The Aleuts ( ; russian: Алеуты, Aleuty) are the
indigenous people
Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...
of the
Aleutian Islands
The Aleutian Islands (; ; ale, Unangam Tanangin,”Land of the Aleuts", possibly from Chukchi language, Chukchi ''aliat'', "island"), also called the Aleut Islands or Aleutic Islands and known before 1867 as the Catherine Archipelago, are a cha ...
, which are located between the
North Pacific Ocean
North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography.
Etymology
The word ''north'' is ...
and the
Bering Sea
The Bering Sea (, ; rus, Бе́рингово мо́ре, r=Béringovo móre) is a marginal sea of the Northern Pacific Ocean. It forms, along with the Bering Strait, the divide between the two largest landmasses on Earth: Eurasia and The Ameri ...
. Both the Aleut people and the islands are politically divided between the US state of
Alaska
Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...
and the Russian administrative division of
Kamchatka Krai
Kamchatka Krai ( rus, Камча́тский край, r=Kamchatsky kray, p=kɐmˈtɕatskʲɪj kraj) is a federal subject of Russia (a krai), situated in the Russian Far East, and is administratively part of the Far Eastern Federal District. Its ...
.
Etymology
In the
Aleut language
Aleut () or ''Unangam Tunuu'' is the language spoken by the Aleut living in the Aleutian Islands, Pribilof Islands, Commander Islands, and the Alaska Peninsula (in Aleut , the origin of the state name Alaska). Aleut is the sole language in the ...
they are known by the
endonym
An endonym (from Greek: , 'inner' + , 'name'; also known as autonym) is a common, ''native'' name for a geographical place, group of people, individual person, language or dialect, meaning that it is used inside that particular place, group, ...
s Unangan (eastern dialect) and Unangas (western dialect), both of which mean "people". The Russian term "Aleut" was a general term used for both the native population of the Aleutian Islands and their neighbors to the east in the
Kodiak Archipelago
The Kodiak Archipelago (russian: Кадьякский архипелаг , translit = Kad'yakskiy arkhipelag) is an archipelago (group of islands) south of the main land-mass of the state of Alaska (United States), about by air south-west of A ...
, who were also referred to as "Pacific Eskimos".
Language
Aleut people speak Unangam Tunuu, the
Aleut language
Aleut () or ''Unangam Tunuu'' is the language spoken by the Aleut living in the Aleutian Islands, Pribilof Islands, Commander Islands, and the Alaska Peninsula (in Aleut , the origin of the state name Alaska). Aleut is the sole language in the ...
, as well as English and Russian in the United States and Russia respectively. An estimated 150 people in the United States and five people in Russia speak Aleut.
["Aleut."]
''Ethnologue''. Retrieved February 3, 2014. The language belongs to the
Eskimo-Aleut language family and includes three dialects: Eastern Aleut, spoken on the Eastern Aleutian,
Shumagin,
Fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelve sp ...
and
Pribilof Islands
The Pribilof Islands (formerly the Northern Fur Seal Islands; ale, Amiq, russian: Острова Прибылова, Ostrova Pribylova) are a group of four volcanic islands off the coast of mainland Alaska, in the Bering Sea, about north of ...
;
Atkan
Aleut () or ''Unangam Tunuu'' is the language spoken by the Aleut living in the Aleutian Islands, Pribilof Islands, Commander Islands, and the Alaska Peninsula (in Aleut , the origin of the state name Alaska). Aleut is the sole language in the A ...
, spoken on
Atka and
Bering islands; and the now extinct
Attuan dialect.
The Pribilof Islands has the highest number of active speakers of Unangam Tunuu. Most native elders speak Aleut, but it is rare for common people to speak the language fluently.
Beginning in 1829, Aleut was written in the
Cyrillic script
The Cyrillic script ( ), Slavonic script or the Slavic script, is a writing system used for various languages across Eurasia. It is the designated national script in various Slavic languages, Slavic, Turkic languages, Turkic, Mongolic languages, ...
. From 1870, the language has been written in the
Latin script
The Latin script, also known as Roman script, is an alphabetic writing system based on the letters of the classical Latin alphabet, derived from a form of the Greek alphabet which was in use in the ancient Greek city of Cumae, in southern Italy ...
. An Aleut dictionary and grammar have been published, and portions of the Bible were translated into Aleut.
[
]
Tribes
The Aleut (Unangan) dialects and tribes:
* Attuan dialect and speaking tribes:
** ''Sasignan'' (in Attuan dialect)/''Sasxnan'' (in Eastern dialect)/''Sasxinas'' (in Western dialect) or ''Near Islanders'': in the Near Islands
The Near Islands or Sasignan Islands ( ale, Sasignan tanangin, russian: Ближние острова) are a group of American islands in the Aleutian Islands in southwestern Alaska, between the Russian Commander Islands to the west and the Rat ...
( Attu, Agattu
Agattu ( ale, Angatux̂; russian: Агатту) is an island in Alaska, part of the Near Islands in the western end of the Aleutian Islands. With a land area of Agattu is one of the largest uninhabited islands in the Aleutians. It is the sec ...
, Semichi).
** ''Kasakam Unangangis'' (in Aleut, lit. 'Russian Aleut') or ''Copper Island Aleut
Mednyj Aleut (also called Copper Island Creole or Copper Island Aleut) is an extinct mixed language spoken on Bering Island.
Mednyj Aleut is characterized by a blending of Russian and Aleut (primarily Attu) elements in most components of the ...
'': in the Commander Islands
The Commander Islands, Komandorski Islands, or Komandorskie Islands (russian: Командо́рские острова́, ''Komandorskiye ostrova'') are a series of treeless, sparsely populated Russian islands in the Bering Sea located about ea ...
of Russian Federation ( Bering, Medny).
*? ''Qax̂un'' or ''Rat Islanders'' : in the Buldir Island
Buldir Island (also sometimes written Buldyr; ale, Idmaax; russian: Булдырь) is a small island in the western Aleutian Islands of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is long and wide with an area of . Buldir is farther from the nearest lan ...
and Rat Islands
The Rat Islands ( ale, Qax̂um tanangis, russian: Крысьи острова) are a group of American High islands, volcanic islands in the Aleutian Islands in southwestern Alaska, between Buldir Island and the Near Islands group to its west, ...
