Communication (Eskimos) When We Think

Communication (Eskimos)

When we think of Eskimos, there's a certain image that comes to our minds. Parka-clad individuals who live in igloos, this is the Eskimo that comes to mind.

According to Britannica Encyclopedia (2009), Eskimos are "any member of a group of people who, with closely related Aleuts, constitute the chief element in the indigenous population of the Arctic and subarctic regions of Greenland, Canada, the United States, and far eastern Russia (Siberia)." Eskimos "occupy a variety of environments across the Arctic and constitute the most far-flung aboriginal population in the world" (Fienup-Riordan, 1990, p. 1). According to Infoplease (2007) as well as other sources, there are several names for Eskimos. There are the Inuit, the Eskimos, and there are the Kalaadlit (Fitzhugh, 2004). Inuit refer to the Eskimos who live in Canada. Although some sources also say that Inuit is also the name for the Eskimos who live in Alaska (Fitzhugh, 2004), some sources say that Eskimos who live in Alaska are also called just "Eskimos" (Infoplease, 2007). Kalaadlit refers to the Eskimos who live in Greenland.

Infoplease records say that (2007) in United States, specifically in Alaska, almost half of the Alaska Natives living there are Eskimos. Fitzhugh (2004) noted that "Alaskan Eskimos are the most numerous and most diverse of all Eskimo populations." Fitzhugh (2004) also said that Eskimos occupy "the entire coast of Alaska with the exception of the Aleutian Islands and Southeast Alaska." They live in several kinds of environments within Alaska. They inhabit "the North Slope arctic tundras and coasts to the Bering Sea lowlands and the mountainous, forested coasts of South Alaska" (Fitzhugh, 2004).

Meanwhile, in Canada, Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada (2006) reports that "56,000 Inuit live in mostly small isolated communities of fewer than 1,000 people ranging from the Inuvialuit region in the Northwest Territories, to Nunatsiavut."

There are two main groups of Eskimos living in Alaska. One is called the Inuit (Fitzhugh, 2004), some sources also call this group Inupiat (Infoplease, 2007), and the other is called the Yupik (Infoplease, 2007). These groups are different and they are distinguished based on their language and their geography. The Inuits or Inupiats live in the north and northwest areas of Alaska. They speak Inupiaq. On the other hand, the Yupiks live in the south and southwest areas of Alaska. Their language is called Yupik. According to the website of Nome, Alaska (2001), the Yupik group is further divided into two groups. These are the Central Yupik and the Siberian Yupik. The Central Yupik inhabits the villages in the south of Unalakleet. Meanwhile, the Siberian Yupik inhabit St. Lawrence Island and they are also said to be related very closely in cultural and linguistics to Chukotka people of the Russian Far East.

Family is an important aspect of any society and culture being that it is the most basic unit. When it comes to the Eskimos, family as a unit of society is also important. According to Kimi Hata (n.d.), Eskimos do not possess a "highly organized society." There is not organization in the Inuit society. There are also no divisions known regarding rank or class unlike other societies. In the Eskimo society, family is the primary source of structure. The society of Eskimos is not based on the tribal unit. Instead, the family and the extended family is the basic social unit (Everyculture, 2008). The family consists of a husband and wife, their unmarried children as well as their married children and their families.

Families are important to the Eskimos. According to Everyculture (2008), it is desirable among the Inuits to have a large family. "Kinship is usually involved three generations from both the mother and the father's side. Functionally, these extended families were treated as one; therefore the action of a member was the responsibility of the entire group" (Hata, n.d.). Among Eskimos, family members look after one another. Too often, disputes between different families arise as a Inuit value of looking after one another.

According to Hata (n.d.) marriage among Eskimos usually occurs "as soon as a man could support a wife, and for females as soon as they reached puberty." In an article produced by the Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada, it is said that among Inuits the marriage take place "when a girl was approximately 14 years of age (or sometimes younger) and when a man entered early adulthood, around 20 years of age." The marriages of Eskimos are traditionally arranged by the parents of the couple. The arrangement often reflects "the desire to strengthen the bonds between the two families" (Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada, 2006).

