Northern Aboriginal peoples whose homelands stretched from Greenland to Siberia. In 1990, nearly 55,000 lived in Alaska, with others settled in the continental US. Their traditional social and cultural life, although varied within this geographic scope, had adapted to nomadic hunting and fishing in an often inhospitable climate, relying on a strong nuclear family. This has been radically changed by Christian missionaries, government intervention and new economic opportunities generated by tourism and oil.

These changes are often epitomized in the shift from dogsleds to snowmobiles, but they have also entailed cultural and linguistic dilemmas similar to those facing American Indians. In addition, environmental problems have also been concerns for Inuits. Despite these changes, the image of the traditional “Eskimo” remains stereotyped in American mass media, especially advertising.