Cultural
Background
The Inuit are the of Eskimos of Canada and Greenland. They are
descendants of Asian peoples who crossed into the Americas on
the land bridge more than 40,000 years ago. Inuit means "The
People."
Traditionally the Inuit are nomadic people, moving with the seasons,
following the animals they hunted to provide them with food and
clothing. They hunted the bowhead whale using kayaks and umiaks,
skin covered boats up to 33 feet long.
The Inuit family was very close-knit. They relied on each other
for survival. Hunting of whale was often a collective effort of
many members of the extended family.
Time
Period: 1000 BC to the present.
Location:
The Inuit live in northeast Canada and Greenland.
Geography:
The Inuit live in the sub-artic, a land of tundra (permanently
frozen ground), mountains and many islands. The temperature there ranges
from 30 degrees Celsius to 60 degrees below Celsius. The winters are long,
the summers are short and much of the ground is frozen all year round,
making it difficult to rely on the land for food. Instead they hunt and
trap animals.
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