The cooperation between the father and the mother is very important to the Eskimos being that family is the basis of the Eskimo society. The father's role is very important. Fathers have "primary authority outside the home" (Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada, 2006). They also have the responsibility of being the "primary provider of food, making tools and weapons, constructing shelters, tending to dogs, and looking after the general welfare and safety of the family" (Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada, 2006). The father has the significant role of making important decisions such as "when and where the family would move and when would be the best time to visit the trading post" (Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada, 2006). Aside from these, it is also said that the father "took an active role in childrearing" (Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada, 2006) although the mother has an equally significant role in child-rearing. The fathers usually pay more attention to their sons more than to their daughters since they have to spend more time teaching their sons the skills and knowledge they would need in order to survive. The ideal of a father among Eskimos is someone who could provide well for his family, someone who is industrious, modest and generous. However, in a paper by Otto Schaefer (n.d.), it was noted that although in the past the father is highly respected being the provider of food, nowadays, the father "feels useless and worthless" since he "has lost the independence of the traditional hunter" and is now often found to work "for, and under, non-Eskimo ageny, doing menial, despised and degrading jobs, or -- even worse -- has shameful status of welfare recipient" (Schaefer, n.d.).

According to Everyculture (2008), "traditionally, women have often assumed a secondary role in Inuit society." The mother has the principal authority in the home. It is the mother's main responsibility to look after the children and to raise the children. Mothers are also responsible "for all domestic duties including preparation of food, drinking water, cleaning and making clothes and boots" (Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada, 2006). They are also "responsible for the making of tents, skin containers and the covering of the boat or kayak" (Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada, 2006). For the Eskimos, the ideal mother is someone who is "hard working, cheerful, generous and considerate of others, a good mother, and one who did not gossip too much" (Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada, 2006).

However, the dynamics have changed and nowadays it is said that the mothers in Inuit society feel "dispensable and idle" (Schaefer, n.d.) since they have lost their central role in their families.

With the changes brought about by time and while almost all countries are pushing towards globalization, the Eskimos feel the desire to maintain their traditional values. According to Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada, although the Eskimos feel the need to keep up with modernity, they also feel the desire to keep the traditional values that define who they are.

One of the traditional values that Eskimos uphold is "their capacity for self-reliance and their ability to meet life's challenges with innovation, resourcefulness and perseverance" (Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada, 2006). These traits are traditionally seen to increase the chances of survival of the person and the family. Other values that the Eskimos uphold are "patience and the ability to accept those realities that are beyond one's control" as these were crucial in living in the Arctic region. Because of these values, showing anger and frustration are considered to be childish responses since adults are expected to work out a solution and solve a problem or, if the problem is deemed to have no solutions, be able to accept that the problem doesn't have any solutions.

Other values that Eskimos uphold are tact and humility. They believe that "competitive behavior and boasting about one's accomplishments" (Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada, 2006) are ill mannered since it would undoubtedly lead to "calling attention to the relative successes or failures of others" (Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada, 2006).

In the past, food sharing among hunter gatherers is common among Eskimos. Food sharing is seen to be very important to them. In contemporary Eskimo society, this tradition of sharing still continues. According to Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada (2006) nowadays, "food, natural resources and social assistance are generally shared by members of the household."

Eskimos also "place a high regard on the right of individuals to lead their lives free from interference from others" (Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada, 2006). This value plays a key role in the manner with which the Eskimos interact with each other as well as with other people. This value is taught very early in the life of every Eskimo. In the article published by Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada (2006), this value was explained as, "this belief causes Inuit to often feel a certain degree of discomfort when exercising authority over other Inuit, even if the position they hold necessitates such authority." It is said that Eskimos are not very likely to welcome someone who is trying to direct them and their actions. This value that the Eskimos uphold, plays a crucial role in the way employers act with their Eskimo employees.

The value of leadership is also important to Eskimos. However, leadership is on a different level among Eskimos. Unlike the usual leader who delegates tasks to people, for the Eskimos, the leader is expected to lead "by example and by taking the initiative rather than delegating people to certain tasks" (Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada, 2006).