ARCTIC PEOPLES By: Alexandra, Sam, and Kendra

MAP

POPULATIONS

•8 main groups in Canada: Baffin Island, Caribou, Copper, Iglulik, Inuvialuit, Labrador, Netsilik, & Ungava

•500-1000 members per community

•These groups get together during the winter

•2-5 females per group in the winter months

•Families usually consisted of 2 parents, grandparents, children, a midwife, and a child’s ritual sponsor

LANGUAGES

•In the Eskimo-Aleut language family

•The Inuit traditionally spoke Inuktitut and many other different dialects

•There was no written language

WORK

•Hunting (Hunting seals was a tradition)

•Fishing

•Art forms such as soapstone carving

•Women usually were in charge of raising the kids and taking care of the home while the men hunted, etc.

ECONOMY

•Most Inuit groups based their economy on sea mammal hunting, particularly seals

•Many economic and social activities involved inter-household co-operation, and widespread sharing was, and still is, a fundamental characteristic of Inuit social life.

•During the warmer months they hunted caribou or fished in coastal locations.

•Relied on the decided division of responsibilities among all household members

POLITICAL STRUCTURE

•The most important social and political unit was the regional band, several of which together constituted the larger groups within which marriages constituted the larger groups within which marriages occurred & all members spoke a similar dialect

•Regional bands would customarily congregate for short periods during the winter months, when people would gather in sealing or hunting camps

•No real leader or Chief

DIET

•Sea mammals such as walrus, whales, and seals

•Caribou

•Fish

•Birds

•Hares and Squirrels

•Polar bears

•Wild berries (in the summer months)

INVENTIONS & CONTRIBUTIONS• Paleo-Eskimos were expert producers of small chipped stone projectile points

•Introduced the bow and arrow to the America’s

•Dorset people chipped stone to their desired shape unlike the Paleo-Eskimos

•Igloos and durable shelters that lasted harsh climates

•Soapstone lamps that were used to burn oil from sea mammals

•Sled shoes

•Kayak

IMPORTANT PEOPLE/EVENTS/PLACES•Shamans performed healing rituals in ceremonial houses called Kashims

•A “Bladder Dance” ceremony was held after a large hunt

•Famous tribes: Alaska Aleut and the Eskimos/ Inuit, Tlingit

•Throat singing performed by two women

THE END

WORKS CITED

Freeman, Milton. "Aboriginal People: Arctic ." The Canadian Encyclopedia. N.p., 15 Mar. 2007. Web. 06 Feb. 2015. <http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/aboriginal-people-arctic/>.

"The Arctic People- Family / Social Structure / Leadership." The Arctic People - Family / Social Structure / Leadership. N.p, n.d. Web. 06. Feb. 2015. <http://www.firstpeoplesofcanada.com/fp_grounds/fp_inuit6.html>

Linderman, Lenore. "The Legend of Sedna the Sea Goddess." Polar Life. 1 Jan. 1999. Web. 6 Feb. 2015.

“Arctic Indians.” June 2014.09. Feb. 2015. http://www.warpaths2peacepipes.com/native-american-indians/arctic-indians.htm.

Brune, Nick. Defining Canada: History, Identity, and Culture. Toronto: McGraw-Hill Ryerson, 2003. 56-60. Print.

MacLean, Hope. Indians, Inuit, and Metis of Canada. Toronto, Ont.: Gage Pub., 1982. Print.