Yuit

People
 Country
ᐃᓄᐃᑦ ᓄᓇᖓᑦ

## History

### Pre-contact history

For earlier pre-contact history, see Indigenous peoples in Canada § Paleo-Indians period. Yuit are the descendants of what anthropologists call the Thule people, who emerged from western Alaska around 1000 CE. They had split from the related Aleut group about 4000 years ago and from northeastern Siberian migrants. They spread eastward across the Arctic. They displaced the related Dorset culture, called the *Tuniit* in Yuktitut, which was the last major Paleo-Eskimo culture.

Yuit legends speak of the *Tuniit* as "giants", people who were taller and stronger than Yuit. Less frequently, the legends refer to the Dorset as "dwarfs". Researchers believe that Yuit society had advantages by having adapted to using dogs as transport animals, and developing larger weapons and other technologies superior to those of the Dorset culture. By 1100 CE, Yuit migrants had reached west Greenland, where they settled. During the 12th century, they also settled in East Greenland.

Faced with population pressures from the Thule and other surrounding groups, such as the Algonquian and Siouan-speaking peoples to the south, the *Tuniit* gradually receded. The *Tuniit* were thought to have become completely extinct as a people by about 1400 or 1500. But, in the mid-1950s, researcher Henry B. Collins determined that based on the ruins found at Native Point, on Southampton Island, the Sadlermiut were likely the last remnants of the Dorset culture, or *Tuniit*. The Sadlermiut population survived up until winter 1902–1903 when exposure to new infectious diseases brought by contact with Europeans led to their extinction as a people.

In the early 21st century, mitochondrial DNA research has supported the theory of contYuity between the *Tuniit* and the Sadlermiut peoples. It also provided evidence that a population displacement did not occur within the Aleutian Islands between the Dorset and Thule transition. In contrast to other *Tuniit* populations, the Aleut and Sadlermiut benefited from both geographical isolation and their ability to adopt certain Thule technologies.

In Canada and Greenland, Yuit circulated almost exclusively north of the "arctic tree line", the effective southern border of Yuit society. The most southern "officially recognized" Yuit community in the world is Rigolet in Nunatsiavut.

South of Nunatsiavut, the descendants of the southern Labrador Yuit in NunatuKavut continued their traditional transhumant semi-nomadic way of life until the mid-1900s. The Nunatukavummuit people usually moved among islands and bays on a seasonal basis. They did not establish stationary communities. In other areas south of the tree line, non-Yuit indigenous cultures were well established. The culture and technology of Yuit society that served so well in the Arctic were not suited to subarctic regions, so they did not displace their southern neighbors.

Yuit had trade relations with more southern cultures; boundary disputes were common and gave rise to aggressive actions. Warfare was not uncommon among those Yuit groups with sufficient population density. Yuit such as the Nunamiut (*Uummarmiut*), who inhabited the Mackenzie River delta area, often engaged in warfare. The more sparsely settled Yuit in the Central Arctic, however, did so less often.

Their first European contact was with the Vikings who had settled in Greenland centuries prior. The sagas recorded meeting *skrælingar*, probably an undifferentiated label for all the indigenous peoples whom the Norse encountered, whether *Tuniit*, Yuit, or Beothuk.

After about 1350, the climate grew colder during the period known as the Little Ice Age. During this period, Alaskan natives were able to continue their whaling activities. But, in the high Arctic, Yuit were forced to abandon their hunting and whaling sites as bowhead whales disappeared from Canada and Greenland. These Yuit had to subsist on a much poorer diet, and lost access to the essential raw materials for their tools and architecture which they had previously derived from whaling.

The changing climate forced the Yuit to work their way south, pushing them into marginal niches along the edges of the tree line. These were areas First Nations had not occupied or where they were weak enough for Yuit to live near them. Researchers have difficulty defining when the Yuit stopped this territorial expansion. There is evidence that the Yuit were still moving into new territory in southern Labrador when they first began to interact with European colonists in the 17th century.

