Product Code Database
The Inupiat (singular: Iñupiaq), also known as Alaskan Inuit, are a group of Alaska Natives whose traditional territory roughly spans northeast from Norton Sound on the Bering Sea to the northernmost part of the Canada–United States border. Their current communities include 34 villages across Iñupiat Nunaat (Iñupiaq lands), including seven Alaskan villages in the North Slope Borough, affiliated with the Arctic Slope Regional Corporation; eleven villages in Northwest Arctic Borough; and sixteen villages affiliated with the Bering Straits Regional Corporation. "Inupiaq (Inupiat)—Alaska Native Cultural Profile." www.nnlm.nlm.nih.gov National Network of Libraries of Medicine. Retrieved 4 Dec 2013. They often claim to be the first people of the Kauwerak.
The roots are "person" and "real", i.e., an endonym meaning "real people".Frederick A. Milan (1959), The acculturation of the contemporary Eskimo of Wainwright Alaska via books.google.comJohnson Reprint (1962), Prehistoric cultural relations between the Arctic and Temperate zones of North America via books.google.com
The following Alaska Native tribal entities for the Iñupiat are recognized by the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs:
| Doyon, Limited |
| NANA Corporation |
| Arctic Slope Regional Corporation |
| Arctic Slope Regional Corporation |
| Bering Straits Native Corporation |
| NANA Corporation |
| Bering Straits Native Corporation |
| NANA Corporation |
| Bering Straits Native Corporation |
| Bering Straits Native Corporation |
| Bering Straits Native Corporation |
| Arctic Slope Regional Corporation |
| NANA Corporation |
| Bering Straits Regional Corporation |
| NANA Corporation |
| NANA Corporation |
| NANA Corporation |
| Bering Straits Native Corporation |
| Bering Straits Native Corporation |
| NANA Corporation |
| Bering Straits Native Corporation |
| NANA Corporation |
| Arctic Slope Native Corporation |
| Arctic Slope Regional Corporation |
| Arctic Slope Regional Corporation |
| NANA Corporation |
| Bering Straits Native Corporation |
| Bering Straits Native Corporation |
| NANA Corporation |
| Bering Straits Native Corporation |
| Bering Straits Native Corporation |
| Bering Straits Regional Corporation |
| Arctic Slope Regional Corporation |
| Arctic Slope Regional Corporation |
| Bering Straits Regional Corporation |
| Bering Straits Native Corporation |
Revitalization efforts have focused on Alaskan Native languages and ways of life. Located in Kotzebue, Alaska, an Iñupiaq language immersion school called Nikaitchuat Iḷisaġviat was established in 1998. The immersion school's mission is to "instill the knowledge of Iñupiaq identity, dignity, respect and to cultivate a love of lifelong learning". June Nelson Elementary school is another school in Kotzebue that is working to include more content into their curriculum about Iñupiaq language and culture. Nome Elementary School in Nome, Alaska has also put in place plans to incorporate an Iñupiaq language immersion program. There are many courses being offered at the various campuses a part of the University of Alaska system. University of Alaska Fairbanks offers several course in the Iñupiaq language. University of Alaska Anchorage offers multiple levels of Elementary Iñupiaq Language and Alaskan Native language apprenticeship and fluency intensive courses.
Since 2017, a grassroots group of Iñupiaq language learners have organized Iḷisaqativut, a two-week Iñupiaq language intensive that is held throughout communities in the Inupiaq region. The first gathering was held in Utqiaġvik in 2017, Siqnasuaq (Nome) in 2018, and Qikiqtaġruk (Kotzebue) in 2019.
In 2014, linguist and educator Edna Ahgeak MacLean released an Iñupiaq-English dictionary after three decades of research, compiling over 19,000 entries. Kawerak, a nonprofit organization from the Bering Strait region, has created a language glossary that features terms from Iñupiaq, as well as terms from English, Yup'ik, and St. Lawrence Island Yupik.
