Central Yup'ik Eskimos - Orientation



Identification. The name "Eskimo" probably originated from Montagnais, although the belief that it was a pejorative term meaning "eater of raw flesh" is erroneous. The people refer to themselves as "Yup'ik" or "Cup'ik" (the real people). This self-designation derives from the word for "person" ( yuk ) plus the postbase piak, meaning "real" or "genuine."

Location. The physical environment of the Central Yup'ik Eskimos is a rich and varied one, and not at all the frozen wasteland of popular imagination. The Yup'ik occupy the lowland delta of western Alaska, including the drainages of the Yukon, Kuskokwim, Togiak, and Nushagak rivers, as well as the Bering Sea coast lying between them. Innumerable sloughs and streams crisscross the coastal tundra, covering close to half the surface of the land with water and creating the traditional highways of its native population. Along the coastline between the Yukon and Kuskokwim rivers, the sea is shallow and the land is flat. Volcanic domes provide relief on Nelson and Nunivak islands, and mountains meet the coast in the vicinity of Bristol Bay and the Togiak River.

Demography. In early postcontact times, the Central Yup'ik Eskimos may have numbered as many as fifteen thousand persons. This number was reduced by over one-half by the smallpox epidemic of 1838-1839 as well as subsequent epidemics. Close to eighteen thousand Yup'ik Eskimos live in western Alaska today, as well as several thousand living outside the region.

Linguistic Affiliation. The Central Yup'ik speak the Central Alaskan Yup'ik language, which aboriginally was one of five Yup'ik languages. Together with the Inupiaq language, spoken by the Eskimos living to the north and east across Canada and Greenland, they constitute the Eskimo branch of the Eskimo-Aleut family of languages. At present, Central Alaskan Yup'ik is internally divided into four major dialects, all of which are spoken in western Alaska today.


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