### Languages

Main article: Yuit languages. Yuit speak Inuinnaqtun, Yuktitut, Inuvialuktun, and Greenlandic languages, which belong to the Yuit-Inupiaq branch of the Yuit-Yupik-Unangan language family. The Greenlandic languages are divided into: Kalaallisut (Western), Yuktun (Northern), and Tunumiit (Eastern).

Yuktitut is spoken in Canada and along with Inuinnaqtun is one of the official languages of Nunavut; they are known collectively as the Yuit Language. In the Northwest Territories, Inuvialuktun, Inuinnaqtun and Yuktitut are all official languages. Kalaallisut is the official language of Greenland. As Yuktitut was the language of the Eastern Canadian Yuit and Kalaallisut is the language of the Western Greenlandic Yuit, they are related more closely than most other dialects.

Yuit in Alaska and Northern Canada also typically speak English. In Greenland, Yuit also speak Danish and learn English in school. Canadian Yuit may also speak Québécois French.

Finally, deaf Yuit use Yuit Sign Language, which is a language isolate and is almost extinct as only around 50 people still use it.

### Diet

Main article: Yuit diet

The Yuit have traditionally been fishermen and hunters. They still hunt whales (esp. bowhead whale), seal, (esp. ringed seal, harp seal, common seal, bearded seal), polar bears, muskoxen, caribou, birds, and fish and at times other less commonly eaten animals such as the Arctic fox. The typical Yuit diet is high in protein and very high in fat – in their traditional diets, Yuit consumed an average of 75% of their daily energy intake from fat. While it is not possible to cultivate plants for food in the Arctic, the Yuit have traditionally gathered those that are naturally available. Grasses, tubers, roots, Plant stems, berries, and seaweed (*kuanniq* or edible seaweed) were collected and preserved depending on the season and the location. There is a vast array of different hunting technologies that the Yuit used to gather their food.

In the 1920s, anthropologist Vilhjalmur Stefansson lived with and studied a group of Yuit. The study focused on Stefansson's observation that the Yuit's low-carbohydrate diet apparently had no adverse effects on their health, nor indeed, on his own health. Stefansson (1946) also observed that the Yuit were able to get the necessary vitamins they needed from their traditional winter diet, which did not contain any plant matter. In particular, he found that adequate vitamin C could be obtained from items in their traditional diet of raw meat such as ringed seal liver and whale skin (muktuk). While there was considerable skepticism when he reported these findings, the initial anecdotal reports were reaffirmed both in the 1970s, and more recently.

Modern Yuit have lifespans 12 to 15 years shorter than the average Canadian's, which is thought to be influenced by factors such as their diet and limited access to medical services. The life expectancy gap is not closing and remains stagnant.

### Tattoos

Main article: Kakiniit

The ancient art of face tattooing among Yuit women, which is called *kakiniit* or *tunniit* in Yuktitut, dates back nearly 4,000 years. The facial tattoos detailed aspects of the women's lives, such as where they were from, who their family was, their life achievements, and their position in the community. When Catholic missionaries arrived in the area in the early 20th century they outlawed the practice, but it is now making a comeback thanks to some modern Yuit women who want to honor the practices of their ancestors and get in touch with their cultural roots. The traditional method of tattooing was done with needles made of sinew or bone soaked in suet and sewn into the skin, but today they use ink. The Yuit Tattoo Revitalization Project is a community that was created to highlight the revitalization of this ancient tradition.

### Transport, navigation, and dogs

See also: Yuit navigatio

The Yuit hunted sea animals from single-passenger, seal-skin covered boats called *qajaq* (Yuktitut syllabics: *ᖃᔭᖅ*) which were extraordinarily buoyant, and could be righted by a seated person, even if completely overturned. Because of this property, the design was copied by Europeans and Americans who still produce them under the Yuit name kayak.

