Society-COPPER-ESKIMO

Early explorers referred to these Eskimo as the "Copper" Eskimo because
native copper reserves were present in the territory they occupied.
The natives used the copper for tools and trade. Other Eskimo referred
to them as Kitlinermiut--Kitlineq being the name of Victoria Island,
with the suffix miut indicating "the people of" (Rasmussen 1932: 12).

In addition to inhabiting Victoria Island, the Copper Eskimo also
lived in the region of Coronation Gulf. Their migrations extended
from Kent Peninsula on the east, westward as far as Stapylton Bay.
The geographical coordinates of the Copper Eskimo territory were from
lat. 72 degrees N to the Artic Circle and long. 100 degrees-120 degrees
W. (Chown and Lewis 1959: 13A).

In 1914-16, Jenness estimated that there were 700-800 Copper Eskimo
(1922: 42). In 1923, Rasmussen counted 816 (1932: 69-71). Chown and
Lewis estimated in 1958 that there were about 1,000 Copper Eskimo
(1959: 13A).

The language of the Copper Eskimo belongs to the Eskimo-Aleut family
of the American Arctic-Paleosiberian Phylum. According to Jenness,
the language was more closely related to that of the people living
around the MacKenzie than it was to that of the people of Hudson Bay
to the east. Jenness felt, however, that the language would be intelligible
to natives of either place. Dialectical variation within the Copper
Eskimo language was very slight and consisted of minor differences
in intonation.

Jenness distinguished five major groups of Copper Eskimo, each one
averaging 100-200 people. Each of these groups, composed of several
subunits, was defined territorially and named for the territory it
occupied. The critical factor for Jenness in defining these groups
was the sharing of common winter settlements (Jenness, 1917: 86).

The Copper Eskimo were adaptable to both land and sea environments;
exploitation of one or the other depended on the season of the year.
In either case, they were quite nomadic, and band membership was fluid.
The harshness of sheer existence and the paramount importance of the
food quest are starkly reflected in some of their poetry (cf. Rasmussen,
1932: 132-133).

Seals, fish, and caribou were the main food sources. The skins of
the seals and the caribou were used for clothing and tents, while
seal blubber was used for fuel and light. In the summer, the Copper
Eskimo lived on the land. They were dispersed into small groups, sometimes
consisting of a single nuclear family, with caribou hunting as the
primary subsistence activity. In November, the small groups gathered
on the coast, where clothing was made and the people prepared for
winter sealing. When the ice was thick enough and the preparations
were completed, seal hunting began. Sealing required weekly migrations
of these larger groups. In the spring, fishing became the primary
subsistence activity.

The Copper Eskimo lived in tents during the summer, while in the winter
they lived in snow huts. Usually each dwelling was occupied by a single
nuclear family.

Community structure was very informal, and membership was fluid. Nearly
all the inhabitants of a community were related by blood or marriage.
According to Jenness, it was this network of relationships that accounted
for stability and harmony in the absence of any kind of formal political
structure.

The nuatkattait (i.e. relatives) owe special duties to one another.
They must provide for each other in sickness, take care of the aged
and infirm, the widows and orphans, and support each other in the
blood feud. This gives the community solidarity. It has a corporate
unity, and is called by a tribal name, the suffix miut added to the
name of the region it inhabits, or to a prominent place in that region,
such as a lake or river (Jenness 1922: 86).

Dances, wrestling, and gymnastics provided diversions from the harshness
of the food quest. Shamans conducted seances with spirits to solve
problems affecting individuals and the community as a whole. They
derived their power from the control they exercised over certain spirits.
Shamans could be either men or women, and there was very little about
their appearance or status to distinguish them. They were more similar
to doctors than to priests. Performances, which consisted of the possession
of the shaman by the spirit, were marked by the use of magic and sleight
of hand tricks.

Basic sources on the Copper Eskimo include Jenness' works (1917, 1922,
1959) along with Stefansson's Arctic Expedition reports (1913, 1914).
Another basic source is Rasmussen (1932), a report of the Fifth Thule
Expedition to the Arctic in 1923. It gives data on social life, customs,
beliefs, songs and legends, and religion. Also, another cultural summary
of the Copper Eskimo is available in Service (1971: 63-87).

Culture summary by Marlene M. Martin



Chown, Bruce.
 The blood group genes of the Copper Eskimo.
 By Bruce Chown and Marion Lewis.
 American Journal of Physical Anthropology, n.s., 17 (1959): 13-18.
 Jenness, Diamond.
 The Copper Eskimo.
 Geographical Review, 4 (1917): 81-91.
 Jenness, Diamond, The life of the Copper Eskimos.
 Ottawa, F. A. Acland, King's Printer, 1922.
 277 p. illus., maps.
 Jenness, Diamond.
 The people of the twilight.
 Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 1959.
 12, 251 p. illus., map.
 Rasmussen, Knud Johan Victor.
 Intellectual culture of the Copper Eskimo.
 Copenhagen, Gyldendal, 1932.
 350 p. illus., maps, Service, Elman R. The Copper Eskimo.
 In his Profiles in Ethnology.
 rev.
 ed.
 New York, Harper and Row, 1971: 63-87.
 Stefansson, Vilhjalmur.
 My life with the Eskimo.
 New York, Macmillan, 1913.
 9, 538 p. illus., maps.
 Stefansson, Vilhjalmur.
 The Stefansson-Anderson Arctic Expedition of the American Museum: preliminary ethnological report.
 New York, American Museum of Natural History, 1914.
 1-395 p. illus., maps.


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