The People

The Arctic has a native population, chiefly of Mongoloid ancestry. It includes the Eskimos of Canada, Greenland, northern Alaska, and northeastern Siberia, and the Chukchi and Yakuts of northern Siberia. In northwestern Siberia are the Nentsy (formerly called Samoyeds), who are of Central Asian ancestry and speak a Finno-Ugric language. Lapps live in northern Scandinavia and adjoining parts of Russia.

In recent decades, the Arctic peoples have come increasingly into contact with modern civilization, which in some cases has disrupted the traditional way of life.