(Kiska
Kiska ( ale, Qisxa, russian: Кыска) is one of the Rat Islands, a group of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska. It is about long and varies in width from . It is part of Aleutian Islands Wilderness and as such, special permission is required ...
, Amchitka
Amchitka (; ale, Amchixtax̂; russian: Амчитка) is a volcanic, tectonically unstable and uninhabited
island in the Rat Islands group of the Aleutian Islands in southwest Alaska. It is part of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refu ...
, Semisopochnoi).
* Atkan dialect or Western Aleut or ''Aliguutax̂'' (in Aleut) and speaking tribes:
** ''Naahmiĝus'' or ''Delarof Islanders'' : in the Delarof Islands
The Delarof Islands ( ale, Naahmiĝun tanangis; russian: Острова Деларова) (ca. ) are a group of small islands at the extreme western end of the Andreanof Islands group in the central Aleutian Islands, Alaska. The Delarofs consist ...
( Amatignak) and Andreanof Islands
The Andreanof Islands ( ale, Niiĝuĝim tanangis, russian: Андреяновские острова) are a group of islands in the Aleutian Islands in southwestern Alaska. They are located at about 52° North and 172°57' to 179°09' West.
Geogr ...
(Tanaga
The Tanaga is an indigenous Filipino poem, traditionally in the Tagalog language.
Format
The Tanaga consists of four lines with seven syllables each with the same rhyme at the end of each line --- that is to say a 7-7-7-7 Syllabic verse, with a ...
).
** ''Niiĝuĝis'' or ''Andreanof Islanders'' : in the Andreanof Islands
The Andreanof Islands ( ale, Niiĝuĝim tanangis, russian: Андреяновские острова) are a group of islands in the Aleutian Islands in southwestern Alaska. They are located at about 52° North and 172°57' to 179°09' West.
Geogr ...
( Kanaga, Adak, Atka, Amlia
Amlia ( ale, Amlax; russian: Остров Амля) is an island in the Aleutian Islands. It is located near the eastern end of the Andreanof Islands and is situated between Atka Island and Seguam Island
Seguam Island ( ale, Saĝuugamax; russia ...
, Seguam).
* Eastern Aleut dialect and speaking tribes:
** ''Akuuĝun'' or ''Uniiĝun'' or ''Islanders of the Four Mountains'' : in the Islands of Four Mountains
Islands of Four Mountains (russian: Четырёхсопочные острова) is an island grouping of the Aleutian Islands in Alaska, United States. The chain includes, from west to east, Amukta, Chagulak, Yunaska, Herbert, Carlisle, ...
(Amukta
Amukta (russian: Амукта) is a small yet mountainous island in the Islands of Four Mountains group lying between the Fox Islands and the Andreanof Islands in the Aleutian Islands. The nearest islands to it are Yunaska and Seguam Island; ...
, Kagamil).
** ''Qawalangin'' or ''Fox Islanders'' : in the Fox Islands (Umnak
Umnak ( ale, Unmax, Umnax; russian: Умнак) is one of the Fox Islands of the Aleutian Islands. With of land area, it is the third largest island in the Aleutian archipelago and the 19th largest island in the United States. The island is home ...
, Samalga, western part of Unalaska
Unalaska ( ale, Iluulux̂; russian: Уналашка) is the chief center of population in the Aleutian Islands. The city is in the Aleutians West Census Area, a regional component of the Unorganized Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. Unalaska ...
).
** ''Qigiiĝun'' or ''Krenitzen Islanders'' : in the Krenitzin Islands
The Krenitzin Islands (centered at ca. ) are a group of small islands located in the eastern portion of the Fox Islands (Alaska), Fox Islands group of the eastern Aleutian Islands, Alaska. The Krenitizins are situated between Unalaska Island to t ...
(eastern part of Unalaska
Unalaska ( ale, Iluulux̂; russian: Уналашка) is the chief center of population in the Aleutian Islands. The city is in the Aleutians West Census Area, a regional component of the Unorganized Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. Unalaska ...
, Akutan, Akun, Tigalda).
** ''Qagaan Tayaĝungin'' or ''Sanak Islanders'' : in the Sanak Islands The Sanak Islands (russian: Санак) are a subgroup of the Fox Islands group of islands, located in the Aleutians East Borough of Alaska.
Geography
Located in the Gulf of Alaska, they are in the Aleutian Islands archipelago. The Sanak Islands h ...
( Unimak, Sanak
''Sanak'' () is a 2021 Indian Hindi language action thriller film directed by Kanishk Varma and produced by Zee Studios and Sunshine Pictures. It stars Vidyut Jammwal, Rukmini Maitra, Neha Dhupia and Chandan Roy Sanyal. Principal photography ...
).
** ''Taxtamam Tunuu'' dialect of Belkofski.
** ''Qaĝiiĝun'' or ''Shumigan Islanders'' : in the Shumagin Islands
The Shumagin Islands (Unangan: ''Qagiiĝun''; russian: Острова Шумагина) are a group of 20 islands in the Aleutians East Borough south of the mainland of Alaska, United States, at
54°54'–55°20' North 159°15'–160°45' West. ...
.
Population and distribution
The Aleut people historically lived throughout the Aleutian Islands, the Shumagin Islands
The Shumagin Islands (Unangan: ''Qagiiĝun''; russian: Острова Шумагина) are a group of 20 islands in the Aleutians East Borough south of the mainland of Alaska, United States, at
54°54'–55°20' North 159°15'–160°45' West. ...
, and the far western part of the Alaska Peninsula
The Alaska Peninsula (also called Aleut Peninsula or Aleutian Peninsula, ale, Alasxix̂; Sugpiaq: ''Aluuwiq'', ''Al'uwiq'') is a peninsula extending about to the southwest from the mainland of Alaska and ending in the Aleutian Islands. The ...
