I NUIT E SKIMOS By Jordan Burrell and Morgan Herrmann

W EAPONS One of the many weapons that the Alaskan Inuit used was the harpoon. They used the harpoon to kill seal and many other sea animals. Another weapon that they used was a spear. They used the spear to kill fish and dig up roots.

L ANGUAGE The Inuit people spoke Inuktitut here are some basic words. I am hungry, Kaaktunga – (kak-toon-ga ) How are you, Qanuipit - (ka-nwee-peet) Thank you, Qujannamiik – (coo-yan-na-mee-ick I am fine, Qunuinguttunga-(ka-nweeng-nitoon-ga) Help, Ikajunga - (ick-a-yung-ga) Yes, Li - (ee) No, Aakka - (ah-ka I am sick, Aaniajunga – (ah-nee-a-yung-ga)

F OOD The Inuit People eat mainly seal. But they also eat roots, whale, fish, and bear. They didn’t eat many land foods because they lived near the sea.

W AY OF L IFE Inuit families could be up to twenty people, a mom a dad and sometimes other relatives or many children. The women did most of the hard work around the house much like today, they chewed the skins of the animals that the men hunted to make them soft so they could make cloths. The men did most of the hard work outside, like hunting, spear fishing and ice fishing. Both men and women did the same amount of work the men gave the women food and shelter and the women gave the men cooked food and cloths.

R ELIGION They believed in many Gods, here are some of them. Agloolik, spirit that helped with hunting and fishing. Aguta, Gatherer of the dead, and takes them to the underworld. Aipalovik, evil god of the sea that killed people by biting them. Akna, mother goddess that made child birth possible. Annikan the moon, brother of the son. Sedna, goddess of the sea. There may or may not have been many other gods they believed in.

H OUSING The traditional house that the Inuit Eskimos lived in was an igloo, or a structures made of stone, mud, and tar. They only lived in an igloo during the winter because that was when more ice was found.

C LOTHING The men wore coats out of fox fur and trousers out of white bear skin. The women wore pants out of fox fur and a coat out of fox fur but the hood was made out of seal skin. Both men and women wore boots called kamiks.

W HAT C ONTRIBUTIONS H AVE T HEY M ADE T ODAY The women of the Inuit families did most of the hard work around the house much like today. We still use something the Inuit made, called the kayak. Believe it or not we still use the harpoon like they did. Also Inuit tribes still build igloos today.

F UN F ACTS Inuit means “The People.” Eskimo means “The eaters of raw flesh.” The Inuit Eskimo’s found the name Eskimos very offensive. The whole name Inuit Eskimos means “The people that eat raw flesh.” The Inuit “ The people’’ developed the kayak.

B IBLIOGRAPHY spirituality-and-beliefs-in-the-legends-and-lore- of-the-inuit-eskimos /Native_Alaskans/eskimo.html