Inuit

Introduction - (OSL-Baylee)
The Inuit lived near the arctic. Inuit’s homeland stretches from the northeastern tip of Russia across Alaska and northern Canada to Greenland. Intuits, also known as Eskimos lived farther north than the other people did. Did you know that the name Eskimo came from an American Indian meaning “Eaters of raw meat?” They had a government it was the chief and his right hand advisor. The Intuits had a language and it was Inuktitut.

Habitat/Homes - (OSL-Baylee)
Almost all Eskimos have summer and winter homes. In winter the Eskimos live in sod houses. In the summer the Eskimo lived in tents made of seal and caribou skin. Only one family lives in a house, it is both portable and stationery. The house folds up and can be put on their backs. The Inuit people lived in smaller group.



The Inuits lived in the Arctic Ice Fields. The climate is between 20° f and 30° f. Alaska is the state the Eskimos lived in. Some plants that grow in Alaska are lichens, mosses, shrubs, and wildflowers. Some small, scattered trees grow in parts of the state. Animals that live in Inuit territory are: Arctic fox, arctic hares, arctic wolves, caribou, oxen, seals, polar bears, and whales.

Dress - (SLL-AlexE)
For survival in winter, caribou skin (with hollow hair) is still the best protection. Most clothes are still home-made from skins. Fur clothing is the only warm enough clothing in a super cold place.The inut preferred the caribou, though the also use fur of other animals such as seals and polarbears.

Food - (SLL-AudriK)
The first Inuit hunted bowhead whales and other mammals. They caught fish and hunted seals, walruses, and whales. On land, they hunted a type of deer called caribou, musk oxen, polar bears, and many smaller animals.When the men hunt they use bow and arrow.

The Inuit family hunt for their food. They eat primarily fish, sea mammals and a few land mammals. They hunt seals, especially, the ring seal. inuit know a great deal about how seals live. They also know about ice that covers the sea in the winter. They know where to go on that ice to find the seals.  The Inuit people hunt seals during winter through the frozen ocean ice. Seals are mammals and must breathe. Seals scratch a holes through the ice as it begins to freeze. Seals come back to these holes for air. The Inuit hunter stood with a poised harpoon over these breathing holes, waiting for the seal to surface. Often the hunter had to stand this way for several hours in the bitter cold. Harpoons are still used, though rifles are also used. In the spring and summer, when the ices melts, seals are hunted from boats called kayaks. The kayak holds only one hunter. It is covered all over with sealskin or caribou skin. The hunter sits in it, dressed in tight-fitting waterproof clothing made from seal or walrus intestine. The kayak moves silently through the water. The hunter can get very close to seals without being heard.    Caribou are also hunted for food, as well as for their skins for clothing and antlers for tools..  This how the Inuit family lived and survived. They live off of sea animals. The Inuit people had very good methods for hunting and killing their food. Harpoons were used to kill sea animals. They would use bow and arrows to kill animals at a far distance. Inuit hunters also used spears and traps. If the animal was large the dogs would help to kill it. These are the different methods used for killing animals.  How the Inuit cooked and ate their food was very interesting. The Inuit people spent very little time cooking and usually ate their food raw; this was because they believed they would get more from the animal this way. The Inuit sometimes also ate there food completely frozen. They would put water in a hallowed out stone then add smaller hot stones to the water; they could cook some foods this way. Heated up soapstone was also used to heat up water. Even though they ate blubber they also used it for lamp oil. These may not have been the best ways to cook food but the Inuit people used all their resources around them and did not waste anything.

The Inuit indians are closely connected to nature. Their tradition is believing that every being or god has a spirit and must be treated with tons of respect
The Inuit did art and they told stories. They did a lot of sewing. The Inuit carved and made totem poles. Totem poles represent their family animals carved into huge pieces of wood. The Inuit use seal skin to dance in the air. They made baskets and uses them to carry there food. Through the centuries during which they lived without much contact with outsider the Inuit developed a fairly static way of life that suited their environment. Now integrated into the economic and political structures of the countries in which they live. Only a people of great ingenuity and endurance.

Tool and Weapons - (SLL-AlexE)
Umiaks are wide open boats. The Inuit used tools like kayaks, harpoons, and dogsleds. A kayak is a light canoe for one or two people. Harpoons are bigger spears used to hunt walruses. Dog sleds were used for transporting people and supplies. The Arctic Indians (Eskimo) hunted whale, seals, walruses, arctic trout, arctic char, polar bears, caribou,and sea lions. The women use ulus to peel off seal skins and caribou skins. The ulus are still used today. Kakivaks are tools used for fishing. Bolas are weapons used for hunting. They are made out of bone and sinew. Inuits used the bola to tangle the legs of caribouand the wings of birds.

Miscellaneous Facts - (all group members)

 * Inuits had rules of conduct rather that laws. Eskimos most important rule required that everyone help in the struggles of survive and that each person live peacefully with others in the group. They tried to avoid arguments and disagreements. If a dispute arose between two men, for example, they might fight to settle it. Or the men might conduct a contest and the dispute.
 * Inuits believed in powerful spirits. Eskimos also believe that people and animals had that lived in another world after the person or animal dies. Inuits followed special rules to please spirit and souls. The Inuit believed in many spirits including spirits of wind, the weather, the sun, and the moon.
 * The word Eskimo means “those who eat raw meat ”and inuit means “we people”.