Eskimos

​ __Eskimos__  by Rachel Kennerly, Taylor Fallin, & Liana Farnese ​

Eskimo means eaters of raw meat. They were given this name by the Algonquian's as an insult. Eskimos now try to call themselves Inuit, meaning people in their own language. ​Their language is Eskimaleut and it varies from different groups. Eskimos aren't considered Native Americans because they are usually shorter, broader, lighter skinned, and rounder faces. Eskimos look more like Asians than Native Americans. They came from Siberia to North America. Eskimos live where there is little to no vegetation. The winters are long and cold with only a few hours of daylight. The summers are short and the ground never completely thaws.

Food __Sea Animals__ They use sea mammals for everything. They provided a reliable food source as well as material for their clothing. They also used it for bags, tools, and oil for lighting and cooking. The seal is the most important sea animal in the Eskimo economy. In the summer, they hunted them with harpoons in kayaks or they snuck up on them by crawling on their bellies over ice floes. In the winter, they used dog sled's pulled by huskies to find their breathing holes. Along with seals they also hunted sea lions and walruses. Some even hunted whales. When hunting whales they used harpoons attached to inflated buoys to wear the whales down before they closed in with spears for the kill. Besides spears they also use harpoons, leisters (spear with three bone prongs), hooks & lines, and lures. 

__Land Animals__ Caribou is the most commonly hunted land animal. They also hunt polar bears, musk oxen, mountain sheep, wolves, wolverines, foxes, hares, marmots, squirrels, and wildfowl. To catch and kill the animals they use spears, bows & arrows, bolas (weighted ropes), snares, and traps . ​

Transportation They use kayaks and umiak over water. On land they use komatik (sled) pulled by husky dogs, snow-shoes, crampons (spikes attached to their boots), and test staffs (to judge the thickness and strength of the ice). They did not use anything like skis.

Houses Eskimos lived in igloos, hide tents, or huts.

To build an igloo they needed to find an area with the same consistency. Then they would draw a circle in the snow 9’-15’ wide. Next they would cut large 24”x 20” blocks of ice 4” thick and make each layer of blocks spiral upward and lean in slightly. At the top they would place a single block of ice. Finally they would cover the whole outside in snow. As a bed they used a platform of ice with fur on top. Igloos were warm. They would even become hot when oil was burned.

In the summer, central Eskimos lived in driftwood pole tents covered with caribou-hide. Other Eskimoes made permanent houses from stones & sod or logs & sod. Sometimes they used whale ribs used in construction and sea mammals intestines stretched over widows.

Clothing

Eskimos basically wear parkas, pants, mittens, stockings, and boots. They made their summer clothes out of sealskin because it is water-resistant. In the winter they used caribou skin it keeps them warm. Other animal skins they use are hides of dog, bird, squirrel, marmot, fox, wolf, wolverine, and polar bear. Sometimes they use sea mammal intestines sewn together instead of hides. Parkas fit snuggly around the waist, neck, and wrists. The have the fur side facing inward (toward the body). They wear four layers of caribou fur on their feet. They insulated their mukluks (boots) and mittens with moss. The clothing had designs and borders of different styles. Women wore jewelry. Also tattoos were common.

Recreation They loved playing games. A common game was kickball. It was played with leather ball stuffed with caribou hair. Men, women, and children all played games. They also did gymnastics. One indoor game that was commonly played was nugluktag (poking sticks through a twirling spool that dangled from above). They also told stories usually using story knives to draw the scenes in the snow.

​Religion They carved objects out of many types of materials for their religious rituals. At ceremonial dances men wore face masks and women wore finger masks. The masks represented spirits of animals and forces in nature. The carvings and ceremonies were directed by Eskimo shamans.



Social Structure Their extended family is their most important unit. Villages were loosely knit without a head person and stayed as long as food supply allowed. Eskimos had special kinds of partnerships with non-family members. Men had sharing partners who they shared food with. Men also had song partners who they preformed religious rituals with. Sometimes their friendship with their song partners was so great that they even shared wives. Men and women had name partners who were people of the same name whom they exchanged gifts. Eskimos were usually peaceful people although they would attack intensely if another Eskimo band attacked but this was rare. More commonly they would fight with Indian tribes. They used rawhide stitched together as their armour. Despite their forgiving nature, an act of murder would result in feuds lasting generations.

Sources __Print__ -Waldman, Carl. "Eskimo (Inuit)." //Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes//. 1988. 81-85. Print. -Lassieur, Allison. //The Inuit//. N.p.: n.p., 2000. Print. -Taliaferro, John. //In a Far Country//. N.p.: n.p., 2006. Print. -Newman, Shirlee P. //The Inuits//. N.p.: Shirlee P. Newman, 1993. Print. -Younkin, Paula. //Indians of the Arctic and Subarctic//. New York: Benford Books, Inc., 1992. Print. __Web__ -[] -[] -[] -[] -[] -[] -[] -[]