The Inuit

       Did you know that there is a Native American group that is still alive in the Arctic? They are the Inuit. If you don't know about them, read this book to learn about how they have survived in the extreme temperature they live in for thousands of years. If you want to learn about their indigenous culture, this is a good book to read about them.

Introduction .....................................................................................................page 7

How they got to America . . . .. . . . ................................................................PAGE 8

Transportation . . . .................................................................................. . . . .PAGE 9

Responsibilities . . . . . ........................................................................... . . .PAGE 10

Home . . . . . . . . .......................................................................................... . PAGE 11

Traditions.......................................................................................................PAGE 12

Conclusion .................................................................................................. PAGE 13

The blue lines show how the Inuit got to Western Alaska and the Arctic.

Their culture began in western Alaska around 1000 AC. They split from the Rated Aleut group 4000 years ago and from the northeastern Siberian migrants. After they split, they went across the Arctic. The Inuit were the last Native group to cross the Bering land bridge.

      Men hunted marine animals such as seals, walruses, and whales. Also, they hunted arctic char, polar bears, and caribou. Additionally, men brought and gathered food such as eggs and berries. They never waste any part of the animals. Women did chores at home like weaving baskets and cooking food.

Their most important traditions were sharing food, respect for others, and cooperation.                                                 Also, as their sense of community.

    Kids played hide and seek and tag. Additionally, sometimes kids pretended to be hunters. 

Some cool facts are that the Inuit members are called inuk. Boots worn by the Inuit are called mukluks or kamik. In order to mark areas and to keep from getting lost, paths were marked with a pile of stones called an inuksuk.

      For summer, the Inuit used kayaks and umiaks which are a type of boats. These boats were made of the skin and bones of the animals they hunted. Sometimes, instead of using bones, they used driftwood. For transportation in the winter, they had to go through the land so they used sleds pulled by teams of dogs. They chose dogs to pull the sleds because they could easily find their way home through a snowstorm.

     They lived in igloos. The igloos were made of ice and snow and sometimes out of dirt. Their winter homes were rock and sod houses built into the ground. Also, they live in tents made of seal and caribou skins in the summer.

        The amazing Inuit community and culture changed over the years and they lost more of their identity. They established an Inuit Council to protect Inuit land and preserve their culture through government help. Since then, there has been a revival of The Inuit culture.