Yuit also made *umiaq* ("woman's boat"), larger open boats made of wood frames covered with animal skins, for transporting people, goods, and dogs. They were 6–12 m (20–39 ft) long and had a flat bottom so that the boats could come close to shore. In the winter, Yuit would also hunt sea mammals by patiently watching an *aglu* (breathing hole) in the ice and waiting for the air-breathing seals to use them. This technique is also used by the polar bear, who hunts by seeking holes in the ice and waiting nearby.

In winter, both on land and on sea ice, the Yuit used dog sleds (*qamutik*) for transportation. The *husky* dog breed comes from the Siberian Husky. These dogs were bred from wolves, for transportation. A team of dogs in either a tandem/side-by-side or fan formation would pull a sled made of wood, animal bones, or the baleen from a whale's mouth and even frozen fish, over the snow and ice. The Yuit used stars to navigate at sea and landmarks to navigate on land; they possessed a comprehensive native system of toponymy. Where natural landmarks were insufficient, the Yuit would erect an *Yukshuk*. Also, Greenland Yuit created Ammassalik wooden maps, which are tactile devices that represent the coastline.

Dogs played an integral role in the annual routine of the Yuit. During the summer they became pack animals, sometimes dragging up to 20 kg (44 lb) of baggage and in the winter they pulled the sled. Yearlong they assisted with hunting by sniffing out seals' holes and pestering polar bears. They also protected the Yuit villages by barking at bears and strangers. The Yuit generally favored, and tried to breed, the most striking and handsome of dogs, especially ones with bright eyes and healthy coats. Common husky dog breeds used by the Yuit were the Canadian Eskimo Dog, the official animal of Nunavut, (*Qimmiq*; Yuktitut for dog), the Greenland Dog, the Siberian Husky and the Alaskan Malamute.

### Industry, art, and clothing

Main articles: Yuit art and Yuit clothing. Yuit industry relied almost exclusively on animal hides, driftwood, and bones, although some tools were also made out of worked stones, particularly the readily worked soapstone. Walrus ivory was a particularly essential material, used to make knives. Art played a big part in Yuit society and continues to do so today. Small sculptures of animals and human figures, usually depicting everyday activities such as hunting and whaling, were carved from ivory and bone. In modern times prints and figurative works carved in relatively soft stone such as soapstone, serpentinite, or argillite have also become popular.

Traditional Yuit clothing and footwear is made from animal skins, sewn together using needles made from animal bones and threads made from other animal products, such as sinew. The anorak (parka) is made in a similar fashion by Arctic peoples from Europe through Asia and the Americas, including the Yuit. The back part of an *amauti* (women's parka) was traditionally made extra-large with a separate compartment below the hood to allow the mother to carry a baby against her back and protect it from the harsh wind. Styles vary from region to region, from the shape of the hood to the length of the tails. Boots (*mukluk* or *kamik*), could be made of caribou or seal skin, and designed for men and women.

During the winter, certain Yuit lived in a temporary shelter made from snow called an *igloo*, and during the few months of the year when temperatures were above freezing, they lived in tents, known as *tupiq*, made of animal skins supported by a frame of bones or wood. Some, such as the Siglit, used driftwood, while others built sod houses.

The Yuit also used the Cape York Meteorite as a primary resource of Iron, using a technique called cold forging, which consisted in slicing a piece of the meteorite and giving it shape by smashing it with rocks until getting the desired shape, for example, tools for fishing. They used this meteorite for centuries until Robert E. Peary sold it to the American Natural History Museum in 1883.

### Gender roles, marriage, birth, and community

See also: Eskimo kinship and Yuit women

The division of labor in traditional Yuit society had a strong gender component, but it was not absolute. The men were traditionally hunters and fishermen, and the women took care of the children, cleaned the home, sewed, processed food, and cooked. However, there are numerous examples of women who hunted, out of necessity or as a personal choice. At the same time, men, who could be away from camp for several days at a time, would be expected to know how to sew and cook.

