Eskimo

Eskimo (/ˈɛskɪmoʊ/) is an exonym that refers to two closely related Indigenous peoples: Inuit (including the Alaska Native Iñupiat, the Canadian Inuit, and the Greenlandic Inuit) and the Yupik (or Yuit) of eastern Siberia and Alaska. A related third group, the Aleut, who inhabit the Aleutian Islands, are generally excluded from the definition of Eskimo. The three groups share a relatively recent common ancestor, and speak related languages belonging to the Eskaleut language family.

These circumpolar peoples have traditionally inhabited the Arctic and subarctic regions from eastern Siberia (Russia) to Alaska (United States), Northern Canada, Nunavik, Nunatsiavut, and Greenland.

Many Inuit, Yupik, Aleut, and other individuals consider the term Eskimo, which is of a disputed etymology, to be offensive and even pejorative. Eskimo continues to be used within a historical, linguistic, archaeological, and cultural context. The governments in Canada and the United States have made moves to cease using the term Eskimo in official documents, but it has not been eliminated, as the word is in some places written into tribal, and therefore national, legal terminology. Canada officially uses the term Inuit to describe the indigenous Canadian people who are living in the country's northern sectors and are not First Nations or Métis. The United States government legally uses Alaska Native for enrolled tribal members of the Yupik, Inuit, and Aleut, and also for non-Eskimos including the Tlingit, the Haida, the Eyak, and the Tsimshian, in addition to at least nine northern Athabaskan/Dene peoples. Other non-enrolled individuals also claim Eskimo/Aleut descent, making it the world's "most widespread aboriginal group".

There are between 171,000 and 187,000 Inuit and Yupik, the majority of whom live in or near their traditional circumpolar homeland. Of these, 53,785 (2010) live in the United States, 65,025 (2016) in Canada, 51,730 (2021) in Greenland and 1,657 (2021) in Russia. In addition, 16,730 people living in Denmark were born in Greenland. The Inuit Circumpolar Council, a non-governmental organization (NGO), claims to represent 180,000 people.

In the Eskaleut language family, the Eskimo branch has an Inuit language sub-branch, and a sub-branch of four Yupik languages. Two Yupik languages are used in the Russian Far East as well as on St. Lawrence Island, and two in western Alaska, southwestern Alaska, and western Southcentral Alaska. The extinct Sirenik language is sometimes claimed to be related.