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Eskimo () is an
exonym 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 ...
used to refer to two closely related
Indigenous peoples 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 ...
: the
Inuit Inuit (; iu, ᐃᓄᐃᑦ 'the people', singular: Inuk, , dual: Inuuk, ) are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic and subarctic regions of Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwest Territorie ...
(including the Alaska Native Iñupiat, the Greenlandic Inuit, and the Canadian Inuit) and the Yupik (or
Yuit Central Siberian Yupik, (also known as Siberian Yupik, Bering Strait Yupik, Yuit, Yoit, "St. Lawrence Island Yupik", and in Russia "Chaplinski Yupik" or Yuk) is an endangered Yupik language spoken by the indigenous Siberian Yupik people along th ...
) of eastern Siberia and Alaska. A related third group, the
Aleut The Aleuts ( ; russian: Алеуты, Aleuty) are the indigenous people of the Aleutian Islands, which are located between the North Pacific Ocean and the Bering Sea. Both the Aleut people and the islands are politically divided between the ...
, which inhabit the
Aleutian Islands The Aleutian Islands (; ; ale, Unangam Tanangin,”Land of the Aleuts", possibly from Chukchi ''aliat'', "island"), also called the Aleut Islands or Aleutic Islands and known before 1867 as the Catherine Archipelago, are a chain of 14 large v ...
, are generally excluded from the definition of Eskimo. The three groups share a relatively recent common ancestor, and speak related languages belonging to the Eskaleut language family. These circumpolar peoples have traditionally inhabited the Arctic and
subarctic The subarctic zone is a region in the Northern Hemisphere immediately south of the true Arctic, north of humid continental regions and covering much of Alaska, Canada, Iceland, the north of Scandinavia, Siberia, and the Cairngorms. Genera ...
regions from eastern
Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part ...
(Russia) to
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 ...
(United States),
Northern Canada Northern Canada, colloquially the North or the Territories, is the vast northernmost region of Canada variously defined by geography and politics. Politically, the term refers to the three territories of Canada: Yukon, Northwest Territories an ...
,
Nunavik Nunavik (; ; iu, ᓄᓇᕕᒃ) comprises the northern third of the province of Quebec, part of the Nord-du-Québec region and nearly coterminous with Kativik. Covering a land area of north of the 55th parallel, it is the homeland of the ...
,
Nunatsiavut Nunatsiavut (; iu, italics=no, ᓄᓇᑦᓯᐊᕗᑦ) is an autonomous area claimed by the Inuit in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The settlement area includes territory in Labrador extending to the Quebec border. In 2002, the Labrador Inui ...
, and
Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland ...
. Many Inuit, Yupik, Aleut, and other individuals consider the term ''Eskimo'', which is of a disputed etymology, to be unacceptable and even pejorative. Eskimo continues to be used within a historical, linguistic, archaeological, and cultural context. The governments in Canada and the United States have made moves to cease using the term ''Eskimo'' in official documents, but it has not been eliminated, as the word is in some places written into tribal, and therefore national, legal terminology. Canada officially uses the term ''Inuit'' to describe the indigenous Canadian people who are living in the country's northern sectors and are not First Nations or
Métis The Métis ( ; Canadian ) are Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous peoples who inhabit Canada's three Canadian Prairies, Prairie Provinces, as well as parts of British Columbia, the Northwest Territories, and the Northern United State ...
. The United States government legally uses '' Alaska Native'' for Native Alaskans including the Yupik, Inuit, and Aleut, but also for non-Eskimo Native Alaskans including the Tlingit, the
Haida Haida may refer to: Places * Haida, an old name for Nový Bor * Haida Gwaii, meaning "Islands of the People", formerly called the Queen Charlotte Islands * Haida Islands, a different archipelago near Bella Bella, British Columbia Ships * , a ...
, the
Eyak The Eyak ( Eyak: ʔi·ya·ɢdəlahɢəyu·, literally "inhabitants of Eyak Village at Mile 6"Krauss, Michael E. 1970. ''Eyak dictionary''. University of Alaska and Massachusetts Institute of Technology 1963-1970) are a Native American indigenous ...
, and the
Tsimshian The Tsimshian (; tsi, Ts’msyan or Tsm'syen) are an Indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest Coast. Their communities are mostly in coastal British Columbia in Terrace and Prince Rupert, and Metlakatla, Alaska on Annette Island, the only r ...
, in addition to at least nine separate northern Athabaskan/Dene peoples. The designation ''Alaska Native'' applies to enrolled tribal members only, in contrast to individual Eskimo/Aleut persons claiming descent from the world's "most widespread aboriginal group". There are between 171,000 and 187,000 Inuit and Yupik, the majority of whom live in or near their traditional circumpolar homeland. Of these, 53,785 (2010) live in the United States, 65,025 (2016) in Canada, and 51,730 (2021) in Greenland. In addition, 16,730 people living in Denmark were born in Greenland, and an unknown number are Siberians. The
non-governmental organization A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in ...
(NGO) known as the
Inuit Circumpolar Council The Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC) ( kl, Inuit Issittormiut Siunnersuisooqatigiiffiat), formerly Inuit Circumpolar Conference, is a multinational non-governmental organization (NGO) and Indigenous Peoples' Organization (IPO) representing the ...
claims to represent 180,000 people. The non-Inuit sub-branch of the Eskimo branch of the Eskaleut
language family A language family is a group of languages related through descent from a common ''ancestral language'' or ''parental language'', called the proto-language of that family. The term "family" reflects the tree model of language origination in h ...
consists of four distinct Yupik languages, two of them are used in the
Russian Far East The Russian Far East (russian: Дальний Восток России, r=Dal'niy Vostok Rossii, p=ˈdalʲnʲɪj vɐˈstok rɐˈsʲiɪ) is a region in Northeast Asia. It is the easternmost part of Russia and the Asian continent; and is admin ...
as well as on St. Lawrence Island, and two of them are used in western Alaska, southwestern Alaska, and the western part of Southcentral Alaska. The extinct language of the
Sirenik Sirenik Yupik, Sireniki Yupik (also Old Sirenik or Vuteen), Sirenik, or Sirenikskiy is an extinct Eskimo–Aleut language. It was spoken in and around the village of Sireniki (Сиреники) in Chukotka Peninsula, Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, ...
people is sometimes claimed to be related to these other languages.


