Crossroads Alaska : native cultures of Alaska and Siberia

Crossroads Alaska Native Cultures. Arctic Studies Center. National Museum of Natural History Smithsonian institution. Washington, D.C.. {. I. " |. \.



Crossroads Alaska. ^ 5 IC 5<^S. Native Cultures ofAlaska and Siberia Valerie. Chaussonnet. Arctic Studies Center. National Museum of Natural History Smithsonian Institution Washington, D.C.. 1995.

Captions indicate the largest dimension, of the height, length, width, or diameter of the artifact. Cover Photos:. Top. Bock Cover.. Inside Front. Left.. Chaussonnet, Valerie. Cover. Udegei shamans. Western Thule culture. drum. (Eskimo) ivory. Udegei shaman-. woman. ancestor figure. cover from. Khor. River,. Amur. River region, Russia,. from. the late 1800s.. Made of birch cotton,. hark,. pigment,. and. with hair in. bun, collected in. riding his helping spirit, collected in. Island,. Henry. Alaska, by. 1959 by. B.. Collins in 1929,. dated at about A.D. 1000.. 7 cm.. 3.. 112 pp.. V.G. Lar'kin. of Gvasiugi. The wood-. #A342783.. en. See also. shaman. is. dressed. cm. See also. P-73.. p. 65.. .. ,. This. a powerful. is. ticing. Left.. Bottom Center.. float plug from Big. shaman, as. represents. it. a shaman. traveling to the world. Ulchi Khaka doll made from paper, yarn, and fabric, by. Asian Eskimo. Amur. ofspirits on. 1. .. Eskimos - Alaska - Material culture -. Exhibitions.. Exhibitions. Exhibitions. Siberia. -. -. CIP. Russia,. head. is. blue glass beads for. a. in the dress at. eyes.. Vladivostok. Maritime Museum, Russia,. #1132-34.. the neck. Khabarovsk. Exhibitions. I.. 6.. - Alaska- Russia -. Indian Art -Alaska. Title.. 979.8'004971-dc20. The body with. the. 5.. art. E99.E7C525. 1885 by F.K. Gek, made of wood and. inserted into. art. Eskimo. tiger-like beast.. 95-804. slit. Eskimo. the back. Vladivostok. the. 4.. of his helping spirit, a. Maritime Museum,. G. Kuisali,. Eskimos - Russia - Siberia -. 2.. Exhibitions.. River, Siberia, 1991.. Island,. 21.59 X 29.68 cm.. Includes bibliographical references.. Russia, collected in. Diomede. Valerie Chaussonnet.. Material culture. protector for the prac-. _. Middle. /. - Exhibitions. 3. Indians of North America - Alaska - Material culture -. andfur.. in leather ~. 74. Siberia. in the village. leather. Vladivostok. #2180-8a.. and. Punuk. Maritime Museum, Russia.. Crossroads Alaska: native cultures of Alaska. 1995 '. #4511-19.. 35-5 cm. 27 cm. (beast). and. (shaman).. See also p. 75.. This catalogue. is. set in. Adobe Caramond. and Futura Bold.. Regional Museum,. 7. cm. See also p. 93.. Russia,. #VX3/14.. 12 cm. See. also p. 57.. Printing: Upstate Litho. Inside. Bock. Cover.. Botton Right.. Tlingit. dagger. shaman with. and typically. long shamans hair. Athapaskan (Ingalik). and day mask from the Kuskokwim night. style,. from. the late. 1800s. National. River, Alaska, 1879,. Museum of Natural. made of wood, pigments, and feathers.. Institution,. National Museum. E73837. 24 cm.. ofNatural History,. See also p. 72.. History, Smithsonian. Smithsonian Institution,. #E64242. 47 cm. See also p. 74.. 2. Design:. Harp and Company.

