Kamchadals

The Kamchadals (Russian: камчадалы, IPA:) are an ethnic group inhabiting Kamchatka, Russia. The name 'Kamchadal' was originally applied to the descendants of the local Siberians and aboriginal peoples (the Itelmens, Ainu, Koryaks, and Chuvans) who assimilated with the Russians. These descendants of the Russian settlers who mixed with the indigenous peoples in the 18th and 19th centuries are called Kamchadals today. The Kamchadals speak Russian with a touch of local dialects of the aboriginal languages of Kamchatka. The Kamchadals engage in fur trading, fishing, market gardening, and dairy farming, and the majority are of the Russian Orthodox faith. Today, the name 'Kamchadal' may be applied to people who speak, or whose ancestors spoke, one of the Kamchadal languages. This article is about the Kamchadals in the first sense; for the second sense, see Itelmens.