, with an estimated population of around 25,000 prior to European contact. In the 1820s, the Russian-American Company
The Russian-American Company Under the High Patronage of His Imperial Majesty (russian: Под высочайшим Его Императорского Величества покровительством Российская-Американс ...
administered a large portion of the North Pacific during a Russian-led expansion of the fur trade
The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the mos ...
. They resettled many Aleut families to the Commander Islands
The Commander Islands, Komandorski Islands, or Komandorskie Islands (russian: Командо́рские острова́, ''Komandorskiye ostrova'') are a series of treeless, sparsely populated Russian islands in the Bering Sea located about ea ...
(within the Aleutsky District
Aleutsky District (russian: Алеу́тский райо́н) is an administrativeLaw #46 and municipalLaw #238 district (raion) of Kamchatka Krai, Russia, one of the eleven in the krai. It is located to the east of the Kamchatka Peninsula on t ...
of the Kamchatka Krai
Kamchatka Krai ( rus, Камча́тский край, r=Kamchatsky kray, p=kɐmˈtɕatskʲɪj kraj) is a federal subject of Russia (a krai), situated in the Russian Far East, and is administratively part of the Far Eastern Federal District. Its ...
in Russia) and to the Pribilof Islands
The Pribilof Islands (formerly the Northern Fur Seal Islands; ale, Amiq, russian: Острова Прибылова, Ostrova Pribylova) are a group of four volcanic islands off the coast of mainland Alaska, in the Bering Sea, about north of ...
(in Alaska
Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...
). These continue to have majority-Aleut communities.
According to the 2000 Census, 11,941 people identified as being Aleut, while 17,000 identified as having partial Aleut ancestry. Prior to sustained European contact, approximately 25,000 Aleut lived in the archipelago. The Encyclopædia Britannica Online
An encyclopedia (American English) or encyclopædia (British English) is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge either general or special to a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into article ...
says more than 15,000 people have Aleut ancestry in the early 21st century.[ The Aleut suffered high fatalities in the 19th and early 20th centuries from Eurasian ]infectious diseases
An infection is the invasion of tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmissible disease or communicable dise ...
to which they had no immunity
Immunity may refer to:
Medicine
* Immunity (medical), resistance of an organism to infection or disease
* ''Immunity'' (journal), a scientific journal published by Cell Press
Biology
* Immune system
Engineering
* Radiofrequence immunity desc ...
. In addition, the population suffered as their customary lifestyles were disrupted. Russian traders and later Europeans married Aleut women and had families with them.[
]
History
After Russian contact
After the arrival of Russian Orthodox
Russian Orthodoxy (russian: Русское православие) is the body of several churches within the larger communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, whose liturgy is or was traditionally conducted in Church Slavonic language. Most ...
missionaries
A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...
in the late 18th century, many Aleuts became Christian. Of the numerous Russian Orthodox congregations in Alaska, most are majority Alaska Native or Native Alaskan in ethnicity. One of the earliest Christian martyrs in North America was Saint Peter the Aleut
Cungagnaq ( rus, Чукагнак, Chukagnak; date of birth unknown - d. 1815) is venerated as a martyr and saint (as Peter the Aleut; rus, Пётр Алеу́т, Pyotr Aleút) by some jurisdictions of the Eastern Orthodox Church. He was allegedl ...
.
Recorded uprising against the Russians
In the 18th century, Russia ''promyshlenniki
The ''promyshlenniki'' (russian: промышленники, singular form: russian: промышленник, translit=promyshlennik), were Russian and indigenous Siberian artel- or self-employed workers drawn largely from the state serf and ...
'' traders established settlements on the islands. There was high demand for the furs that the Aleut provided from hunting. In May 1784, local Aleuts revolted on Amchitka against the Russian traders. (The Russians had a small trading post there.) According to the Aleuts, in an account recorded by Japanese castaways and published in 2004, otters were decreasing year by year. The Russians paid the Aleuts less and less in goods in return for the furs they made. The Japanese learned that the Aleuts felt the situation was at crisis. The leading Aleuts negotiated with the Russians, saying they had failed to deliver enough supplies in return for furs. Nezimov, leader of the Russians, ordered two of his men, Stephanov ( ) and Kazhimov ( ) to kill his mistress Oniishin ( ), who was the Aleut chief's daughter, because he doubted that Oniishin had tried to dissuade her father and other leaders from pushing for more goods.
After the four leaders had been killed, the Aleuts began to move from Amchitka to neighboring islands. Nezimov, leader of the Russian group, was jailed after the whole incident was reported to Russian officials.[Yamashita, Tsuneo. ''Daikokuya Kodayu''(Japanese), 2004. Iwanami, Japan ] (According to , written by Katsuragawa Hoshū after interviewing Daikokuya Kōdayū
(1751 – 28 May 1828) was a Japanese castaway who spent nine years in Russia. His ship landed at Amchitka, in the Aleutian Islands. The crew managed to travel to the Russian mainland and Catherine the Great allowed them to go back to Japan. T ...
.)
Aleut genocide against Nicoleño Tribe in California
According to Russian American Company (RAC) records translated and published in the ''Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropology'', a 200-ton otter hunting ship named ''Il’mena
''Lydia'' was a United States, US merchant ship that sailed on maritime fur trade, maritime fur trading ventures in the early 1800s. In December 1813 it was sold to the Russian–American Company and renamed ''Il'mena'', also spelled ''Ilmena'' ...
'' with a mixed-nationality crew, including a majority Aleut contingent, was involved in conflict resulting in a massacre of the indigenous natives of San Nicolas Island
San Nicolas Island (Spanish: ''Isla de San Nicolás''; Tongva: ''Haraasnga'') is the most remote of the Channel Islands, off of Southern California, 61 miles (98 km) from the nearest point on the mainland coast. It is part of Ventura Coun ...
.