Nomenclature


Etymology

A variety of theories have been postulated for the etymological origin of the word Eskimo. According to Smithsonian linguist Ives Goddard, etymologically the word derives from the Innu-aimun (Montagnais) word ''ayas̆kimew'', meaning "a person who laces a snowshoe", and is related to ''
husky Husky is a general term for a dog used in the polar regions, primarily and specifically for work as sled dogs. It refers to a traditional northern type, notable for its cold-weather tolerance and overall hardiness. Modern racing huskies that mai ...
'' (a breed of dog).R. H. Ives Goddard, "Synonymy". In David Damas (ed.) ''Handbook of North American Indians: Volume 5 Arctic'' (Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution, 1985, 978-0874741858), pages 5–7. The word ''assime·w'' means "she laces a snowshoe" in Innu, and
Innu language Innu-aimun or Montagnais is an Algonquian languages, Algonquian language spoken by over 10,000 Innu in Labrador and Quebec in Eastern Canada. It is a member of the Cree language, Cree–Montagnais–Naskapi dialect continuum and is spoken in vari ...
speakers refer to the neighbouring
Mi'kmaq The Mi'kmaq (also ''Mi'gmaq'', ''Lnu'', ''Miꞌkmaw'' or ''Miꞌgmaw''; ; ) are a First Nations people of the Northeastern Woodlands, indigenous to the areas of Canada's Atlantic Provinces and the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec as well as the no ...
people using words that sound like ''eskimo''.Goddard, Ives (1984). "Synonymy", In ''Arctic'', ed. David Damas. ''Handbook of North American Indians'', vol. 5, ed. William C. Sturtevant, pp. 5–7. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution. Cited in Campbell 1997Campbell, Lyle (1997). ''American Indian Languages: The Historical Linguistics of Native America'', pg. 394. New York: Oxford University Press This interpretation is generally confirmed by more recent academic sources. In 1978,
José Mailhot José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced differently in each language: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , is an old vernacul ...
, a Quebec anthropologist who speaks Innu-aimun (Montagnais), published a paper suggesting that Eskimo meant "people who speak a different language".Mailhot, J. (1978). "L'étymologie de «Esquimau» revue et corrigée", ''Études Inuit/Inuit Studies'' 2-2:59–70. French traders who encountered the
Innu The Innu / Ilnu ("man", "person") or Innut / Innuat / Ilnuatsh ("people"), formerly called Montagnais from the French colonial period ( French for "mountain people", English pronunciation: ), are the Indigenous inhabitants of territory in the ...
(Montagnais) in the eastern areas adopted their word for the more western peoples and spelled it as ''Esquimau'' or ''Esquimaux'' in a transliteration. Some people consider ''Eskimo'' offensive, because it is popularly perceived to mean "eaters of raw meat" in
Algonquian languages The Algonquian languages ( or ; also Algonkian) are a subfamily of indigenous American languages that include most languages in the Algic language family. The name of the Algonquian language family is distinguished from the orthographically simi ...
common to people along the Atlantic coast. An unnamed
Cree The Cree ( cr, néhinaw, script=Latn, , etc.; french: link=no, Cri) are a North American Indigenous people. They live primarily in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations. In Canada, over 350,000 people are Cree o ...
speaker suggested the original word that became corrupted to Eskimo might have been ''askamiciw'' (meaning "he eats it raw"); the Inuit are referred to in some Cree texts as ''askipiw'' (meaning "eats something raw"). Regardless, the term still carries a derogatory connotation for many Inuit and Yupik. One of the first printed uses of the French word ''Esquimaux'' comes from Samuel Hearne's ''A Journey from Prince of Wales's Fort in Hudson's Bay to the Northern Ocean in the Years 1769, 1770, 1771, 1772'' first published in 1795.


