who do not share the missionary's faith someone who proselytizes. Morality (from the Latin la moralitas "manner character proper behavior" has three principal meanings Many of the Inuit were systematically converted to Christianity in the 19th and 20th centuries, through rituals like the Siqqitiq. Christianity ( Greek Χριστιανισμός from the word Xριστός ( Christ)is a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings Siqqitiq (meaning transforming one's life more specifically adopting Christianity is the ritual of converting Inuit with shamanist beliefs to Christianity

World War II and the Cold War made Arctic Canada strategically important for the first time and, thanks to the development of modern aircraft, accessible year-round. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Cold War is the state of conflict tension and competition that existed between the United States and the Soviet Union (USSR and their respective allies from the The construction of air bases and the Distant Early Warning Line in the 1940s and 50s brought more intensive contacts with European society, particularly in the form of public education, which instilled and enforced foreign values disdainful of the traditional structure of Inuit society. Public education is education mandated for or offered to the children of the general public by the Government, whether national regional or local provided by an institution

In the 1950s a process of relocation was undertaken by the Government of Canada for several reasons. These reasons were to include protecting Canada's sovereignty in the Arctic, lack of food in the area currently occupied and attempting to solve the "Eskimo problem", meaning the assimilation and end of the Inuit culture. One of the more notable relocations was undertaken in 1953, when 17 families were moved from Port Harrison (now Inukjuak, Quebec) to Resolute and Grise Fiord. Inukjuak is an Inuit settlement located on Hudson Bay at the mouth of the Innuksuak River in the Nunavik region of northern Quebec Resolute ( Inuktitut: iu-Latn Qausuittuq ( place with no dawn) sometimes Resolute Bay) is a Grise Fiord, ( Aujuittuq Place That Never Thaws is a small Inuit hamlet, Qikiqtaaluk Region They were dropped off in early September when winter had already arrived. The land they were sent to was very different from that in the Inukjuak area, being more barren, longer winters and polar night. The polar night is the night lasting more than 24 hours usually inside the Polar circles The opposite phenomenon when the sun stays above the horizon for a long time is called They were told by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police they would be able to return within two years if conditions were not right. However, two years later more families were relocated to the High Arctic and it was to be thirty years before they were able to visit Inukjuak. ^[41][42][43]

By 1953, Canada's prime minister Louis St. Laurent publicly admitted, "Apparently we have administered the vast territories of the north in an almost continuing absence of mind. The Prime Minister of Canada ( French: Premier ministre du Canada) is the primary Minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus Louis Stephen St-Laurent PC CC QC ( Saint-Laurent or St-Laurent in French, baptized Louis-Étienne "^[44] The government began to establish about forty permanent administrative centres to provide education, health and economic development services for Inuit^[45]. Inuit from hundreds of smaller camps scattered across the north, began to congregate in these hamlets^[46].

Furthermore, regular visits from doctors and access to modern medical care raised the birth rate enormously. Before long, the Inuit population was beyond what traditional hunting and fishing could support. By the mid-1960s, encouraged first by missionaries, then by the prospect of paid jobs and government services, and finally forced by hunger and required by police, all Canadian Inuit lived year-round in permanent settlements. The nomadic migrations that were the central feature of Arctic life had for the most part disappeared. The Inuit, a once self-sufficient people in an extremely harsh environment, were in the span of perhaps two generations transformed into a small, impoverished minority lacking skills or resources to sell to the larger economy, but increasingly dependent on it for survival.

Although anthropologists like Diamond Jenness (1964) were quick to predict that Inuit culture was facing extinction, Inuit political activism was already emerging. Diamond Jenness CC (February 10 1886 Wellington, New Zealand &ndash November 29 1969 Chelsea Quebec, Canada) was one of Canada's

