Last Updated on August 15, 2021 by
The Eskimos are just one more kind of North American Indian. They look Mongolian, but no more so than some other native peoples of North and South America. Like the rest of the Indians, the Eskimos came from Asia. It is believed that the first Eskimos came to North America by way of the Bering Strait and Alaska 2,000 to 3,000 years ago.
Some then moved along the western coast of Alaska and then along the southern coast as far as the place where the city of Anchorage now is. Others moved out upon the Aleutian Islands. But most of them moved east alopg the northern coasts of Alaska and Canada.
The known meeting of Eskimos and Europeans was around the year A.D. 1000, when the Norse discoverers of America saw Eskimos, probably in Labrador or Newfoundland. The Eskimos later met the Norsemen in Greenland.
During the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, there was a great deal of intermarriage between the Europeans and the Eskimos in Greenland. Many of the Eskimos there today are now practically European in appearance.
As a matter of fact, it is important to realize that Eskimos differ among themselves almost as much as Europeans do. Some of them look like blond Scandinavians or Germans. Others look like dark southern Italians.
The reason Eskimos live in the north is probably that they are a hunting people and their country is one of the best for hunting in all of North America.
Do Eskimos Still Exist?
Yes, Eskimos do still exist.
What is the origin of Eskimo?
Short Answer- According to the Alaska Native Language Center at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, linguists believe the word Eskimo actually came from the French word esquimaux, meaning one who nets snowshoes.
When did Eskimos arrive?
Short Answer- Study indicates that the Paleo-Eskimos entered the Arctic some 5,000 years ago, in a separate migration.
What race are Eskimos?
Short Answer- The two main peoples known as Eskimo are the Inuit (including the Alaskan Iñupiat, the Greenlandic Inuit, and the Inuit peoples of Canada) and the Yupik (or “Yuit”) of eastern Siberia and Alaska. A third northern group, the Aleut, is closely related to both.
What language do Eskimos speak?
Answer- Inuktitut.