Several Iñupiat developed pictographic writing systems in the early twentieth century. It is known as Alaskan Picture Writing.
Iñupiaq groups, in common with Inuit language-speaking groups, often have a name ending in "miut," which means 'a people of'. One example is the Nunamiut, a generic term for inland Iñupiaq caribou hunters. During a period of starvation and an influenza epidemic, most of these people moved to the coast or other parts of Alaska between 1890 and 1910. A number of Nunamiut returned to the mountains in the 1930s.
By 1950, most Nunamiut groups, such as the Killikmiut, had coalesced in Anaktuvuk Pass, a village in north-central Alaska. Some of the Nunamiut remained nomadic until the 1950s.
The Iditarod Trail's antecedents were the native trails of the Dena'ina and Deg Hit'an Athabaskan American Indians and the Inupiat.The Iditarod National Historic Trail/ Seward to Nome Route: A Comprehensive Management Plan, March 1986. Prepared by Bureau of Land Management, Anchorage District Office, Anchorage, Alaska.
The inland Iñupiat also hunt caribou, Dall sheep, grizzly bear, and moose. The coastal Inupiat hunt walrus, Pinniped, , and . Cautiously, polar bear also is hunted.
The capture of a whale benefits each member of an Iñupiat community, as the animal is butchered and its meat and blubber are allocated according to a traditional formula. Even city-dwelling relatives, thousands of miles away, are entitled to a share of each whale killed by the hunters of their ancestral village. Muktuk, which is the skin and blubber of Bowhead whale and other whales, is rich in vitamins Retinol and Vitamin C. The vitamin C content of meats is destroyed by cooking, so consumption of raw meats and these vitamin-rich foods contributes to good health in a population with limited access to fruits and vegetables.
A major value within subsistence hunting is the utilization of the whole catch or animal. This is demonstrated in the utilization of the hides to turn into clothing, as seen with seal skin, moose and caribou hides, polar bear hides. Fur from rabbits, beaver, marten, otter, and squirrels are also utilized to adorn clothing for warmth. These hides and furs are used to make parkas, mukluks, hats, gloves, and slippers. Qiviut is also gathered as Muskox shed their underlayer of fur and it is spun into wool to make scarves, hats, and gloves. The use of the animal's hides and fur have kept Inupiat warm throughout the harsh conditions of their homelands, as many of the materials provide natural waterproof or windproof qualities. Other animal parts that have been utilized are the walrus intestines that are made into dance drums and qayaq or umiaq, traditional skin boats.
The walrus tusks of Walrus ivory and the baleen of bowhead whales are also utilized as Native expressions of art or tools. The use of these sensitive materials are inline with the practice of utilizing the gifts from the animals that are subsisted. There are protective policies on the harvesting of walrus and whales. The harvest of walrus solely for the use of ivory is highly looked down upon as well as prohibited by federal law with lengthy and costly punishments.
Since the 1970s, petroleum and other resources have been an important revenue source for the Iñupiat. The Alaska Pipeline connects the Prudhoe Bay wells with the port of Valdez in south-central Alaska. Because of the oil drilling in Alaska's arid north, however, the traditional way of whaling is coming into conflict with one of the modern world's most pressing demands: finding more oil.
The Iñupiat eat a variety of berries and when mixed with tallow, make a traditional dessert. They also mix the berries with rosehips and highbush cranberries and boil them into a syrup.Jones, Anore, 1983, Nauriat Niginaqtuat = Plants That We Eat, Kotzebue, Alaska. Maniilaq Association Traditional Nutrition Program, page 105
The Nalukataq is a spring whaling festival among Inupiat. The festival celebrates traditional whale hunting and honors the whale's spirit as it gave its physical body to feed entire villages. The whale's spirit is honored by dance groups from across the North performing songs and dances.