In the 1960s, the Canadian government funded the establishment of secular, government-operated high schools in the Northwest Territories (including what is now Nunavut) and Inuit areas in Quebec and Labrador along with the residential school system. Secularity ( adjective form secular) is the state of being separate from Religion. High school is the name used in some parts of the world (in particular Scotland, North America and Australia) to describe an institution The Canadian residential school system consisted of a number of schools for Aboriginal children operated during the 19th and 20th century by churches of various denominations The Inuit population was not large enough to support a full high school in every community, so this meant only a few schools were built, and students from across the territories were boarded there. These schools, in Aklavik, Iqaluit, Yellowknife, Inuvik and Kuujjuaq, brought together young Inuit from across the Arctic in one place for the first time, and exposed them to the rhetoric of civil and human rights that prevailed in Canada in the 1960s. Aklavik (from the Inuvialuktun meaning barren-ground grizzly place is a hamlet located in the Inuvik Region of the Northwest Territories Yellowknife (ˈjɛloʊnaɪf ( 2006 population 18700) is the capital of Canada 's Northwest Territories (NWT Inuvik, (place of man is a town in the Northwest Territories of Canada and is the administrative centre for the Inuvik Region. Kuujjuaq ( Inuktitut: Great River is the largest Inuit village in Nunavik, Québec, Canada with a population of 2132 as of the 2006 Human rights refers to the "basic Rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled This was a real wake-up call for Inuit, and it stimulated the emergence of a new generation of young Inuit activists in the late 1960s who came forward and pushed for respect for the Inuit and their territories.

The Inuit began to emerge as a political force in the late 1960s and early 1970s, shortly after the first graduates returned home. They formed new politically active associations in the early 1970s, starting with the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami in 1971, and more region specific organisations shortly afterwards, including the Northern Quebec Inuit Association (Makivik Corporation) and the Labrador Inuit Association. The Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami ( ᐃᓄᐃᑦ ᑕᐱᕇᑦ ᑲᓇᑕᒥ) is an organization in Canada that represents over 40000 Inuit. The Makivik Corporation ( Inuktitut: Makivik Kuapuriisat - ᒪᑭᕕᒃ ᑯᐊᐳᕇᓴᑦ) is the legal representative of Quebec 's Inuit These activist movements began to change the direction of Inuit society in 1975 with the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement. The James Bay And Northern Quebec Agreement was an Aboriginal land claim settlement approved in 1975 by the Cree and Inuit of northern This comprehensive land claims settlement for Quebec Inuit, along with a large cash settlement and substantial administrative autonomy in the new region of Nunavik, set the precedent for the settlements to follow. The Labrador Inuit submitted their land claim in 1977, although they had to wait until 2005 to have a signed land settlement establishing Nunatsiavut.

In 1982, the Tunngavik Federation of Nunavut (TFN) was incorporated, in order to take over negotiations for land claims on behalf of the Northwest Territories Inuit from the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, which became a joint association of the Inuit of Quebec, Labrador and the Northwest Territories. The Tunngavik Federation of Nunavut ( TFN, Inuktitut: Nunavut Tunngavik; Syllabics: ᓄᓇᕗᑦ ᑐᙵᕕᒃ) was the organization Aboriginal land claims are claims of Native or Aboriginal peoples (also referred to as Indigenous peoples about their right of ownership of the land they inhabited

The TFN worked for ten years and, in September 1992, came to a final agreement with the government of Canada. This agreement called for the separation of the Northwest Territories into an eastern territory whose aboriginal population would be predominately Inuit,^[47] the future Nunavut, and a rump Northwest Territories in the west. It was the largest land claims agreement in Canadian history. Land claims are a legal declaration of desired control over areas of property including bodies of water In November 1992, the Nunavut Final Agreement was approved by nearly 85 percent of the Inuit of what would become Nunavut. As the final step in this long process, the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement was signed on May 25, 1993 in Iqaluit by Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and by Paul Quassa, the president of Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated, which replaced the TFN with the ratification of the Nunavut Final Agreement. The Nunavut Land Claim Agreement is a 1993 Land claims agreement between the Inuit of the Nunavut Settlement Area (then part of the Northwest Territories Events 1085 - Alfonso VI of Castile takes Toledo Spain back from the Moors. Year 1993 ( MCMXCIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar) Martin Brian Mulroney PC CC GOQ (predominantly known as Brian Mulroney) (born March 20, 1939) was the eighteenth Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated ( NTI; Inuktitut: Nunavut Tunngavik; Syllabics: ᓄᓇᕗᑦ ᑐᙵᕕᒃ) is the legal representative The Canadian Parliament passed the supporting legislation in June of the same year, enabling the 1999 establishment of Nunavut as a territorial entity. The Parliament of Canada (Parlement du Canada is Canada 's legislative branch, seated at Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario.