.. Acknowledgement's. Crossroads Alaska. The. was born out of a. larger "Crossroads" concept,. which was. first. lending. museums and. institutions. Museum. for the exhibition are: the National. developed through the major international. of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution,. exhibition Crossroads of Continents: Cultures of. Wishington, D.C; the National. Museum. Suzi Jones, Cynthia Jones, Leonard. Kammerling, Bruce Kato, Paula Kaufman,. Mike. Kelton, Basile Kerblay, Gennadii. and Tatiana Khokhorin, Richard. Kilday, Rich. and Alaska (1988-1992), and through symposium held in Washington, D.C., in. of the. September 1988, both under the leadership of. Alaska. the Smithsonian Institutions Arctic Studies. Native Association, Kodiak, Alaska; the. Krieg, Igor Krupnik, Georgii Gavrilovich. Arsenev Maritime State Museum,. Kudelin, Vladislav. Siberia a. Center.. Two volumes. were published, the. exhibition catalogue (edited by William. W.. Fitzhugh and Aron Crowell), and the acts of the. symposium under. of the North. Pacific. the. Rim. Anthropology. title. (edited. by William W.. Fitzhugh and Valerie Chaussonnet). for Crossroads Alaska, a. The. idea. more compact and. easily traveled exhibition,. came from. where the. Institution,. New York;. Museum,. the University of. Fairbanks; the Koniag Area. Museum,. Vladivostok; the Saklialin Regional. artifacts origi-. and the Kamchatka Regional Museum, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatski. Lindley, Jon Loring, Eve Macintyre,. Martha Madsen, Ron Manook, Reed Martin, Rolando Mayen, Laura McLean, Moses, Bradford Nageak, David Neakok,. We wish. to. scientific. cooperation and friendship in. acknowledge Russian-American. Museum team and. the. vision of the Arctic Studies Center at the. Smithsonian Institution for making of. Dinah. Ladishev,. Pamela Moore, Emanuel Morgan, Shirley. i. of the Sakhalin. Museum. M.. Larsen, Joe Leahy, Aleksandr Lebedintsev,. Glenda. Magadan;. Interdisciplinary Research Center,. arctic matters, in particular the persistence. Arctic Studies Center, National. K. Koniapatskii, Michael E. Krauss, Holly. Molly Lee, Mary-Jane Lenz, Ted Levin,. the Northeastern. Museum. Crossroads Alaska was organized by the. Kobko, Kathryn Kolkhorst Ruddy, Aleksandr. Museum, Khabarovsk;. nated (except, in Alaska, at the Anchorage. of History and Art).. Kleinleder, Richard A. Knecht, Vera Vasil'evna. luzhno-Sakhalinsk; the Arsenev Regional. regret at. being unable to bring the original Crossroads exhibit to locations. American Indian, Smithsonian. this. exhibition happen.. Valerie Jean Nelson,. David Norton, Victoria. Oliver, Aleksandr Oriakov, Darlene Orr,. Natalia Pavlovna Otki, Ol'ga Pavlova, Robert Perantoni, Betsy Pitzman, Aleksei K.. Ponomarenko, Anna Aleksandrovna Ponomareva, Roger Powers, Andrei Valentinovich Ptashinskii,. Gordon. L. Puilar,. George Quist, Diane Rathman, Rosemary. Natural History, Smithsonian Institution,. under the direction of William W. Fitzhugh,. For their support, assistance, and. Regan, Chris Reinecke, Carol Renter,. and curated by. encouragement, we wish to thank the. James Renter, Paul Rhymer, Svetlana Pavlovna. Valerie Chaussonnet.. following individuals: Brenda Abney, Glenn. Rozhnova, Susan Rowley, Caroline. Adams, Harry Adams, Eduard Efimovich. Bernard Saladin d Anglure, Peter and Saltanat. produced by the Office of Exhibits Central,. Alekseev, Galina Aleksandrovna Aleksiuk,. Schweitzer, Linda Shea, Valerii Orionovich. