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Inuit and Yupik: History and Terminology

This document discusses the term "Eskimo" and the peoples it refers to. It notes that "Eskimo" is an English term that generally refers to the Inuit of Canada/Greenland and the Yupik of eastern Siberia/Alaska. While it derives from Algonquin terms, the Inuit and Yupik do not typically use it to refer to themselves. In Canada and Greenland, "Eskimo" is seen as pejorative and has been replaced by "Inuit," though "Eskimo" is still used in Alaska where terms like "Alaska Native" are preferred. The document also provides a brief history of indigenous peoples in the northern circumpolar region.

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66 views2 pages

Inuit and Yupik: History and Terminology

This document discusses the term "Eskimo" and the peoples it refers to. It notes that "Eskimo" is an English term that generally refers to the Inuit of Canada/Greenland and the Yupik of eastern Siberia/Alaska. While it derives from Algonquin terms, the Inuit and Yupik do not typically use it to refer to themselves. In Canada and Greenland, "Eskimo" is seen as pejorative and has been replaced by "Inuit," though "Eskimo" is still used in Alaska where terms like "Alaska Native" are preferred. The document also provides a brief history of indigenous peoples in the northern circumpolar region.

Uploaded by

abdul sorathiya
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Eskimo (/ˈɛskɪmoʊ/) is an English term for the indigenous peoples who have traditionally

inhabited the northern circumpolar region from eastern Siberia (Russia) to across Alaska (of the
United States), Canada, and Greenland.[1]
The two main peoples known as "Eskimo" are: (1) the Alaskan Iñupiat peoples, Greenlandic
Inuit, and the mass-grouping Inuit peoples of Canada, and (2) the Yupik of eastern Siberia and
Alaska. The Yupik comprise speakers of four distinct Yupik languages: one used in the Russian
Far East and the others among people of Western Alaska, Southcentral Alaska and along
the Gulf of Alaska coast. A third northern group, the Aleut, is closely related to these two. They
share a relatively recent common ancestor, and a language group (Eskimo-Aleut).
The word "Eskimo" derives from phrases that Algonquin tribes used for their northern neighbors.
The Inuit and Yupik peoples generally do not use it to refer to themselves, and the governments
in Canada and Greenland have ceased using it in official documents
n its linguistic origins,[3] the word Eskimo comes from Innu-aimun (Montagnais) 'ayas̆kimew'
meaning "a person who laces a snowshoe" and is related to "husky", so does not originally have
a pejorative meaning.[4]
In Canada and Greenland, the term "Eskimo" is predominately seen as pejorative and has been
widely replaced by the term "Inuit" or terms specific to a particular group or community.[2][5][6] This
has resulted in a trend whereby some Canadians and Americans believe that they should not
use the word "Eskimo" and use the Canadian word "Inuit" instead, even for Yupik
speakers.[7] In section 25[8] of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and section 35[9] of
the Canadian Constitution Act of 1982, recognized the Inuit as a distinctive group of Aboriginal
peoples in Canada.
Under U.S. and Alaskan law (as well as the linguistic and cultural traditions of Alaska), "Alaska
Native" refers to all indigenous peoples of Alaska.[10] This includes not only the Iñupiat and the
Yupik, but also groups such as the Aleut, who share a recent ancestor, as well as the largely
unrelated[11] indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast and the Alaskan Athabaskans. As
a result, the term Eskimo is still in use in Alaska.[1] Alternative terms, such as Inuit-Yupik, have
been proposed,[12] but none has gained widespread acceptance.

History[edit]

Inuit building an igloo, by George Francis Lyon, 1824

Several earlier indigenous peoples existed in the region. The earliest positively identified Paleo-
Eskimo cultures (Early Paleo-Eskimo) date to 5,000 years ago. They 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. Similar artifacts have been
found in Siberia that date to perhaps 18,000 years ago.
The Yupik languages and cultures in Alaska evolved in place (and migrated back to Siberia),
beginning with the original pre-Dorsetindigenous culture developed in Alaska. Approximately
4000 years ago, the Unangan culture of the Aleut became distinct. It is not generally considered
an Eskimo culture.
Approximately 1,500–2,000 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 developed in northwestern Alaska and very quickly spread over the
entire area occupied by Eskimo people, though it was not necessarily adopted by all of them.

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