Inuit Religion

Every culture differs when it comes to religion. In the case of the Alaskian Inuits this is no different. The traditional or main religion of these people is animistic. Animistic meaning that everything is infused or saturated with spirit. It was their goal to stay in harmony with the spirit world. They did this with the use of amulets which they wore, the observance of taboos, and participation in a number of ceremonies which main focus was the success of the hunt, food, birth, death, the life cycle, and the seasonal round.There are also two forms of traditional medicine used by the inuits. One involved intercession and divination with the spirits while the other involved massage and manipulation of various body parts, mainly the internal organs. They also had different views on death than those of christianity. In the Inuit relgion when a person died, his or her personal belongings were placed on the grave so that the dead can use them in the afterlife, however, the soul of everyone who died would be reanimated in the form of a newborn infant. The traditional beliefs about death and the afterworld have been replaced by an array of Christian beliefs.

Bibliography: Unknown Author, "The Arctic People - Religion / Ceremonies / Art / Clothing." Inuit Online cultural Resources. http://firstpeoplesofcanada.com/fp_groups/fp_inuit5.html (accessed April 9, 2013).

Marriage and Family

Many of the family and marriage traditions of the Inuit people are similar to those practiced today. The men had one main goal: bring food home to their families. They were the hunters and fishermen. Meanwhile, the women cooked, took care of their children, and cleaned while the husbands were out in the wilderness searching for food. This is what happened in a typical Inuit household, but there are some exceptions. In some cases, women would do the hunting if the husband was away from home, or if they just enjoyed hunting as a hobby. Likewise, some men took on the responsibility of learning how to cook and sew. Further, Inuit marriage had a different structure than that of present day America. Their marriage customs were not strictly monogamous marriages. Many relationships were sexually open marriages. Also, divorce is common among the Inuit people, and some divorces could only take place if approved by the community. Also, some marriages were arranged, in as early as infancy. Marriage is commonly forced on a couple by the community, so it is not a surprise that divorce is common among their culture. Every household has it's head, who is an elder or a particularly respected man.

Reference: Diana Forero, "Inuit Tribe," Intermediate Huron (blog), November 6, 2008, http://intermediatehuron.blogspot.com/2008/06/family-gender-roles-mariage-and.html.

Background Information of the Alaskan Inuits

This indigenous group are called "Eskimos"(meaning eaters of raw flesh) by their neighbors the Abnaki Indians, but they call themselves "Inuit" (meaning the people). They contain around 60,000 people spread out throughout Alaska. Being one of the last groups to come to North America, the Inuit came between 6,000 and 2,000 B.C. There are several cultural eras discovered by anthropologists, the Denbigh (small tool culture) began 5,000 years ago and spread westward to Alaska and Canada. Being close to the sea and living in snow, it is a high probability that the Denbigh created the first snow houses. By about 1000 B.C. the Denbigh had moved further East into the Dorset Tradition. Both cultures have been found at a site near Point Hope called Ipiutak (around 125 miles North from the Artic Circle). Point Hope has been continuously inhabited for 2,000 years, making it the oldest known Inuit settlement. Houses at the Iputak, population of around 2,000 people (around the size of a modern village at Point Hope), were around 12 feet by 15 feet with sod-covered walls and roof. Other Inuit peoples settled in part-time villages, continually developing and called Old Bering Sea Cultures. This was because they traveled by kayak in the summer and sled in the winter. The Inuit people were classified as central-based wanderers because they spent part of the year searching for food and the rest of the time at a central camp. The hunting groups contained 12 to 50 people and there were three hunting seasons (seal season, caribou season, and whale season). This continuous cycle was broken up with occasional feasts where groups from miles around came together. This all being, the Inuit culture.

Bibliography:

Jones, Sydney, "Inuit", Countries and their Cultures,
            http://www.everyculture.com/multi/Ha-La/Inuit.html#b (accessed April 7, 2013).

The language of the Inuits.

The Inuits speak a language called Inupiaq. Inupiaq is a member of the Eskaleut family of languages finding its roots from ural-altaic languages native to Turkey, Hungary, and Finland. Inupiaq has given us such words as kayak, husky, parka, and igloo. When western civilizations began settling in Alaska, the Inuits were pressured to learn English and were punished for speaking their own native Inupiaq. The future for the language and Inuit culture looked dim until the Inuits banded together for reform in the 1970's. Now schools in Alaska the preservation of the language, and even teach it.

"Countries and Their Cultures." Inuit. N.p., n.d. Web. Apr. 2013.

Mission: The iCross-Cultural Citizen Project is a cultural anthropology course-based project meant to raise critical consciousness about the rich cultural diversity in our indigenous world (in our planet). Being totally aware of the limitations of being outsiders, we are a group of multidisciplinary undergraduate students who believe in cross-cultural sensitivity and participatory agency aimed at disseminating information about indigenous realities as accurately as possible.

Vision: The iCross-Cultural Citizen Project’s vision is to create an online cross-cultural space for students, professionals, and youth to learn and exchange cross-culturally sensitive information about contemporary indigenous experiences. From that outsider student’s perspective, we will try to theoretically explore possible collaborative solutions to problems that affect the indigenous populations of our planet. Finally, we hope for the future creation of a space where indigenous youth can share their experiences and their realities with us for real mutual collaboration to take place.

Values:
 We value the maximization of benefits to indigenous peoples and vulnerable populations in the world.
 We value the respect for persons all over the world.
 We value the equal treatment of people, and we are against the exploitation of vulnerable groups around the world.
 We value collaborative cross-cultural learning and critical thinking.

Inuit Traditions

The Inuit people have several traditions that are still practiced today. Traditionally, the Inuit believed that humans and animals had spirits. So, when something went wrong, they thought the spirits were unhappy and they would ask a shaman to make the spirits happy again. This practice is called Shamanism. Also, the Inuit have a long tradition of storytelling. Before the Inuit people developed a system of writing, they passed down stories from generations by telling them aloud. This has kept ancient Inuit legends and history alive. Many of the stories are about powerful spirits that roam the land and swim in the sea. Further, since the development of writing, the Inuit have written their stories in Inuktitut and other languages so more people can learn about their culture. Additionally, the Inuit still practice their traditional dance and song including the drum dance.

Resource: Dallas Anderson, "Inuit Culture," Arctic Inuksuk, Accessed April 6, 2013, http://www.arcticinuksuk.com/index.php/inuit-culture-history-of-inuksuks.