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.. Helen Alten, Alvin Amason, Terence. Shubin, Ol'ga Alekseevna Shubina, John. Armstrong, Sergei Aleksandrovich Arutiunov,. Siske, Sergei Slobodin, Liz Smalls,. Mark O.. Ben. The. The. exhibition was designed, edited,. and. Alaska tour was coordinated by. Badger, James. Hugh. Coordinator Extraordinaire Jean Flanagan. Barlesi,. Carlo, Fairbanks, Alaska.. Brewster,. Funding and. Burrier,. H.. Barker, Fran^oise. Bennett, Steve Bouta, Karen. Marga. Bufifard, Pat. Burke,. Todd. Vladimir Valer'evich Bychkov, J.B.. assistance. were provided by:. Bynum, Harold Campbell, Glen and Elena. the Alaska Humanities. Forum; the Alaska. Carlo,. State. Council on the Arts; the Alaska State. Rosemary Carlton, James. Carr,. Helene Carrere d'Encausse, Sue Carter, Alex. Wanda. Museums, Juneau, and Sheldon Jackson Museum, Sitka; the Anchorage Museum of. Castro,. History and Art; British Petroleum;. Danilina, Hazel Daro, Richard and. the. Department of Anthropology, National. Museum. of Natural History, Smithsonian. Institution; the City. of Fairbanks Hotel/Motel. Corey,. Chin, Lora Collins, Peter. Aron Crowell, Liudmila Mikhailovna. Stachelrodt,. Tasian Tein, Sue Thorsen, Ted Timreck,. Anton. Tynel',. Anthony Valentine,. C^atharine. VanHorn, Ruslan. Valentour, Walter. Sergeevich Vasil'evskii, Igor Vorobei, Alvina. Voropaeva, Tibor Wildner, William. Walton, Eric Wishington, Betsy Webb,. Kim. Wells, Janet Williams, Pat Wolf, Rosita. Worl, Miranda Wright, Kenneth Young,. Koji Deriha,. Dominique Desson,. Eileen. Nikolai N. Dikov, E. James Dixon,. the Bcringian International Park project;. Mary. Stone, Svetlana Aleksandrovna Tag'ek,. Jocelyn Young, and Jon Zastrow.. Museum; the Friends of the University of Alaska Museum; Man and the Biosphere; the National Endowment for the Arts; and. Smith,. Davidson, Anatolii Panteleevich Derevianko,. Devinney, Terry. the National Park Service, Anchorage,. Soktoev, Walter Sorrell,. Tim. Tim. Aleksandr Bagmoevich. Dauenhauer, Mark Daughhetee, Valerie. Bed Tax Fund; the Friends of the Alaska State. Nora. Snoufifer,. Sadler,. P.. Dickey, Edith Dietze,. Bernadette Driscoll, Elder,. Danny. Nancy Eddy, Sarah. Fielding,. Ann. Pierre. my. parents Colette and. Chaussonnet, and to. Norman. my. husband. R. Dorsett.. Fienup-Riordan,. Jean Flanagan Carlo, Joseph Engel, Marnie Forbis, Paul Gardinicr,. Special thanks to. Martinc de Gaudemar,. Fhis catalogue was edited by. Rosemary Regan.. the National Science Foundation; the. Craig Gerlach, Nelson H.H. Graburn,. The. Smithsonian Institution Special Exhibition. Jana Harcharek, Mike Headley, Steve. Carl Hansen and Laurie Penland,. Fund; the University of Alaska Museum,. Henrikson, Gail Hollingcr, Chang-su. National. Houchins, Jerry Howard, Karlin Ichoak,. Smithsonian Institution.. Mina. Catalogue design by Harp and C^ompany.. Fairbanks;. and Young and. Associates.. A. Jacobs, Teresa John, Aldona Jonaitis,. artifacts. were photographed by. Museum. of Natural History,. 3.

A. la. memoire de mon ami,. Andris Slapins..

Table of Contents. 6. Preface, William W. Fitzhugh. 8. Introduction,. 10. Native Cultures of Siberia and Alaska. 10. Inupiaq, ]a}ia Hairharek. 12. Yupik, Larry Kairaiunk and Darlene Orr. 14. Alutiiq,. 16. Aleut, Barbara Svarny Carbon. 18. Athapaskan, Melinda Chase, Miranda Wright, and Bernice Joseph. 20. Tlingit,. 22. Native peoples of the Russian Far East and Chukotka, Igor Krupnik. 24. Siberian Yupik, Igor Knipnik. 26. Chukchi, Igor Krupnik. 28. Koryak, Igor Krupnik. 30. Even, Igor Krupnik. 32. Amur. 34. Nivkh, Igor Krupnik. 36. Ancestral Times, WiUiam W. Fitzhugh. 48. Crossroads Times,. 48. Home. 54. Children: Dolls and Toys. 60. Fashion. 68. Spirits. 76. Cuisine:. 82. People, Animals,. and the Land. People, Animals,. and the Sea. 88. .. Gordon. Valerie Chaussonnet. and Rachel Craig. L. Pullar. and Richard A. Knecht. Nora Marks Danenhauer and Richard Danenhaiier. River, Igor. Food. Krupnik. Valerie. for People,. Chaussonnet. Food. for Spirits. Contact. 94. Strangers: War, Trade,. 98. Alaska Native Graphic. 108. Maps. 110. Bibliography. 112. Catalogue Contributors. Art, Susan. W Fair. 5.