Usage

The term ''Eskimo'' is still used by people to encompass the Inuit and Yupik, as well as other Indigenous or Alaska Native and Siberian peoples. In the 21st century, usage in North America has declined. Linguistic, ethnic, and cultural differences exist between Yupik and Inuit. In Canada and Greenland, and to a certain extent in Alaska, the term ''Eskimo'' is predominantly seen as offensive and has been widely replaced by the term ''Inuit''Usage note
"Inuit"
''American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language'': Fourth Edition, 2000
or terms specific to a particular group or community. This has resulted in a trend whereby some Canadians and Americans believe that they should use ''Inuit'' even for Yupik who are non-
Inuit Inuit (; iu, ᐃᓄᐃᑦ 'the people', singular: Inuk, , dual: Inuuk, ) are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic and subarctic regions of Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwest Territorie ...
. The Inuit of Greenland generally refer to themselves as Greenlanders ("Kalaallit" or "Grønlændere") and speak the Greenlandic language and Danish."Inuktitut, Greenlandic".
''Ethnologue''. Retrieved 6 Aug 2012.
The Inuit of Greenland belong to three groups: the Kalaallit of west Greenland, who speak
Kalaallisut Kalaallisut may refer to: * Greenlandic language * West Greenlandic West Greenlandic ( da, vestgrønlandsk), also known as Kalaallisut, is the primary language of Greenland and constitutes the Greenlandic language, spoken by the vast majority of ...
; the Tunumiit of Tunu (east Greenland), who speak Tunumiit oraasiat ("East Greenlandic"); and the Inughuit of north Greenland, who speak Inuktun. The word "Eskimo" is a racially charged term in Canada. In Canada's Central Arctic, ''Inuinnaq'' is the preferred term, and in the eastern Canadian Arctic ''Inuit''. The language is often called '' Inuktitut'', though other local designations are also used. Section 25 of the
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms The ''Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms'' (french: Charte canadienne des droits et libertés), often simply referred to as the ''Charter'' in Canada, is a bill of rights entrenched in the Constitution of Canada, forming the first part ...
and section 35 of the Canadian Constitution Act of 1982 recognized the Inuit as a distinctive group of
Aboriginal peoples in Canada In Canada, Indigenous groups comprise the First Nations, Inuit and Métis. Although ''Indian'' is a term still commonly used in legal documents, the descriptors ''Indian'' and ''Eskimo'' have fallen into disuse in Canada, and most consider the ...
. Although ''Inuit'' can be applied to all of the Eskimo peoples in Canada and Greenland, that is not true in Alaska and Siberia. In Alaska, the term ''Eskimo'' is still used because it includes both Iñupiat (singular: Iñupiaq), who are Inuit, and Yupik, who are not. The term '' Alaska Native'' is inclusive of (and under U.S. and Alaskan law, as well as the linguistic and cultural legacy of Alaska, refers to) all Indigenous peoples of Alaska, including not only the Iñupiat (Alaskan Inuit) and the Yupik, but also groups such as the Aleut, who share a recent ancestor, as well as the largely unrelated
indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast The Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast are composed of many nations and tribal affiliations, each with distinctive cultural and political identities. They share certain beliefs, traditions and practices, such as the centrality of sal ...
and the Alaskan Athabaskans, such as the Eyak people. The term ''Alaska Native'' has important legal usage in Alaska and the rest of the United States as a result of the
Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) was signed into law by President Richard Nixon on December 18, 1971, constituting at the time the largest land claims settlement in United States history. ANCSA was intended to resolve long-standing ...
of 1971. It does not apply to Inuit or Yupik originating outside the state. As a result, the term Eskimo is still in use in Alaska. Alternative terms, such as ''Inuit-Yupik'', have been proposed, but none has gained widespread acceptance. Early 21st century population estimates registered more than 135,000 individuals of Eskimo descent, with approximately 85,000 living in North America, 50,000 in Greenland, and the rest residing in Siberia.


Inuit Circumpolar Council

In 1977, the Inuit Circumpolar Conference (ICC) meeting in
Utqiaġvik, Alaska Utqiagvik ( ik, Utqiaġvik; , , formerly known as Barrow ()) is the borough seat and largest city of the North Slope Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. Located north of the Arctic Circle, it is one of the northernmost cities and towns in th ...
, officially adopted ''Inuit'' as a designation for all circumpolar Native peoples, regardless of their local view on an appropriate term. They voted to replace the word ''Eskimo'' with ''Inuit''. Even at that time, such a designation was not accepted by all. As a result, the Canadian government usage has replaced the term ''Eskimo'' with ''Inuit'' (''Inuk'' in singular). The ICC charter defines ''Inuit'' as including "the Inupiat, Yupik (Alaska), Inuit, Inuvialuit (Canada), Kalaallit (Greenland) and Yupik (Russia)". Despite the ICC's 1977 decision to adopt the term ''Inuit'', this has not been accepted by all or even most Yupik people. In 2010, the ICC passed a resolution in which they implored scientists to use ''Inuit'' and ''Paleo-Inuit'' instead of ''Eskimo'' or ''Paleo-Eskimo''.


