INUIT Native Americans of the Arctic

SS4H1 The student will describe how early Native American cultures developed in North America. b. Describe how the Native Americans used their environment to obtain food, clothing, and shelter.

Location Where do the Inuit live? The Inuit live along the Coasts of lands in the far North. They live in Asia (Sibera), The United States (Alaska), Canada, and Greenland.

Environment What is it like where they live? Temperatures are below freezing for eight or nine months of the year There is almost NO rainfall The ground stays frozen all year There are very few trees, and almost no plant life.

FOOD In the winter seals were harpooned at their breathing holes in the ice. A hunter might have to stand still for hours waiting for the seal to come up for air. In the summer the seals came out of the water to sun themselves. The hunter can crawl close to the seal and throw a harpoon to kill the seal. In late summer the caribou were hunted. Inuit hunters made camp near the caribou grazing grounds. They would ambush the slow-moving herd with bows and arrows.

Caribou

Seal

SHELTER The igloo, usually made from blocks of snow and dome- shaped. In the summer, Inuit live in sealskin or, more recently, cloth tents.

CLOTHING Warm clothing was important The walrus, seal, and furry mammals supply food and clothing to the Inuit. All parts of the animals were used. Parkas (heavy coats) were made of seal-skin. Sealskin was usually worn in the summer. And caribou skin was worn in the winter. Caribou skin was light weight, yet very warm. The women skinned the animals and made the clothing. The women used bones for needles and gut thread. Both men and women wore hooded tunics and trousers over long boots. the women's tunics were made very large so she could carry her baby inside the tunic.