The Inuit People: Discovering the People of the North.
Continuing on The Ancestors Fire journey to discover cultures, today's blog is going to look at a culture group that I am learning about.
I hope that this can be a platform for all of us to learn about each other and embrace our differences and celebrate our uniqueness together. Today we are going to get a general overview of the Inuit People. I hope in future blogs to dig deeper into the history and culture. Hopefully we can get some people to share stories handed down from their ancestors.
The Inuit People are a group of culturally and linguistically unique indigenous peoples of the Arctic and subarctic regions. They are located in Greenland, Arctic Canada, Northern and Southwestern Alaska, and part of Chukotka in the far east region of Russia.
The Inuit occupy some of the most extreme regions in the northernmost areas of the world. The Inuit population is estimated to be more than 180,000.
Inuit's are distinguishable from neighboring indigenous groups. Inuit People have the B blood type which seems to be absent from other indigenous American groups. It is believed that part of the Inuit population differs in origin from other Indigenous American peoples.
Traditional Inuit life adapted to extremely cold conditions with snow and ice. Vegetation and trees were pretty much nonexistent. Food sources were primarily seals, walruses, whales, caribou and many types of fish. The major means of transport was the dog sled.
Winter homes were snow block houses or igloos, and in the Sumner the Inuit People lived tents made from animal skin.
The Inuits were animistic and lived in nuclear family units.
Many people have been programmed to mistakenly call the Inuit People Eskimos. That term has become offensive to the Inuit People. The word is thought to have originated from the Mi'Kmaq people of Eastern Canada and in their language means "eaters of raw flesh. The Inuit would never use this term until it was introduced by what they call Southerners. Once the term became frequently used by Europeans, it negatively denoted the eating of raw flesh. It then assumed a negative cultural connotation. The word Inuit translates to human beings.
Many challenges face the Inuit People today. Just like the Cherokee and Gaelic Highlanders, their language is becoming extinct. The growth of population has caused urbanization and shrinking communities. They face many social and economic inequities compared to others. Colonialism and climate change are also a challenge for them as well.
Just like many other cultures the Inuit People are treated differently by some because they are not the same as them. We need to unite and support each other against this oppression and discrimination.
I have written about so many different cultures this is happening too. Now we can add another, The Inuit People.
Journey with me to discover more about this culture. Journey with me to help learn and educate others about this culture. Let's embrace the uniqueness of the people of the North.
Blessings!
By Michael Walters
The Ancestor's Fire
Writing the voices of the unheard
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