—. Preface William W. Fitzhugh. A. s. depleted of. originally conceived almost. rwenry years ago, the Crossroads. way. project was planned as a to explore. and. tion. celebrate the. a. shared heritage of the peoples and cultures. surrounding Bering. The. Strait.. Russian,. Canadian, and American curators. who. creat-. ed the original exhibit Crossroads of. a. new. and museum that. more than. for. and. The same. half. est. artifact collections. Westerners. who. greatest collection of early Alaskan. where. peoples had. distinctiveness.. and. and mythology;. in their art. and. scientists sensed sophistication. it. and. from Russian America. had been sent. became. inaccessible to Americans.. W. Bogoras and W. Jochelson North. storerooms of the American. nition of a special spiritual link that joined. tion of Russia. humans, animals, and. forever estranged. aspects of. life.. homelands. in. Such. beliefs,. if. all. prey to. ulate their. manip-. environment and imposed an. human. control over everything. the. North. Pacific. from two. to. directions, as. Russian Pomors and Cossacks advanced to Bering Strait. from the west. in the. whalers advanced from the east in the centuries.. century, with. its. 1. and North America became from. a. for learning. about. the history of Native cultures in their. own. new and. its. tour in North America,. unforeseen barriers emerged as the. economic and. Institute of. Sciences). of the Soviet. social structure. collapsed, leaving its. its. museums. sides suffered intellectual. Throughout. and. aesthetic losses.. the 20th century, as political forces prevailed,. it. Our. colleagues at the. Ethnography (Soviet Academy of. now had more immediate. concerns. than honoring exhibit agreements; nor. could they guarantee the safety of the objects for the. planned Russian. we thought. tour.. For a while. that the absenceof Russian funds. We. then tried to. environment. ules. Ironically, the forces. our. message of joint. efforts to bring the. became. By. Crossroads which, with. past. In the. began to be seen. of change that. Beringian heritage to both sides.. peoples to see this region as having shared. common. fell. victim to problems of financing and sched-. increasingly difficult for outsiders or Native. a. with-. transportation and security. had helped launch Crossroads now blocked. Americans and Russians on both. absence of contacts Strait, its. peoples. this. time. artifacts,. it. became. heavy display. clear that the big its. large. cases,. number of. and complicat-. ed travel and conservation requirements,. could never meet another one of our goals. as separate, alienated,. that of bringing early Beringian collections. back to the Native communities where. The. Crossroads of Continents exhibit. designed to address history by. this accident. combining. they had originated. For this a. was. of. cultural materials. from. northeastern Siberia and northwestern. North America into. a single joint traveling. exhibition that could be seen by peoples. 6. of the. the Crossroads exhibit was. but none could be found.. Deprived of the means. lands,. of. spirit. could be solved by American donors,. major portion. 8th. peoples racked by Westernits. popula-. aligned only with their current political states.. By the mid-20th. introduced diseases and. as the general. and dialogue across Bering. 17th. century and as European explorers and. and 19th. Museum. York City, and. of their heritage.. and economic. in their path.. That path reached around the globe. new-found. arrange a tour in Japan; but this also. human domination thousands. of years earlier as people learned to. ideology of. New. they had. ever been present in Western culture, had fallen. went. were never seen in Russia. Thus. thereafter. Native people as well. their. when. systems in disarray.. for. Pacific Expedition^,. of Natural History in. respect that permeated. the largest. just. out funds and. European point of view, was Native recog-. bond of mutual. fate,. But. eastern Asia, gathered by Russian anthropol-. to the. in a. political reconciliation. about to complete. Union. complexity. Perhaps most striking, from the. a. to St Petersburg,. and best-documented collections of north-. the Jesup. religion, early explorers. message. gathered by the Russian scientist. In a corresponding twist of. ogists. its. of cultural interchange and open borders. "glasnost" era.. lands and. and. hurdle,. Indianapolis, Los Angeles,. greeted with great acclaim, and. found resonance. In the Natives' clothing and skin boats; in their social organization. by explorers. two centuries from the. openness and. resources to produce. and. finally. last. Anchorage, and Ottawa. The show was. 1740s to the 1920s, found themselves on. I.e. Voznesenskii. cultures