The Inuvialuit are western Canadian Inuit who remained in the Northwest Territories when Nunavut split off. The Inuvialuit (in Inuvialuktun: the real people are Inuit people who live in the western Canadian Arctic region They live primarily in the Mackenzie River delta, on Banks Island, and in parts of Victoria Island in the Northwest Territories. One of the larger members of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, Banks Island ( is situated in the Inuvik Region of the Northwest Territories, Victoria Island is an island in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago and straddles the boundary between Nunavut and the Northwest Territories of Canada They are officially represented by the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation and received a comprehensive land claims settlement in 1984, with the signing of the Inuvialuit Final Agreement.

With the establishment of Nunatsiavut in 2005, all the traditional Inuit lands in Canada are now covered by some sort of land claims agreement providing for regional autonomy.

Inuit communities in Canada continue to suffer under crushing unemployment, overcrowded housing, substance abuse, crime, violence and suicide. Unemployment occurs when a person is available to work and currently seeking work but the person is without work. Substance abuse is the overindulgence in and dependence of a Drug or other chemical leading to effects that are detrimental to the individual's physical and mental health The problems Inuit face in the 21st century should not be underestimated. However, many Inuit are upbeat about the future. Arguably, their situation is better than it has been since the 14th century. Inuit arts, carving, print making, textiles and throat singing, are very popular, not only in Canada but globally, and Inuit artists are widely known. Inuit art refers to Artwork produced by Inuit, that is the people of the Arctic sometimes known as Eskimos Inuit throat singing or katajjaq, also known (and commonly confused under the generic term Overtone singing, is a form of musical performance uniquely found Indeed, Canada has, metaphorically, adopted some of the Inuit culture as a sort of national identity, using Inuit symbols like the inukshuk in unlikely places, such as its use as a symbol in the upcoming 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. An inuksuk (plural inuksuit) (from the Inuktitut: ᐃᓄᒃᓱᒃ plural ᐃᓄᒃᓱᐃᑦ alternatively inukshuk in English or inukhuk Vancouver (vænˈkuːvɚ is a coastal Respected art galleries display Inuit art, the largest collection of which is at the Winnipeg Art Gallery. The Winnipeg Art Gallery (WAG is a public art gallery that was founded in 1912 Some Inuit languages such as Inuktitut, appears to have a more secure future in Quebec and Nunavut. There are a surprising number of Inuit, even those who now live in urban centres such as Ottawa, Montreal and Winnipeg, who have experienced living on the land in the traditional life style. Ottawa (ˈɒtəwə or sometimes /ˈɒtəwɑː/ is the Capital of Canada and the country's fourth largest municipality. Montreal, or Montréal in French ( pronounced in French, in English) is the largest city in the Canadian province of Quebec Winnipeg (ˈwɪnɨpɛg is the capital and largest city in the Canadian province of Manitoba, and 7th largest municipality in Canada with a population People such as Legislative Assembly of Nunavut member, Levinia Brown and former Commissioner of Nunavut and the NWT, Helen Maksagak were born and lived the early part of their life "on the land". The Legislative Assembly of Nunavut is located in Iqaluit, and is the territory's Parliament. Levinia Brown was born in 1947 at Dawson Inlet south of Whale Cove, Nunavut, Canada. Commissioners of the NWT See also Lieutenant-Governors of Northwest Territories Helen Mamayaok Maksagak ( CM, LLD Hon (born April 15, 1931) was Commissioner of the Northwest Territories ( Canada) from Inuit culture is alive and vibrant today in spite of the negative impacts of recent history.

Greenland

Main article: History of Greenland

The Thule people arrived in Greenland in the 13th century. The history of Greenland, the world's largest island is the history of life under extreme Arctic conditions an Ice cap covers about 95 percent of the island There they encountered the Norsemen, who had established colonies there since the late 10th century, as well as a later wave of the Dorset people.

