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Eskimos or '''esquimaux''' are aboriginal People who inhabit the Circumpolar region, excluding Scandinavia and most of Russia , but including the easternmost portions of Siberia . The two main groups of Eskimos are the Inuit of northern Alaska , Canada and Greenland , and the Yupik , comprising speakers of four distinct Yupik Languages and originating in western Alaska, in southcentral Alaska along the Gulf Of Alaska coast, and in the Russian Far East. The term ''Eskimo'' has fallen out of favour in Canada and Greenland, where it is considered Pejorative (see below) and the term ''Inuit'' has become more common. However, ''Eskimo'' is still considered acceptable among Alaska Natives of Yupik and Inupiaq (Inuit) heritage, and is preferred over ''Inuit'' as a collective reference. To date, no replacement term for ''Eskimo'' inclusive of all Inuit and Yupik people has achieved acceptance across the geographical area inhabited by the Inuit and Yupik peoples. The Inuit and Yupik peoples are related to the Aleut s from the Aleutian Islands in Alaska. The Eskimo languages, together with the Aleut Language , comprise the Eskimo-Aleut Language Group . Inuit languages comprise a , University Of Alaska Fairbanks . Retrieved on 2007-04-06. The four Yupik languages, including Aluutiq (Sugpiaq), Central Alaskan Yup'ik , Naukan (Naukanski), and Siberian Yupik are distinct languages with limited mutual intelligibility. While grammatical structures of Yupik and Inuit languages are similar, they have pronounced differences phonologically, and differences of vocabulary between Inuit and any of one of the Yupik languages is greater than between any two Yupik languages. The Sireniki Language is sometimes regarded as a third branch of the Eskimo language family, but other sources regard it as a group belonging to the Yupik branch. "ESKIMO" AND ALTERNATIVE TERMS See Also: Origin of the name Eskimo The term ''Eskimo'' is broadly inclusive of the two major groups, the Inuit — including the Kalaallit (Greenlanders) of Greenland, Inuit and Inuvialuit of Canada, and Inupiat of northern Alaska — and the Yupik peoples — the Naukan of Siberia, the Siberian Yupik of Siberia in Russia and St. Lawrence Island in Alaska, the Yup'ik of Alaska, and the Alutiiq (Sug'piak or Pacific Eskimo) of southcentral Alaska. In Canada and Greenland, ''Eskimo'' is widely considered pejorative and offensive, and has been replaced overall by ''Inuit''. The preferred term in Canada's Central Arctic is ''Inuinnait'', and in the eastern Canadian Arctic ''Inuit''. The language is often called ''Inuktitut'', though other local designations are also used. The Inuit of Greenland refer to themselves as ''Greenlanders'' or, in their own language, ''Kalaallit'', and to their language as ''Greenlandic'' or ''Kalaallisut''.Kaplan, Lawrence. (2002). "Inuit or Eskimo: Which names to use?" . Alaska Native Language Center , University Of Alaska Fairbanks . Retrieved on 2007-04-06. Because of the linguistic, ethnic, and cultural differences between Yupik and Inuit languages and peoples, there is still uncertainty as to what term encompassing all Yupik and Inuit people will be acceptable to all. There has been some movement to use ''Inuit'' as a term encompassing all peoples formerly described as ''Eskimo'', Inuit and Yupik alike. The s are linguistically distinct from the Inupiaq and other Inuit languages, and the peoples are ethnically and culturally distinct as well. The word ''Inuit'' does not occur in the Yupik languages of Alaska and Siberia . Thus, in Alaska , ''Eskimo'' continues to be acceptable, and is the preferred term when speaking collectively of all Inupiaq and Yupik people, or of all Inuit and Yupik people of the world. Alaskans also use the term '' Alaska Natives '', though this term is also inclusive of Aleut and Indians people of Alaska, and is of course exclusive of Inuit or Yupik people originating outside the state. The term has important legal usage in Alaska and the rest of the United States as a result of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971. The term "Eskimo" is also used in some linguistic or ethnographic works to denote the larger branch of Eskimo-Aleut languages, the smaller branch being Aleut. In this usage, Inuit (together with Yupik, and possibly also Sireniki), are sub-branches of the Eskimo language family (refer to Eskimo-Aleut Languages for details). INUIT See Also: Inuit The Inuit inhabit the Arctic and Bering Sea coasts of Siberia and Alaska and Arctic coasts of the Northwest Territories , Nunavut , Quebec , Labrador , and Greenland . Until fairly recent times, there has been a remarkable homogeneity in the culture throughout this area, which traditionally relied on fish, sea mammals, and land animals for food, heat, light, clothing, tools, and