The
Yup'ik or
Yupiaq (sg & pl) and
Yupiit or
Yupiat (pl), also
Central Alaskan Yup'ik, Central Yup'ik, Alaskan Yup'ik (
own name Yup'ik sg Yupiik dual Yupiit pl), are an
Eskimo people of western and southwestern
Alaska ranging from southern
Norton Sound southwards along the coast of the
Bering Sea on the
Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta (including living on
Nelson and
Nunivak Islands) and along the northern coast of
Bristol Bay as far east as
Nushagak Bay and the northern
Alaska Peninsula at
Naknek River and
Egegik Bay. Also known as
Cup'ik for the
Chevak Cup'ik dialect speaking Eskimos of
Chevak and
Cup'ig for the
Nunivak Cup'ig dialect speaking Eskimos of Nunivak Island. Both Chevak Cup'ik and Nunivak Cup'ig Eskimos are also known as
Cup'ik The
Yup'ik,
Cup'ik, and
Cup'ig speakers can converse without difficulty, and the regional population is often described using the larger designation of
Yup'ik. They are one of the four
Yupik peoples of Alaska and
Siberia, closely related to the
Sugpiaq ~ Alutiiq (Pacific Yupik) of southcentral Alaska, the
Siberian Yupik of St. Lawrence Island and Russian Far East, and the
Naukan of Russian Far East. The Yupiit speak the
Yup'ik language. Of a total population of about 21,000 people, about 10,000 are speakers of the language.