Inuit

Introduction
Inuit, Inupiak, Yupik, Eskimo - these are all names for the peoples who live in the Alaskan/Canadian/Greenland circum-polar region. They speak related languages, and share a common culture (to some degree). In the past they were hunters and gatherers living by hunting land and sea mammals, and moving from place to place. Unfortunately, our textbook doesn't have any documentation relating to these people. Interestingly, many of these groups have never ceded their territory or made treaties with either the US or Canada. Until recently, their lands were not under threat, although this is changing. Although the Innu are not considered Inuit - the threats to their territory and way of life are similar to Inuit issues - see Survival International article on the Innu [|here]

Contextual Readings
1. Read about 19th century British-Inuit encounters in Alaska here and make notes about how Inuit people lived. Focus on the following sections: 2. Read Arlene Stairs article here 3. Read Willow Smoke and Dogs Tails here: 3. Read about Nunavut [|here]  4. Find out LOTs more [|here] Webquest 2 is here
 * Inupiat at Nuvuk and ending with Dependency.
 * Interpersonal Relations;

Classroom Discussion Docs
Print out you example chart of the eskimo kinship system, and bring your notes on Rochfort Maguire and Willow Smoke and Dogs Tails about Inuit ways of life.

Movies
Watch the 1920s documentary clip "Nanook of the North" here:media type="youtube" key="cLERFRQl5EY&hl=en&fs=1" height="344" width="425"

We will watch the clip called To Save a Language from the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. in Class. If you want to watch it again, here is the link. http://archives.cbc.ca/society/education/topics/529/