Inuit history is one of the most remarkable survival stories in human experience, marked not only by endurance against the brutal conditions of the Arctic but also by resilience in the face of colonization and forced assimilation. The Inuit, a term that means “the people” in Inuktitut, reject the name Eskimo, which is widely considered offensive due to its derogatory origins. Today, an estimated 180,000 Inuit live across Arctic Canada, Greenland, Alaska, Denmark, and Russia. While Inuit is the most commonly accepted collective name, distinct regional identities exist.
In Greenland, they are known as Kalaallit, Inughuit, and Iivit. In Canada, communities use terms like Inuvialuit, Inuinnaat, and Inuit, while northern Alaskans call themselves Iñupiat. In southwestern Alaska, names such as Yup’ik and Cup’ik are used, and in Russia, they are referred to as Yupiget and Sugpiat. The Canadian Inuit homeland, known as Inuit Nunangat, means “the place where Inuit live.
” It comprises four regions: the Inuvialuit Settlement Region in the Northwest Territories and Yukon, Nunavik in northern Quebec, and Nunatsiavut in Labrador. The Inuit language, Inuktitut, is spoken throughout this region, with each area maintaining its own unique dialect. The language can be written using the Latin alphabet or syllabics, where symbols represent sounds instead of letters. Anthropologists trace the Inuit as descendants of the Thule people, who appeared in historical records around 1000 CE.
The Thule spread across the Arctic, reaching Canada and then Greenland by 1100 CE. The first Europeans the Inuit encountered were the Vikings. Archaeological discoveries at Skraeling Island in Nunavut yielded dozens of Norse items and artwork, suggesting a prosperous trade system between the two cultures. Around the mid-16th century, Inuit encountered European fishermen and whalers who built stations along the coast of Labrador.
While the Inuit did not disrupt their operations, wintertime raids for tools and iron soon became a problem. Missionaries from the Moravian church helped end the raids by providing iron and tools, eliminating the need for theft. Throughout the 19th century, the Inuit were valuable trading partners to European explorers and worked with the Hudson’s Bay Company. However, the arrival of Europeans proved deadly.
Along with trade goods came new diseases such as smallpox and tuberculosis. With no immunity, Inuit communities were devastated by high mortality rates. For a time, the inhospitable cold kept the Canadian government away, but after settling the rest of the country, it turned its attention north. In 1939, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that Inuit, like all indigenous groups, fell under federal jurisdiction.
In the ensuing years, many Inuit traditions were criminalized as the RCMP enforced Canadian law and assimilation policies, including the blending of shamanism and Christianity known as Silaqittuq. Inuit are highly skilled hunters and fishermen, relying on a diet rich in protein and fat from fish, whales, seal, caribou, and musk oxen. Growing plants in the Arctic is nearly impossible, so traditionally, Inuit foraged for tubers, roots, berries, grasses, and seaweed. Today, imported fruits, vegetables, and milk are often expensive and limited due to long transport distances.
Studies show the traditional diet, despite containing little plant matter, provides adequate nutrients like vitamin C from raw meat. Still, the lifespan of modern Inuit is roughly 12 to 15 years shorter than the average Canadian, with limited access to medical services considered a major factor. Facial tattoos, called kakiniit, are an ancient tradition among Inuit women. For nearly 4,000 years, these tattoos signified family lineage, birthplace, life achievements, and community status.
Traditionally, needles were made from tightly spun caribou sinew, dipped in soot, and applied through skin stitching. The finished tattoo was sterilized with a mixture of soot and urine. Today, many use modern tattoo machines or stick-and-poke methods. When Catholic missionaries arrived in the early 20th century, they forbade the practice.
Fortunately, modern Inuit have reclaimed kakiniit, and it is seeing a resurgence. Beyond their beauty, kakiniit are connected to Inuit legends, particularly the sea goddess Sedna. It is believed that wearing the tattoos guaranteed a woman entry to a happy afterlife, as Sedna would not allow women without them to pass. Some souls were even sent to a land of the crestfallen, forced to endure eternity with their heads hung down.
Sedna’s legend is tragic: after a dispute, her father threw her from his kayak and chopped off her fingers when she clung to the side. She sank into the depths and became a sea goddess, and her severed fingers became the seals, whales, and walruses that Inuit came to rely on. Hunters traditionally prayed to Sedna for good fortune, and in some regions, offerings of harpoon heads, broken knives, and bits of meat were thrown into the ocean. Inuit hunted sea animals from single-passenger boats called qajaq, known today as kayaks.
Covered in sealskin, these boats impressed Europeans with their buoyancy and ability to be righted by a seated paddler even when completely upside down. The umiak, or “women’s boat,” was another important craft, stretching 6 to 12 meters long and capable of transporting people, dogs, and goods. In winter, hunters waited patiently at breathing holes in the ice for seals and walruses, a technique also used by polar bears. Harpoons were the weapon of choice for hunting seals and whales, used from kayaks or while ice fishing.
Dog sleds, called qamutik, were essential for transportation. Made of wood, animal bones, and whale baleen, they could haul heavy loads over long distances with a team of dogs. The dogs were also hunting companions, used to sniff out seals and harass polar bears, and they guarded villages from bears and strangers. Inuit favored powerful breeds like the Siberian husky, Alaskan malamute, and the Canadian Inuit Dog, the official animal of Nunavut.
At sea, navigation relied on the stars; on land, natural landmarks and inuksuit marked the path. In Greenland, Inuit carved wooden maps depicting the coastline. Clothing was built from animal hides and furs, with caribou and seal hides the most commonly used. Preparing hides took weeks, making them incredibly valuable, so old clothing was reused as bedding or taken apart for new garments.
