The Arctic (North Pacific Rim)

GENERAL DESCRIPTION
The Arctic coasts of Alaska and Canada are part of the Arctic, or North Pacific Rim, culture area. The Arctic is inhabited by various native groups that speak distinct but related Eskaleut languages: the Aleut, Alutiiq, Yup'ik and Inupiaq in Alaska, the Yuit in Alaska and Siberia, the Canadian Inuit, and the Greenland Inuit. 

Traditionally, these peoples were dependent on hunting and fishing, and thus, the resources of this rich maritime environment have played a significant role in the region's cultures. Birds, fish, shellfish, and many sea mammals—sea otters, whales, seals, sea lions, and walrus—provide food, and from the sea mammals come other products such as oil, skins, and ivory. They shared many common cultural elements, such as the kayak, dog sleds, double-layer clothing made from various hides, hunting and fishing techniques, and some religious beliefs and practices. They shared considerable differences as well, however.

Adapted from
  • Carol Robbins, "Mask with seal or sea otter spirit (1976.50)," in Dallas Museum of Art: A Guide to the Collection, ed. Suzanne Kotz (Dallas: Dallas Museum of Art, 1997), 200.
  • "Native North America, an introduction: The Arctic," The British Museum: Khan Academy, 2015, https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art-americas/native-north-america/beg-guide-native-am-1600/a/native-north-america-an-introduction (accessed 28 October 2015).

NOTES
Emily Schiller 8/12/2021-- changes made at the request of Michelle Rich:
Removed "Eskimo-aleut" and replaced with Eskaleut.
Removed final sentence of first paragraph as part of effort to remove references to "Eskimo" throughout online collection. 
Though they had previously been known as Eskimos, today, Canadian groups especially prefer the collective term 'Inuit', which means 'people' in their language.

ASSOCIATED CONTENT CHUNKS

AUDIO ASSETS

VIDEO ASSETS

IMAGE ASSETS

WEB RESOURCES
Khan Academy~Read about Arctic clothing.

ARCHIVAL RESOURCES

FUN FACTS

TEACHING IDEAS

RULES
SET OPERATOR AS OR
apply to OBJECTS where culture contains Aleut AND department_id equals 8
apply to OBJECTS where culture contains Chukchi AND department_id equals 8
apply to OBJECTS where culture contains Eskimo AND department_id equals 8
apply to OBJECTS where culture contains Inuit AND department_id equals 8
apply to OBJECTS where culture contains Yup'ik AND department_id equals 8

Category
rules_operator
OR
General Description
The Arctic coasts of Alaska and Canada are part of the Arctic, or North Pacific Rim, culture area. The Arctic is inhabited by various native groups that speak distinct but related Eskaleut languages: the Aleut, Alutiiq, Yup'ik and Inupiaq in Alaska, the Yuit in Alaska and Siberia, the Canadian Inuit, and the Greenland Inuit. 

Traditionally, these peoples were dependent on hunting and fishing, and thus, the resources of this rich maritime environment have played a significant role in the region's cultures. Birds, fish, shellfish, and many sea mammals—sea otters, whales, seals, sea lions, and walrus—provide food, and from the sea mammals come other products such as oil, skins, and ivory. They shared many common cultural elements, such as the kayak, dog sleds, double-layer clothing made from various hides, hunting and fishing techniques, and some religious beliefs and practices. They shared considerable differences as well, however.

Adapted from
  • Carol Robbins, "Mask with seal or sea otter spirit (1976.50)," in Dallas Museum of Art: A Guide to the Collection, ed. Suzanne Kotz (Dallas: Dallas Museum of Art, 1997), 200.
  • "Native North America, an introduction: The Arctic," The British Museum: Khan Academy, 2015, https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art-americas/native-north-america/beg-guide-native-am-1600/a/native-north-america-an-introduction (accessed 28 October 2015).

Fun Facts

Archival Resources

Web Resources
Khan Academy~Read about Arctic clothing.

Notes
Emily Schiller 8/12/2021-- changes made at the request of Michelle Rich:
Removed "Eskimo-aleut" and replaced with Eskaleut.
Removed final sentence of first paragraph as part of effort to remove references to "Eskimo" throughout online collection. 
Though they had previously been known as Eskimos, today, Canadian groups especially prefer the collective term 'Inuit', which means 'people' in their language.

tags
hunting: AAT: 300239666
fish (animals): AAT: 300266085
ivory (material): AAT: 300011857
oil (organic material): AAT: 300014254
Arctic (general region): TGN: 7593183
North Pacific Ocean: TGN: 7029367
whales (living organism): AAT: 300250157
birds (animals): AAT: 300266506
Canada (nation): TGN: 7005685
Alaska (state/United States): TGN: 7006450
Yup'ik: AAT: 300102489
Alaskan Native styles: AAT: 300102451
Arctic Native American styles: AAT: 300017444
shellfish (animals): AAT: 300249710
mammals (animals/mammalia class): AAT: 300265707
otters (sea otters/animals/mustelidae family): 300250163
seals (animals): AAT: 300250867
sea lions (animals/otariidae family): AAT: 300310346
walrus (animals/odobenidae family): AAT: 300310347
animal oil: AAT: 300014256
hide (collagenous material / large animal skins): AAT: 300011844
skin (collagenous material / small animal skins): AAT: 300011840
Eskimo (culture or style): AAT: 300017447
Inuit (Canadian Arctic Native style): AAT: 300017455
#draft
#completed
@Higgins
*Arts of the Americas
~American Indian
animals (Animalia kingdom): AAT: 300249395
%copyedited_Gail
source file
time_and_place-0001.xml.nores