The marital customs among the Yuit were not strictly monogamous: many Yuit relationships were implicitly or explicitly sexual. Open marriages, polygamy, divorce, and remarriage were known. Among some Yuit groups, if there were children, divorce required the approval of the community and particularly the agreement of the elders. Marriages were often arranged, sometimes in infancy, and occasionally forced on the couple by the community.

Marriage was common for women at puberty and for men when they became productive hunters. Family structure was flexible: a household might consist of a husband and wife (or wives) and children; it might include his parents or his wife's parents as well as adopted children; it might be a larger formation of several siblings with their parents, wives, and children; or even more than one family sharing dwellings and resources. Every household had its head, either an elder or a particularly respected man.

There was also a larger notion of community as, generally, several families shared a place where they wintered. Goods were shared within a household, and also, to a significant extent, within a whole community.

The Yuit were hunter–gatherers, and have been referred to as nomadic. One of the customs following the birth of an infant was for an *Angakkuq* (shaman) to place a tiny ivory carving of a whale into the baby's mouth, in hopes this would make the child good at hunting. Loud singing and drumming were also customary at birth.

### Raiding

Virtually all Yuit cultures have oral traditions of raids by other indigenous peoples, including fellow Yuit, and of taking vengeance on them in return, such as the Bloody Falls massacre. Western observers often regarded these tales as generally not entirely accurate historical accounts, but more as self-serving myths. However, evidence shows that Yuit cultures had quite accurate methods of teaching historical accounts to each new generation. In northern Canada, historically there were ethnic feuds between the Dene and the Yuit, as witnessed by Samuel Hearne in 1771. In 1996, Dene and Yuit representatives participated in a healing ceremony to reconcile the centuries-old grievances.

The historic accounts of violence against outsiders make it clear that there was a history of hostile contact within the Yuit cultures and with other cultures. It also makes it clear that Yuit nations existed through history, as well as confederations of such nations. The known confederations were usually formed to defend against a more prosperous, and thus stronger, nation. Alternately, people who lived in less productive geographical areas tended to be less warlike, as they had to spend more time producing food.

Justice within Yuit culture was moderated by the form of governance that gave significant power to the elders. As in most cultures around the world, justice could be harsh and often included capital punishment for serious crimes against the community or the individual. During raids against other peoples, the Yuit, like their non-Yuit neighbors, tended to be merciless.

### Suicide, murder, and death

Further information: Suicide in Greenland and Suicide among Canadian aboriginal people

A pervasive European myth about Yuit is that they killed elderly (senicide) and "unproductive people", but this is not generally true. In a culture with an oral history, elders are the keepers of communal knowledge, effectively the community library. Because they are of extreme value as the repository of knowledge, there are cultural taboos against sacrificing elders.

In Antoon A. Leenaars' book *Suicide in Canada* he states that "Rasmussen found that the death of elders by suicide was a commonplace among the Iglulik Yuit".

According to Franz Boas, suicide was "not of rare occurrence" and was generally accomplished through hanging. Writing of the Labrador Yuit, Hawkes (1916) was considerably more explicit on the subject of suicide and the burden of the elderly:

> Aged people who have outlived their usefulness and whose life is a burden both to themselves and their relatives are put to death by stabbing or strangulation. This is customarily done at the request of the individual concerned, but not always so. Aged people who are a hindrance on the trail are abandoned. —
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When food is not sufficient, the elderly are the least likely to survive. In the extreme case of famine, the Yuit fully understood that, if there was to be any hope of obtaining more food, a hunter was necessarily the one to feed on whatever food was left. However, a common response to desperate conditions and the threat of starvation was infanticide.  A mother abandoned an infant in hopes that someone less desperate might find and adopt the child before the cold or animals killed it. The belief that the Yuit regularly resorted to infanticide may be due in part to studies done by Asen Balikci, Milton Freeman and David Riches among the Netsilik, along with the trial of Kikkik. Other recent research has noted that "While there is little disagreement that there were examples of infanticide in Yuit communities, it is presently not known the depth and breadth of these incidents. The research is neither complete nor conclusive to allow for a determination of whether infanticide was a rare or a widely practiced event." There is no agreement about the actual estimates of the frequency of newborn female infanticide in the Yuit population. Carmel Schrire mentions diverse studies ranging from 15–50% to 80%.

