'Eskimos' or 'esquimaux' are aboriginal
people who inhabit the
circumpolar region, excluding
Scandinavia and most of
Russia, but including the easternmost portions of
Siberia. The two main groups of Eskimos are the
Inuit of northern
Alaska,
Canada and
Greenland, and the
Yupik, comprising speakers of four distinct
Yupik languages and originating in western Alaska, in southcentral Alaska along the
Gulf of Alaska coast, and in the Russian Far East.
The term ''Eskimo'' has fallen out of favour in Canada and Greenland, where it is considered
pejorative (see below) and the term ''Inuit'' has become more common. However, ''Eskimo'' is still considered acceptable among
Alaska Natives of Yupik and Inupiaq (Inuit) heritage, and is preferred over ''Inuit'' as a collective reference. To date, no replacement term for ''Eskimo'' inclusive of all Inuit and Yupik people has achieved acceptance across the geographical area inhabited by the Inuit and Yupik peoples.
The Inuit and Yupik peoples are related to the
Aleuts from the
Aleutian Islands in Alaska. The Eskimo languages, together with the
Aleut language, comprise the
Eskimo-Aleut language group.
Inuit languages comprise a
dialect continuum, or dialect chain, that stretches from
Unalaska and
Norton Sound in Alaska, across northern Alaska and Canada, and east all the way to Greenland. 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.
[1] The four Yupik languages, including
Aluutiq (Sugpiaq),
Central Alaskan Yup'ik,
Naukan (Naukanski), and
Siberian Yupik are distinct languages with limited mutual intelligibility. While grammatical structures of Yupik and Inuit languages are similar, they have pronounced differences phonologically, and differences of vocabulary between Inuit and any of one of the Yupik languages is greater than between any two Yupik languages.
The
Sireniki 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.
"Eskimo" and alternative terms
The term ''Eskimo'' is broadly inclusive of the two major groups, the
Inuit — including the
Kalaallit (Greenlanders) of Greenland, Inuit and
Inuvialuit of Canada, and
Inupiat of northern Alaska — and the
Yupik peoples — the
Naukan of Siberia, the
Siberian Yupik of
Siberia in Russia and
St. Lawrence Island in Alaska, the
Yup'ik of Alaska, and the
Alutiiq (Sug'piak or Pacific Eskimo) of southcentral Alaska.
In Canada and Greenland, ''Eskimo'' is widely considered pejorative and offensive, and has been replaced overall by ''Inuit''. The preferred term in Canada's Central Arctic is ''Inuinnait'', and in the eastern Canadian Arctic ''Inuit''. The language is often called ''Inuktitut'', though other local designations are also used. The Inuit of Greenland refer to themselves as ''Greenlanders'' or, in their own language, ''Kalaallit'', and to their language as ''Greenlandic'' or ''Kalaallisut''.
[2]
Because of the linguistic, ethnic, and cultural differences between Yupik and Inuit languages and peoples, there is still uncertainty as to what term encompassing all Yupik and Inuit people will be acceptable to all. There has been some movement to use ''Inuit'' as a term encompassing all peoples formerly described as ''Eskimo'', Inuit and Yupik alike. The
Inuit Circumpolar Conference, representing a circumpolar population of 150,000 Inuit and Yupik people of Greenland, Canada, Alaska, and Siberia, defines ''Inuit'' in its charter as including "the Inupiat, Yupik (Alaska), Inuit, Inuvialuit (Canada), Kalaallit (Greenland) and Yupik (Russia)."
[3] Strictly speaking, however, ''Inuit'' refers only to the Inupiat of northern Alaska, the Inuit of Canada, and the Kalaallit of Greenland, but not to the Yupik peoples or languages of Alaska and Siberia. This is because the
Yupik languages are linguistically distinct from the Inupiaq and other Inuit languages, and the peoples are ethnically and culturally distinct as well. The word ''Inuit'' does not occur in the Yupik languages of Alaska and
Siberia.
Thus, in
Alaska, ''Eskimo'' continues to be acceptable, and is the preferred term when speaking collectively of all Inupiaq and Yupik people, or of all Inuit and Yupik people of the world.
Alaskans also use the term ''
Alaska Natives'', though this term is also inclusive of
Aleut and
Indians people of Alaska, and is of course exclusive of Inuit or Yupik people originating outside the state. The term has important legal usage in Alaska and the rest of the
United States as a result of the
Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971.
The term "Eskimo" is also used in some linguistic or ethnographic works to denote the larger branch of Eskimo-Aleut languages, the smaller branch being Aleut. In this usage, Inuit (together with Yupik, and possibly also Sireniki), are sub-branches of the Eskimo language family (refer to
Eskimo-Aleut languages for details).
Inuit
An Inuit family
The Inuit inhabit the
Arctic and
Bering Sea coasts of
Siberia and
Alaska and Arctic coasts of the
Northwest Territories,
Nunavut,
Quebec,
Labrador, and
Greenland. Until fairly recent times, there has been a remarkable homogeneity in the culture throughout this area, which traditionally relied on fish, sea mammals, and land animals for food, heat, light, clothing, tools, and shelter.
Canada's Inuit
Canadian Inuit live primarily in
Nunavut (a territory of Canada),
Nunavik (the northern part of
Quebec) and in
Nunatsiavut (the Inuit settlement region in
Labrador).
Inupiat
The Inupiat or Inupiaq people are the
Inuit people of Alaska's
Northwest Arctic and
North Slope boroughs and the
Bering Straits region, including the
Seward Peninsula.
Barrow, the northernmost city in the United States, is in the Inupiaq region. Their language is known as
Inupiaq.