Academic response

In a 2015 commentary in the journal ''
Arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar regions of Earth, polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenla ...
'', Canadian archaeologist Max Friesen argued fellow Arctic archaeologists should follow the ICC and use ''Paleo-Inuit'' instead of ''Paleo-Eskimo''. In 2016, Lisa Hodgetts and ''Arctic'' editor Patricia Wells wrote: "In the Canadian context, continued use of any term that incorporates ''Eskimo'' is potentially harmful to the relationships between archaeologists and the Inuit and Inuvialuit communities who are our hosts and increasingly our research partners." Hodgetts and Wells suggested using more specific terms when possible (e.g.,
Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , ...
and Groswater) and agreed with Frieson in using the ''Inuit tradition'' to replace ''Neo-Eskimo'', although they noted replacement for ''Palaeoeskimo'' was still an open question and discussed ''Paleo-Inuit'', ''Arctic Small Tool Tradition'', and ''pre-Inuit'', as well as Inuktitut loanwords like ''Tuniit'' and ''Sivullirmiut'', as possibilities. In 2020, Katelyn Braymer-Hayes and colleagues argued in the '' Journal of Anthropological Archaeology'' that there is a "clear need" to replace the terms ''Neo-Eskimo'' and ''Paleo-Eskimo'', citing the ICC resolution, but finding a consensus within the Alaskan context particularly is difficult, since
Alaska Natives Alaska Natives (also known as Alaskan Natives, Native Alaskans, Indigenous Alaskans, Aboriginal Alaskans or First Alaskans) are the indigenous peoples of Alaska and include Iñupiat, Yupik, Aleut, Eyak, Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian, and a num ...
do not use the word ''Inuit'' to describe themselves nor is the term legally applicable only to Iñupiat and Yupik in Alaska, and as such, terms used in Canada like ''Paleo Inuit'' and ''Ancestral Inuit'' would not be acceptable. American linguist
Lenore Grenoble Lenore A. Grenoble is an American linguist specializing in Slavic and Arctic Indigenous languages, currently the John Matthews Manly Distinguished Service Professor and Chair at University of Chicago. Grenoble earned her Ph.D. in Slavic Lingu ...
has also explicitly deferred to the ICC resolution and used ''Inuit–Yupik'' instead of ''Eskimo'' with regards to the language branch.


History

Genetic evidence suggests that the Americas were populated from northeastern Asia in multiple waves. While the great majority of indigenous American peoples can be traced to a single early migration of Paleo-Indians, the
Na-Dené Na-Dene (; also Nadene, Na-Dené, Athabaskan–Eyak–Tlingit, Tlina–Dene) is a family of Native American languages that includes at least the Athabaskan languages, Eyak, and Tlingit languages. Haida was formerly included, but is now considered ...
,
Inuit Inuit (; iu, ᐃᓄᐃᑦ 'the people', singular: Inuk, , dual: Inuuk, ) are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic and subarctic regions of Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwest Territorie ...
and Indigenous Alaskan populations exhibit admixture from distinct populations that migrated into America at a later date and are closely linked to the peoples of far northeastern Asia (e.g. Chukchi), and only more remotely to the majority indigenous American type. For modern Eskimo–Aleut speakers, this later ancestral component makes up almost half of their genomes. The ancient Paleo-Eskimo population was genetically distinct from the modern circumpolar populations, but eventually derives from the same far northeastern Asian cluster. It is understood that some or all of these ancient people migrated across the Chukchi Sea to North America during the pre-neolithic era, somewhere around 5,000 to 10,000 years ago. It is believed that ancestors of the
Aleut The Aleuts ( ; russian: Алеуты, Aleuty) are the indigenous people of the Aleutian Islands, which are located between the North Pacific Ocean and the Bering Sea. Both the Aleut people and the islands are politically divided between the ...
people inhabited the
Aleutian Chain The Aleutian Islands (; ; ale, Unangam Tanangin,”Land of the Aleuts", possibly from Chukchi ''aliat'', "island"), also called the Aleut Islands or Aleutic Islands and known before 1867 as the Catherine Archipelago, are a chain of 14 large vo ...
10,000 years ago. The earliest positively identified Paleo-Eskimo cultures (
Early Paleo-Eskimo The Early Paleo-Eskimo is the first of three distinct periods of human occupation recognized by archaeologists in the eastern North American Arctic, the others being the Late Paleo-Eskimo and the Thule. Dates for these occupations vary according ...
) date to 5,000 years ago. Several earlier indigenous peoples existed in the northern circumpolar regions of eastern Siberia, Alaska, and Canada (although probably not in Greenland). The Paleo-Eskimo peoples appear to have developed in Alaska from people related to the Arctic small tool tradition in eastern Asia, whose ancestors had probably migrated to Alaska at least 3,000 to 5,000 years earlier. The Yupik languages and cultures in Alaska evolved in place, beginning with the original pre-Dorset Indigenous culture developed in Alaska. At least 4,000 years ago, the Unangan culture of the
Aleut The Aleuts ( ; russian: Алеуты, Aleuty) are the indigenous people of the Aleutian Islands, which are located between the North Pacific Ocean and the Bering Sea. Both the Aleut people and the islands are politically divided between the ...
became distinct. It is not generally considered an Eskimo culture. However, there is some possibility of an Aleutian origin of the
Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , ...
people, who in turn are a likely ancestor of today's Inuit and Yupik. Approximately 1,500 to 2,000 years ago, apparently in northwestern Alaska, two other distinct variations appeared. Inuit language became distinct and, over a period of several centuries, its speakers migrated across northern Alaska, through Canada, and into Greenland. The distinct culture of the Thule people (drawing strongly from the Birnirk culture) developed in northwestern Alaska. It very quickly spread over the entire area occupied by Eskimo peoples, though it was not necessarily adopted by all of them.