Depending on the weather, Inuit could wear up to five layers of socks, boots, and over-boots. Traditionally, boots were made from waterproof sealskin and warm caribou hide, though today they are sometimes made of heavy canvas or denim. The parka, or anorak, varied by region. Men’s parkas were looser around the shoulders with fitted hoods that did not block eyesight during hunts.
Women’s parkas, called amauti, featured a built-in pouch below the hood to carry a baby on the back, protecting it from the cold. Igloos served as temporary winter housing for some Inuit in Canada and the Qaanaaq region of Greenland. Built from snow, they heat up quickly with just body heat, reaching temperatures of -7 to 16°C (19 to 61°F). A small fire is possible, and the warmth melts a thin layer of ice that refreezes into insulation.
When temperatures were above freezing, Inuit lived in tents called tupiq, with frames made of wood or bone covered in animal skins. Tools were mostly made from animal bone and stones like soapstone, while walrus ivory was highly valued for knives. Some Inuit also used the Cape York meteorite for tools until it was sold to the American Museum of Natural History in 1883. Responsibilities were generally divided by gender: men hunted and fished, while women cared for children and the home.
However, women sometimes hunted, and men had to be skilled at sewing and cooking for hunts lasting days. Although men did most of the hunting, women butchered, skinned, and cooked the meat. It was believed that women’s respect for the animals during butchering would bring success on future hunts. The harsh Arctic conditions made partnership essential, so marriage was viewed as a necessity.
Marriages were usually arranged at birth, and while love marriages occurred, families still arranged them. Young women could marry after puberty, while men had to prove themselves as capable hunters. Large ceremonies were uncommon; a couple was considered truly married after their first child. Most Inuit were monogamous, though open marriages and polygamy were not unknown.
Divorce was possible but seen as damaging to the entire community, and partner-swapping with neighbors was a common alternative. Because resources were scarce and communities small, a strong culture of borrowing and lending prevailed. Refusing aid without good reason was frowned upon. For instance, if someone had two pairs of boots and a neighbor needed one, giving a pair was expected.
Households often contained multiple families, sharing all food and resources. A long-held myth claimed the Inuit practiced senicide, or killing the elderly. This theory holds no weight, as elders are the primary keepers of oral history and communal knowledge. In extreme cold or famine, a mother might make the heartbreaking choice to abandon a baby, though sometimes another family would find and adopt the child.
There were also mistaken beliefs that Inuit killed infants with birth defects. This changed following the discovery of an ancient burial site near Barrow, Alaska. In the 1980s and early 1990s, storm erosion unearthed the frozen, mummified remains of an 800-year-old Inuit family. One member, a young girl named Agnayak, had been born with a genetic defect preventing her from walking.
The autopsy showed she and her family died of starvation, but she had clearly been cared for deeply, spending her life near her mother and a cooking fire. She was buried with care, dressed in a warm parka with a small toboggan made of whalebone. Traditional Inuit spirituality was a form of animism, believing all things possess a soul. Shamans, called angakkuq, were called upon to intercede with spirits or mediate disputes.
While anyone could become an angakkuq, the role was usually taken by men, sometimes passed from father to son. A young person might also exhibit powers through dreams or prophecy. Unless needed for spiritual help, the angakkuq lived like everyone else, contributing through hunting or other work, and received compensation for divination and dream interpretation. Inuit did not have a formal legal system, but three tenets guided life: maligait, things to follow; piqujait, things to do; and tirigusuusiit, things to avoid.
Violating these was thought to bring bad luck like unsuccessful hunts. To settle disputes, the angakkuq went on a spiritual journey to find the cause of misfortune, then questioned those involved. Fearing the shaman already knew the guilty party, people often confessed. Admission of guilt was usually punishment enough, though penance might include cleaning the clan’s urine pots or swapping wives.
While the angakkuq remains part of some contemporary communities, they are called upon less as many Inuit have adopted Christianity or blended beliefs. Carved items are a staple of Inuit art. Historically, artists carved walrus or narwhal ivory; nowadays, soft stone like soapstone and serpentite is preferred. Miniature sculptures of humans and animals were common, along with depictions of whaling, hunting, and camping.
After contact with European whalers, Inuit art and decorated tools became important trade commodities, bartered for tea, alcohol, and weapons. In the 1950s, block printing emerged as a key medium after the Canadian government encouraged mass production. Rather than linoleum or rubber, many artists used stone for their prints. Today, Inuit art and textiles are popular throughout Canada.
The country has adopted certain Inuit icons as national symbols, including the inukshuk, displayed at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Galleries like the Winnipeg Art Gallery are renowned for their Inuit collections. Globally, Inuit are represented by the Inuit Circumpolar Council, a non-governmental organization recognized by the United Nations. The council promotes the rights and welfare of Inuit and other indigenous peoples, often taking a stand on environmental issues like climate change.
In Canada, Inuit have full governance over Nunavut, which was part of the Northwest Territories until April 1, 1999, when it became its own jurisdiction. It is now Canada’s largest and northernmost territory. Inuit life has changed dramatically over the past century. Snowmobiles and rifles have replaced dog sleds and harpoons, and permanent settlements with steady income opportunities have replaced nomadic life.
Yet the enduring culture and traditions remain. The term Eskimo is considered extremely offensive, believed to mean “eaters of raw fish,” used pejoratively to distinguish Inuit from other native tribes. Using the Inuit’s preferred name is a sign of respect for their culture and heritage.