The Inuit were people who lived in the Arctic such as Alaska, Northern Canada and Greenland. They can also be called Eskimos. The word Inuit refers to “real people of the north” and from this distinction as well as their way of living which I observed at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, I conclude that these people were a race of people with a strong spirit for life in general as well as each other. Their social customs included storytelling, dancing, drum playing, crafts, celebrations, games, hunting and survival skills. They based their social structure on the land, their families, and traditions that were passed on through generations.
The Inuit hunted and fished whale, seal, and walrus by way of a kayak or by waiting patiently near holes in the ice. They made great use of animal skins for warm and beautiful clothing as one may observe on display in the Polar World exhibit at the museum. They primarily made a living by hunting, trapping, and buying and selling handicrafts. They also traded whale blubber which was used for fuel. They traded the blubber with missionaries, whalers, and other foreigners.
Organization in Inuit society was nearly non-existent. There were no class divisions or divisions of rank among the people. They can simply be described as Eskimo tribes who shared the same traditions. There were no prominent leadership roles among these people. Family was considered the main focus with the eldest male of each family reigning with highest authority. This society was non-aggressive with values centered on cooperation. This is probably why there were no prominent leaders in this liberal-like society. The only character held in high regard was the Shaman who was believed to have relations with supernatural powers which controlled health, power, and the weather.
The Inuits valued their families and each member looked out for each other. Kinship typically included three past generations from the paternal as well as maternal sides. These generations were extremely close. The doings of one member were felt as the accountability of the whole group. Small feuds often resulted between different families.
Inuit Odyssey, by CBC’s: The Nature of Things covers the long and eventful journey of the Inuit people. Canadian anthropologist, Dr. Niobe Thompson searched for the answers to questions about who the modern day Inuit are, where did they come from, how did they survive and who did they conquer along the way? Thompson explored the direct lineage between modern day Inuit and the Thule people, and their interactions with the Dorset and Norse Vikings in their search for iron. Thompson is ultimately concerned with how the current warming climate will affect the Inuit people therefore, he decides to retrace the creation of the Inuit culture, starting his journey in the original homeland of the Thule people.
They are mostly meat eaters because of the location the Haida, Iroquois, and Inuit had. The Inuit, Haida, and Iroquois ate sea animals like fish, seals, etc. and land animals like birds polar bears, etc. In the article www.firstpeopleofcanada.com it states that the inuit tribe, Haida tribe, and the Iroquois tribe mostly were meat eaters due to their location.
For the Cree, health is more than individual physiology. Health is definied by miyupimaatisiiun, a complex word that refers to an individual's enriching connection to his community and his natural environment. Miyupimaatisiiun can be interpreted as "being-alive well," a condition that includes the safety and security of family, friends and tribal members, as well as for the resources the Cree depend on to survive. Thus, the health of the Cree becomes a political entity, defined through challenging “environmental, social, political” as well as physiological threats to traditional life. Politcially, the term signifies “the ability to negotiate the obstacles that threaten the survival of the Cree” (57).
Even though they are all different Native American tribes, they have similarities and differences throughout their cultures. The tribes that we are going to compare are the Inuit, Sioux, and the Haida. Differences can be they live in different areas in Canada, hunt in different ways, and do different housing. Similarities can be they all live in Canada, they all do art, and they travel. These three tribes have many differences and similarities.
Hunting, which was the primal source of food, goes far beyond satisfying the physical body. Therefore societies, such as the Eskimo, handle every aspect of their food in a `special' and symbolic way. This is what Gill was explaining and the ceremonies, as well as, the way of life in regards to the food are evidence of this.
One might conclude that the Mi’kmaq tribes, in traditional times, lived a common and fruitful life. With only the resources of the land, they managed to overcome many obstacles and keep the Mi’kmaq tradition alive.
This paper addresses the results of interviews, observations, and research of life in the Ottawa tribe, how they see themselves and others in society and in the tribe. I mainly focused on The Little River Band of Ottawa Indian tribe. I researched their languages, pecking order, and interviewed to discover the rituals, and traditions that they believe in. In this essay I revealed how they see themselves in society. How they see other people, how they see each other, what their values were, what a typical day was etc. I initially suspected that I would have got different responses from these questions but in reality the results in the questions were almost completely the same. I studied this topic because mostly all the people that are close to me are associated in the Ottawa tribe. I additionally love the Native American culture, I feel it is beautiful and has a free concept.
