Itelmens

Itelmen
Итәмән; Ительмены
	An Itelmen dance group, 2013
Total population
	3,211
Regions with significant populations
Russia	3,193
Ukraine	18
Languages
	Itelmen, Russian
Religion
	Polytheism, Shamanism, Russian Orthodoxy
Related ethnic groups
	Chukchi, Koryaks
	↑ Russian Census 2010: Population by ethnicity Archived 2012-04-24 at the Wayback Machine (in Russian); ↑ State statistics committee of Ukraine - National composition of population, 2001 (Ukrainian);

The Itelmens (Itelmen: Итәнмән, Russian: Ительмены) are a native population of the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia. Itelmen call themselves itenme'n-itelmen, which means "an inhabitant of dry land", or "a human being." They are also called Kamchadal. They are related to the Chukchi and Koryak peoples.

Language

Itelmen spoke the Itelmen language. It is a Chukotsko-Kamchatsky language. As of 2016, there are only about 5 native speakers of the language alive, and it is an endangered language. Most Itelmen now speak Russian. There have been efforts to bring the language back since the 1980s.

Pre-contact life

Kamchadal is the general term for the native peoples of Kamchatka Krai. This includes the Itelmen. Itelmen were called Kamchadals by Russian settlers until 1927. They were fishermen and fur hunters. They were also herbalists, which means they used plants like herbs as medicine.

Russian contact

Itelmens were being converted to Christians as early as the 1730s.

The population of the native peoples of Kamchatka declined from 1769-1770. There were hundreds of Itelmen settlements in the 18th century, but there were only seven Itelmen-speaking villages by the 20th century. Russian became the main language, and Russians spread diseases to the Itelmen, like smallpox. They also suffered from famine.

Kamchadal people suffered from Russian rule. Cossacks kept Itelmen as slaves. Some Itelmen who fought against the Russians were deported, or had their tribes separated.

Related pages

References

1 2 3 "The Red Book of the Peoples of the Russian Empire: Itelmens". www.eki.ee. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
↑ "Itelmen". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
↑ "Itelmen". www.encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
1 2 Degai, Tatiana S. (2016). ""ITƏNMƏN"-- "The One Who Exists": Sociolinguistic Life of the Itelmen in Kamchatka, Russia in the Context of Language Loss and Language Revitalization". repository.arizona.edu. Archived from the original on 2021-11-30. Retrieved 2022-03-01.
↑ Murashko, Olga (1997). "Itelmens and Kamchadals: Marriage Patterns and Ethnic History". Arctic Anthropology. 34 (1): 181–193. ISSN 0066-6939. JSTOR 40316432.
1 2 Koester, David (2005). "Global Movements and Local Historical Events: Itelmens of Kamchatka Appeal to the United Nations". American Ethnologist. 32 (4): 642–659. doi:10.1525/ae.2005.32.4.642. ISSN 0094-0496. JSTOR 3805353.
↑ Murashko, Olga; Krupnik, Igor I.; Davis, Eugenia W. (1994). "A Demographic History of the Kamchadal/Itelmen of Kamchatka Peninsula: Modeling the Precontact Numbers and Postcontact Depopulation". Arctic Anthropology. 31 (2): 16–30. ISSN 0066-6939. JSTOR 40316361.
↑ Steller, Georg Wilhelm; Falk, Marvin W (2003). Steller's history of Kamchatka: collected information concerning the history of Kamchatka, its peoples, their manners, names, lifestyle, and various customary practices. University of Alaska Press. ISBN 978-1-889963-49-5. OCLC 49844675.

Other websites

Endangered Languages Archive: Itelmen Collection

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[1] Russian Census 2010: Population by ethnicity Archived 2012-04-24 at the Wayback Machine (in Russian)

[2] State statistics committee of Ukraine - National composition of population, 2001 (Ukrainian)

[:0-3] 1 2 3 "The Red Book of the Peoples of the Russian Empire: Itelmens". www.eki.ee. Retrieved 1 March 2022.

[4] "Itelmen". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 28 February 2022.

[5] "Itelmen". www.encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 28 February 2022.

[:1-6] 1 2 Degai, Tatiana S. (2016). ""ITƏNMƏN"-- "The One Who Exists": Sociolinguistic Life of the Itelmen in Kamchatka, Russia in the Context of Language Loss and Language Revitalization". repository.arizona.edu. Archived from the original on 2021-11-30. Retrieved 2022-03-01.

[7] Murashko, Olga (1997). "Itelmens and Kamchadals: Marriage Patterns and Ethnic History". Arctic Anthropology. 34 (1): 181–193. ISSN 0066-6939. JSTOR 40316432.

[:2-8] 1 2 Koester, David (2005). "Global Movements and Local Historical Events: Itelmens of Kamchatka Appeal to the United Nations". American Ethnologist. 32 (4): 642–659. doi:10.1525/ae.2005.32.4.642. ISSN 0094-0496. JSTOR 3805353.

[9] Murashko, Olga; Krupnik, Igor I.; Davis, Eugenia W. (1994). "A Demographic History of the Kamchadal/Itelmen of Kamchatka Peninsula: Modeling the Precontact Numbers and Postcontact Depopulation". Arctic Anthropology. 31 (2): 16–30. ISSN 0066-6939. JSTOR 40316361.

[10] Steller, Georg Wilhelm; Falk, Marvin W (2003). Steller's history of Kamchatka: collected information concerning the history of Kamchatka, its peoples, their manners, names, lifestyle, and various customary practices. University of Alaska Press. ISBN 978-1-889963-49-5. OCLC 49844675.