Languages


Language family

The Eskimo–Aleut family of languages includes two cognate branches: the
Aleut The Aleuts ( ; russian: Алеуты, Aleuty) are the indigenous people of the Aleutian Islands, which are located between the North Pacific Ocean and the Bering Sea. Both the Aleut people and the islands are politically divided between the ...
(Unangan) branch and the Eskimo branch. The number of cases varies, with Aleut languages having a greatly reduced case system compared to those of the Eskimo subfamily. Eskimo–Aleut languages possess voiceless plosives at the bilabial, coronal, velar and uvular positions in all languages except Aleut, which has lost the bilabial stops but retained the
nasal Nasal is an adjective referring to the nose, part of human or animal anatomy. It may also be shorthand for the following uses in combination: * With reference to the human nose: ** Nasal administration, a method of pharmaceutical drug delivery * ...
. In the Eskimo subfamily a voiceless alveolar lateral
fricative A fricative is a consonant produced by forcing air through a narrow channel made by placing two articulators close together. These may be the lower lip against the upper teeth, in the case of ; the back of the tongue against the soft palate in ...
is also present. The Eskimo sub-family consists of the Inuit language and Yupik language sub-groups. The Sirenikski language, which is virtually extinct, is sometimes regarded as a third branch of the Eskimo language family. Other sources regard it as a group belonging to the Yupik branch. Inuit languages comprise a
dialect continuum A dialect continuum or dialect chain is a series of language varieties spoken across some geographical area such that neighboring varieties are mutually intelligible, but the differences accumulate over distance so that widely separated vari ...
, or dialect chain, that stretches from Unalakleet and Norton Sound in Alaska, across northern Alaska and Canada, and east to Greenland. Changes from western (Iñupiaq) to eastern dialects are marked by the dropping of vestigial Yupik-related features, increasing consonant assimilation (e.g., ''kumlu'', meaning "thumb", changes to ''kuvlu'', changes to ''kublu'', changes to ''kulluk'', changes to ''kulluq'', ) and increased consonant lengthening, and lexical change. Thus, speakers of two adjacent Inuit dialects would usually be able to understand one another, but speakers from dialects distant from each other on the dialect continuum would have difficulty understanding one another. Seward Peninsula dialects in western Alaska, where much of the Iñupiat culture has been in place for perhaps less than 500 years, are greatly affected by phonological influence from the Yupik languages. Eastern Greenlandic, at the opposite end of the Inuit range, has had significant word replacement due to a unique form of ritual name avoidance. Ethnographically, Inuit of Greenland belong to three groups: the Kalaallit of west Greenland, who speak
Kalaallisut Kalaallisut may refer to: * Greenlandic language * West Greenlandic West Greenlandic ( da, vestgrønlandsk), also known as Kalaallisut, is the primary language of Greenland and constitutes the Greenlandic language, spoken by the vast majority of ...
; the Tunumiit of Tunu (east Greenland), who speak Tunumiit oraasiat ("East Greenlandic"), and the Inughuit of north Greenland, who speak Inuktun. The four Yupik languages, by contrast, including Alutiiq (Sugpiaq), Central Alaskan Yup'ik, Naukan (Naukanski), and Siberian Yupik, are distinct languages with phonological, morphological, and lexical differences. They demonstrate limited mutual intelligibility. Additionally, both Alutiiq and Central Yup'ik have considerable dialect diversity. The northernmost Yupik languages – Siberian Yupik and Naukan Yupik – are linguistically only slightly closer to Inuit than is Alutiiq, which is the southernmost of the Yupik languages. Although the grammatical structures of Yupik and Inuit languages are similar, they have pronounced differences phonologically. Differences of vocabulary between Inuit and any one of the Yupik languages are greater than between any two Yupik languages. Even the dialectal differences within Alutiiq and Central Alaskan Yup'ik sometimes are relatively great for locations that are relatively close geographically. Despite the relatively small population of Naukan speakers, documentation of the language dates back to 1732. While Naukan is only spoken in Siberia, the language acts as an intermediate between two Alaskan languages: Siberian Yupik Eskimo and Central Yup'ik Eskimo. The Sirenikski language is sometimes regarded as a third branch of the Eskimo language family, but other sources regard it as a group belonging to the Yupik branch. An overview of the Eskimo–Aleut languages family is given below: :Aleut ::
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 ...
:::Western-Central dialects: Atkan, Attuan, Unangan, Bering (60–80 speakers) :::Eastern dialect: Unalaskan, Pribilof (400 speakers) :Eskimo (Yup'ik, Yuit, and Inuit) :: Yupik ::: Central Alaskan Yup'ik (10,000 speakers) ::: Alutiiq or Pacific Gulf Yup'ik (400 speakers) ::: Central Siberian Yupik or Yuit (Chaplinon and St Lawrence Island, 1,400 speakers) ::: Naukan (700 speakers) ::
Inuit Inuit (; iu, ᐃᓄᐃᑦ 'the people', singular: Inuk, , dual: Inuuk, ) are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic and subarctic regions of Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwest Territorie ...
or Inupik (75,000 speakers) ::: Iñupiaq (northern Alaska, 3,500 speakers) ::: Inuvialuktun (western Canada; together with Siglitun, Natsilingmiutut, Inuinnaqtun and Uummarmiutun 765 speakers) ::: Inuktitut (eastern Canada; together with Inuktun and Inuinnaqtun, 30,000 speakers) :::
Kalaallisut Kalaallisut may refer to: * Greenlandic language * West Greenlandic West Greenlandic ( da, vestgrønlandsk), also known as Kalaallisut, is the primary language of Greenland and constitutes the Greenlandic language, spoken by the vast majority of ...
( Greenlandic (Greenland, 47,000 speakers) :::: Inuktun (Avanersuarmiutut, Thule dialect or Polar Eskimo, approximately 1,000 speakers) :::: Tunumiit oraasiat (East Greenlandic known as Tunumiisut, 3,500 speakers) :: Sirenik Eskimo language (Sirenikskiy) (extinct) American linguist
Lenore Grenoble Lenore A. Grenoble is an American linguist specializing in Slavic and Arctic Indigenous languages, currently the John Matthews Manly Distinguished Service Professor and Chair at University of Chicago. Grenoble earned her Ph.D. in Slavic Lingu ...
has explicitly deferred to this resolution and used ''Inuit–Yupik'' instead of ''Eskimo'' with regards to the language branch.