Alaska

See also: List of Alaska Native Tribal Entities

The Inuit people of Alaska are the Inupiat (from Inuit- people - and piaq/t real, i. rThis is a list of Alaska Native tribal entities which are recognized by the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs. e. 'real people') who live in the Northwest Arctic Borough, the North Slope Borough and the Bering Straits region. Northwest Arctic Borough is a borough located in the US state of Alaska, formed on June 2, 1986. North Slope Borough is a borough located largely in the North Slope region of the U The Bering Strait (Берингов пролив Beringov proliv) is a sea Strait between Cape Dezhnev, Russia, the easternmost point (169°43' Barrow, the northernmost city in the United States, is in the Inupiat region. Their language is Iñupiaq (which is the singular form of Inupiat). Inupiaq, Iñupiaq, Inupiak, Inupiat, or Inupiatun are a group of dialects of the Inuit language, spoken in northern and northwestern

International issues

In recent years, circumpolar cultural and political groups like the Inuit Circumpolar Conference have come together to promote the Inuit and other northern people and to fight against ecological problems, such as global warming, which disproportionately affects the Inuit population. Ecology (from Greek grc οἶκος oikos, "house(hold" and grc -λογία -logia) is the scientific study of Global warming is the increase in the average measured temperature of the Global warming may cause Arctic mammal populations to decline. However, a recent study by Mitch Taylor shows that, contrary to the dire predictions, eleven of thirteen polar bear populations have remained stable or increased. The study also shows that the number of polar bears in western Hudson Bay is decreasing due to the effect of global warming, while the decrease of the population in Baffin Bay is directly associated with the over hunting of the bears by Greenland hunters. Baffin Bay (French Baie de Baffin) is a Sea between the Atlantic and Arctic oceans ^[48][49]

Modern culture

Well-known Inuit politicians include Premier of Nunavut, Paul Okalik, and Nancy Karetak-Lindell, MP for the riding of Nunavut. Nain or Naina is the northernmost town of any size in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, located The Premier of Nunavut is the first minister for the Canadian territory of Nunavut. Paul Okalik ( Inuktitut syllabics: ᐹᓪ ᐅᑲᓕᖅ, ˈukælɪk MLA is the first and current Premier of the Canadian territory Nancy Karetak-Lindell (born December 10, 1957 in Arviat Northwest Territories, [[Nunavut]] is a Canadian politician Nunavut is a federal electoral district in Nunavut, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1997

An important biennial event, the Arctic Winter Games, is held in communities across the northern regions of the world, featuring traditional Inuit and northern sports as part of the events. The Arctic Winter Games is an international biennial celebration of circumpolar sports and culture A cultural event is also held. The games were first held in 1970, and while rotated usually among Alaska, Yukon and the Northwest Territories, they have also been held in Schefferville, Quebec in 1976, in Slave Lake, Alberta, and a joint Iqaluit, Nunavut-Nuuk, Greenland staging in 2002. Schefferville is a town in the Canadian province of Quebec. Schefferville is in the heart of the Innu territory in northern Quebec less than 2 km from Alberta (ælˈbɝtə is one of Canada's prairie provinces. It became a province on September 1 1905 Nuuk (Godthåb is the Capital and largest city of Greenland. It is located at the mouth of the Nuup Kangerlua (Godthåbsfjorden inlet on the west coast In other sporting events, Jordin Tootoo became the first Inuk to play in the National Hockey League in the 2003-04 season, playing for the Nashville Predators. Jordin John Kudluk Tootoo ( Inuktitut syllabics: ᔪᐊᑕᓐ ᑐᑐ; born February 2, 1983 in Churchill, Manitoba, The National Hockey League ( NHL) is a professional Ice hockey league composed of 30 teams in North America The Nashville Predators are a professional Ice hockey team based in Nashville Tennessee.

Although Inuit life has changed significantly over the past century, many traditions continue. Traditional storytelling, mythology, and dancing remain important parts of the culture. Family and community are very important. The Inuktitut language is still spoken in many areas of the Arctic and is common on radio and in television programming.

Visual and performing arts are strong. In 2002 the first feature film in Inuktitut, Atanarjuat, was released worldwide to great critical and popular acclaim. In the Film industry, a feature film is a Film made for initial distribution in theaters and being the "main attraction" of the screening Atanarjuat is a 2001 Canadian film directed by Zacharias Kunuk. It was directed by Zacharias Kunuk, and written, filmed, produced, directed, and acted almost entirely by Inuit of Igloolik. Zacharias Kunuk (born 1957 is a Canadian Inuit producer and director most notable for his Film Atanarjuat, One of the most famous Inuit artists is Pitseolak Ashoona. Pitseolak Ashoona, CM (1904 or 1907 - 1983 Inuktitut syllabics: ᐱᑦᓯᐅᓛᖅ ᐊᓲᓇ) was an Inuit Susan Aglukark is a popular singer. Susan Aglukark OC, ( Inuktitut syllabics: ᓲᓴᓐ ᐊᒡᓘᒃᑲᖅ) (born 27 January 1967 is an Inuk musician whose blend of Inuit Mitiarjuk Attasie Nappaaluk works at preserving Inuktitut and has written the first novel published in that language. ^[50] In 2006, Cape Dorset was hailed as Canada's most artistic city, with 23% of the labour force employed in the arts. Cape Dorset ( Inuktitut: Kinngait; Syllabics: ᑭᙵᐃᑦ is an Inuit hamlet located ^[51] Inuit art such as soapstone carvings is one of Nunavut's most important industries.

