19 Facts About Aleut

Aleut people speak Unangam Tunuu, the Aleut language, as well as English and Russian in the United States and Russia respectively.

The Aleut suffered high fatalities in the 19th and early 20th centuries from Eurasian infectious diseases to which they had no immunity.

In 1811, to obtain more of the commercially valuable otter pelts, a party of Aleut hunters traveled to the coastal island of San Nicolas, near the Alta California-Baja California border.

The Aleut Restitution Act of 1988 was an attempt by Congress to compensate the survivors.

Today, many Aleut continue to eat customary and locally sourced foods but buy processed foods from Outside, which is expensive in Alaska.

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Customary arts of the Aleut include weapon-making, building of baidarkas, weaving, figurines, clothing, carving, and mask making.

Aleut women sewed finely stitched, waterproof parkas from seal gut and wove fine baskets from sea-lyme grass.

Aleut arts are practiced and taught throughout the state of Alaska.

Aleut carving, distinct in each region, has attracted traders for centuries, including early Europeans and other Alaska Natives.

Aleut'storically, carving was a male art and leadership attribute whereas today it is done by both genders.

Aleut carve walrus ivory for other uses, such as jewelry and sewing needles.

Early Aleut women created baskets and woven mats of exceptional technical quality, using only their thumbnail, grown long and then sharpened, as a tool.

Today, Aleut weavers continue to produce woven grass pieces of a remarkable cloth-like texture, works of modern art with roots in ancient tradition.

One Aleut leader recognized by the State of Alaska for her work in teaching and reviving Aleut basketry was Anfesia Shapsnikoff.

Tattoos and piercings of the Aleut people demonstrated accomplishments as well as their religious views.

Aleut people developed in one of the harshest climates in the world, and learned to create and protect warmth.

The Aleut resembles that of a Yup'ik kayak, but it is hydrodynamically sleeker and faster.

Simple Aleut harpoon consisted of four main parts: the wooden shaft, the bone foreshaft, and the bonehead with barbs pointed backward.

The Aleut developed a style of burials that were accommodated to local conditions, and honored the dead.