Words for ''snow''

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


Diet


Inuit

The Inuit inhabit the
Arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar regions of Earth, polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenla ...
and northern Bering Sea coasts of Alaska in the United States, and Arctic coasts of the
Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories (abbreviated ''NT'' or ''NWT''; french: Territoires du Nord-Ouest, formerly ''North-Western Territory'' and ''North-West Territories'' and namely shortened as ''Northwest Territory'') is a federal territory of Canada. ...
,
Nunavut Nunavut ( , ; iu, ᓄᓇᕗᑦ , ; ) is the largest and northernmost territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the '' Nunavut Act'' and the '' Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act'' ...
,
Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirte ...
, and
Labrador , nickname = "The Big Land" , etymology = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Canada , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 ...
in Canada, and Greenland (associated with Denmark). Until fairly recent times, there has been a remarkable homogeneity in the culture throughout this area, which traditionally relied on fish,
marine mammal Marine mammals are aquatic mammals that rely on the ocean and other marine ecosystems for their existence. They include animals such as seals, whales, manatees, sea otters and polar bears. They are an informal group, unified only by their ...
s, and land animals for food, heat, light, clothing, and tools. Their food sources primarily relied on seals, whales, whale blubber, walrus, and fish, all of which they hunted using harpoons on the ice. Clothing consisted of robes made of wolfskin and reindeer skin to acclimate to the low temperatures. They maintain a unique Inuit culture.


Greenland's Inuit

Greenlandic Inuit make up 90% of Greenland's population. They belong to three major groups: * Kalaallit of west Greenland, who speak
Kalaallisut Kalaallisut may refer to: * Greenlandic language * West Greenlandic West Greenlandic ( da, vestgrønlandsk), also known as Kalaallisut, is the primary language of Greenland and constitutes the Greenlandic language, spoken by the vast majority of ...
* Tunumiit of east Greenland, who speak
Tunumiisut Tunumiit oraasiat or East Greenlandic (East Greenlandic: , Kalaallisut: '' tunumiusut''; da, østgrønlandsk) is a variety of Greenlandic spoken in eastern Greenland by the Tunumiit. It is generally considered a divergent dialect of Greenlandi ...
* Inughuit of north Greenland, who speak Inuktun or Polar Eskimo.


Canadian Inuit

Canadian Inuit live primarily in Inuit Nunangat (lit. "lands, waters and ices of the nuitpeople"), their traditional homeland although some people live in southern parts of Canada. Inuit Nunangat ranges from the Yukon–Alaska border in the west across the Arctic to northern Labrador. The Inuvialuit live in the
Inuvialuit Settlement Region The Inuvialuit Settlement Region, abbreviated as ISR ( ikt, Inuvialuit Nunangit Sannaiqtuaq – INS; french: Région désignée des Inuvialuit – RDI), located in Canada's western Arctic, was designated in 1984 in the Inuvialuit Final Agreement ...
, the northern part of
Yukon Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as ...
and the
Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories (abbreviated ''NT'' or ''NWT''; french: Territoires du Nord-Ouest, formerly ''North-Western Territory'' and ''North-West Territories'' and namely shortened as ''Northwest Territory'') is a federal territory of Canada. ...
, which stretches to the Amundsen Gulf and the
Nunavut Nunavut ( , ; iu, ᓄᓇᕗᑦ , ; ) is the largest and northernmost territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the '' Nunavut Act'' and the '' Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act'' ...
border and includes the western Canadian Arctic Islands. The land was demarked in 1984 by the Inuvialuit Final Agreement. The majority of Inuit live in Nunavut (a territory of Canada),
Nunavik Nunavik (; ; iu, ᓄᓇᕕᒃ) comprises the northern third of the province of Quebec, part of the Nord-du-Québec region and nearly coterminous with Kativik. Covering a land area of north of the 55th parallel, it is the homeland of the ...
(the northern part of
Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirte ...
) and in
Nunatsiavut Nunatsiavut (; iu, italics=no, ᓄᓇᑦᓯᐊᕗᑦ) is an autonomous area claimed by the Inuit in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The settlement area includes territory in Labrador extending to the Quebec border. In 2002, the Labrador Inui ...
(the Inuit settlement region in
Labrador , nickname = "The Big Land" , etymology = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Canada , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 ...
).