In 1811, to obtain more of the commercially valuable otter
Otters are carnivorous mammals in the subfamily Lutrinae. The 13 extant otter species are all semiaquatic, aquatic, or marine, with diets based on fish and invertebrates. Lutrinae is a branch of the Mustelidae family, which also includes wea ...
pelts, a party of Aleut hunters traveled to the coastal island of San Nicolas, near the Alta California-Baja California border. The locally resident Nicoleño nation sought a payment from the Aleut hunters for the large number of otters being killed in the area. Disagreement arose, turning violent; in the ensuing battle, the Aleut killed nearly all the Nicoleño men. Together with high fatalities from European diseases, the Nicoleños suffered so much from the loss of their men that by 1853, only one Nicoleñan (Juana Maria
Juana Maria (died October 19, 1853), better known to history as the Lone Woman of San Nicolas Island (her Native American name is unknown), was a Native Californian woman who was the last surviving member of her tribe, the Nicoleño. She lived ...
, ''the Lone Woman of San Nicolas'') remained alive.
Internment during World War II
In June 1942, during World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, Japanese forces occupied Kiska
Kiska ( ale, Qisxa, russian: Кыска) is one of the Rat Islands, a group of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska. It is about long and varies in width from . It is part of Aleutian Islands Wilderness and as such, special permission is required ...
and Attu Islands in the western Aleutians. They later transported captive Attu Islanders to Hokkaidō
is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel.
The la ...
, where they were held as prisoners of war
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held Captivity, captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610.
Belligerents hold priso ...
in harsh conditions. Fearing a Japanese attack on other Aleutian Islands and mainland Alaska, the U.S. government evacuated hundreds more Aleuts from the western chain and the Pribilofs, placing them in internment camps in southeast Alaska, where many died of measles
Measles is a highly contagious infectious disease caused by measles virus. Symptoms usually develop 10–12 days after exposure to an infected person and last 7–10 days. Initial symptoms typically include fever, often greater than , cough, ...
, influenza
Influenza, commonly known as "the flu", is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These symptoms ...
and other infectious diseases which spread quickly in the overcrowded dormitories. In total, about 75 died in American internment and 19 as a result of Japanese occupation. The Aleut Restitution Act of 1988
The ''Aleut Restitution Act of 1988'' (also known as the ''Aleutian and Pribilof Islands Restitution Act'') was a reparation settlement passed by the United States Congress in 1988, in response to the internment of Aleut people living in the Aleu ...
was an attempt by Congress
A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...
to compensate the survivors. On June 17, 2017, the U.S. Government formally apologized for the internment of the Unangan people and their treatment in the camps.
The World War II campaign by the United States to retake Attu and Kiska was a significant component of the operations in the American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
and Pacific theaters.
Population decline
Before major influence from outside, there were approximately 25,000 Aleuts on the archipelago. Foreign diseases, harsh treatment and disruption of aboriginal society soon reduced the population to less than one-tenth this number. The 1910 Census count showed 1,491 Aleuts. In the 2000 Census, 11,941 people identified as being Aleut; nearly 17,000 said Aleuts were among their ancestors.
Culture
Housing
The Aleut constructed partially underground houses called ''barabara
A barabara or barabora (Russian); ulax̂, ''ulaagamax'', ''ulaq'', or ''ulas'' (plural) (Aleut); and ciqlluaq ( Alutiiq ~ Sugpiaq)Jeff Leer (introduction) 2007 (eighth printing). Nanwalegmiut Paluwigmiut-llu Nupugnerit / Conversational Alutiiq Di ...
''. According to Lillie McGarvey, a 20th century Aleut leader, ''s'' keep "occupants dry from the frequent rains, warm at all times, and snugly sheltered from the high winds common to the area". Aleuts traditionally built houses by digging an oblong square pit in the ground, usually or smaller. The pit was then covered by a roof framed with driftwood, thatched with grass, then covered with earth for insulation. Inside trenches were dug along the sides, with mats placed on top to keep them clean. The bedrooms were at the back of the lodge, opposite the entrance. Several families would stay in one house, with their own designated areas. Rather than fireplaces or bonfires in the middle, lanterns were hung in the house.
Subsistence
The Aleut survived by hunting and gathering. They fished for salmon, crabs, shellfish, and cod, as well as hunting sea mammals such as seal, walrus
The walrus (''Odobenus rosmarus'') is a large pinniped, flippered marine mammal with a discontinuous distribution about the North Pole in the Arctic Ocean and subarctic seas of the Northern Hemisphere. The walrus is the only living species in ...
, and whales. They processed fish and sea mammals in a variety of ways: dried, smoked, or roasted. Caribou
Reindeer (in North American English, known as caribou if wild and ''reindeer'' if domesticated) are deer in the genus ''Rangifer''. For the last few decades, reindeer were assigned to one species, ''Rangifer tarandus'', with about 10 subspe ...
, muskox
The muskox (''Ovibos moschatus'', in Latin "musky sheep-ox"), also spelled musk ox and musk-ox, plural muskoxen or musk oxen (in iu, ᐅᒥᖕᒪᒃ, umingmak; in Woods Cree: ), is a hoofed mammal of the family Bovidae. Native to the Arctic, i ...
en, deer, moose
The moose (in North America) or elk (in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is a member of the New World deer subfamily and is the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is the largest and heaviest extant species in the deer family. Most adult mal ...
, whale, and other types of game were eaten roasted or preserved for later use. They dried berries. They were also processed as , a mixture of berries, fat, and fish. The boiled skin and blubber of a whale is a delicacy, as is that of walrus.
Today, many Aleut continue to eat customary and locally sourced foods but also buy processed foods from Outside
Outside or Outsides may refer to:
General
* Wilderness
* Outside (Alaska), any non-Alaska location, as referred to by Alaskans
Books and magazines
* ''Outside'', a book by Marguerite Duras
* ''Outside'' (magazine), an outdoors magazine Film, th ...
, which is expensive in Alaska.
Ethnobotany
A full list of their ethnobotany has been compiled, with 65 documented plant uses.
Visual arts
Customary arts of the Aleut include weapon-making, building of ''baidarka
The baidarka or Aleutian kayak (Aleut: iqyax) is a watercraft consisting of soft skin (artificial or natural) over a rigid space frame. Its initial design was created by the native Aleut (or Unangan) people of the Aleutian Islands. The Aleut pe ...
s'' (special hunting boats), weaving
Weaving is a method of textile production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. Other methods are knitting, crocheting, felting, and braiding or plaiting. The longitudinal th ...
