Where does the Eskimo live? The territory of settlement and dwelling of the Eskimos

2024 Author: Harold Hamphrey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:06

Eskimos are called the people who have long inhabited the territory of Chukotka in the Russian Federation, Alaska in the United States of America, Nunavut in Canada and Greenland. The total number of Eskimos is about 170 thousand people. The largest number of them live in the Russian Federation - about 65 thousand people. There are about 45,000 of them in Greenland and 35,000 in the United States of America. and in Canada - 26 thousand people.

Origin of the people

Literally, "Eskimo" means a person who eats meat. But in different countries they are called differently. In Russia, these are Yugyts, that is, real people, in Canada - Inuit, and in Greenland - Tladlits.

When asking where the Eskimo lives, one must first understand who these interesting people are. The origin of the Eskimos is still considered a controversial issue today. There is an opinion that they belong to the most ancient population in the Bering region. Their ancestral home may have been northeast Asia, and from there the settlers settled to the northwest of America through the Bering Strait.

Asian Eskimos these days

In Russia, this population, together with the Chukchi, occupiesterritory of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug. Nowadays it is difficult to find a settlement with only these unusual inhabitants. Today, in any settlement where an Eskimo lives, a Russian, a Chukchi, a Tatar, a Ukrainian, and an Even live nearby. There are large Eskimo communities in the villages of Sireniki, Novoe Chaplino, Lavrentiya, Uelkal, Uelen and Lorino, as well as in the village of Provideniya.

Modern Eskimo settlements in Canada, the United States of America and Greenland

The dwelling of the Eskimos, even in Alaska, even in Chukotka, is always located in difficult natural conditions. Eskimo settlements in Canada appeared five thousand years ago in the territory between the rivers Thelon and Dubount. Since 1999, it has been considered a semi-autonomous land of Nunavut with an area of 2.1 million km2. Having gained control over their territory, the Eskimos to this day sacredly protect the culture of their ancestors. They also build winter igloos and hunt in local forests. Summer gatherings and craft classes take place in the village of Baker. And hunting for reindeer and seals, trout fishing gathers people on Victoria Island.

The Eskimos of North America live in the harsh Arctic zone. They occupy mainly the coastal part of the north of the mainland. And in Alaska, the Eskimo settlements occupy not only the coastal strip, but also some islands. The population living on the Copper River is almost completely assimilated with the local Indians. Just like in Russia, there are very few settlements in the United States of America in which only Eskimos live. Their predominant number is located on the territory of the cape. Barrow, on the banks of the Kobuka, Nsataka and Colville rivers, and along the Bering Sea.

The life and culture of the Greenlandic Eskimos and their relatives from Canada and the United States of America are similar. However, even today their dugouts and utensils with seal oil are mostly gone. Since the middle of the twentieth century, the construction of houses, including high-rise buildings, has been intensively developed in Greenland. Therefore, the housing of the Eskimos has changed significantly. More than fifty percent of the population began to use electricity and gas burners. Almost all Greenlandic Eskimos now prefer European clothes.

Lifestyle

The life of this people is divided into summer and winter modes of existence. Since ancient times, the main occupation of the Eskimos was hunting. In winter, the main prey of hunters is seals, walruses, various cetaceans, and sometimes bears. This fact explains why the territory where the Eskimo lives is almost always located on the sea coast. The skins of seals and the fat of dead animals have always faithfully served these people and helped them survive in the harsh Arctic conditions. In summer and autumn, men hunt birds, small game and even fish.

It should be noted that the Eskimos are not nomadic tribes. Despite the fact that during the warm season they are constantly on the move, they winter for several years in one place.

Unusual housing

To imagine what the Eskimos live in, you need to understand their way of life and rhythm. Due to the peculiar seasonality, the housing of the Eskimos is also twospecies - tents for summer habitation and winter houses. These dwellings are unique in their own way.

When creating summer tents, their volume is taken into account to accommodate at least ten people. From fourteen poles, a structure is created and covered with skins in two layers.

In the cold season, the Eskimos came up with something else. Igloos are snow huts that are their winter home option. They reach about four meters in diameter and two meters high. People are provided with lighting and heating thanks to seal fat, which is in bowls. Thus, the temperature in the room rises to twenty degrees above zero. These homemade lamps are used to cook food and melt snow for water.

As a rule, two families get along in one hut. Each of them occupies its own half. Naturally, housing gets dirty very quickly. Therefore, they destroy it and build a new one in another place.

Preservation of the Eskimo ethnic group

A person who has visited the lands where the Eskimo lives will not forget the hospitality and goodwill of this people. There is a special kindness and kindness here.

Despite the beliefs of some skeptics about the disappearance of the Eskimos from the face of the earth in the nineteenth or twentieth century, this people stubbornly proves the opposite. They managed to survive in the difficult conditions of the Arctic climate, create their own original culture and prove great resilience.

The unity of the people and their leaders plays a big role in this. Soan example is the Greenlandic and Canadian Eskimos. Photos, videos, relationships with other species of the population prove that they were able not only to survive in a harsh environment, but also to achieve greater political rights, as well as gain respect in the world movement among the natives.

Unfortunately, on the territory of the Russian Federation, the socio-economic situation of the indigenous population looks a little worse and requires support from the state.