The Inuit “People” PDF

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overview of Inuit culture...

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The Inuit “People” Life on Ice Location - Arctic Canada, Northern Alaska, and Greenland People Groups - Canada followed by Greenland (65,000), Alaska(50,000), and Russia(16,000), where less than 2,000 inuit remain. How did they get there - Arrived - 5,000 years ago - North west Alaska - Hunted by the seacoast - Most secure hunters - ~1000 years ago moved east towards Canada - Replaced the Tunit people - Sod houses and hunting techniques, use of sled dogs. The Inuit Paradox - Relatively healthy and long lifespan even though restricted diet - Necessary nutrients from the diet of local wildfire Vikings - 1250 A.D. Vikings encounter the Thule in Greenland - Disappeared around 1400 - Climate getting colder - Hard to compete with Inuit “Little Ice Age” - 1500 caused the move southward - More nomadic - Lack of resources - No whaling - Sod houses abandoned for igloos Looking for the Northwest Passage - Contacts with Europeans - 1570 - 1850 - Europeans did not view the Inuit as a threat - Traded goods such as iron Rise of Commercial Whaling Industry - North Atlantic - New England - Britain - Hired Inuit as hunters and seamstresses - Huge influx of modern goods into inuit societies - Pacific Whalers

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San Francisco established on Herschel Island - Stayed winters and became part of Inuit life - Disease - Influenza - Dysentery - Measles - Western Canadian Arctic Inuit (called Inuvialuit) fell from an estimated 2000 to 2500 people in1850, to 150 people in 1910. - East Sadlirmiut disappeared entirely Change in Inuit life - 1906 - whale stock drops - Fur trade explodes - Missionaries come - Subjects of Canadian state - Loss of inuit lifestyle - Increased poverty “Micro-urban” Communities - After WWI - Interest in Inuit welfare - Permanent communities set up - More dependent on welfare Nunavut “Our land” - 1971, with the founding of the iniut Brotherhood, now called Inuit Tapirisat of Canada - Territory of Nunavut was proclaimed on April 1st, 1999. Flag of Nunavut, Canada

The Inuvialuit - Western Northwest territories - In 1984, signed the Inuvialuit, Religious Beliefs - Animism - Shamans or ‘Angakoks’ - Charms and Dances as a means to communicate with the spirit world. - Wore carved masks-mostly representing animals - while performing their rituals - Bad weather, illnesses, and a bad hunt were all blames on displeased spirits.

- Honor for the animal they ate, for fear the spirit would not return to provide more food. - One of the most important spirits in Inuit culture was Sedna, the Goddess of the Sea. Music and Art - Pre-historic Period - Carvings were produced in large part, either for use in shamanic rituals for the purpose of creating amulets - Historic - Produced artifacts, intentionally created for trade with outsiders - More delicate - By the middle of the 1800s, most of the art created by the Inuit was aimed at the tourist market. - The Contemporary period of Inuit Art began in 1949, - Soapstone replaced ivory to meet demands How to keep up with the global economy - Inuit of Canada - Own much or arctic land - Own governance - Not a lot of jobs - Few have education of skills to enter the global economy - Looking to a solution through resources such as gas and minerals Modern Life - Still practice in native ways - Hunting - Clothing - Environmental groups placing limits on their hunt - UNESCO’s World Heritage List is considering adding the protections for caribou hunting. - Women are starting to lose their knowledge of traditional skills such as sewing animal skins. Since they take modern jobs and allow men to stick to traditional jobs. Climate Change - Inuit hunters say the weather is increasingly unpredictable - What was once familiar territory has become unstable, making navigating and travel dangerous - Even some experienced hunters have disappeared through the ice...