| Part ofa series on the | ||||||||
| Anthropology ofkinship | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||||||
Basic concepts
| ||||||||
Case studies | ||||||||
Major theorists | ||||||||
| Social anthropology Cultural anthropology | ||||||||
Inuit kinship (formerlyEskimo kinship) is a category ofkinship used to define family organization inanthropology. Identified byLewis H. Morgan in his 1871 workSystems of Consanguinity and Affinity of the Human Family, theInuit system was one of six major kinship systems (Inuit,Hawaiian,Iroquois,Crow,Omaha, andSudanese).[1] The system of English-language kinship terms falls into the Inuit type.
Thejoint family system places no distinction betweenpatrilineal andmatrilineal relatives; instead, it focuses on differences in kinship distance (the closer the relative is, the more distinctions are made). The system emphasizes thenuclear family, identifying directly only the mother, father, brother, and sister. All other relatives are grouped together into categories. It uses bothclassificatory anddescriptive terms, differentiating between gender, generation, lineal relatives (relatives in the direct line of descent), and collateral relatives (blood relatives not in the direct line of descent). The Inuit system is defined by its "cognatic" or "bilateral" emphasis - no distinction is made between patrilineal and matrilineal relatives.
Parental siblings are distinguished only by their sex (aunt, uncle). All children of these individuals are lumped together regardless of sex (cousins). Unlike theHawaiian system, Ego's parents are clearly distinguished from their siblings.
The Inuit system is common among the world's kinship systems and is at present used in most Western societies (such as those of modern-dayEurope orNorth America). In addition, it is found among a small number offood-foraging peoples such as theǃKung tribe of Africa and the Inuit (Inuit-Yupik) for whom it is named.
The system is widely used in non-unilineal societies, where the dominant relatives are the immediate family. In most Western societies, the nuclear family represents an independent social and economic group, which has caused the emphasis on the immediate kinship. The tendency of families in Western societies to live apart also reinforces this.
The termEskimo is considered pejorative in Canada, and has been replaced there bythe termInuit.[2] The former remains in use in Alaska, though less so than in past decades,[3] because the term includes both Inuit and non-InuitNative Alaskans. In Canada, the termInuit kinship is therefore widely used instead ofEskimo kinship.