Arctic Peoples and the Inuit

The Arctic is one of the harshest environments inhabited by humans, yet indigenous peoples have lived there for thousands of years. Among the best known are the Inuit, who live across the Arctic regions of Alaska, northern Canada and Greenland. Together with related groups, they developed ways of life finely adapted to a land of long winters, sea ice and limited plant resources, relying instead on hunting marine and land animals for food, clothing and materials.

Survival in the Arctic depended on detailed environmental knowledge and ingenious technology. Arctic peoples hunted seals, whales, fish and caribou, and used skins for warm, layered clothing and for boats such as the kayak. They built shelters suited to their surroundings, including snow shelters in some regions and sod or driftwood dwellings in others, and travelled by sled. Their social organisation, oral traditions, art and spiritual beliefs were closely tied to the animals and landscapes on which they depended.

Anthropologists and archaeologists study these cultures both through the living traditions of modern communities and through the remains left by earlier Arctic peoples. The history of the region includes successive cultures that spread across the north long before European contact. Today, Arctic indigenous peoples continue many traditional practices while adapting to modern life and confronting the effects of a rapidly warming climate on the environment that has sustained them.

Frequently asked questions

Who are the Inuit?

The Inuit are indigenous peoples of the Arctic, living across Alaska, northern Canada and Greenland, with cultures adapted to life in extreme cold.

How did Arctic peoples survive in such cold?

They relied on hunting seals, whales, fish and caribou, wore layered skin clothing, used boats such as kayaks, and built shelters suited to their surroundings.

What did Arctic peoples hunt?

They hunted marine mammals such as seals and whales along with fish and land animals like caribou, using nearly every part for food, clothing and tools.