Our Northerly Neighbors the Inuit essays

Our Northerly Neighbors the Inuit essays Sub-zero temperatures; ghastly wind gusts; seemingly endless snowfall-not exactly the kind of place Id like to live. I suppose that is what separates me from our northerly neighbors the Inuit. The extremeness of the area in which they thrive is exactly what intrigued me about the Inuit culture, and is exactly what inspired me to research their way of life. I am going to walk you through a brief discussion of their patterns of settlement; subsistence; clothing and transportation; social organization; and lastly, their religious belief systems. When all is said and done, you will better understand the culture of a people who live (partially) on the same continent as us. To better understand the culture of the Eskimo, it is important to understand how far reaching their inhabitation is. The Eskimo call four countries home: Greenland, Russia, Canada, and the United States. Their population is highly concentrated in the regions just south of the Arctic Circle. There are more than 90,000 Eskimo flourishing in this aforementioned area. The word Eskimo was coined by the Algonquin Indians, and translates as, eaters of raw meat. The term they use to refer to themselves is Inuit, meaning the real people. The two dialectical groups are the Inupik speakers (Greenland to western Alaska) and the Yupik speakers (southwestern Alaska and Siberia). Regardless of what dialect they speak, all Inuit inhabit one of the most inclement regions of the world. Their successful survival in such an area is largely due to their material innovations. The Inuit salvage just about every part of the animals they hunt. Clothing sewn from skins, the toggle harpoon made up of ivory, the igloo, and so much more can be attributed to the Inuit survival. Courage and hardihood are instilled in the young very early on, as well as the importance of hunting. Settlement patterns varied according to the location of particular gr...