shelter. Canada's Inuit See Also: Inuit Canadian Inuit live primarily in Nunavut (a territory of Canada), Nunavik (the northern part of Quebec ) and in Nunatsiavut (the Inuit settlement region in Labrador ). Inupiat See Also: Inupiat The Inupiat or Inupiaq people are the Inuit people of Alaska's Northwest Arctic and North Slope boroughs and the Bering Strait s region, including the Seward Peninsula . Barrow , the northernmost city in the United States, is in the Inupiaq region. Their language is known as Inupiaq . Inuvialuit See Also: Inuvialuit The Inuvialuit live in the western Canadian Arctic region. They are descendants of the Thule People , of which other descendants inhabit Russia and parts of Scandinavia . Their homeland - the Inuvialuit Settlement Region - covers the Arctic Ocean coastline area from the Alaska n border east to Amundsen Gulf and includes the western Canadian Arctic Islands . The land was demarked in 1984 by the Inuvialuit Final Agreement . Kalaallit See Also: Kalaallit The Kalaallit live in Greenland , which is called Kalaallit Nunaat in Kalaallisut . YUPIK The Yupik are Indigenous Or Aboriginal peoples who live along the coast of western Alaska , especially on the Yukon - Kuskokwim delta and along the Kuskokwim River ( Central Alaskan Yup'ik ), in southern Alaska (the Alutiiq ) and in the Russian Far East and St. Lawrence Island in western Alaska (the Siberian Yupik ). Alutiiq See Also: Alutiiq The Alutiiq also called ''Pacific Yupik'' or ''Sugpiaq'', are a southern, coastal branch of and on Kodiak Island , and the Chugach dialect, is spoken on the southern Kenai Peninsula and in Prince William Sound . Residents of Nanwalek , located on southern part of the Kenai Peninsula near Seldovia , speak what they call Sugpiaq and are able to understand those who speak Yupik in Bethel. With a population of approximately 3,000, and the number of speakers in the mere hundreds, Alutiiq communities are currently in the process of revitalizing their language. Central Alaskan Yup'ik See Also: Central Alaskan Yup'ik ''Yup'ik'', with an apostrophe, denotes the speakers of the , University Of Alaska Anchorage . Retrieved on 2007-04-06. Siberian Yupik (Yuit) See Also: Siberian Yupik Siberian Yupik reside along the Bering Sea coast of the , University Of Alaska Anchorage . Retrieved on 2007-04-06. The Central Siberian Yupik spoken on the Chukchi Peninsula and on St. Lawrence Island is nearly identical. About 1,050 of a total Alaska population of 1,100 Siberian Yupik people in Alaska still speak the language, and it is still the first language of the home for most St. Lawrence Island children. In Siberia, about 300 of a total of 900 Siberian Yupik people still learn the language, though it is no longer learned as a first language by children. Naukan See Also: Naukan About 70 of 400 Naukan people still speak the Naukanski. The Naukan originate on the Chukot Peninsula in Chukotka Autonomous Okrug in Siberia . LANGUAGES See Also: Eskimo-Aleut languages Inuit languages comprise a , University Of Alaska Fairbanks . Retrieved on 2007-04-06. The four Yupik languages, including Alutiiq (Sugpiaq), Central Alaskan Yup'ik , Naukan (Naukanski), and Siberian Yupik are distinct languages with phonological, morphological, and lexical differences, and demonstrating limited mutual intelligibility. Additionally, both Alutiiq Central Yup'ik have considerable dialect diversity. The northernmost Yupik languages — Siberian Yupik and Naukanski Yupik — are linguistically only slightly closer to Inuit than is Alutiiq, which is the southernmost of the Yupik languages. Although the grammatical structures of Yupik and Inuit languages are similar, they have pronounced differences phonologically, and differences of vocabulary between Inuit and any of one of the Yupik languages is greater than between any two Yupik languages. The Sireniki Language is sometimes regarded as a third branch of the Eskimo language family, but other sources regard it as a group belonging to the Yupik branch. An overview of the Eskimo-Aleut languages family is given below: :Aleut :: Aleut Language :::Western-Central dialects: Atkan, Attuan, Unangan, Bering (60-80 speakers) :::Eastern dialect: Unalaskan, Pribilof (400 speakers) :Eskimo (Yup'ik, Yuit, and Inuit) :: Central Alaskan Yup'ik (10,000 speakers) :: Alutiiq or Pacific Gulf Yup'ik (400 speakers) :: Central Siberian Yupik or Yuit (Chaplinon and St Lawrence Island, 1400 speakers) :: Naukan (70 speakers) :: Inuit or Inupik (75,000 speakers) ::: Iñupiaq (northern Alaska, 3,500 speakers) ::: Inuvialuktun or Inuktun (western Canada; 765 speakers) ::: Inuktitut (eastern Canada; together with Inuktun and Inuinnaqtun , 30,000 speakers) ::: Kalaallisut (Greenland, 47,000 speakers) : Sirenik (extinct) TRIVIA
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