Kaktovik Numerals

The Kaktovik numerals are used by the Inupiat Eskimo people for their vigesimal (base-20) number system.

In 1994 there was a school in the town of Kaktovik. Its students decided that they wanted to do calculations using a system with their familiar base of 20. Since there are only ten Arabic numerals, they came up with a completely new set of numbers. As you can see, there are only 6 basic symbols, and the remaining numbers are formed by combining them.

The vigesimal number system is used in all Eskimo-Aleut languages, so the Kaktovik numerals have spread among the northernmost indigenous peoples. Nowadays, they are taught in some schools in Alaska, Canada, and Greenland.