, figurines, clothing, carving, and mask making. Men as well as women often carved ivory and wood. Nineteenth century craftsmen were famed for their ornate wooden hunting hats, which feature elaborate and colorful designs and may be trimmed with sea lion whiskers
Vibrissae (; singular: vibrissa; ), more generally called Whiskers, are a type of stiff, functional hair used by mammals to touch, sense their environment. These hairs are finely specialised for this purpose, whereas other types of hair are c ...
, feathers, and walrus ivory
The walrus (''Odobenus rosmarus'') is a large flippered marine mammal with a discontinuous distribution about the North Pole in the Arctic Ocean and subarctic seas of the Northern Hemisphere. The walrus is the only living species in the fami ...
. Andrew Gronholdt
Andrew Gronholdt (26 August 1915 – 13 March 1998) was a famous Aleut from Sand Point, Alaska, in the Shumagin Islands south of the lower Alaska Peninsula and became famous for rejuvenating the ancient Unangan art of carving hunting hats called ...
of the Shumagin Islands has played a vital role in reviving the ancient art of building the '' chagudax'' or bentwood hunting visors.[
Aleut women sewed finely stitched, waterproof ]parkas
Parkas was a Canadian pop music band based in London, Ontario and later Toronto.["P ...]
from seal
Seal may refer to any of the following:
Common uses
* Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly:
** Earless seal, or "true seal"
** Fur seal
* Seal (emblem), a device to impr ...
gut and wove fine baskets from sea-lyme grass ('' Elymus mollis''). Some Aleut women continue to weave ryegrass baskets. Aleut arts are practiced and taught throughout the state of Alaska. As many Aleut have moved out of the islands to other parts of the state, they have taken with them the knowledge of their arts. They have also adopted new materials and methods for their art, including serigraphy
Screen printing is a printing technique where a mesh is used to transfer ink (or dye) onto a substrate, except in areas made impermeable to the ink by a blocking stencil. A blade or squeegee is moved across the screen to fill the open me ...
, video art
Video art is an art form which relies on using video technology as a visual and audio medium. Video art emerged during the late 1960s as new consumer video technology such as video tape recorders became available outside corporate broadcasting ...
, and installation art
Installation art is an artistic genre of three-dimensional works that are often site-specific and designed to transform the perception of a space. Generally, the term is applied to interior spaces, whereas exterior interventions are often called ...
.
Aleut carving, distinct in each region, has attracted traders for centuries, including early Europeans and other Alaska Natives. Historically, carving was a male art and leadership attribute whereas today it is done by both genders. Most commonly the carvings of walrus ivory and driftwood originated as part of making hunting weapons. Sculptural carvings depict local animals, such as seals and whales. Aleut sculptors also have carved human figures.
The Aleut also carve walrus ivory for other uses, such as jewelry and sewing needles. Jewelry is made with designs specific to the region of each people. Each clan
A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship
and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clans may claim descent from founding member or apical ancestor. Clans, in indigenous societies, tend to be endogamous, meaning ...
would have a specific style to signify their origin. Jewelry ornaments were made for piercing lips (labrum), nose, and ears, as well as for necklaces. Each woman had her own sewing needles, which she made, and that often had detailed end of animal heads.
The main Aleut method of basketry
Basket weaving (also basketry or basket making) is the process of weaving or sewing pliable materials into three-dimensional artifacts, such as baskets, mats, mesh bags or even furniture. Craftspeople and artists specialized in making baskets ...
was false embroidery (overlay). Strands of grasses or reeds were overlaid upon the basic weaving surface, to obtain a plastic effect. Basketry was an art reserved for women. Early Aleut women created baskets and woven mats of exceptional technical quality, using only their thumbnail, grown long and then sharpened, as a tool. Today, Aleut weavers continue to produce woven grass pieces of a remarkable cloth-like texture, works of modern art with roots in ancient tradition. Birch bark, puffin feathers, and baleen are also commonly used by the Aleut in basketry. The Aleut term for grass basket is . One Aleut leader recognized by the State of Alaska for her work in teaching and reviving Aleut basketry was Anfesia Shapsnikoff
Anfesia Shapsnikoff (October 1, 1901 – January 15, 1973) was an Aleut leader and educator born October 1, 1901, at Atka, Alaska, in the Aleutian Islands.Hudson, Ray (1992). Unugulux Tunusangin: Oldtime Stories. Unalaska City School District: ...
. Her life and accomplishments are portrayed in the book ''Moments Rightly Placed'' (1998).[
Masks were created to portray figures of their myths and oral history. The Atka people believed that another people lived in their land before them. They portrayed such ancients in their masks, which show anthropomorphic creatures named in their language. Knut Bergsland says their word means "like those found in caves." Masks were generally carved from wood and were decorated with paints made from berries or other natural products. Feathers were inserted into holes carved out for extra decoration. These masks were used in ceremonies ranging from dances to praises, each with its own meaning and purpose.]
Tattoos and piercings
The tattoos and piercings of the Aleut people demonstrated accomplishments as well as their religious views. They believed their body art would please the spirits of the animals and make any evil go away. The body orifices were believed to be pathways for the entry of evil entities. By piercing their orifices: the nose, the mouth, and ears, they would stop evil entities, , from entering their bodies. Body art also enhanced their beauty, social status, and spiritual authority.
Before the 19th century, piercings and tattoos were very common among the Aleut people, especially among women. Piercings, such as the nose pin, were common among both men and women and were usually performed a few days after birth. The ornament was made of various materials, a piece of bark or bone, or an eagle's feather shaft. From time to time, adult women decorated the nose pins by hanging pieces of amber and coral from strings on it; the semi-precious objects dangled down to their chins.
