At the time of the Jesup Expedition, the inhabitants of southern Kamchatka were described as "Kamchadal," thought to be the Koryak's term for their southern neighbors. 20th century writers use "Itel'men" for the unassimilated native people living on the central and western coast of the peninsula who subsisted by hunting, fishing, and gathering, at least until Soviet times. "Kamchadal" came to be used for natives who had adopted Russian ways, who lived among Russian settlers in the larger towns, and who spoke Russian. Assimilation worked both ways. Early Russian settlers, brought to Kamchatka to establish farms, often abandoned their settled way of life in favor of hunting and fishing.

The Itel'men seem to be unrelated to any of the other peoples who inhabit the Russian Far East. Traditionally, the Itel'men lived by hunting, gathering, and especially fishing. Fish, including several varieties of salmon, were caught as they ascended Kamchatka's rivers and the catch from a short season was sufficient to the Itel'men's needs. Sea mammals, including seals, were hunted from the land. Dogs were used to pull sledges. After the arrival of the Russians, horses were used as summer pack animals and cows became a source of dairy products for both Russians and Kamchadal. By the end of the 19th century, the gathering of root crops had nearly been supplanted by the cultivating of potatoes and turnips.

Itel'mens became a tribute-paying people of the Russian Empire in the 18th century. Living in relatively settled communities, they were more easily assimilated to the Russian language and Orthodox Christianity than were the nomadic Koryaks, and also highly susceptible to imported diseases. Their numbers dwindled rapidly. In the Soviet period, Itel'men communities were forcibly relocated and villages closed as part of a policy of forced assimilation. Music, dance, and subsistence fishing have remained significant markers of ethnic difference, utilized today by Itel'men who are attempting to revitalize their fragile identity as a people. The current population of Itel'men is estimated at 1,400. Because those identified as "Kamchadal" were considered "assimilated," they have been recognized as an indigenous ethnic group in this decade.

For more information see:

David Koester, "Childhood in National Consciousness and National Consciousness in Childhood," Childhood: A Global Journal of Child Research, Vol. 1, N. 4, 1997.

S. A. Arutiunov, "Koryak and Itelmen: Dwellers of the Smoking Coast," in Crossroads of Continents: Cultures of Siberia and Alaska, W. W. Fitzhugh and A. Crowell, eds. (Smithsonian Institution Press, 1988).