Eskimo

Eskimo refers to one of the peoples of the far north, living from Greenland to Siberia. Many of these groups identify themselves as Inuit, Inuvialuit or Yupikhyt. The name "eskimo" came from the Canadian Cree word meaning "eater of raw flesh" and is seen by some as derogatory. Early European explorers continually called all the people they met in the area, as they explored from east to west, by this term. Their culture is broadly the same over all the area; although, the eastern groups speak Inupik dialect and the western, Yupik. Kinship culture also differs east and west as eastern Eskimo lived with ousin of both mother and father but western Eskimo lived in paternal kinship groups.

The Eskimo were (and many still are) hunters, who hunt whale, walrus and seal by kayak or by waiting at their airholes in the ice. They used igloos as hunting or emergency shelters. They made and make ingenious use of animal skins in their clothing. Dog sleds were and are used for travel, though snowmobiles have replaced this mode of travel to some extent, however.

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