Ever wondered about people living in cold arctic regions. How did they survive such extreme climate and what were their cultures and traditions? People living in regions such as the arctic region of Greenland, Canada, United States and Russia were named as Inuit people or Eskimos. Their cultures and traditions varied largely from the rest of the world as they were isolated. They largely remained tribal and their traditions and culture were based on very old myths and tales. Homes of Inuit people were made of ice in winter season as other materials like wood were scarcely available due to permafrost and were called igloos. During summer when ice melted they made tents from animal skins supported by wood and bones which were named as tupiq.

Inuit people largely lived in groups ranging from 150 to 250 members.  Gender specific roles were present such as men were traditionally hunters and food providers whereas women members of the family took care of children, household and cooked but some rare occurrence of women being hunters has also been reported. They were primarily nomadic and travelled in search of food. Their diet mainly consisted of meat and they usually hunted whales, walrus and seals. The main means of transport were sleds made of animal bones and skin and pulled over by strong dogs bred by Inuit. To cover themselves from extreme cold they used animal skin for making clothes and boots. Clothes were made in the form of parkas which are now available in all parts of world and are made of various animal skins and products. For hunting, knives were also made from animal bones.  More about their culture can be found at this site.

Inuit used different dialects combined which cannot be differentiated. The primary language used in Greenland is kalaallisut and Inuktitut in Canada. They spoke traditional languages of North America. The household of Inuit family consisted of a nuclear family with a man, his wife or wives and children. Family also included the man’s parents, grandparents, distant relatives who don’t have any family and adopted children. Monogamy and rarely polygamous households were also found. Marriages were done in different groups as a means to establish communication with other groups. Marriages were mostly arranged and sometimes elders forced couples to marry against their wishes.

Communities helped each other in turbulent times. The elderly were respected and their opinions highly valued. They were considered as keepers of knowledge due to their age. Every community had a person called a shaman and a leader who was appointed based on seniority and experience. They had a belief that every community had supernatural beings living among them and even animals possessed souls which would avenge its death if not hunted properly. Leader’s advice was taken seriously and the shaman was influential in decisions as he was believed to be in control of spirits and was feared.

During days of famine elderly could not survive and infants were left by mothers in hope that a less desperate family would find and adopt them. Infants usually did not survive the long times of starvation. If an infant was born with a congenital defect then it would be killed. Suicides of elders were common place. The elderly made three requests to family for assistance in committing suicide which were denied by family and persuaded them to live. But if they made a third request then the family assisted in suicide. These suicides were done in front of community at burial ground. Aurora borealis, a form of natural lightning in arctic regions, was considered to be a dance by spirits and souls of their departed elders.

Inuit were largely isolated from world as they were no means of communication. But, the scenario changed when airplanes were invented and barriers were crossed. With the start of the Cold War, airbases were set up in arctic regions, to keep an eye on the enemy country. With this improvement, improved the lives of Inuit people. They came in contact with the world and better facilities like health care and education were made available to them and they prospered. Inuit population increased and survival only on hunting became difficult, so they moved on to towns and made permanent settlements.