Alaska's Iñupiat

The Iñupiat are the Inuit of Alaska's Northwest Arctic and
North Slope North Slope can refer to: * Alaska North Slope, a region encompassing the northernmost part of the U.S. state of Alaska * North Slope Borough, Alaska, a borough in Alaska whose boundaries roughly coincide with that of the region * North Slope, Taco ...
boroughs and the Bering Straits region, including the Seward Peninsula. Utqiaġvik, the northernmost city in the United States, is above the
Arctic Circle The Arctic Circle is one of the two polar circles, and the most northerly of the five major circles of latitude as shown on maps of Earth. Its southern equivalent is the Antarctic Circle. The Arctic Circle marks the southernmost latitude at ...
and in the Iñupiat region. Their language is known as Iñupiaq. Their current communities include 34 villages across ''Iñupiat Nunaŋat'' (Iñupiaq lands) including seven Alaskan villages in the
North Slope Borough The North Slope Borough is the northernmost borough in the US state of Alaska and thus, the northernmost county or equivalent of the United States as a whole. As of the 2020 census, the population was 11,031. The borough seat and largest city ...
, affiliated with the
Arctic Slope Regional Corporation Arctic Slope Regional Corporation, or ASRC, is one of 13 Alaska Native Regional Corporations created under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971 (ANCSA) in settlement of aboriginal land claims. ASRC was incorporated in Alaska on June 22, ...
; eleven villages in Northwest Arctic Borough; and sixteen villages affiliated with the
Bering Straits Regional Corporation Bering Straits Native Corporation (BSNC) was formed in 1972 as the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) regional corporation for the Bering Straits and Norton Sound region. The corporation actively pursues responsible development of resourc ...
."Inupiaq (Inupiat)—Alaska Native Cultural Profile."
''National Network of Libraries of Medicine.'' Retrieved 4 Dec 2013.


Yupik

The Yupik are indigenous or aboriginal peoples who live along the coast of western Alaska, especially on the
Yukon Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as ...
- Kuskokwim delta and along the Kuskokwim River ( Central Alaskan Yup'ik); in southern Alaska (the Alutiiq); and along the eastern coast of Chukotka in the Russian Far East and St. Lawrence Island in western Alaska (the Siberian Yupik). The Yupik economy has traditionally been strongly dominated by the harvest of
marine mammal Marine mammals are aquatic mammals that rely on the ocean and other marine ecosystems for their existence. They include animals such as seals, whales, manatees, sea otters and polar bears. They are an informal group, unified only by their ...
s, especially
seals Seals may refer to: * 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 impress an emblem, used as a means of a ...
, walrus, and
whale Whales are a widely distributed and diverse group of fully aquatic placental marine mammals. As an informal and colloquial grouping, they correspond to large members of the infraorder Cetacea, i.e. all cetaceans apart from dolphins and ...
s.


Alutiiq

The Alutiiq language is relatively close to that spoken by the Yupik in the Bethel, Alaska area. But, it is considered a distinct language with two major dialects: the Koniag dialect, spoken on the Alaska Peninsula and on Kodiak Island, and the Chugach dialect, spoken on the southern
Kenai Peninsula The Kenai Peninsula ( Dena'ina: ''Yaghenen'') is a large peninsula jutting from the coast of Southcentral Alaska. The name Kenai (, ) is derived from the word "Kenaitze" or "Kenaitze Indian Tribe", the name of the Native Athabascan Alaskan tribe ...
and in Prince William Sound. Residents of Nanwalek, located on southern part of the Kenai Peninsula near Seldovia, speak what they call Sugpiaq. They are able to understand those who speak Yupik in Bethel. With a population of approximately 3,000, and the number of speakers in the hundreds, Alutiiq communities are working to revitalize their language.


Central Alaskan Yup'ik

''Yup'ik'', with an apostrophe, denotes the speakers of the Central Alaskan Yup'ik language, who live in western Alaska and southwestern Alaska from southern Norton Sound to the north side of Bristol Bay, on the Yukon–Kuskokwim Delta, and on Nelson Island. The use of the apostrophe in the name ''Yup'ik'' is a written convention to denote the long pronunciation of the ''p'' sound; but it is spoken the same in other Yupik languages. Of all the Alaska Native languages, Central Alaskan Yup'ik has the most speakers, with about 10,000 of a total Yup'ik population of 21,000 still speaking the language. The five dialects of Central Alaskan Yup'ik include General Central Yup'ik, and the Egegik, Norton Sound, Hooper Bay-Chevak, and Nunivak dialects. In the latter two dialects, both the language and the people are called ''Cup'ik''.


