The groups and their territories as shown on the map behind the dancer: Northern Eskimos or Inupiaq - orange Southern Eskimos or Yup'ik - yellow Aleutian Islands Indians or Aleut - grey Southeastern coast Indians or Tlingit - green Interrior Indians or Athabascan - red

Alaskan Sampler - Alaska Natives

Alaska natives are generally catagorized into five linguistically deliniated groups.

The groups and their territories as shown on the map behind the dancer: Northern Eskimos or Inupiaq - orange Southern Eskimos or Yup'ik - yellow Aleutian Islands Indians or Aleut - grey Southeastern coast Indians or Tlingit - green Interrior Indians or Athabascan - red

Northern Eskimos:  Inupiaq The Inupait are hardy natives who wear warm fur clothing and use dogs and sleds for travel. Disappointedly they do not live and never did use igloos (except for extreme emergencies).  The Inupiaq houses for 8 - 12 individuals featured an underground tunnel entrance constructed below the level of the living area. This served as a cold trap.  The dome shaped houses were semi-subterranean for insulation and were heated and lighted with seal-oil lamps.  Sod blocks over driftwood or whalebone were the usual constuction materials. Seal, bowhead whale, caribou and fish were their main foods, with caribou sometimes making up 90 percent of their diet. Units or bands of Inupiaq consisted of closely-related families of 20 to 200 people who occupied and used a certain territory. Inupiat recognized kinsmen bilaterally, that is, relatives on both the mother's and father's sides were equally important. These coastal people used the umiak or large open skin boat for hunting whale and walrus, for travel and trading voyages.  .  Most boats were 15-20 feet long, but some were nearly 50 feet.  Better known is the  kayak or closed skin boat, most often used by one man. Southern Eskimos - Yup'ik Yup'ik people organized their lives according to the animals and plants that they hunted and gathered.  Families came together in groups of 100-300 during the winter and in the spring dispersed to various camps to fish and hunt as families or extended groups.  Many Yup'ik people still depend upon subsistence fishing, hunting and gathering, relying on the walrus, bowhead whales and seals or salmon and caribou depending on where the people were located. They constructed a variety of dwellings, primarily semi-subterranean structures.  The men occupied separate dwellings from the women and children, but would visit the women's house. Yup'ik social structure also varied from patrilineal descent groups to descent which was nominally matrilineal. Yup'iks used the kayaks when whaling following the Aleut technique of lancing the whale with aconite poison, or used umiaks when using the cooperative whaling method relying on harpoons, floats and lines. Aleutian Island Indians - Aleut The Aleut people are a maritime people.  The sea shaped their culture, supplying marine mammals and fish; linking villages scattered over thousands of miles.  The Steller sea lion provided food, boat covers, line, oil, tools, boot soles, containers and material for garments.  The marine mammals comprised 50 percent of their diet.  This was supplimented with caribou, salmon, bird eggs, intertidal organisms and plants. Their settlements included villages and seasonal camps.  Typically 200 people lived in five to 10 dwellings.  The basic house construction was an oblong pit dwelling of sod covering wood or whale bone.  Entry was by means of a pole ladder through a hole in the ceiling. Aleut kinship followed matrilineal descent and inheritance.  Their culture was heavily influenced by the Russians beginning in the 18th century.  The Orthodox Church is prominent in every village, Russian dishes are made using local subsistence food. An Aleut hunted whales alone from kayaks with harpoons.  The stone heads were coated with poison.  The whale would take several days to a week to die after being wounded.  Aleut men wore visors and elongated hats to keep off the incessant rain and protect their eyes from the ocean's glare. Southeastern Coast Indians - Tlingit The Tlingit (pronounced Clingit) enjoyed a region of plenty.  Their culture was distinctive in its emphasis on woodworking, permanent settlements, primary dependence on salmon, social stratification, wealth and art. They lived in large cedar plank dwellings and memorialized events through their totem poles.  They practiced a highly organzied system of matrilineal descent following two matrilineal moieties and about 70-80 clans.  Inherited clan rights include the use of fishing, hunting, and gathering land,  the use of crests on totem poles, houses and ceremonial regalia. They traveled and fished in cedar dugout canoes of various sizes depending need. Simple everyday dress and elaborate ceremonial attire featured conical hats and Chilkat robes based on totemic designs. Indians of the Alaska Interior -  Athabascan Athabascans occupy the largest territory of all the Alaska Native peoples.  Small groups of 20 to 40 persons travelled to fish and hunt and trap. The Athabascans remained nomadic until the early twentieth century.  Moose, caribou, salmon and the birch tree are among the primary resources of the Athabascans.  Funnel-shaped fences were used to trap caribou in corrals where they were killed. Their home construction varied from large plank dwellings to tents, to semisubterranean. Their social organization bases kinship on matrilineal decent.  But their society incorporates practices from neighboring groups. Athabaskans are distinctive for their use of bark, particularly birch, for vessels, bowls and canoes.  Their clothing was also unique in its tailored, form-fitting quality.

© Regina M. McMullan, 2000