The Inuit People of the Arctic

A detailed Summary of The Inuit People of the Arctic

The Inuit are one of the many self-designations of the Eskimo people. They are considered to be of Asian decent, which is noticeable from their small hands and feet. Another distinguishing feature is the appreciable percentage of the B blood type, which seems to be totally absent from the American Indian, whom they are usually mistaken to be descendants of (Mastny 25). These Inuit are scattered in small communities across Northern Alaska, northern Canada, Greenland, and the Chukotka region of Eastern Siberia. The Inuit in these regions total around 150,000 that makes up barely 4 percent of the Arctic's total population of 3.8 million (Mastny 25). The origins of the Inuit living in this region is very unclear, it is believed that they have been there for more than 4,000 years surviving the cold harsh winters and cool to cold summers. Temperatures in the regions range from -31 degrees F in the winter to 50 degrees F in the summer months

(Mastny 24). With this temperature range and the smaller amount of sunlight the Inuit have not been able to become true agriculturalists. Lichen, mosses, small shrubs, and a variety of small flowering plants are the only types of vegetation this climate can support. So, for the Inuit thei

Territory came into being this month to a grand hoopla. Time International.

Store-bought clothing, and other numerous manufactured items have entered the culture, also money, unknown in the traditional Inuit economy, has become a necessity ( Friesen 21).

regulated it can threaten the wildlife and any future tourism in the area. These problems are only touch the surface of what all Inuit communities are facing now and what they will face in the future. As with other indigenous communities in the midst of cultural upheaval, the Inuit have extremely high rates of smoking, alcoholism, and suicide. These problems are much higher than in the general populations of their countries. It is so horrible that we needed to create such cultural devastation to the Inuit groups just so we could hopefully find more minerals and precious metals. Since we have already devastated their lives by coming into direct contact with them, now we are continuing to hurt them from a distance. In the 1950's, pilots flying cold war missions over the Arctic noticed a thick haze blanketing the region (Mastny 31). This turned out to be air pollution from industries far to the south-one of the earliest indications that Arctic peoples face "outside" environmental threats-threats they have played little part in creating and therefore have little hope in controlling (Friesen 22). The chemicals in the pollution can have serious effects on the reproductive system and central nervous system, which may have helped in the declining population over the years. Pollution is not the only global environmental threat that the Inuit are facing. With global temperatures rising every year the Arctic regions have been feeling the effects before any other regions on the planet. It is predicted that the temperature will rise 4 degrees to 6 degrees Celsius over the next 80 to 100 years, compared with the 1 to 3.5 degrees of warming forecast for the globe as a whole (Mastny 32). This warming is also affecting the regions by reducing the albedo effect, which is the reflection of sunlight by the ice caps. If the sunlight is unable to be reflected back into space the increased temperature will melt the

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Approximate Word count = 1579
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Science