People who live in Arctic live a different lifestyle the people in Florida. The people who live in Arctic wear thicker clothing and are much adapted to the extreme weather compared to the Floridians. One specific part of the culture is eating seal blubber that common practice of Inuit people. Seal is a common for delicacy for Inuit people. This is practice is a considered both an evoked culture and transmitted culture. What is evoked culture? An evoked culture is a type of culture where certain environment that elicits a certain response the people. In the case of seal blubber, this practice is considered to be evoked, for the climate in the area is an extreme. Arctic is a very cold and the animals that live there have certain adaptations to be accustomed to the temperature. Being common for seals to reside in the Arctic, the people of Inuit (Arctic) have incorporated the animal into
The Inuits food plans are fish and hunted arctic animals. The main reason the Inuit are still in northern Canada, is because they are used to their lifestyle and the northern
While watching a video entitled “Eskimo: Fight for Life” about the daily life of an Eskimo and what they do to survive; I was very surprised to see what the living conditions were. For starters, the weather that they live in on average is about thirty- fifty degrees below zero. Although many people living in New York today may think these are extreme weather conditions, and it may be impossible for us to phantom the idea of living there; the Inuit found a method to live life blissfully when they were together while enduring the Artic environment through the outrageous temperatures. A couple of things the Eskimos did to help them survive was, build igloos to stay and sleep together under animal fur to stay warm, the men and women had their individual roles to provide for the family, and lastly they entertain themselves
These societies are characterized by the obligations that the individuals feel toward the group. The group may refer to the family nucleus, the clan, tribe, neighbors, or even the occupation being held. Neuliep discusses this when he mentions that the “person’s identity is defined by his or her group membership … collectivistic values and beliefs are consistent with and reflect those of the in-group.” He goes on to mention how in collectivistic societies the primary value is the harmony with others and social reciprocity. Alaskan Native societies are a prime example of this. The cultural and societal influence of the Europeans, and then, of the American settlers, provided a blow to the Native Alaskan way of living. The cultural impact suffered by the Native populations was reflected in how they continued to act toward each other. Even though it was not sudden, family cohesion, kinship, and spiritual and educational practices, were deeply affected by the arrival of outsiders. These changes gradually impacted Native Alaskan collectivism, which until then had been fundamental for the survival of society. This was a society where family survived in clans, the elderly had a place of privilege in the family nucleus, and the main contacts between individuals took place face to face. The Native Alaskan had a clear understanding about the value of the land and its natural resources, and appreciated them from a communal point of view. The changes brought forth by the arrival of the white settlers caused a crisis in the identity of the Native people, and a lasting impact in their society. The Native Alaskans saw themselves deprived of the provider role which had been played by their ancestors, which led to a physical and emotional struggle to find a place to belong, far from the feelings of grief, despair, and anger. The stress caused by the negative
Cree Indians from prairie regions are known to be the Plain Crees. In Canada, there are about 135 different bands of Cree Indians. The Cree indians have their own political system, schools, government, police, etc. All the members that choose to stay on the reservations must abide by their
For the purposes of this discussion we will focus on the lives of the Inuit. The Inuit are a group of people often mischaracterized as Eskimos. They lived in the area of central and northeastern Canada and Greenland. There has been much discussion of the orignination of this group of people but the most recognized theory is that they crossed from northern Asia across thin bridge of land over the Bering Strait sometime around 6000-2000 BC. Many people mistakenly think that the Inuit and Native Americans are one in the same. It seems that the Inuit most likely came from Asia more likely than the Native Americans. Although both probably came to the Americas through the Bering Strait. Biological, cultural and dialect differences show the different origin. Much of this theory is supported due to the close resemblance of the Inuit to the Mongoloid races of Eastern Asia. Because of the harsh land and climate of the Arctic, this area was probably one of the last regions to be inhabited making the Inuit on of the earth’s younger cultures.
The Inuit, the Haida, and the Iroquois all are housed in Canada! The Inuit, Haida, and Iroquois is all some of the “First peoples groups” and they also have beliefs special to their own groups. This essay will explain some of the similarities between the 3 groups as well as some differences.
Indigenous Knowledge (IK) can be broadly defined as the knowledge and skills that an indigenous (local) community accumulates over generations of living in a particular environment. IK is unique to given cultures, localities and societies and is acquired through daily experience. It is embedded in community practices, institutions, relationships and rituals. Because IK is based on, and is deeply embedded in local experience and historic reality, it is therefore unique to that specific culture; it also plays an important role in defining the identity of the community. Similarly, since IK has developed over the centuries of experimentation on how to adapt to local conditions. That is Indigenous ways of knowing informs their ways of being. Accordingly IK is integrated and driven from multiple sources; traditional teachings, empirical observations and revelations handed down generations. Under IK, language, gestures and cultural codes are in harmony. Similarly, language, symbols and family structure are interrelated. For example, First Nation had a