Inuit Northern Native Tribes

The main threat facing the Inuit today is the destruction of their environment. Global warming caused by industrialised nations has terrible consequences on the Polar Regions. Animals are especially threatened, with some species dying off while new species come and replace them.

The soil is also being affected by warming because the permafrost (a thick layer of frozen soil) is starting to melt. When it melts, it releases carbon dioxide and methane and causes mudslides. The sea currents wash up toxic waste on the beaches which can harm animals and the men and women who eat them. The Inuit say industrialised countries are poisoning them.

Young people have lost hope for the future because of the high unemployment in these regions. They turn to alcohol, violence and sometimes suicide. Some community leaders try to provide jobs for them. Tourism could bring some solutions.



Where they live, and what their environment is like:

The Inuit live in northern Canada and in Alaska (which is in the United States of America), but also in Greenland, and in the North Eastern tip of Siberia (which belongs to Russia). Historians believe the Inuit first came from there, and walked across the Bering Straits over to the American continent. People sometimes incorrectly think they live in the North Pole. But it s impossible to live there as the land is always frozen and very difficult to live on.

These vast areas of land cover 12 million square kilometres. It is freezing cold in these places, especially in winter, when the sea freezes over and blizzards blow across the land sweeping up the snow it into strange shapes.

But in the summer, when it never gets dark, everything changes. The ice melts, the earth thaws, and plants grow and flower for a few short months before it gets cold again. But the summer is never long enough for trees to start growing.


Traditional Inuit way of life was influenced by the harsh climate and stark landscapes of the Arctic tundra - from beliefs inspired by stories of the aurora to practicalities like homes made of snow. Inuit invented tools, gear, and methods to help them survive in this environment. Read on to learn more about traditional Inuit ways of life, and how Inuit culture has been changed over the past century.


Inuit Homes:

In the tundra, where Inuit communities are found, there are not many building materials. No trees grow in the tundra so houses can not be made from wood unless it is transported from elsewhere. However, during a large part of the year, the cold part, there is a lot of snow in the tundra. And it turns out that snow can be a very good construction material. In the winter, Inuit lived in round houses made from blocks of snow called "igloos". In the summer, when the snow melted, Inuit lived in tent-like huts made of animal skins stretched over a frame. Although most Inuit people today live in the same community year-round, and live in homes built of other construction materials that have to be imported, in the past Inuit would migrate between a summer and winter camp which was shared by several families.

Getting Around:

To travel from one place to another, Inuit used sleds made of animal bones and skins pulled over the snow and ice by dogs. Strong dogs with thick fur like huskies, bred by Inuit, were used. On the waters of the Arctic Ocean, small boats called "kayaks" were used for hunting while larger boats called "umiaq" transported people, dogs, and supplies.

Finding Food:
Because Inuit live in places where most plants cannot grow, the traditional diet consisted of almost entirely meat. Inuit fished and hunted to get their food. Whales, walruses, seals, fish were staples of their diet.

Clothing for Staying Warm:
Traditional Inuit clothing was made from animal skins and fur. Boots were also made from animal skins. Large, thick coats with big hoods called "parkas" were worn as an outer layer. Today the parka style of coat is worn in other places in the world and it is made of many other materials.

The Shoshone, a nomadic people, traveled annually between the Bitterroot Mountains of Montana and the Unita Mountains of northern Utah along the western slopes of the Wind River Range in Wyoming. It is believed that the Shoshone in this area acquired horses in the early 1700's from their relatives the Comanche giving them somewhat equal footing with their mortal enemies, the Blackfeet. Due to the isolation of their territory, the tribe was spared any contact with the whites until they met Lewis & Clark in 1803. Before the white men reached their homeland in the beautiful Rocky Mountain valleys, the Shoshone people lived for nearly 100 years in a life improved by the horse.

The introduction of the horse allowed the Shoshone to hunt much larger game. The buffalo, being the largest game hunted, became a commisary for nearly all of the Indian's needs. Hundreds of items were made from every part of the buffalo; nothing went to waste.

