The People
The Inupiat are gentle and hospitable people who live in a harsh Arctic environment. The Inupiat have inhabited the region for more than 10,000 years. The ancestral Inupiat crossed the Bering Land Bridge from Siberia. Some of the early migrants continued their journeys to the east and south. Those who remained in the region gradually established camps, small villages and trading routes. They were skilled hunters and gatherers and subsisted on whale, fish, caribou and moose. Their diet was supplemented with berry and root plants native to the region.
The Inupiat
traditionally believed in reincarnation and the recycling of spirit forms
from one life to the next, both human and animal. Names of those who died
recently were often given to newborns.
Only if animal spirits are released can the animal be regenerated
and return for future harvest. This explains the elaborate treatment of animals
hunted, even today. The myths deal with relations that exist between human beings,
animals and the environment. Inupiat rites are used primarily in preparation for
hunting.
They create beautiful clothing, including ceremonial parkas and rugged, outdoor gear from the furs and skins of the animals they use for food. They also create beautiful arts and crafts including Eskimo dolls; caribou skin masks, birch bark baskets, whalebone, walrus ivory carvings and jewelry.
The Inupiat Eskimos are a fascinating people to study. For your information we have provided the following resources.
Order
and read one of the suggested titles below before you make your trip north.
The
Eskimo Storyteller by Edwin Hall
The
Epic of Qayaq by Lela Kiana
Other
resources:
Arts
and Crafts
Inupiat
Culture
Recipes