Piercing ears was also common. The Aleuts pierced holes around the rim of their ears with dentalium shells (tooth shells or tusk shells), bone, feathers, dried bird wings or skulls and/or amber. Materials associated with birds were important, as birds were considered to defend animals in the spirit world. A male would wear sea lion whiskers in his ears as a trophy of his expertise as a hunter. Worn for decorative reasons, and sometimes to signify social standing, reputation, and the age of the wearer, Aleuts would pierce their lower lips with walrus ivory and wear beads or bones. The individual with the most piercings held the highest respect.
Tattooing for women began when they reached physical maturity, after menstruation, at about age 20. Historically, men received their first tattoo after killing their first animal, an important rite of passage. Sometimes tattoos signaled social class. For example, the daughter of a wealthy, famous ancestor or father would work hard at her tattoos to show the accomplishments of that ancestor or father. They would sew, or prick, different designs on the chin, the side of the face, or under the nose.
Aleut clothing
The Aleut people developed in one of the harshest climates in the world, and learned to create and protect warmth. Both men and women wore parkas that extended below the knees. The women wore the skin of seal or sea-otter, and the men wore bird skin parkas, the feathers turned in or out depending on the weather. When the men were hunting on the water, they wore waterproof parkas made from seal or sea-lion guts, or the entrails of bear, walrus, or whales. Parkas had a hood that could be cinched, as could the wrist openings, so water could not get in. Men wore breeches made from the esophageal skin of seals. Children wore parkas made of downy eagle skin with tanned bird skin caps.[ They called these parkas '','' meaning 'rain gear' in the English language.
Sea-lions, harbor seals, and sea otters are the most abundant marine mammals. The men brought home the skins and prepared them by soaking them in urine and stretching them. The women undertook the sewing.][ Preparation of the gut for clothing involved several steps. The prepared intestines were turned inside out. A bone knife was used to remove the muscle tissue and fat from the walls of the intestine. The gut was cut and stretched, and fastened to stakes to dry. It was then cut and sewn to make waterproof parkas, bags, and other receptacles.][ On some hunting trips, the men would take several women with them. They would catch birds and prepare the carcasses and feathers for future use. They caught ]puffins
Puffins are any of three species of small alcids (auks) in the bird genus ''Fratercula''. These are pelagic seabirds that feed primarily by diving in the water. They breed in large colonies on coastal cliffs or offshore islands, nesting in crev ...
('' Lunda cirrhata'', '' Fratercula corniculata''), guillemot
Guillemot is the common name for several species of seabird in the Alcidae or auk family (part of the order Charadriiformes). In British use, the term comprises two genera: ''Uria'' and ''Cepphus''. In North America the ''Uria'' species are c ...
s, and murres
''Uria'' is a genus of seabirds in the auk family known in Britain as guillemots, in most of North America as murres, and in Newfoundland and Labrador as turr. These are medium-sized birds with mainly brown or black plumage in the breeding sea ...
.[
It took 40 skins of tufted puffin and 60 skins of horned puffin to make one parka. A woman would need a year for all the labor to make one parka. Each lasted two years with proper care. All parkas were decorated with bird feathers, beard bristles of seal and sea-lion, beaks of sea parrots, bird claws, sea otter fur, dyed leather, and caribou hair sewn in the seams.][
Women made needles from the wing bones of seabirds. They made thread from the sinews of different animals and fish guts.][ A thin strip of seal intestine could also be used, twisted to form a thread. The women grew their thumbnail extra long and sharpened it. They could split threads to make them as fine as a hair.][ They used vermilion paint, hematite, the ink bag of the octopus, and the root of a kind of grass or vine to color the threads.][
]
Gender
Russian travelers making early contact with the Aleut mention traditional tales of two-spirit
Two-spirit (also two spirit, 2S or, occasionally, twospirited) is a modern, , umbrella term used by some Indigenous North Americans to describe Native people in their communities who fulfill a traditional third-gender (or other gender-variant) ...
s or third
Third or 3rd may refer to:
Numbers
* 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3
* , a fraction of one third
* Second#Sexagesimal divisions of calendar time and day, 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute''
Places
* 3rd Street (d ...
and fourth gender people, known as (male-bodied, 'man transformed into a woman') and (female-bodied, 'woman transformed into a man'), but it is unclear whether these tales are about historical individuals or spirits.[Murray, Stephen O. (2002) ''Pacific Homosexualities''. Writers Club Press. p. 206. ]
Hunting technologies
Boats
The interior regions of the rough, mountainous Aleutian Islands provided little in terms of natural resources for the Aleutian people. They collected stones for weapons, tools, stoves or lamps. They collected and dried grasses for their woven baskets. For everything else, the Aleuts had learned to use the fish and mammals they caught and processed to satisfy their needs.
To hunt sea mammals and to travel between islands, the Aleuts became experts of sailing and navigation. While hunting, they used small watercraft called '' baidarkas.'' For regular travel, they used their large ''s''.
The was a large, open, walrus-skin-covered boat. Aleut families used it when traveling among the islands. It was also used to transport goods for trade, and warriors took them to battle.
The (small skin boat) was a small boat covered in sea lion skin. It was developed and used for hunting because of its sturdiness and maneuverability. The Aleut resembles that of a Yup'ik
The Yup'ik or Yupiaq (sg & pl) and Yupiit or Yupiat (pl), also Central Alaskan Yup'ik, Central Yup'ik, Alaskan Yup'ik ( own name ''Yup'ik'' sg ''Yupiik'' dual ''Yupiit'' pl; russian: Юпики центральной Аляски), are an I ...
kayak
A kayak is a small, narrow watercraft which is typically propelled by means of a double-bladed paddle. The word kayak originates from the Greenlandic word ''qajaq'' ().
The traditional kayak has a covered deck and one or more cockpits, each se ...
, but it is hydrodynamically sleeker and faster. They made the for one or two persons only. The deck was made with a sturdy chamber, the sides of the craft were nearly vertical and the bottom was rounded. Most one-man ''s'' were about long and wide, whereas a two-man was on average about long and wide. It was from the that Aleut men would stand on the water to hunt from the sea.
Weapons
The Aleuts hunted small sea mammals with barbed darts and harpoons slung from throwing boards. These boards gave precision as well as some extra distance to these weapons.