Beaver, which were abundant in Shoshoni lands, attracted the first commercial ventures, starting the Era of the Mountain Men. These adventurous young men left civilization not only to seek their fortunes, but to explore unknown mountains of the West. Little did they know that the independence they sought would be the beginning of the end of the lifestyle of the Shoshone and other tribes who lived in the Rocky Mountain region.

By the 1800's, the large numbers of traders and trappers travelling up the Missouri River brought increasing problems for the Indian tribes including disease, whiskey and alcoholism. While these trappers were exploring the upper regions of the Missouri and Yellowstone Rivers, others were working their way south of the Rockies to establish the Santa Fe Trail into the Southwest. It was just a matter of time before the secluded territory of the Shoshone would be invaded.

These mountain men were not feared, but welcomed by the Shoshone people. Trade was warmly received by the tribe because in the exchange for their furs, they received manufactured goods like blankets, beads, cloth, metal pots and pans. The mountain men coexisted with the Indians in their mountain home, not only learning their ways, but teaching them the white man's ways. Many of these mountain men became leaders in different tribes and fought alongside their Indian comrades in battle with enemy tribes.

As the years went by and more and more white men came into the Rocky Mountains, the Indian time was slowly running out. By 1840, the Era of the Mountain Men was just about over. In 1842, a young brave named Washakie became leader of the Shoshoni who lived in the area of the Green River. The son of a Flathead father and Shoshoni mother, Washakie would eventually help the Shoshone tribe through the biggest change they would make in their entire history.

Chief Washakie was able to foresee that the Indian would be forced to live in peace with the white man; these invaders were bringing new pressure into his territory. From the first meeting with the whites until his death in 1900, Chief Washakie never allowed his tribe to battle the whites; many times his young braves would argue that they must fight to save their lands and way of life. The white men considered Washakie their friend and he was known by all who came in contact with him as one of "Nature's Noble Men."

The competition for the all-important buffalo had been a conflict among the Shoshone, the Blackfeet, the Lakota and the Crow long before the white men arrived. Chief Washakie was able to secure peace with the Crow; thus his people were able to hunt in both the Wind River and Big Horn valleys.

Chief Washakie

With the era of the fur trade and the Rendezvous a thing of the past, in 1843 Washakie and the Shoshone people faced yet another wave of people coming onto their land. Jim Bridger, who had become a very good friend of Washakie's, was building a trading post on the route now known as "The Oregon Trail." This post would resupply a great wave of newcomers in their westward migration. Washakie's people who travelled each summer to the Unita mountains crossed The Oregon Trail near Bridger's fort.

During the next twenty-five years, Chief Washakie and the Shoshone, who camped near Fort Bridger, would watch the wagons pass on their way West. Bridger and Washakie would recall the "shining times" when they shared the Wind River Mountains together.

In 1851, the United States government realized that something had to be done about the increasing problems between the Indians and the newcomers. In order to secure safe passage for Oregon Trail travellers, they invited the Plains Indians to a "Great Smoke" at Fort Laramie.

A short time after the signing of the 1851 Laramie Treaty, it was clear to the Indians that the terms of the treaty would not be honored. The destruction of the buffalo and constant flow of immigrants through Indian lands continued.

Washakie continued to restrain his people from waging war against the whites, but many of his braves left his band and joined Pocatello, a chief of the western Shoshone who continued to resist the whites.

By 1863, the military had subdued the majority of the Shoshone and Bannock Indians who remained in resistance. These groups were worn down and could do nothing but accept whatever terms were offered to them by the government.

The Shoshone and Bannock boundaries were then roughly designated to be from the Snake River Valley south to the Unita Mountains and from the North Platte River, west to the Great Salt Lake. This territory was made up of approximately 44,672,000 acres. Annuity payments made up of goods deemed suitable by the President of the United States were promised every year for twenty years. Chief Washakie was among those who signed the treaty.