Recently, there has been an identity struggle among the younger generations of Inuit tribes between their traditional heritage and the modern society which their cultures have been forced to assimilate into in order to maintain a livelihood. With current dependence on modern society for necessities, (including governmental jobs, food, aid, medicine, etc), the Inuit people have had much interaction with and exposure to the societal norms outside their previous cultural boundaries. The stressors regarding the identity crisis among teenagers have led to disturbingly high numbers of suicide. Erik Erikson, the psychologist who coined the term identity crisis, believes that the identity crisis is the most important conflict human beings encounter when they go through The cases are so frequent that unfortunately suicide has become a sort of cultural norm. Social norms have been defined as "the rules that a group uses for appropriate and inappropriate values beliefs attitudes and behaviors

A series of authors has focused upon increasing myopia in the youngest generations of Inuit. Myopia (from Greek: μυωπία myopia "near-sightedness" also called near- or short-sightedness, is a refractive defect Myopia was almost unknown prior to the Inuit adoption of western culture. Western culture (sometimes equated with Western Civilization) are terms which are used to refer to Cultures of European origin This phenomenon is also seen in other cultures (for example, Vanuatu). Vanuatu, officially the Republic of Vanuatu ( French: République de Vanuatu, Bislama: Ripablik blong Vanuatu) is an Island Principal theories are the change to a less nutritious western style diet, and exposure to over-illumination in intense early grade education. Over-illumination is the presence of lighting intensity ( Illuminance) beyond that required for a specified activity ^[52]

Economy today

Today, Inuit work in all sectors of the economy, including mining, oil and gas, construction, government and administrative services. Many Inuit still supplement their income through hunting. Tourism is a growing industry in the Inuit economy. Inuit guides take tourists on dogsled and hunting expeditions, and work with outfitting organizations. About 30 percent of Inuit derive part-time income from their sculpture, carving and print making. The Canadian Government has encouraged the Inuit to enter the broader Canadian life of business and trade through cooperative marketing.

The settlement of land claims in the Northwest Territories, Nunavut and Northern Quebec has given the Inuit money and a framework to develop and expand economic development activities. New emerging businesses include real estate, tourism, airlines and offshore fisheries.

See also

• Blond Eskimos
• Caribou Inuit
• Ihalmiut
• Koyukons
• Netsilik Inuit
• Nunamiut
• Tikigaq
• Portal:Indigenous peoples of North America

Notes

References

• Jean Briggs. Never in Anger. ISBN 0-674-60828-3
• Ernest S. Burch Jr. The Eskimos
• Gontran De Poncins (1941). Kabloona. Kabloona is a book by French adventurer Gontran De Poncins, written in collaboration with Lewis Galantiere, first published in English in 1941 ISBN 1-55597-249-7
• Hans Ruesch. Top Of The World. ISBN 950-637-164-4 (Hebrew version)
• Melanie McGrath. 'The Long Exile" ISBN 978-1-4000-4047-6
• Michelle Paver. 'Chronicles of ancient darkness'

External links

• Aboriginal Perspectives View National Film Board of Canada films on Canada's Aboriginal Peoples.
• Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, Canada's National Inuit Organization
• The Inuvialuit
• CBC Digital Archives - An Inuit Education: Honouring a past, creating a future
• A History of Aboriginal Treaties and Relations in Canada This site includes contextual materials, links to digitized primary sources and summaries of primary source documents.
• Interviewing Inuit Elders / Perspectives on Traditional Law, an online glossary of terms related to Inuit culture.
• Alaskool: Alaska Native Curriculum and Teacher Development Project
• Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami Environment Bulletin
• IMDB 'Nanook of the North', 1922 feature-length documentary

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