of great vitality. New York,. Seattle,. early history of. either side of impenetrable political barriers.. in the 1840s,. its. we would. of Continents opened at the Smithsonian and began a three-year North American tour to. where. outsiders this region appeared almost. and. earli-. visited these regions.. Pacific peoples, collected. scientists over. To. life,. gathered by the. documenting the. Artifacts. artifacts,. its. that. exhibition in the Soviet Union, was cleared. fate befell the early archival. The. learned to utilize. seemed. Soviet agreement to display the Crossroads. Native peoples had been in contact for. waters teemed with. it. of. Strait,. Its. jetliner,. had. that Native peoples. ages before Europeans arrived.. too remarkable for words.. and kin were. boundary. North. and Bering. was interrupted by the Soviet invasion of. ject. accomplish our goal when the. and. Pacific. After nearly a. Strait.. artificial. and. political, ideological,. more evident than along the shores. of Bering. Afghanistan and the downing of the Korean. forces into the. region. Languages, cultures,. sides. decade of planning, during which our pro-. separated on either side of an. the globe. Ironically, nowhere was this clash. North. development brought. industrial. new wave of external. and economic competition swept over. the. on both. and. in 1987. Shortly after, in 1988, Crossroads. studies across Bering Strait. wave of. furs. never previously recognized.. era of cooperation in research. had been abandoned. a century as a. most valuable. and Alaska. Continents: Cultures of Siberia. opened. its. seamammals, Cold War military confronta-. new and. sim-.

pier. arrangement had to be made.. of local culture experts. also. It. seemed. best to prepare a completely different. exhibit,. one. upon. that built. themes but used. artifacts. the Crossroads. horn. local Siberian. and Alaskan museums and depended on local curators. In short. show. that. we wanted. would enhance. and museum curators North. represent the cultures of the. Pacific. and Beringian region. the objects illustrated have never been. all. and. also. It. takes advantage of a special artistic feature. of the cultures of the region. —. We. have always thought that Crossroads. should be seen. Almost. directly.. published or previously exhibited.. to create a. local artistic. who. the produc-. an end.. Crossroads Alaska/Siberia. end. collections. and. the storerooms. models that were made. by. a. Native creators to represent these items. mind we assembled. this goal in. a. to their. own. people (often, but not exclu-. team ol "mini-crossroads" curators. sively, to children), as well as to outsiders.. that included the project directors, Valerie. By. Chaussonnet and William Fitzhugh,. also solved the. together with E. James Dixon, Richard. illustrate objects. Jordan, and Roger Powers of the University. of the region. of Alaska, and Darlene Orr of the. case of this publication, in a small book.. McLaine Museum. Carrie. in. selecting niiniatiues. Alaska Humanities Council, we travelled to. exhibit,. March 1991,. to. lines.. is. their histories. flight. "crossroads of curators,". Nome. from. East.. on. we. a Bering Air. and began the process of. inspecting collections and discussing the possibilities. of our new exhibit and cultural. exchange plan.. The Russian the Sakhalin. Over. Museum, was. a period. to visit. Valerii. Shubin of. wildly successful.. of two weeks we were able. museums. in Provideniia,. and. tic. social. Anadyr,. Magadan, Khabarovsk, luzhno-Sakhalinsk,. life, art,. focus throughout as. is. and. on. domes-. The. religion.. made preliminary. selections of exhibition materials.. We. and material culture of North have also tried to present. both the traditional ethnographic views. This exhibit and catalogue should therefore be seen in. two dimensions. Above. at least. illustrates the. marvelous diversity and. during the next two years developed an exhi-. adapt to their environments in unique. North. and. Pacific region. creative ways. This. in the design. who. for Crossroads Alaska/Siberia.. is. artifacts, for. within this vast array of diversity. education.^. that of. mon in. its. is. distinc-. clearly differentiated. from. neighbors. Second, one can see. themes and. similarities. —. harpoon technology of hunting. sea. mam-. This exhibition and book, both beautifully. coastal regions; in artifact types. presented by Curator Valerie Chaussonnet,. used by reindeer-herding peoples in Siberia;. unique. in several respects.. While. illustrat-. them with. and the world around. the grace. and. artistry seen in the. creations of their ancestors. This, surely,. museum. a proper role for. treasures.. in cross-cultural similarities in. Pacific Expedition, directed. by Franz Boas, the "father" of American Anthropology, was the. first. truly scientific. exploration of the cultures and history of the Pacific. and took place. in. 1897-1903.. Important contributions were. also. made. by the Smithsonian's Special. Exhibition Fund, the Alaska Humanities. Council, the National Park Service,. and the. Man. State Department's. and the. Biosphere Program.. and. ritual. hunting. 