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The inuit essays
Inuit peoples and how they adapted
Inuit peoples and how they adapted
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The preface pages to Sedna gives background to the Inuit people and how they came to live and thrive in their harsh environments. The Inuit people live in Siberia and Greenland and for thousands of years they live by the same practices, rituals, and traditions that have remained within their daily lives. Their oral traditions put importance on what the Inuit people valued and how they have been able to survive. For them to have a steady food supply there must be plenty of the animals they need for food which are caribou and seals. Sedna is a powerful deity of the spirit world and controls the animals that are the Inuit’s food supply and will withhold them if she feels she has been insulted.
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.
The unit readings argue that anthropologists insist that global flows also partake in affecting local practices. The beliefs and customs of the Inuit are accounted for their interaction with the environment, but these factors also interrelate with neighbouring societies, global capitalism, and international NGOs, as Martha of the North describes. The Inuit were used by the Canadian government in a form of racism and cruelty. To affirm sovereignty in the vast arctic land, Canada had to have permanent residences residing within these territories. They had created a façade that they were providing the Inuit with the opportunity of a better life when in reality, they did not care about them at all. The government had less than honest intentions. What the people who represented the nation did to the relocation of the Inuit is unacceptable and its effect can be explained through holism but also goes beyond the concept on an international scale. Global practices influenced the local practices of the Inuit in the High Arctic. The government representatives of Canada at that time did not value the lives of these people and only cared about their own
Winona Wheeler’s essay, “Cree Intellectual Traditions in History” analyzes the oral history of First Nations Elders. She specifically questions the identities of the Elders telling their story and how they have attained the stories that they are telling. Wheeler’s thesis is that the Elders are not mere storages of knowledge, they are humans. And as the days go on, few of them remain which makes it even more relevant to take in what they have and pass it on to the newer generations.
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.
Throughout history, there has been a continuous movement of people, including European settlers and aboriginal tribes. The movement of these two groups of people has assisted in shaping and refining the world as we know it today. With each moving experience these groups of people had their own set of challenges and various difficult aspects present at various times throughout their journey. Whether they faced a foreign language upon arrival, or the difficulty with navigating a new place, challenges became their norm. A specific movement of people would be the Europeans arriving in Atlantic Canada and having contact with various aboriginal tribes. During the fifteenth century, the Europeans set out to find new land, natural resources and spices. The Europeans had contact with one particular group of aboriginals known as the Beothuk, who resided in Newfoundland. The relationship with this tribe and the European settlers was like no other. The conflict between these two groups was quite evident and caused trouble between the Beothuk and Micmac as well. The Beothuk tribe no longer exist. There are various reasons why researchers and historians believe this tribe has disappeared,one of which would be their way of life. The disappearance of this tribe has provoked a great
The Eskimo hold an annual Bladder Ceremony which demonstrates all of these things previously mentioned. To explain the complete meaning and symbolism behind this Bladder Ceremony in its entirety, is very difficult because every act that goes into this ceremony is meaningful and of concepts not easily understood. In the Eskimo society, the Kwakiutl men go hunting. To go and kill an animal is to kill the fleshed body of an ancestor's soul that is temporarily occupying it. So it is clear that this source of food (hunting of animals) connect the people to the ancestors or spirits of their pray. Therefore, extra care needs to exist in the approach and killing of the animal because each animal has the soul of an ancestor. The ideology of animals having souls runs much deeper. In fact, these souls are powerful forces in the Eskimo's lives and they determine the future's prosperous gain of game or the lack there of. For that reason, the hunters of Eskimo treat the physical body of these animals with the up most respect in order to keep harmony. The bladder of each hunted animal is hung in the Men's house because it is believed that the souls of these powerful forces are held within them (Gill, Native American Religion, p.122). During the ceremony, the men must become purified.
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.
The Cree people have a rich and diverse history. Through methods of written and oral teachings, a greater understanding of the Cree people and their history has become apparent. In the following, I will highlight portions of Cree history to establish an understanding of such a rich culture. As a guide, I will use ideas highlighted in Jim Kanepetew’s (n.d) teachings of “The Ten Treaty Sticks”. Underlying concepts from “The Ten Treaty Sticks” have implications on both past and current practices of the Cree people. Since a large portion of the final exam is a chronological list of happenings, I will examine and extend the teachings of “The Ten Treaty Sticks” and how these align with teachings throughout the course. Using “The Ten Treaty Sticks” as a guide, I
The Arctic is an area above the imaginary line of the Arctic Circle, which is latitude 66.6° north (Smith, 2009). This is a hostile and unforgiving place, with freezing temperatures and 24 hours of darkness in winter (Smith, 2009). Nevertheless, one particular place of interest is Devon Island, which has many seasonal hunting grounds such as Cape Liddon – see exhibit one. Although Devon Island is uninhabited today, past settlers survived harsh conditions by exploiting coastal and inland resources for thousands of years. Interestingly, between 1982 and 1987, archaeologists found 163 sites on the island (Helmer, 1991). These sites contained thousands of animal bones, various stone and bone tools dating back 4500 years (Helmer, 1991). Coincidently, the multipurpose ulu knife – see exhibit two – originates from the similar time period, which is traditionally used for processing animals for food and clothes (Crowell & Prusinski, n.d.). Also, it is believed that indigenous people created carvings such as small face masks, for interacting with spirits (Zságer, 2010). Funnily enough, a modern day mask – see in exhibit three – looks similar to a 3500 year old ivory face mask found on Devon Island (CMCC, 2013). Nonetheless, today some people call this traditional ecological knowledge, which refers to knowledge, beliefs and practices, in sustainable use of ...
Animals have always been mentors to humans, informing them about upcoming dangers, and teaching them how to hunt, gather, and find fresh water. The animals’ ways were of such a magnitude of importance that the Native Americans began to use stories based on these animals to teach lessons in life. Stories about these animals have emphasized the virtues of the animals, and repeatedly taught children to be, “wise, gentle, brave, or cheerful in the same manner as certain birds and animals” (Caduto and Bruchac, XI). An animal of great importance to the tribes of North America, was and still is, the elk. The elk was not only a source of food but also for clothes, tools, glue, and even teepee coverings. The teeth of the elk were used a jewelry to be worn only by the women of the tribes, also as a currency among the Native Americans. By scrutinizing Native American stories and scientific facts we can see how elks’ physical traits and ecological interactions can be traced to the culture of the Native American people.
The Inuit believed in the legend of Sedna the Sea goddess. The legend of Sedna was a very popular myth that was told by the Inuit for entertainment. Sedna went through many horrifying experiences before she became a sea goddess. The Inuit in many ways worshipped Sedna since she allowed them to hunt marine animals for food. Sedna also had many punishments for those who disobeyed her commands. Sedna will truly reamin as a magnificent myth in the Inuit culture.
McGaa, Ed. Mother Earth Spirituality: Native American Paths to Healing Ourselves and Our World. New York: HarperSanFrancisco, 1990.
...ught could be seen as arrogant, and had a condescending attitude as they thought the Inuit were “skraelings (a sick, weak person)” (McAnany and Yoffee, p. 56), all their encounters may not have been confrontational. They believe that their attitude simply could have come from a religious factor that it was the difference in being Christian compared to non-Christian. Though artifacts were scarcely found from the Norse in the Thule Inuit ruins and vice versa, the artifacts that were found could represent an encounter, but could as well have been from plundering abandoned homes. Also, when searching Norse settlements, no weapons were found, thus making them powerless against the Inuits if it had come down to a conflict between them. A scene on a small piece of bone did depict a battle, however it is important to note that it did not depict a Norseman against an Inuit.
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