爱斯基摩人(Eskimo)，亦称伊努伊特人（Inuit）。
与阿留申人（Aleut）的族源关系最近，两者共同构成北极地区及近北极地区原住民之主要成分，其范围自格陵兰、阿拉斯加、加拿大以至西伯利亚最东端。爱斯基摩人在不同的方言中称谓各异，如︰伊努伊特人、因努皮雅特人（Inupiat）、尤皮克人（Yupik）及阿鲁提伊特人（Alutiit）等等，其意为「人民」。爱斯基摩一名源出蒙塔格奈语（Montagnais），意为雪鞋，欧洲人最早用以指称北极居民，加拿大和格陵兰的北极居民宁愿自称为伊努伊特人。爱斯基摩人属於亚洲民族，与美洲印第安人不同之处如气候适应（climatic adaptation）、B型血型和语言（爱斯基摩－阿留申诸语言〔Eskimo-Aleut〕），都表示他们的族源不同。爱斯基摩人的传统文化模式，完全是为适应一种极其寒冷的冰雪覆盖的环境，这里几乎没有植物性食品，树木极少，食物来源只靠驯鹿、海豹、海象、鲸等肉类，鲸脂，以及鱼类。海上捕鱼时常使用渔猎标枪和供一人乘坐的海豹皮船或较大的爱斯基摩蒙皮船。爱斯基摩人的衣着以驯鹿毛皮为主。住房在冬季有两种︰一种是雪块砌成的圆顶小屋，名为伊格鲁（igloo）；另一种则是半地下的小屋，系以石头或草块铺在木造或鲸骨的骨架上而制成。夏季他们居住在兽皮帐篷之内。狗拖雪橇是爱斯基摩人的主要陆上交通工具。他们的宗教信仰与崇奉泛灵论的风习相似。现在，雪上摩托车大体上已经替代了狗拖雪橇，同时步枪也用来狩猎，取代了原先的鱼叉。许多爱斯基摩人早已放弃他们的流动性很大的狩猎行当，而移入北部的城镇或都市，在矿井及油田工作。另有一部分爱斯基摩人，也已组成合作社以兜售他们的手工艺品。爱斯基摩人在格陵兰和丹麦约有51,000人；阿拉斯加有43,000人；加拿大有21,000人；其余约有1,600人在西伯利亚。
English version：
Eskimo
Group of peoples who, with the closely related Aleut, constitute the native population of the Arctic and subarctic regions of Greenland, Alaska, Canada, and far eastern Siberia. Self-designations include such names as Inuit, Inupiat, Yupik, and Alutiit, each being a variant of “the people.” The name Eskimo, first applied by Europeans, may derive from a Montagnais word for snowshoes; it is favored by Arctic peoples in Alaska, while those in Canada and Greenland prefer Inuit. The Eskimo are of Asian origin, like the American Indians, but are distinguishable from the latter by their climatic adaptations, the presence of the B blood type, and their languages (Eskimo-Aleut), all of which suggest that they are of distinctive origin. Traditional Eskimo culture was totally adapted to an extremely cold, snow- and ice-bound environment in which vegetable foods were almost nonexistent and caribou, fish, and marine mammals were the major food source. Harpoons and one-person kayaks or larger umiaks were used for hunting on the sea. Clothing was fashioned of caribou furs and sealskins. Snow-block igloos or semisubterranean sod and stone houses were used in winter, while in summer animal-skin tents were erected. Dogsleds were the basic means of land transport. Religion centered on the unseen world of spirits. Today snowmobiles have replaced dogsleds, and rifles harpoons. Many Eskimo have abandoned their nomadic hunting pursuits and moved into northern towns and cities. Some have formed cooperatives to market their handicrafts and other wares. There are about 43,000 Eskimo in Alaska, 21,000 in Canada, 51,000 in Greenland and Denmark, and 1,600 in Siberia.