Harpoons were also called throwing-arrows when the pointed head fit loosely into the socket of the foreshaft and the head was able to detach from the harpoon when it penetrated an animal, and remain in the wound. There were three main kinds of harpoon that the Aleuts used: a simple harpoon, with a head that kept its original position in the animal after striking, a compound (toggle-head) harpoon in which the head took a horizontal position in the animal after penetration, and the throwing-lance used to kill large animals.
The simple Aleut harpoon consisted of four main parts: the wooden shaft, the bone foreshaft, and the bonehead (tip) with barbs pointed backward. The barbed head was loosely fitted into the socket of the foreshaft so that when the animal was stabbed, it pulled the head away from the rest of the harpoon. The sharp barbs penetrated with ease, but could not be pulled out. The bone tip is fastened to a length of braided twine meanwhile; the hunter held the other end of the twine in his hand.
The compound harpoon was the most prevalent weapon of the Aleut people. Also known as the toggle-head spear, it was about the same size as the simple harpoon and used to hunt the same animals, however, this harpoon provided a more efficient and lethal weapon. This harpoon separated into four parts. The longest part was the shaft with the thicker stalk closer to the tip of the harpoon. The shaft was fitted into the socket of the fore shaft and a bone ring was then placed over the joint to hold the two pieces together, as well as, protecting the wooden shaft from splitting. Connected to the fore shaft of the harpoon is the toggle head spear tip. This tip was made of two sub shafts that break apart on impact with an animal. The upper sub shaft held the razor stone head and attached to the lower sub shaft with a small braided twine loop. Once the tip penetrates the animal the upper sub head broke off from the rest of the shaft, however, since it was still connected with the braided loop it rotated the head into a horizontal position inside the animal's body so that it could not get away from the hunter.
The throwing lance may be distinguished from a harpoon because all its pieces are fixed and immovable. A lance was a weapon of war and it was also used to kill large marine animals after it has already been harpooned. The throwing lance usually consisted of three parts: a wooden shaft, a bone ring or belt, and the compound head that was made with a barbed bonehead and a stone tip. The length of the compound head was equivalent to the distance between the planes of a man's chest to his back. The lance would penetrate the chest and pass through the chest cavity and exit from the back. The bone ring was designed to break after impact so that the shaft could be used again for another kill.
Burial practices
They buried their dead ancestors near the village. Archeologists have found many different types of burials, dating from a variety of periods, in the Aleutian Islands. The Aleut developed a style of burials that were accommodated to local conditions, and honored the dead. They have had four main types of burials: , cave, above-ground sarcophagi, and burials connected to communal houses.
burials are the most widely known type of mortuary practice found in the Aleutian Islands. The people created burial mounds, that tend to be located on the edge of a bluff. They placed stone and earth over the mound to protect and mark it. Such mounds were first excavated by archeologists in 1972 on Southwestern Unmak Island, and dated to the early contact period. Researchers have found a prevalence of these burials, and concluded it is a regional mortuary practice. It may be considered a pan-Aleutian mortuary practice.
Cave burials have been found throughout the eastern Aleutian Islands. The human remains are buried in shallow graves at the rear of the cave. These caves tend to be next to middens
A midden (also kitchen midden or shell heap) is an old dump for domestic waste which may consist of animal bone, human excrement, botanical material, mollusc shells, potsherds, lithics (especially debitage), and other artifacts and ecofact ...
and near villages. Some grave goods
Grave goods, in archaeology and anthropology, are the items buried along with the body.
They are usually personal possessions, supplies to smooth the deceased's journey into the afterlife or offerings to the gods. Grave goods may be classed as a ...
have been found in the caves associated with such burials. For example, a deconstructed boat was found in a burial cave on Kanaga Island. There were no other major finds of grave goods in the vicinity.
Throughout the Aleutian Islands, gravesites have been found that are above-ground sarcophagi
A sarcophagus (plural sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a box-like funeral receptacle for a cadaver, corpse, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from ...
. These sarcophagi are left exposed, with no attempt to bury the dead in the ground. These burials tend to be isolated and limited to the remains of adult males, which may indicate a specific ritual practice. In the Near Islands, isolated graves have also been found with the remains, and not just the sarcophagus, left exposed on the surface. This way of erecting sarcophagi above ground is not as common as and cave burials, but it is still widespread.
Another type of practice has been to bury remains in areas next to the communal houses of the settlement. Human remains are abundant in such sites. They indicate a pattern of burying the dead within the main activity areas of the settlement. These burials consist of small pits adjacent to the houses and scattered around them. In these instances, mass graves are common for women and children. This type of mortuary practice has been mainly found in the Near Islands.
In addition to these four main types, other kinds of burials have been found in the Aleutian Islands. These more isolated examples in include mummification
A mummy is a dead human or an animal whose soft tissues and organs have been preserved by either intentional or accidental exposure to chemicals, extreme cold, very low humidity, or lack of air, so that the recovered body does not decay furth ...
, private burial houses, abandoned houses, etc. To date, such examples are not considered to be part of a larger, unifying cultural practice. The findings discussed represent only the sites that have been excavated.
The variety of mortuary practices mostly did not include the ritual of including extensive grave goods, as has been found in other cultures. The remains so far have been mainly found with other human and faunal remains. The addition of objects to "accompany" the dead is rare. Archaeologists have been trying to dissect the absence of grave goods, but their findings have been ambiguous and do not really help the academic community to understand these practices more.
Not much information is known about the ritual parts of burying the dead. Archeologists and anthropologists have not found much evidence related to burial rituals. This lack of ritual evidence could hint at either no ritualized ceremony, or one that has not yet been revealed in the archaeological record. As a result, archaeologists cannot decipher the context to understand exactly why a certain type of burial was used in particular cases.
Notable Aleuts
* John Hoover (1919–2011), sculptor
* Carl E. Moses
Carl Eugene Moses (July 16, 1929 – April 30, 2014) was an American businessman from Unalaska, Alaska who served in the Alaska House of Representatives from 1965 to 1973 as both a Republican and Democrat, and was elected again to the House in 19 ...
