Native Americans of North America

Article Outline

Introduction; Population: Past and Present; Earliest Peoples; Culture Areas; Traditional Way of Life; History; Native Americans Today

Sleds

To make their sleds, known in some dialects as komatik, Inuit lashed together wooden frames with strips of rawhide and attached either slats of wood or large pieces of rawhide as raised platforms. They shaped the runners from wood or bone and applied a coating of ice or frozen mud and moss to them. Teams of huskies were frequently used to pull the sleds, although hunters traveling on ice floes sometimes pulled them. Hunters frequently attached kayaks to sleds with the runners facing up. On reaching water the sleds could then be turned upside down and the kayaks used without being detached.

Clothing and Ornamentation

Inuit clothing offered protection from the cold and was comfortable to wear. Parkas, pants, mittens, stockings, and boots were crafted in a variety of styles and materials. Water-resistant sealskin was ideal for summer rains and hunting at sea. Caribou skin was warmer and lighter weight and offered better protection against the dry cold. Dog, squirrel, marmot, fox, wolf, wolverine, and polar bear hides and furs were also used, along with bird skins and feathers. Sea mammal intestines were sometimes sewn together in place of hides.

Hooded parkas—another invention of the Inuit—were worn with the fur facing inward and were tailored to the contours of the body to keep out cold air at the waist, neck, and wrists. Some parkas had double layers. Boots, known as mukluks, and mittens were insulated with fur, down, and moss. Fur, leather fringes, embroidery, and ivory buttons served as decorations. Some Inuit, mostly women, wore jewelry, such as ear pendants, nose rings, and labrets (lip-plugs or chin-plugs, placed in slits cut in the flesh) made of ivory, shell, wood, or sandstone. Tattoos were also common.

Aleut clothing, made from hides and intestines, also offered efficient protection from the rain and cold. Their parkas, like those of the Inuit, had hoods. Intricate decorations made from hair bristles and animal skin dyed different colors were added to clothing. Aleut hunters wore wooden helmets with long visors that were decorated with ivory and sea lion whiskers.

Religious Beliefs and Practices

Innumerable spirits and powerful gods populated the religious universe of Arctic peoples. Many of these supernatural figures were connected to survival in a harsh land. Since the sea sustained many Arctic peoples, Sedna, the sea goddess, was the supreme deity for most Central Inuit groups. Among the Caribou Inuit, the principal deity was Mother of Caribou.

Many Arctic peoples believed that all living things were endowed with a spirit or soul. Respect was paid to the soul of an animal killed by a hunter to ensure the soul would one day reappear in another animal willing to forfeit its life to humans. If proper respect was not given, the animal’s soul might turn into a destructive demon. Human souls, too, were believed to live on after a person’s death. Death taboos, including a strictly enforced period of mourning in which no work could be done, were respected to prevent souls of the deceased from turning into wicked spirits. It was also believed that the souls of living persons could become lost or stolen by evil forces, causing sickness or madness. To cure illness, Inuit shamans, or angakok, might be called upon to help retrieve a patient’s soul.

The Inuit built large ceremonial houses called kashim, a Russian word for an Inuit term. Within kashim, the angakok conducted rituals and used a system of magic based on sleight-of-hand to treat sickness or advise on hunting problems. Kashim were usually partially buried and contained secret passageways known only to the angakok, which increased the structures' mystery for the rest of the band. Ropes enabled the angakok to create illusions with acrobatics. The angakok directed the carving of masks representing the forces of nature and the spirits of animals, as well as the ceremonies in which the masks were worn. One such ceremony, performed by the Alaskan Inuit, was the Bladder Dance. According to Inuit tradition, the bladder was the location of an animal's soul. This event lasted for days inside the kashim. Participants danced to music and performed rituals with inflated sea-mammal bladders, which were later returned to the sea.

Arts and Crafts

The Inuit used parts of sea mammals for tools, weapons, bags, ornaments, and ceremonial objects. The tusks of the walrus provided ivory, a choice material for the handles of weapons and tools. Carvers often adorned ivory tools with geometric figures and other designs. Driftwood was also highly valued in Inuit arts, especially for carving the elaborate wooden masks that were important in Inuit ceremonies and festivals. When wood was in short supply, the Inuit carved masks from whalebone. The Aleut crafted elegant baskets from rye grass found on the beaches. The stems of the grass were split with the fingernails to make threads, and some of the threads were dyed before being woven into intricate designs.

Post-Contact History

The first Europeans to visit the Arctic regions of North America were probably the ancient Vikings. Viking navigators, who landed in northeastern North America around ad 1000, came into contact with a people they referred to as Skraelings, possibly the Inuit. In the late 16th century Sir Martin Frobisher, exploring for England in search of the Northwest Passage, a water route through North America, made three voyages to the Canadian Arctic. Frobisher kidnapped several Inuit and took them to England. Other coastal explorers soon followed. Russian expeditions approached the North American Arctic from the west in the mid-1700s, starting with the voyages of Vitus Jonassen Bering. In later decades, the Russians developed the fur trade. This had a devastating impact on Aleut peoples, since traders forced them to participate in hunting by capturing villages and taking hostages.

The search for the Northwest Passage continued through the centuries. Yet maritime and overland expeditions to the Arctic were costly and dangerous and, as a result, sporadic. In 1848 commercial whaling ships began working Alaskan and Arctic waters. At the same time, growing numbers of Christian missionaries began to reach Inuit and Aleut villages, teaching new belief systems. Increasing contacts with foreigners spread diseases among indigenous peoples, and populations declined.

During the early to mid-1800s, many Inuit began using trade goods that altered their traditional culture, including guns, knives, kettles, cloth, and alcohol. Other developments in the late 1800s impacted many Inuit. In 1867 the United States purchased Alaska from Russia and began to develop it economically. Meanwhile, the Hudson's Bay Company established many Arctic posts to develop the fur business. Despite these initiatives, some Central Inuit bands had no contact with non-Indians until the early 1900s.

Contemporary Inuit peoples use many modern technologies. Frame houses have replaced igloos, hide tents, and wood, stone, and sod huts. Motorized canoes have taken the place of kayaks, and snowmobiles are used instead of dogsleds. In addition, most Inuit use electricity, kerosene, or oil as fuel instead of animal fat; factory-made wool, cotton, and synthetic clothes instead of handmade sealskin and caribou garments; and rifles and shotguns instead of harpoons, spears, and bows and arrows.

A renaissance in Inuit art, which began in the 1950s, combines traditional and modern techniques, materials, and themes. Two other recent developments are helping to improve the quality of modern-day Inuit life. In Alaska indigenous peoples have benefited from the 1971 Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, which helped protect Alaskan indigenous lands and granted funds for economic growth. In Canada a new Canadian territory, known as Nunavut, was carved out of the eastern parts of the Northwest Territories in 1999. Inuit peoples comprise most of population of Nunavut, and they have worked to promote their economic, social, and cultural interests.