Where does the Eskimo live? Territory of settlement and the home of the Eskimos

Eskimos are people who have long inhabited the territory of Chukotka in the Russian Federation, Alaska in the United States of America, Nunavut in Canada and Greenland. The total number of Eskimos is about 170 thousand people. The largest number of them live in the Russian Federation - about 65 thousand people. In Greenland there are about 45 thousand people, in the United States of America - 35 thousand people. And in Canada - 26 thousand people.

Origin of the people

If literally, "Eskimo" means a person who eats meat. But in different countries they are called differently. In Russia these are yugits, that is, real people, in Canada - Inuit, and in Greenland - Tladlites.

Asking about where the Eskimo lives, you first need to understand who these interesting people are. The origin of the Eskimos today is considered a controversial issue. There is an opinion that they belong to the most ancient population in the Bering region. Their ancestral home, perhaps, was the northeast of Asia, and from there settlers settled to the northwest of America through the Bering Strait.

Asian Eskimos these days

In Russia, this population, along with the Chukchi, occupies the territory of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug. In our time it is difficult to find a settlement with only these unusual inhabitants. Today in any settlement where the Eskimo lives, Russian, Chukchi, Tatar, Ukrainian, and Even live nearby. Large Eskimo communities are found in the villages of Sireniki, Novy Chaplino, Lavrenty, Uelkal, Uelen and Lorino, as well as in the village of Provideniya.

Modern Eskimo settlements in Canada, the United States of America and Greenland

The home of the Eskimos, albeit in Alaska, even in Chukotka, is always located in difficult natural conditions. Settlements of Eskimos in Canada appeared five thousand years ago on the territory between the rivers of Telon and Dubaunt. Since 1999, it is considered the semi-autonomous land of Nunavut with an area of 2.1 million km.kv. Having gained control over their territory, the Eskimos still cherish the culture of their ancestors. Just build a winter needle and hunt in the local forests. Summer camps and handicrafts take place in the village of Baker. A hunt for reindeer and seals, trout fishing collects people on the island of Victoria.

The Eskimos of North America live in the severe Arctic zone. They occupy mainly the coastal part of the north of the continent. And in Alaska, Eskimo settlements occupy not only the coastline, but also some islands. The population living on the Copper River is almost completely assimilated with the indigenous Indians. Just like in Russia, there are very few settlements in the United States of America, in which only Eskimos live. Their primary population is located on the territory of Cape Barrow, on the banks of the Kobuk, Nsatak and Colville rivers, and along the Bering Sea.

The life and culture of the Greenland Eskimos and their relatives from Canada and the United States of America are similar. However, even today their dugouts and utensils with seals are mostly gone . Since the middle of the twentieth century, the construction of houses, including multi-storey buildings, began to develop intensively in Greenland. Therefore, the home of the Eskimos has changed significantly. Electricity and gas burners began to be used by more than fifty percent of the population. Virtually all Greenland Eskimos now prefer European clothes.

Lifestyle

The life of this people is divided into summer and winter ways of existence. Long since the main occupation of the Eskimos was hunting. In winter, the main prey of hunters are seals, walruses, various cetaceans, and sometimes bears. This fact explains why the area where the Eskimo lives is almost always located on the sea coast. Seal seals and fat of dead animals have always served these people faithfully and helped to survive in harsh Arctic conditions. In the summer and autumn, men hunt birds, small game and even fish.

It should be noted that the Eskimos are not nomadic tribes. Despite the fact that during the warm period of the year they are constantly in motion, they winter for several years in one place.

Unusual accommodation

To imagine what the Eskimos live in, one must understand their way of life and rhythm. Due to the peculiar seasonality of housing, Eskimos also have two types - tents for summer habitation and winter houses. These dwellings are unique in their own way.

When creating summer tents, their volume is taken into account for the placement of at least ten people. Of the fourteen poles, a structure is created and covered with skins in two layers.

In the cold season, something else was invented by the Eskimos. Igloo - snow huts, which are the winter version of their housing. They reach about four meters in diameter and a height of two meters. Lighting and heating people are provided thanks to sealed fat, which is in the plates. Thus, the temperature in the room rises to twenty degrees above zero. With the help of these self-made lamps prepare food and melt the snow to get water.

As a rule, two families live in one hut. Each of them takes its half. Naturally, housing is very quickly polluted. Therefore, it is destroyed and another place is erected.

The preservation of the Eskimo ethnos

A person who has visited the lands where the Eskimo lives will not forget the hospitality and benevolence of this people. There is a special kindness and kindness here.

Despite the convictions of some skeptics about the disappearance of the Eskimos from the face of the earth in the nineteenth or twentieth century, this people stubbornly proves the opposite. They managed to survive in the difficult conditions of the Arctic climate, create their own unique culture and prove a great vitality.

A great role in this is played by the unity of the people and their leaders. This example is the Greenlandic and Canadian Eskimos. Photos, video reports, relations with other types of the population prove that they were able not only to survive in a harsh environment, but also to achieve greater political rights, as well as gain respect in the world movement among the Aborigines.

Unfortunately, on the territory of the Russian Federation the socio-economic situation of the indigenous population looks a bit worse and requires support from the state.