The Iñupiat Ilitqusiat is a list of values that define Iñupiat. It was created by elders in Kotzebue, Alaska, yet the values resonate with and have been articulated similarly by other Iñupiat communities. These values include: respect for elders, hard work, hunter's success, family roles, humor, respect for nature, knowledge of family tree, respect for others, sharing, love for children, cooperation, avoid conflict, responsibility to tribe, humility, and spirituality.
These values serve as guideposts of how Iñupiat are to live their lives. They inform and can be derived from Iñupiaq subsistence practices.
There is one Iñupiaq culture-oriented institute of higher education, Iḷisaġvik College, located in Utqiaġvik.
The emergence of chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease, traditionally absent from circumpolar populations, has afflicted the Iñupiat. Obesity rates are now on par with American rates, with some 64% of adults having an at-risk BMI.
As of the 2000 U.S. Census, the Iñupiat population in the United States numbered more than 19,000. Most of them live in Alaska.
The Northwest Arctic Borough has the following cities Ambler (Ivisaappaat), Buckland (Nunatchiaq, Kaŋiq), Deering (Ipnatchiaq), Kiana (Katyaak, Katyaaq), Kivalina (Kivalliñiq), Kobuk (Laugviik), Kotzebue (Qikiqtaġruk), Noatak (Nuataaq ), Noorvik (Nuurvik), Selawik (Siilvik, Akuligaq ), Shungnak (Isiŋnaq, Nuurviuraq)
The Nome Census Area has the following cities Brevig Mission (Sitaisaq, Sinauraq), Diomede (Iŋalik), Golovin (Siŋik), Koyuk (Kuuyuk), Nome (Siqnazuaq, Sitŋasuaq), Shaktoolik (Saqtuliq), Shishmaref (Qigiqtaq), Teller (Tala, Iġaluŋniaġvik), Wales (Kiŋigin), White Mountain (Natchirsvik), Unalakleet (Uŋalaqłiq)
History
Along with other Inuit groups, the Iñupiaq originate from the Thule Tradition. Circa 300 B.C., the Thule migrated from islands in the Bering Sea to what now is Alaska.
Subsistence
Iñupiat are , as are most Arctic peoples. Iñupiat continue to rely heavily on subsistence hunting and fishing. Depending on their location, they harvest walrus, seal, whale, polar bears, caribou, and fish. Both the inland (Nunamiut) and coastal (Tikiġaġmiut) Inupiat depend greatly on fish. Throughout the seasons, when they are available, food staples also include
ducks, geese, rabbits, berries, roots, and shoots.
Culture
Historically, some Iñupiat lived in sedentary communities, while others were nomadic. Some villages in the area have been occupied by Indigenous groups for more than 10,000 years.
Current issues
Iñupiat have grown more concerned in recent years that climate change is threatening their traditional lifestyle. The warming trend in the Arctic affects their lifestyle in numerous ways, for example: thinning sea ice makes it more difficult to harvest , Pinniped, walrus, and other traditional foods as it changes the migration patterns of marine mammals that rely on iceflows and the thinning sea ice can result in people falling through the ice; warmer winters make travel more dangerous and less predictable as more storms form; later-forming sea ice contributes to increased flooding and erosion along the coast as there is an increase in fall storms, directly imperiling many coastal villages. The Inuit Circumpolar Council, a group representing indigenous peoples of the Arctic, has made the case that climate change represents a threat to their human rights.
Iñupiat Nunaŋat (Iñupiat territories)
The North Slope Borough has the following cities Anaktuvuk Pass (Anaqtuuvak, Naqsraq), Atqasuk (Atqasuk), Utqiaġvik (Utqiaġvik, Ukpiaġvik), Kaktovik (Qaaktuġvik), Nuiqsut (Nuiqsat), Point Hope (Tikiġaq), Point Lay (Kali), Wainwright (Ulġuniq)|center]]
Notable Inupiat
See also
Further reading
External links
|
|