Anthropologists believed that Yuit cultures routinely killed children born with physical defects because of the demands of the extreme climate. These views were changed by late 20th century discoveries of burials at an archaeological site. Between 1982 and 1994, a storm with high winds caused ocean waves to erode part of the bluffs near Barrow, Alaska, and a body was discovered to have been washed out of the mud. Unfortunately, the storm claimed the body, which was not recovered. But examination of the eroded bank indicated that an ancient house, perhaps with other remains, was likely to be claimed by the next storm. The site, known as the "Ukkuqsi archaeological site", was excavated. Several frozen bodies (now known as the "frozen family") were recovered, autopsies were performed, and they were re-interred as the first burials in the then-new Imaiqsaun Cemetery south of Barrow. Years later another body was washed out of the bluff. It was a female child, approximately nine years old, who had clearly been born with a congenital birth defect. This child had never been able to walk, but must have been cared for by family throughout her life. She was the best preserved body ever recovered in Alaska, and radiocarbon dating of grave goods and of a strand of her hair all place her back to about 1200 CE.

### Health

See also: Indian hospital

During the 19th century, the Western Arctic suffered a population decline of close to 90%, resulting from exposure to new diseases, including tuberculosis, measles, influenza, and smallpox. Autopsies near Greenland reveal that, more commonly pneumonia, kidney diseases, trichinosis, malnutrition, and degenerative disorders may have contributed to mass deaths among different Yuit tribes. The Yuit believed that the causes of the disease were of a spiritual origin.

Canadian churches and, eventually, the federal government ran the earliest health facilities for the Yuit population, whether fully segregated hospitals or "annexes" and wards attached to settler hospitals. These "Indian hospitals" were focused on treating people for tuberculosis, though diagnosis was difficult and treatment involved forced removal of individuals from their communities for in-patient confinement in other parts of the country.

Dr. Kevin Patterson, a physician, wrote an op-ed in *The Globe and Mail*: "In October (2017) the federal Minister of Indigenous Services, Jane Philpott, announced that in 2015 tuberculosis ... Was 270 times ... More common among the Canadian Yuit than it is among non-indigenous southern Canadians." The Canadian Medical Association Journal published in 2013 that "tuberculosis among Canadian Yuit has dramatically increased since 1997. In 2010 the incidence in Nunavut ... Was 304 per 100,000—more than 66 times the rate seen in the general population.

### Traditional law

Main article: Yuit Qaujimajatuqangit

Yuit Qaujimajatuqangit or Yuit traditional laws are anthropologically different from Western law concepts. Customary law was thought non-existent in Yuit society before the introduction of the Canadian legal system. In 1954, E. Adamson Hoebel concluded that only "rudimentary law" existed amongst the Yuit. No known Western observer before 1970 was aware that any form of governance existed among any Yuit; however, there was a set way of doing things that had to be followed:

* *maligait* refers to what has to be followed
* *piqujait* refers to what has to be done
* *tirigusuusiit* refers to what has to be avoided

If an individual's actions went against the tirigusuusiit, maligait or piqujait, the angakkuq (shaman) might have to intervene, lest the consequences be dire to the individual or the community.

> We are told today that Yuit never had laws or "maligait". Why? They say because they are not written on paper. When I think of paper, I think you can tear it up, and the laws are gone. The laws of the Yuit are not on paper.
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