Dominant Christianity
The two dominant religions are Protestantism and Catholicism. Approximately 35% are Protestant Christian, 20% have no religion, 15% are Catholic, and with large minorities of Buddhists, Confucians, Muslims, and Animists (Native Americans) and 6,500 Orthodox Christians who have persisted since the Americans purchased Alaska from Russia in 1867. Evangelical Protestants are the most religious of the Alaskans. There are also Jewish and Christian minorities. The border is then blurred. If many Inuit are Christians today, many continue to follow animist rites, to participate in feasts and customs long suppressed by the white settlers. The syncretic spirituality of their religion is expressed in their way of life, their oral tradition and the contemporary conception of Inuit society.
Dance and song, omnipresent among the Inuit
Each clan has its own language of gestures, so, depending on the tribe, the rhythm and choreography can vary enormously. Initially, the dances and songs were only used during ceremonies for spiritual or sacred purposes, or for war celebrations, and belonged to the clan which jealously guarded their secrets. Badly perceived by the "whites" who see them as war dances, these dances, which play a major role in the cultural identity of the Natives, are taken seriously by the American and Canadian governments. The American government even prohibited their practice between 1880 and 1934. Even today, these dances and songs are not presented in public and remain in the intimacy of the clan, only a few secular songs are performed in public and it is those that you may have the opportunity to see practiced in traditional dress in cultural centers.
The pow-wow, a chaminic and festive ceremony
Traditionally, the powwow is a shamanic, or religious, gathering or a festive celebration of warrior exploits. Today, the Amerindians try to keep the tradition alive by organizing more modern but equally festive powwows. It is an opportunity to reconnect with one's culture and to share. If you have the opportunity to go to the Midnightsun Intertribal Pow-wow in Fairbanks, it will be the occasion to discover the local Athabascan and Inuit cultures through what they share best: music, dance, and even gastronomy.
The shamanic spiritual guide of the Inuit, the angakkuq
Mainly in the Great North, myths, legends and a very mysterious folklore exist around this little known animist religion, guided by theangakkuq. After centuries of reprisals, it must be said, it has remained secret. The Inuit cosmology is very rich, the myth of the mermaids very present, the rituals and the taboos very important. The amulets of protection are also omnipresent in the life of the Inuit. There are very strong mystical people, like Nuliajuk, a powerful mermaid, Agloolik, a sea demon who capsizes boats, lives under the ice and helps hunters and fishermen. Amaguq is the spirit of the wolf god who kidnaps those who go hunting alone at night. Igaluk is the spirit of the moon, brother of the sun god Malina. Nanook is the master of the polar bears, Sedna the mistress of the marine animals. Anguta personifies the carrier of the dead towards the afterlife, Pinga the goddess of hunting, fertility and medicine. Tekkeitsertok is the master of the caribou, while Pukkeengak is the goddess of domestic life. Qallupilluit appears as a creature created by parents and elders to scare children and protect them from the shore, a bit like the dahut of our forests!
