Pacific Eskimo

ETHNONYMS: Aleut, Alutiiq, Pacific Gulf Eskimo, Pacific Yup'ik Eskimo, South Alaska Eskimo

Kinship, Marriage and Family

Marriage was marked by a gift exchange followed by a period of matrilocal residence. Polygyny and polyandry were permitted. The nuclear family was the basic social unit, with four or five families occupying a dwelling. Descent was matrilineal, with kin groups above the clan level absent. The Russian Orthodox church introduced godparent relations, which remain important today.

Bibliography

Birket-Smith, Kaj (1953). The Chugach Eskimo. Nationalmuseets Skrifter, Etnografisk Raekke 6. Copenhagen, Denmark.

Clark, Donald W. (1984). "Pacific Eskimo: Historical Ethnography." In Handbook of North American Indians. Vol. 5, Arctic, edited by David Damas, 185-197. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution.

Davis, Nancy Y. (1984). "Contemporary Pacific Eskimo." In Handbook of North American Indians. Vol. 5, Arctic , edited by David Damas, 198-204. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution.