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Itelmen

Итәмән Ительмены
An Itelmen dance group, 2013
Total population
3,211
Regions with significant populations
Russia	3,193[1]
Ukraine	18[2]
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)

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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."^[1] They are also called Kamchadal. They are related to the Chukchi and Koryak peoples.^[2]

Itelmen spoke the Itelmen language. It is a Chukotsko-Kamchatsky language.^[3] As of 2016, there are only about 5 native speakers of the language alive, and it is an endangered language.^[4] Most Itelmen now speak Russian. There have been efforts to bring the language back since the 1980s.^[4]

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.^[5] They were fishermen and fur hunters. They were also herbalists, which means they used plants like herbs as medicine.^[1]

Itelmens were being converted to Christians as early as the 1730s.^[6]

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.^[6] Russian became the main language, and Russians spread diseases to the Itelmen, like smallpox. They also suffered from famine.^[7]

Kamchadal people suffered from Russian rule. Cossacks kept Itelmen as slaves.^[8] Some Itelmen who fought against the Russians were deported, or had their tribes separated.^[1]

• Indigenous peoples
• Kamchatka Peninsula
• Cossacks
• Colonialism

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} "The Red Book of the Peoples of the Russian Empire: Itelmens". www.eki.ee. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
2. ↑ "Itelmen". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
3. ↑ "Itelmen". www.encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} 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. Retrieved 2022-03-01.
5. ↑ Murashko, Olga (1997). "Itelmens and Kamchadals: Marriage Patterns and Ethnic History". Arctic Anthropology. 34 (1): 181–193. ISSN 0066-6939. JSTOR 40316432.
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1} 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.
7. ↑ 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.
8. ↑ 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.

• Endangered Languages Archive: Itelmen Collection

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