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The Inuit are descended from the Thule people, who settled Greenland in between AD 1200 and 1400. As 84 percent of Greenland's land mass is covered by the Greenland ice sheet, Inuit people live in three regions: Polar, Eastern, and Western. In the 1850s, additional Canadian Inuit joined the Polar Inuit communities.
Greenlanders (Greenlandic: Kalaallit), also called Greenlandics or Greenlandic people, [11] are an Inuit ethnic group native to Greenland. They speak Greenlandic , an Eskaleut language . Greenland is an autonomous territory within the Danish Realm , and its citizens hold Danish nationality .
Probably adapted from the name Skræling, [5] Kalaallit historically referred specifically to Western Greenlanders. On the other hand, Northern and Eastern Greenlanders call themselves Inughuit and Tunumiit, respectively. About 80% to 88% of Greenland's population, or approximately 44,000 to 50,000 people identify as being Inuit. [6] [7]
Greenlandic Americans are often categorized as Scandinavian or Danish Americans, because of Greenland's status as an autonomous territory of Denmark. Some are in fact of Danish descent, though many are of Inuit ancestry, which is culturally distinct despite geographic similarities.
The Inughuit (also spelled Inuhuit), or the Smith Sound Inuit, historically Arctic Highlanders or Polar Eskimos, are an ethnic subgroup of the Greenlandic Inuit. They are the northernmost group of Inuit and the northernmost people in North America, living in Greenland. Inughuit make up about 1% of the population of Greenland. [2]
The Inuit mummies of Qilakitsoq offer important insights into the lives of Inuit about 500 years ago. Qilakitsoq is located in West Greenland near the city of Uummannaq on the northern coast of the Nuussuaq peninsula ( Greenlandic : Big Cape) in a sheltered cover of the Karrat Fjord .
Greenland had been a protected and very isolated society until 1940. [69] Greenland was a colony, and it was believed that this society would be subjected to exploitation or even eradication if the country was opened up. Therefore, a strict monopoly on Greenlandic trade was maintained, although it was abolished in 1950. [70]
Hans Poulsen Egede (31 January 1686 – 5 November 1758) was a Dano-Norwegian Lutheran missionary who launched mission efforts to Greenland, which led him to be styled the Apostle of Greenland. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] He established a successful mission among the Inuit and is credited with revitalizing Dano-Norwegian interest in the island after contact ...