(1929–2014) businessman, state representative, who served from 1965 to 1973 as both a Republican and Democrat,
* Jacob Netsvetov
Saint Jacob Netsvetov (Russian: Яков (Иаков) Егорович Нецветов), Enlightener of Alaska, was a native of the Aleutian Islands who became a priest of the Orthodox Church and continued the missionary work of St. Innocent a ...
(1802–1864), Russian Orthodox saint and priest
* Sergie Sovoroff
Sergie Sovoroff (September 17, 1901 – September 27, 1989) was an Aleut educational leader. He was born on Umnak Island in the Aleut village of Nikolski in 1902. Sovoroff was born only nine years before the United States government outlawed sea ...
(1901–1989), educator, (model sea kayak) builder
* Eve Tuck, academic, indigenous studies
*Peter the Aleut
Cungagnaq ( rus, Чукагнак, Chukagnak; date of birth unknown - d. 1815) is venerated as a martyr and saint (as Peter the Aleut; rus, Пётр Алеу́т, Pyotr Aleút) by some jurisdictions of the Eastern Orthodox Church. He was allegedl ...
(1800 - 1815), Russian Orthodox saint and martyr
In popular culture
In ''Snow Crash
''Snow Crash'' is a science fiction novel by the American writer Neal Stephenson, published in 1992. Like many of Stephenson's novels, it covers history, linguistics, anthropology, archaeology, religion, computer science, politics, cryptography, ...
'', a science fiction novel by American writer Neal Stephenson
Neal Town Stephenson (born October 31, 1959) is an American writer known for his works of speculative fiction. His novels have been categorized as science fiction, historical fiction, cyberpunk, postcyberpunk, and baroque.
Stephenson's work exp ...
, a central character named Raven is portrayed as an Aleut with incredible toughness and hunting skill. The story is about revenge due in part to perceived mistreatment of the Aleut.
''Alaska'' by James A. Michener.
See also
*Adamagan Adamagan was an Aleut people, Aleut village, that at its peak was able to hold around 1000 people. This site is one of the largest sites in the ancient Arctic. The area has over 250 winter houses, summer houses, underground storage pits, and many ...
*Aleutian Islands
The Aleutian Islands (; ; ale, Unangam Tanangin,”Land of the Aleuts", possibly from Chukchi language, Chukchi ''aliat'', "island"), also called the Aleut Islands or Aleutic Islands and known before 1867 as the Catherine Archipelago, are a cha ...
*Aleutian tradition The Aleutian Tradition began around 2500 BC and ended in AD 1800. Aleutian artifacts are made out of chopped stone, unlike the more common slate tools. Objects were traditionally made using a concept called core and flake that uses bifacially carv ...
*Alutiiq
The Alutiiq people (pronounced in English; from Promyshlenniki Russian Алеутъ, "Aleut"; plural often "Alutiit"), also called by their ancestral name ( or ; plural often "Sugpiat"), as well as Pacific Eskimo or Pacific Yupik, are a sout ...
* Indigenous Amerindian genetics
*Maritime Fur Trade
The maritime fur trade was a ship-based fur trade system that focused on acquiring furs of sea otters and other animals from the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast and natives of Alaska. The furs were mostly sold in China in ex ...
*Sadlermiut
The Sadlermiut (also called Sagdlirmiut, or Sallirmiut in modern Inuktitut spelling, from ''Sadlerk'' now ''Salliq'', the Inuktitut name for the settlement of Coral Harbour, Nunavut) were an Inuit group living in near isolation mainly on and aro ...
* Shamanism among Alaska Natives
* Unangan Aleut
* List of Native American peoples in the United States
This is a list of federally recognized tribes in the contiguous United States of America. There are also federally recognized Alaska Native tribes. , 574 Indian tribes were legally recognized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) of the United ...
Notes
References
Further reading
*
*Lee, Molly, Angela J. Linn, and Chase Hensel. Not Just a Pretty Face: Dolls and Human Figurines in Alaska Native Cultures. Fairbanks, AK: University of Alaska, 2006. Print.
*Black, Lydia T. ''Aleut Art: Unangam Aguqaadangin''. Anchorage, Alaska: Aleutian/Pribilof Islands Association, 2005.
* Jochelson, Waldemar. ''History, Ethnology, and Anthropology of the Aleut''. Washington: Carnegie institution of Washington, 1933.
* Jochelson, Waldemar, Bergsland, Knut (Editor) & Dirks, Moses (Editor). ''Unangam Ungiikangin Kayux Tunusangin = Unangam Uniikangis ama Tunuzangis = Aleut Tales and Narratives''. Fairbanks, Alaska: Alaska Native Language Center, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, 1990..
* Kohlhoff, Dean. ''When the Wind Was a River Aleut Evacuation in World War II''. Seattle: University of Washington Press in association with Aleutian/Pribilof Islands Association, Anchorage, 1995.
* Madden, Ryan Howard. "An enforced odyssey: The relocation and internment of Aleuts during World War II" (PhD thesis U of New Hampshire, Durham, 1993
online
* Murray, Martha G., and Peter L. Corey. ''Aleut Weavers''. Juneau, AK: Alaska State Museums, Division of Libraries, Archives and Museums, 1997.
* Reedy-Maschner, Katherine. "Aleut Identities : Tradition and Modernity in an Indigenous Fishery". Montréal, Quebec: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2010.
* Veltre, Douglas W. ''Aleut Unangax̂ Ethnobotany An Annotated Bibliography''. Akureyri, Iceland: CAFF International Secretariat, 2006.
*
" National Park Service
The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...
.
External links
Aleut Corporation
Aleut Management Services
Aleutian Pribilof Island Association
Qawalangin Tribe of Unalaska
Museum of the Aleutians
Aleut International Association
''A Grammar of Fox Island Aleutian'' Manuscript
at Dartmouth College Library
Aleutian Pribilof Island Community Development Association
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aleut People
Alaska Native ethnic groups
Native American history of Alaska
People from Kamchatka Krai
Ethnic groups in Russia
Indigenous small-numbered peoples of the North, Siberia and the Far East