Yupik peoples

The Yupik (/ˈjuːpɪk/; Russian: Юпикские народы) are a group of Indigenous or Aboriginal peoples living in western, southwestern, and southcentral Alaska and the Russian Far East. They share many traditions and languages with the Inuit and Iñupiat.

Yupik peoples include several groups. The Alutiiq, also called Sugpiaq, live on the Alaska Peninsula and coastal areas of southcentral Alaska. The Yupʼik or Central Alaskan Yupʼik live in areas such as the Yukon–Kuskokwim Delta, the Kuskokwim River, and along Bristol Bay.

There are also Siberian Yupik people, including groups such as the Naukan and Chaplino, who live in parts of the Russian Far East and on St. Lawrence Island in western Alaska. These groups have rich cultures and histories that continue to influence their communities today.

Population

The Yupʼik people are the largest group of Alaska Native groups. They speak the Central Alaskan Yupʼik language, which belongs to the Eskaleut family of languages.

In 2002, more than 24,000 Yupik people lived in the United States, with most living in Alaska, especially in western and southwestern areas. Some Yupik also live in Russia and cities like Seattle and Washington.

Etymology of name

The name Yupʼik (plural Yupiit) comes from the Yupik word yuk, which means "person," and the word -pik, which means "real" or "genuine." So, it literally means "real people." Sometimes, people also call them Yuk or Yuit.

In some dialects, like Hooper Bay–Chevak and Nunivak, the people and their language are called Cupʼik. The apostrophe in "Yupʼik" shows a special way of writing in Central Alaskan Yupʼik, where it makes the "p" sound longer.

Origins

The ancestors of the Indigenous peoples of Siberia, Aleut, and other groups are thought to have come from eastern Siberia. They arrived in the Bering Sea area about 10,000 years ago. Studies of blood types, language, and DNA show that these people reached North America before others did. They traveled across the Bering land bridge, which was exposed during cold periods thousands of years ago. By around 3,000 years ago, the ancestors of the Yupik people settled along the coasts of what is now western Alaska. They moved up rivers like the Yukon and Kuskokwim, reaching places such as Paimiut and Crow Village. The Siberian Yupik might have been people who moved back to Siberia from Alaska.

Culture

Traditionally, Yupik families would spend spring and summer at special fishing places and then come together in villages for the winter. Many families still rely on natural resources like Pacific salmon and seal for food.

The men had a special house called the qasgiq, where they held ceremonies, festivals, and storytelling, especially in winter. This is where boys learned important skills like hunting and making tools, including qayaq (small boats). Girls learned from women in another house called the ena, where they were taught skills like sewing and preparing food.

For a few weeks each year, boys and girls would switch places, learning each other's skills. Yupʼik dancing is special, with dancers moving their arms and upper bodies while holding fans. The Yupʼik name their children after the last person in the community who passed away.

The kuspuk is a traditional warm garment worn by everyone. The seal-oil lamp (naniq) was an important tool for lighting and warmth.

Languages

Main article: Yupik languages

There are five Yupik languages that many people still speak today. Yupʼik is the most spoken Native language in Alaska, making it the second most spoken indigenous language in the United States, after Navajo.

Long ago, Moravian Church missionaries helped create a writing system for the Yupik people. They used Yupik in church services and even translated important religious texts into the language.

Russian explorers once thought the Yupik near the Aleut territory were Aleut too, calling them Alutiiq or Sugpiaq. These names are still used today for the Yupik living in Southcentral Alaska and Kodiak.

Notable people

• Mary Peltola (born 1973), former U.S. representative of Alaska's at-large congressional district, serving from September 2022 to January 2025; she was formerly a judge on the Orutsararmiut Native Council tribal court as well as executive director of the Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, Bethel city councilor, and member of the Alaska House of Representatives
• Rita Pitka Blumenstein (1936–2021), first certified traditional doctor in Alaska
• Callan Chythlook-Sifsof (born 1989), Olympic snowboarder
• Moses Paukan (1933–2017), businessman and politician
• Saint Olga Michael (1916-1979), Eastern Orthodox priest's wife (matushka) who was canonized as a saint in 2023 by the Orthodox Church in America
• Crow Village Sam (1893–1974), Alaskan Native leader
• Elizaveta Dobrieva (born 1942), researcher, teacher, and expert in Naukan