3. Unfortunately, because of commimication difficulties. and printing deadlines,. it. was. not possible to acquire contributions from. Native scholars and cultural specialists. from the Russian. side of the Alaska-Siberia. ing themes previously explored in the larger. "harvest" festivals, in attitudes toward the. "Crossroads" area. In a future edition. exhibition (cultural diversity and complexity;. dead; and in beliefs about spirits and. hope. humans' place. on. history, art, technology,. and. religion;. and. shared traditions and cultural patterns),. "mini-Crossroads" carries these ideas directly to the peoples in the. whoare responsible. for. them,. form of a small touring exhibit and. catalogue that represents the efforts and ideas. will. generations of. many com-. similarities. mals used throughout the North Pacific. are. new. Pacific peoples to express their views. to the project. which each culture has a. ularly interested in using the exhibit as a. arts. can only. 2. of Native clothing and. tive pattern that. of science and. We. will accelerate.. hope that the beauty of these materials. North. especially obvious. The Foundation, and later the National Endowment for the Humanities, was particpilot project for rural delivery. be seen as anomalous in the larger frame. of time, and that the process of exchange,. have learned to. decorative styles applied to garments and. Program of the National Science. Foundation. hope. 1. the. tion. will. is. cultural leaders.-^. ingenuity of the cultures and peoples of. support from the Informal Science Educa-. We may. that our experience of the 20th century. ern views written by contemporary. all, it. financial. years.. there are few physical barri-. of these diverse cultures together with mod-. from new-found Russian colleagues, and. won. atti-. exchange of information and. North. returned with ideas and encouragement. bition plan that eventually. ers to the. now. of themselves. produced massive changes. We. of. in the course. knowledge that they have. centuries, before Russian/Soviet or Euro-. Pacific peoples.. presenting the. tudes and approaches that bring Native. The Jesup North. consulted with scientists and curators;. studied collections; and. and themselves. Even. American. cultures. in. hope. Pacific peoples to others. continue to inspire. Vladivostok, and Novosibirsk, where. we. North. once reborn,. traditional cultures. they existed in the 19th-early 20th. in the lives. Far East research tour,. which was arranged by. Westerners take the lead. also. which. materials across Bering Strait.. to the pre-. categories of subsistence, technology,. We. seeks continuities.. the end of a tradition in. Fortunately,. have been grouped into. sent, the materials. in front of the public in. explores diversity while at the. been deprived of for more than 150. occupy the region, and. from ancient times. museum. out of. peoples of today into closer contact with. Following introductions to the individ-. from museums of the Russian Far. own. and, in the. organized along thematic. ual cultures that. and. Pacific. our project we have seen evolution in. presentation that follows, like the. inspect collections and consult with curators. arrived in Provideniia. to. from the many cultures. in a small space,. is. traditional. The. Staging our. how. thorny problem of. it. cultures of. Nome. With. funds from the Smithsonian and the. the Russian Far East in. and models we. way that same time. be "the. end of our. from the North. tion of detailed, elegant miniatures. With. if. at least. effort to bring portions of the great. another "outsider" view of Native cultures.. their. gratified. may. of the beginning": the. educational programs rather than be seen as. specifically. beginning rather than. as a. we would be. If so,. and many. in the. others.. world around them,. to. their. we. be able to include their perspectives. own. cultures,. when. the exhibit. tours the Russian Far East in 1996-97. For this. volume, we invited one of the leading. Russian ethnographers of the region, Igor. Krupnik,. to present general profiles of these. Siberian Native groups.. 7.

". "First glance at. the. ground glass.. Tanana, Alaska. F. B.. Drane. Collection,. about. 1920. University of Alaska, Fairbanks,. Alaska. and Polar. Region Archives, neg.. #91-046-520..