Siberian Yupik

Siberian Yupik reside along the Bering Sea coast of the Chukchi Peninsula in Siberia in the Russian Far East and in the villages of
Gambell Gambell ( ess, Sivuqaq, russian: Гамбелл) is a city in the Nome Census Area of the U.S. state of Alaska. Located on St. Lawrence Island, it had a population of 640 at the 2020 census, down slightly from 649 in 2000. History ''S ...
and
Savoonga Savoonga is a city in Nome Census Area, Alaska. It is located on St. Lawrence Island in the Bering Sea. As of the 2020 census, Savoonga's population was 835, up from 671 in 2010. Savoonga was incorporated in 1969. In 1971, it became joint owner ...
on St. Lawrence Island in Alaska. The Central Siberian Yupik spoken on the Chukchi Peninsula and on St. Lawrence Island is nearly identical. About 1,050 of a total Alaska population of 1,100 Siberian Yupik people in Alaska speak the language. It is the first language of the home for most St. Lawrence Island children. In Siberia, about 300 of a total of 900 Siberian Yupik people still learn and study the language, though it is no longer learned as a first language by children.


Naukan

About 70 of 400 Naukan people still speak Naukanski. The Naukan originate on the Chukot Peninsula in Chukotka Autonomous Okrug in Siberia. Despite the relatively small population of Naukan speakers, documentation of the language dates back to 1732. While Naukan is only spoken in Siberia, the language acts as an intermediate between two Alaskan languages: Siberian Yupik Eskimo and Central Yup'ik Eskimo.


Sirenik Eskimos

Some speakers of Siberian Yupik languages used to speak an Eskimo variant in the past, before they underwent a
language shift Language shift, also known as language transfer or language replacement or language assimilation, is the process whereby a speech community shifts to a different language, usually over an extended period of time. Often, languages that are percei ...
. These former speakers of Sirenik Eskimo language inhabited the settlements of
Sireniki Sireniki (russian: Сиреники; Yupik: Сиӷинык, literally ''Mountain of Horns''; Chukchi: , ''Vutèèn''; Sirenik: ''Sigheneg'') is a village ('' selo'') in Providensky District of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, in the Far Eastern Fede ...
, Imtuk, and some small villages stretching to the west from Sireniki along south-eastern coasts of Chukchi Peninsula.Vakhtin 1998
162
They lived in neighborhoods with Siberian Yupik and Chukchi peoples. As early as in 1895, Imtuk was a settlement with a mixed population of Sirenik Eskimos and Ungazigmit (the latter belonging to Siberian Yupik). Sirenik Eskimo culture has been influenced by that of Chukchi, and the language shows Chukchi language influences.Menovshchikov 1990
70
Folktale motifs also show the influence of Chuckchi culture.Menovshchikov 1964: 132 The above peculiarities of this (already
extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...
) Eskimo language amounted to mutual unintelligibility even with its nearest language relatives: in the past, Sirenik Eskimos had to use the unrelated Chukchi language as a lingua franca for communicating with Siberian Yupik. Many words are formed from entirely different
root In vascular plants, the roots are the organs of a plant that are modified to provide anchorage for the plant and take in water and nutrients into the plant body, which allows plants to grow taller and faster. They are most often below the su ...
s from in Siberian Yupik,Menovshchikov 1964: 42 but even the grammar has several peculiarities distinct not only among Eskimo languages, but even compared to Aleut. For example, dual number is not known in Sirenik Eskimo, while most
Eskimo–Aleut languages The Eskaleut (), Eskimo–Aleut or Inuit–Yupik–Unangan languages are a language family native to the northern portions of the North American continent and a small part of northeastern Asia. Languages in the family are indigenous to parts of w ...
have dual,Menovshchikov 1964: 38 including its neighboring Siberian Yupikax relatives.Menovshchikov 1964: 81 Little is known about the origin of this diversity. The peculiarities of this language may be the result of a supposed long isolation from other Eskimo groups,Menovshchikov 1964: 9 and being in contact only with speakers of unrelated languages for many centuries. The influence of the Chukchi language is clear. Because of all these factors, the classification of Sireniki Eskimo language is not settled yet:Vakhtin 1998
161
Sireniki language is sometimes regarded as a third branch of Eskimo (at least, its possibility is mentioned).Linguist List's description abou
Nikolai Vakhtin
's book
''The Old Sirinek Language: Texts, Lexicon, Grammatical Notes''
. The author's untransliterated (original) name is

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


See also

* Alaska Native religion * Blond Eskimos * Disc number * Eskimo archery *
Eskimo kinship Eskimo kinship or Inuit kinship is a category of kinship used to define family organization in anthropology. Identified by Lewis Henry Morgan in his 1871 work ''Systems of Consanguinity and Affinity of the Human Family'', the Eskimo system was on ...
*
Eskimo kissing An Eskimo kiss, nose kiss, or nose rub, is the act of pressing the tip of one's nose against another's nose. The original term in Inuit languages for the action of rubbing one's nose against another's cheek is ''kunik''. The ''kunik'' version of t ...
* Eskimo yo-yo * Eskimology * Inuit religion * Kudlik * Maupuk * '' Nanook of the North'', 1922 documentary * Saqqaq culture


Citations


General and cited sources

* * * Nuttall, Mark
''Encyclopedia of the Arctic.''
New York: Routledge, 2005. . * *


Cyrillic

*


Further reading



* ttp://www.en.copian.ca/library/research/ccl/inuit_learning/inuit_learning.pdf Canadian Council on Learning, State of Inuit Learning in Canada
Contemporary Food Sharing: A Case Study from Akulivik, PQ. Canada





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

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

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

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


External links


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