Inuvialuit
Main articles: Inuvialuit
The Inuvialuit live in the western
Canadian Arctic region. They are descendants of the
Thule people, of which other descendants inhabit
Russia and parts of
Scandinavia. Their homeland - the
Inuvialuit Settlement Region - covers the
Arctic Ocean coastline area from the
Alaskan border east to
Amundsen Gulf and includes the western
Canadian Arctic Islands. The land was demarked in 1984 by the
Inuvialuit Final Agreement.
Kalaallit
Main articles: Kalaallit
The Kalaallit live in
Greenland, which is called Kalaallit Nunaat in
Kalaallisut.
Yupik
The Yupik are
indigenous or aboriginal peoples who live along the coast of western
Alaska, especially on the
Yukon-
Kuskokwim delta and along the Kuskokwim River (
Central Alaskan Yup'ik), in southern Alaska (the
Alutiiq) and in the
Russian Far East and
St. Lawrence Island in western Alaska (the
Siberian Yupik).
Alutiiq
The Alutiiq also called ''Pacific Yupik'' or ''Sugpiaq'', are a southern, coastal branch of
Yupik. They are not to be confused with the
Aleuts, who live further to the southwest, including along the
Aleutian Islands. They traditionally lived a coastal lifestyle, subsisting primarily on ocean resources such as
salmon,
halibut, and
whale, as well as rich land resources such as berries and land mammals. Alutiiq people today live in coastal fishing communities, where they work in all aspects of the modern economy, while also maintaining the cultural value of subsistence. The
Alutiiq language is relatively close to that spoken by the
Yupik in the
Bethel, Alaska area, but 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, is spoken on the southern
Kenai Peninsula and in
Prince William Sound. Residents of
Nanwalek, located on southern part of the Kenai Peninsula near
Seldovia, speak what they call Sugpiaq and are able to understand those who speak Yupik in Bethel. With a population of approximately 3,000, and the number of speakers in the mere hundreds, Alutiiq communities are currently in the process of revitalizing 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'' denotes a longer pronunciation of the ''p'' sound than found in Siberian Yupik. Of all the , 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. There are five dialects of Central Alaskan Yup'ik, including General Central Yup'ik and the Egegik, Norton Sound, Hooper Bay-Chevak, Nunivak, dialects. In the latter two dialects, both the language and the people are called ''Cup'ik''.
[4]
Siberian Yupik (Yuit)
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 and
Savoonga on
St. Lawrence Island in Alaska.
[5] 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 still speak the language, and it is still 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 the language, though it is no longer learned as a first language by children.
Naukan
About 70 of 400 Naukan people still speak the Naukanski. The Naukan originate on the Chukot Peninsula in
Chukotka Autonomous Okrug in
Siberia.
Languages
Inuit languages comprise a
dialect continuum, or dialect chain, that stretches from
Unalaska and
Norton Sound in Alaska, across northern Alaska and Canada, and east all the way to Greenland. Changes from western (Inupiaq) 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 ''kullu''), 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.
[1]
The four Yupik languages, including
Alutiiq (Sugpiaq),
Central Alaskan Yup'ik,
Naukan (Naukanski), and
Siberian Yupik are distinct languages with phonological, morphological, and lexical differences, and demonstrating limited mutual intelligibility. Additionally, both Alutiiq Central Yup'ik have considerable dialect diversity. The northernmost Yupik languages — Siberian Yupik and Naukanski 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, and differences of vocabulary between Inuit and any of one of the Yupik languages is greater than between any two Yupik languages.
The
Sireniki 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
:::Western-Central dialects: Atkan, Attuan, Unangan, Bering (60-80 speakers)
:::Eastern dialect: Unalaskan, Pribilof (400 speakers)
:'Eskimo' (Yup'ik, Yuit, and Inuit)
::
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, 1400 speakers)
::
Naukan (70 speakers)
::
Inuit or Inupik (75,000 speakers)
:::
Iñupiaq (northern Alaska, 3,500 speakers)
:::
Inuvialuktun or Inuktun (western Canada; 765 speakers)
:::
Inuktitut (eastern Canada; together with Inuktun and
Inuinnaqtun, 30,000 speakers)
:::
Kalaallisut (Greenland, 47,000 speakers)
:'
Sirenik' (extinct)
Trivia
★ On
Alaska Airlines aircraft, an Eskimo is prominently displayed on the tail.
See also
★
Aleut
★
Athabaskan
★
Chukchi
★
Igloo
★
Eskimo kinship
★
Shamanism among Eskimo peoples
★
Eskimo words for snow
★
Inuit mythology
★
Sedna (mythology)
References
1. Kaplan, Lawrence. (2001-12-10). "Comparative Yupik and Inuit". Alaska Native Language Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks. Retrieved on 2007-04-06.
2. Kaplan, Lawrence. (2002). "Inuit or Eskimo: Which names to use?". Alaska Native Language Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks. Retrieved on 2007-04-06.
3. Inuit Circumpolar Conference. (2006). "Charter." Inuit Circumpolar Conference (Canada). Retrieved on 2007-04-06.
4. Alaska Native Language Center. (2001-12-07). "Central Alaskan Yup'ik." Alaska Native Language Center, University of Alaska Anchorage. Retrieved on 2007-04-06.
5. Alaska Native Language Center. (2001-12-07). "Siberian Yupik." Alaska Native Language Center, University of Alaska Anchorage. Retrieved on 2007-04-06.
6. Kaplan, Lawrence. (2001-12-10). "Comparative Yupik and Inuit". Alaska Native Language Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks. Retrieved on 2007-04-06.
External links
★
The Asiatic (Siberian) Eskimos
★
Eskimo Music
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