by Brandon Trail

      The Alaskan Yupik and Inuit Eskimos arrived in Alaska more than 6,000 years ago and came from the Coastal Siberia Region (Alaska History and Cultural Studies).  They relied heavily on sea mammals in the past as a source for food, clothing, and other materials.  The reliance on the mammals created a source of ceremonialism in their music.  There are similarities in the music styles of the Yupik and Inuit, and the Native American Indians (Oxford University Press).

      The Eskimo People settled in a variety of different places in Alaska including the coastline, islands, forest areas, tundra, and rivers.  Through their time they developed four distinct and different languages (Alaska History and Cultural Studies).  The Eskimos that settled in the northern regions developed into the Inupiaq and their relatives spread as far as Greenland.  Eskimos that lived south of Unalakleet on the coast spoke Central Yupik.  Those Eskimos that settled on St. Lawrence Island in the Bering Sea spoke a Yupik language similar to the Eskimos in Siberia.  Eskimos that migrated to the south of the Alaskan Peninsula spoke Alutiiq (Alaska History and Cultural Studies).