Yup’ik Every Yup'ik is responsible to all other Yup'iks for survival of our cultural spirit, and the values and traditions through which it survives. Through our extended family, we retain, teach, and live our Yup'ik way.

General information There are more Yup’ik people than any other Alaskan Native people. About 20,000 live in Alaska today. Most Yup'ik people live in small villages along the Bering Sea and the lower Yukon and Kuskokwim Rivers. Through a confusion among Russian explorers in the 1800s, the Yup’ik people bordering the territory of the unrelated Aleuts were erroneously called Aleuts, or Alutiiq, in Yup’ik. The Yup'ik languages are in the family of Eskimo-Aleut languages. The Aleut and Eskimo languages diverged about 2000 B.C., and the Yup’ik languages diverged from each other and from Inuktitut about 1000 A.D.

Language The Yup’ik people speak five distinct languages, depending on their location. The languages differ enough from one another that speakers of different ones cannot understand each other, although they may understand the general idea of a conversation of speakers of another of the languages. The most common language is called Central Yup’ik. The five Yup’ik are still very widely spoken, with more than 75% of the Yup'ik population fluent in the language. About 1/3 of the Yup'ik children learn Central Yup'ik as their first language. Nowadays, local radio stations broadcast in the language.

Culture The men's communal house, the qasqig, was the community center for ceremonies and festivals which included singing, dancing, and storytelling. The qasqig was used mainly in the winter months, because people would travel in family groups following food sources throughout the spring, summer, and fall months. Aside from ceremonies and festivals, it was also where the men taught the young boys survival and hunting skills, as well as other life lessons. The young boys were also taught how to make tools and qayaqs during the winter months in the qasqig.

Culture The women's house, the ena, was traditionally right next door, and in some areas they were connected by a tunnel. Women taught the young girls how to sew, cook, and weave. Boys would live with their mothers until they were about five years old, then they would live in the qasqig. Each winter, from anywhere between three to six weeks, the young boys and young girls would switch, with the men teaching the girls survival and hunting skills and toolmaking and the women teaching the boys how to sew and cook.

Facts The Yup'ik languages were not written until the arrival of Europeans around the beginning of the 19th century. The earliest efforts at writing Yup'ik were those of missionaries who, with their Yup'ik- speaking assistants, translated the Bible and other religious texts into Yup'ik. After the United States purchased Alaska, Yup'ik children were taught to write English with Latin letters in the public schools. Some were also taught the Yup'ik script developed by Rev. Hinz. In the 1960s, the University of Alaska assembled a group of scholars and native Yup'ik speakers who developed a script to replace the Hinz writing system. One of the goals of this script was that it could be input from an English keyboard, without diacriticals or extra letters.

Yup’ik Masks For many generations the Yup’ik people of Alaska have created beautifully expressive masks for their traditional dances and ceremonies. Over the long winter darkness dances and storytelling took place in the qasgiq (traditional men’s house) using these masks.

Nepcetaq This is a Nepcetaq (shaman mask) with face peering through a triangular shield, painted red, white, and black. Ten feathers are bent through holes in the upper rim and sewn in place.

Owl mask Owl mask with five feathers. The symbolic meaning of color varies with the creator of the mask and the story he or she is relating. Recurring colors include red which may sometimes symbolize life, –blood, or give protection to the mask's wearer; –black which sometimes represents death or the afterlife; and –white which sometimes can mean living or winter.

Wolf’s head Finely carved wolf's head, with tongue protruding and (originally) three black feathers inserted in the upper rim. Men continued to carve similar wolf, fox, bear, and caribou head masks into the 1930s.

Human face This mask shows a distorted human face, with one eye partly closed and wrinkled forehead. Yup'ik Paul John of Nelson Island recalled stories about a strange noise coming from outside the qasgiq. When the people saw the face of the creature that had come to them, it would have a bent face with a sideways mouth.

Traditional dance John McIntyre performing with his Issiisaayuq mask, which tells of the shaman who foretold the coming of the first white people.

List of some important values all Alaska Native Cultures share Show Respect to Others - Each Person Has a Special Gift Share what you have - Giving Makes You Richer Know Who You Are - You Are a Reflection on Your Family Accept What Life Brings - You Cannot Control Many Things Have Patience - Some Things Cannot Be Rushed

List of some important values all Alaska Native Cultures share Live Carefully - What You Do Will Come Back to You Take Care of Others - You Cannot Live without Them Honor Your Elders - They Show You the Way in Life Pray for Guidance - Many Things Are Not Known See Connections - All Things Are Related

Yup'ik Values Love for Children Respect for Others Sharing Humility Hard work Spirituality Cooperation Family Roles Knowledge of family tree Knowledge of Language Hunter Success Domestic Skills Avoid conflict Humor Respect for nature Respect For Land Respect For Nature

More facts In a lot of the Yup'ik villages the women and a few men cut grass and weave it into baskets. Many villages are hundreds of miles away from paved highways. They are connected to the outside world through computers, telephones, and daily airplane flights. Many things about the Yup'ik lifestyle have changed in the last several hundred years.

More facts These days a lot of people work for schools, stores, government, and commercial fishing. Many families still harvest the traditional subsistence resources, especially salmon and seal. Community pot latches and dance festivals bring people together throughout the villages, providing their children knowledge and pride in their culture.

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