Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes

ARCTIC PEOPLES 25
The Arctic Culture Area, showing the approximate locations of Inuit and Aleut bands circa 1500, before displacement by
non-Indians (with modern boundaries)
in a state known as permafrost. When the surface ice
thaws during the short summer, the water does not
drain, but forms numerous lakes and ponds along with
mud and rising fog.
The Arctic Ocean freezes over in the winter, then
breaks up into drift ice during the summer thaw. The
Arctic is actually a frozen desert, having little precipitation.
Arctic blizzards are not characterized by huge
amounts of snowfall. Rather, gale-force winds stir up
what surface snow already exists, forming snowdrifts.
The Arctic’s land environment is called tundra.
Because of the cold climate and permafrost, the tundra is
treeless. Little vegetation grows other than mosses,
lichens, and stunted shrubs. Most of the tundra consists
of rolling plains. In the western part, there are some
mountains, the northern reaches of the Rockies.
Wildlife in the Arctic includes sea mammals, such as
whales, walruses, seals, and sea lions; saltwater and freshwater
fish; seagulls and other birds; polar bears; and caribou.
These, along with other fauna appearing in certain
locations on the tundra in summertime, such as rabbits,
rodents, and owls, provided subsistence for Arctic peoples,
who could not practice farming that far north. Arctic peoples
Bella migrated Coola grave when monument necessary to obtain food.
The inhabitants of the Arctic came later to North
America than did other Native peoples. They came from
Siberia in boats, starting about 2500 B.C., whereas the
other Native peoples traveled over the Bering Strait land
bridge. Arctic peoples are generally shorter and broader
than other Native North Americans, with rounder faces,
lighter skin, and epicanthic eye folds, the small fold of
skin covering the inner corner of the eyes that is typical
of Asian peoples. As a result, Arctic peoples generally are
not referred to as Indians. One sees instead phrases such
as Native peoples and Arctic peoples.
Arctic peoples include the INUIT and the ALEUT.The
Inuit formerly were called Eskimo, a name applied to
them by ALGONQUIANS and meaning “eaters of raw
meat.” Inuit means “the people.”
The Inuit and Aleut shared language (the Eskimaleut,
or Eskaleut, language family) and many cultural traits.
But there were differences too. For instance, the Aleut
did not construct snow houses (igloos), as many Inuit
peoples did.
The various subdivisions of the Inuit and Aleut, along
with their respective cultures and histories, are discussed
in detail under their respective entries.