Eskimo kinship

The system emphasizes the nuclear family, identifying directly only the mother, father, brother, and sister.

The Eskimo system is defined by its "cognatic" or "bilateral" emphasis - no distinction is made between patrilineal and matrilineal relatives.

In addition, it is found among a small number of food-foraging peoples such as the ǃKung tribe of Africa and the Inuit (Inuit-Yupik) for whom it is named.

In most Western societies, the nuclear family represents an independent social and economic group, which has caused the emphasis on the immediate kinship.

[3] The former remains in use in Alaska, though less so than in past decades,[4] because the term includes both Inuit and non-Inuit Native Alaskans.