Aleut people () are the indigenous people of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska, United States and Kamchatka Krai, Russia.

In the 1820s, the Russian-American Company, which administered a large portion of the North Pacific during a Russian led expansion of the fur trade, resettled many families to the Commander Islands ( currently, within the Aleutsky District of the Kamchatka Krai in Russia ) and to the Pribilof Islands ( currently in Alaska ), where there are currently established majority Aleut communities.

Ivory and woodcarving were and are prevalent crafts for Aleut men to create, too.

Aleut carvings are distinct in each region and have attracted traders for centuries.

Today, Aleut weavers continue to produce woven grass pieces of a remarkable cloth-like texture, works of modern art with roots in ancient tradition. Birch bark, puffin feathers, and baleen are also commonly used by the Aleuts in basketry.

One Aleut leader recognized by the State of Alaska for her work in teaching and reviving Aleut basketry was Anfesia Shapsnikoff whose life and accomplishments are portrayed in " Moments Rightly Placed.

Masks are full of meaning in the Aleut culture.

The masks show anthropomorphic creatures that are described in Aleut language.

While English and Russian are the dominant languages used by Aleuts living in the US and Russia respectively, the Aleut language is still spoken by several hundred people.

Many words are formed from entirely different roots than in Siberian Yupik, but even the grammar has several peculiarities not only among Eskimo languages, but even compared to Aleut.

The islands are home to a majority of Alaska's Aleut population.

The Central Alaskan Yupik are by far the most numerous of the various Alaska Native groups and speak the Central Alaskan Yup ' ik language, a member of the Eskimo – Aleut family of languages.

Almost half the inhabitants are of Aleut descent-mainly from the Qagan Tayagungin tribe, and support themselves by fishing and fish processing.

Every July the town hosts a Culture Camp in which Aleut traditions such as dance, sewing Aleut dresses, playing drums, building kayaks, knot tying, and weaving are taught.

Many languages throughout North America are polysynthetic ( Eskimo – Aleut languages are extreme examples ), although this is not characteristic of all North American languages ( contrary to what was believed by 19th-century linguists ).

The " animal language " words and names in this story are a phonetic spelling of Russian spoken with an Aleut accent, for example " Stareek!

The Eskimo – Aleut languages are among the native languages of the Americas.

The Eskimo – Aleut languages are not demonstrably related to the other language families of North America and are believed to represent a separate, and the last, prehistoric migration of peoples from Asia.

The Eskimo – Aleut languages are affixally polysynthetic and exclusively suffixing ( with the exception of one prefix in Inuktitut which appears in demonstratives ).

Aleut seamstresses created finely stitched waterproof parkas from seal gut, and some women still master the skill of weaving fine baskets from dune wildrye grass or Elymus mollis.

The mountain was named after Ioann ( Ivan Popov ) Veniaminov ( 1797 – 1879 ), a Russian Orthodox missionary priest ( and later a prominent bishop in Russia ) whose writings on the Aleut language and ethnology are still standard references.

Aleut women are still today famed for their basketry and sewing techniques, capable of weaving grasses into watertight baskets and sewing seal gut into watertight raincoats suitable for the open ocean.

Before the 19th century, tattoos and piercings were very common among the Aleut people, especially among women.

The Inuit language, like other Eskimo – Aleut languages, has a very rich morphological system, in which a succession of different morphemes are added to root words to indicate things that, in languages like English, would require several words to express.

The Russian Orthodox religion ( with its rituals and sacred texts, translated into Aleut at a very early stage ) had been informally introduced, in the 1740s-1780s, by the fur traders.

The Aleut baidarka resembled that of an Eskimo Kayak, however, it was designed to be much more aerodynamically fast which was perfect for sea hunting.

Also, the Sheldon Jackson Museum, located on the Sheldon Jackson College grounds, is the oldest concrete building in the state, and houses much of Sheldon Jackson's collection as well as other examples of Tlingit, Inuit, and Aleut culture.

This suggests that they also spoke an Eskimo – Aleut language, but one quite distinct from the forms spoken in Canada today.

Ironically, today Copper Island Aleut is spoken only on Bering Island, as Copper Islanders were evacuated there in 1969.

The site, located near the mouth of the Indian River, served in 1804 as the location of an armed conflict between the native Tlingit people and Russian fur hunters ( accompanied by their Aleut allies ), known today as the Battle of Sitka.

Тhe Aleut people were distributed throughout the Aleutian Islands, the Shumagin Islands, and the far western part of the Alaska Peninsula, with an estimated population of around 25, 000 before contact with Europeans.

Alaskans also use the term Alaska Native, which is inclusive of all Eskimo, Aleut and Indian people of Alaska, and is exclusive of Inuit or Yupik people originating outside the state.

One of the great Unangan leaders and educators of the 20th century was Anfesia Shapsnikoff who traveled around the state of Alaska, teaching Aleut basketry and encouraging elders to teach Unangan language and traditional skills so that youth could carry ancient knowledge into the future.

The name " Alaska " ( Аляска ) was already introduced in the Russian colonial period, when it was used only for the peninsula and is derived from the Aleut alaxsxaq, meaning " the mainland " or, more literally, " the object towards which the action of the sea is directed ".

When Alaska Natives enrolled in their regional corporations under the terms of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971 ( ANCSA ), the Aleut Corporation attracted only about 2, 000 enrolees who could prove a blood quantum of 1 / 4 or more Alaska Native ( including Aleut ).

The intermingling of promyshlenniki men with Aleut and Alutiiq women in the late 19th century gave rise to a people who assumed a prominent position in the economy of Russian Alaska and the north Pacific rim.

Akutan ( ACK-oo-tan ) ( Achan-ingiiga in Aleut ) is a city in Aleutians East Borough, Alaska, United States.

Cold Bay ( Udaamagax in Aleut ) is a city in Aleutians East Borough, Alaska, United States.

False Pass ( Isanax ̂ in Aleut ) is a city in Aleutians East Borough, Alaska, United States.

King Cove ( Agdaaĝux ̂ in Aleut ) is a city in Aleutians East Borough, Alaska, United States.

Nikolski ( Chalukax ̂ in Aleut ) is a census-designated place ( CDP ) on Umnak Island in Aleutians West Census Area, Alaska, United States.

St. George ( Aleut: Anĝaaxchalux ̂) is a city in Aleutians West Census Area, Alaska, United States.

St. Paul ( Aleut: Tamax ̂ Amix ̂) is a city in Aleutians West Census Area, Alaska, United States.

The witness of Herman of Alaska, Saint Innocent of Alaska, and Peter the Aleut has contributed to the continuing strong Orthodox community in villages like Nanwalek.