Inuit Culture Research Paper

Preliminaries:

If you don’t already know, the Inuits are an indigenous people located in the Arctic; specifically Nunavut, Russia, Alaska, and Greenland. Interestingly, the Inuits have a distinct and unique culture, and partially a resilient one. Now, how might Inuit culture be related to Inuit resilience? Focusing on this question, my report will discuss Inuit culture, history, and resilience.

Inuit Culture

First of all, this paragraph will go into Inuit culture. Starting off with the Inuit language, in Nunavut — which means “our land” in Inuktitut — different dialects have different pronunciation and vocabulary, depending on the specific locations relevant. Specifically, the different Inuktitut dialects are: Central Baffin, Sanikiluarmiut,

South Baffin, North Baffin, Aivilingmiut, Paallirmiut, Kivallirmiut, Nattiliŋmiut, and Inuinnaqtun. In these Inuktitut dialects, “Inuit” translates to “the people”. Just as interesting, the majority of Inuit in Nunavut lived in isolation in camps until half a century ago. As a result, these isolated camps were the locations where the evolution of these discrete dialects took place. Subsequent to Inuit moving into long-term communities, it was customary for varying dialect speakers to become “neighbours in the same hamlet”. Due to 21st century Inuit migrating to different communities in seek of work and better opportunities, this older form of blending amplified. Generally, as of modern times in Nunavut, speakers who are fluent can sufficiently comprehend each other with scant trouble (About Inuktitut. 2018). Moving on their geography, Inuit communities locate in the Northwest Territories, Quebec and Labrador (in Canada), and the Arctic. Also, they locate in Alaska, known as the Yupik and Inupiat, and in Russia also known by the Yupik. In brief, this paragraph explained Inuit culture through their language and geography.

Inuit History
Next, this paragraph will shed light upon Inuit history.

Beginning with the general history, scientists surmise that roughly 50 centuries ago, there was a migration of the Inuit’s ancestors across the Bering Strait (when it was frozen). Later, coming from an autonomous district in Russia now known as Chukotka, the pre-Inuit supposedly settled in North America about 15 centuries later than the Paleoamericans — forerunners of the Native Americans. Contrasting to the Native Americans, the Inuit people are more akin to “indigenous Mongolians of Far East Asia” compared in terms of language and culture. Restating the obvious, the climate of the Arctic is a harsh one. Consequently, the evolution of Inuit culture in the Arctic spanned over a few millennia without much influence from different indigenous peoples, unlike the Native Americans. Over this time, Inuit culture mainated a genuineness and uniformity unique to most ancient cultures. Continuing with the Inuit’s historic homes, Inuit communities locate in the Tundra. Previously, Inuit communities lived in igloos during the winter. The igloos, shelters made from snow, were used as homes because of the scarce variety of resources in the area. During the melting of the snow in the summer, Inuit made huts similar to tents using animal skins outstretched over the area of a frame. Decidedly, before in the past, Inuit migration would occur between a winter and a summer camp in which multiple families would live in. In short, this paragraph discussed Inuit history using their overall history and their homes in the

past.

Inuit resilience
Lastly, Inuit resilience is subject to discussion in this paragraph. Above all, an example of a resilient Inuit community is Cape Dorset in Nunavut. Effectively, this Inuit community used art to convey their cultural traditions and knowledge. Thus, the people in Cape Dorset were committing an act of resilience against cultural genocide aimed at their culture and language. Moreover, their art sufficed to make it into the international market. As a result, Cape Dorset has made income which has aided the “community weather sea ice changes”, which causes food security to be dwindled (Report: Empowered Arctic Communities Are More Resilient to Change, 2016). Switching topics to their resilience using social media, the Inuit capability to oppose animal activism bolstered as of recent times in the digital age. Furthermore, a paper by Kathleen Rodgers and Willow Scobie perused a case study. To elaborate, the case study involved Canadian Inuit located in the Arctic, declaring through social media sites that there are contemporaneous economic, cultural, and social aptness to the seal hunt. The paper says:

“Our case study here contributes to this growing body of literature on indigenous engagement with digital media, emphasizing how the classic barriers of geographic, political and economic marginalization can be displaced by digital technologies.”

While manifesting their resilience, the Inuit's “digital voices” make it possible to admire, respect, and revive cultural uniqueness and traditions (Nterfacejournal.net. 2018). Finally, I believe Inuit resilience relates the harsh climate they live in. To explain, the Inuits made their dwellings in the Arctic, a frigid area with meagre resources. Independent of a any outside help, the Inuits intrinsically became tough and resilient to the harsh climate and environment. Potentially, these traits are part of the Inuit identity. In summary, Inuit resilience was conveyed through an example of a resilient Inuit community, resilience prominent in Inuit’s use of social media, and the relation between Inuit resilience and the harsh environment they live in.

Conclusion:
In conclusion, this report communicated the connection between Inuit culture and resilience through Inuit culture, Inuit history, and Inuit resilience. As a fact, it took much longer for the Canadian colonizers to reach and influence the Inuits. Maybe the harsh Arctic climate served to protect the Inuit from outside influence, and partially the reason why their culture is so distinct.