Introduction Valerie. Chaussonnet. the manner Dwelling on the which mortals. of objects. in. is. of. are. earth." "Building. Thinking". Dwelling. (the. in Basic Writings,. museum. home by. a dwelling a. fabricating,. conceiving,. and using unique, personal,. functional, or surprising objects. a universal. is. human endeavor that found a high expresamong the Native peoples of Alaska. sion. and the Russian Far is. about the living. East. Crossroads Alaska. spirit. of North Pacific. cultures, as. contained within a collection of. some. hundred very old. new. three. brand. to. their heirs. public and researchers,. and through. may. matter of. harpoon heads. to. form of fish, these objects were designed to. make. their. owner. feel at. Most. or her universe.. of". home. in his. these artifacts were. The. what we take. artifacts in the collection. presented here. sometimes carry the marks of owners, users, collectors, or dealers as well.. We. fur-. ther. hope the photos. will. convey the excitement and happiness. we. felt in. exhuming. in this catalogue. artifacts. drawers, sorting and sharing. museum tell. They. them through. the story of the inexhaustible creativity. Some. pieces already travelled in previous. These museum. exhibitions.. Siberian people. when. it. comes. to. making the. significant,. more. efficient,. and therefore. more human home.. The hallmark of. this particular. the small size of the objects,. miniatures and models.. and demonstrate. in their. inal. and intended by the. objects,. "stars". we. feel that. creators of the. through our selection we. include the whale labret (Fig. 100), the night. have been. and day mask. cultures as an exhibition can be.. (Fig. 79),. archeological Kodiak. Many. were. and some of the. and Ushki pieces. (e.g.. long distances, such. the purpose for. the giant goose. Fig. 49).. museum. they were. collection,. as every single. as loyal to the spirit of the. miniature teachers continue to. 73 and 74). Others have. travellers before. in the exhibition. world a warmer, more beautiful, more. is. the artifacts' makers,. Native context. Since the reduction was orig-. captured into a. and resourcefulness of Alaskan and. such exhibitions,. objects that were originally designed to educate, testify,. obvious appeal. collections as objects that best. artists,. lead us to see. is. exhibit about cultures. trick! In. Indeed, Crossroads Alaska's miniatures are. (Figs. 20, 21, 38,. chosen from American and Russian. No. comprehensive the. to be a picture of a culture. many of them. from. never been exhibited before, despite their. all. what. exhibition. and. miniatures used as teaching aids.. truly a. usually. away on the. were. magic. is. hunt rather than. several are. large or. making an. exhibition,. a. built for use in the village or for market,. how. particular culture at a particular time.. an exhibition.. nineteenth-century tool boxes in the. an image of an exhibition, and. is. However, cultures are complex.. cultures.. lives,. these, of the life. catalogue. the exhibition an image of North Pacific. small objects. Ranging from thousand-. year-old insect-shaped late. anonymous, but. including today's Native descendants). values,. Making. are. catch a glimpse of their minds,. Martin Heidegger. Images are always a reduction. This. in the ethnological collections. museums. It. many. for. bead. and most of the metal.. presents. How. spirit.. Objects of the. Kerek dogs. el. (Fig.. 70) from the Vladivostok. real. its. world roam. and. of a. spirit. objects? free. along nomadic paths of hunters,. and. trav-. giftgivers,. traders long before they are trapped. into storage spaces,. collections.. recognized,. major dilemma.. can an exhibition convey the. pieces presented here are rare, such. Eskimo masks. a. created.. that every. fact, if. culture through the spirit of. Some. 95) or the Asian. all. This. museums with. as the. (Fig.. which they were. should be obvious to. object has a. Here these. fulfill. and then. sent to travel in. climatically conditioned plexiglas exhibit. Dwelling. is. basically the art. of creating one's. Crossroads Alaska has a. own. The. life. and character. of the show. surroundings from the existing environment. of. and. resources, according to the aesthetic. and precious. Because of the small. and. social rules. of one's group. Within. context, artists have individual. this. freedom. to interpret the rules, limited only. by. skills. or tools. North Pacific resources in terms. of materials and cultural imagery are extremely vast and varied, and. many. artifacts. its. feel. the artifacts, one facts, as to a. must draw. jewelry display.. is. intimate size. of. close to the arti-. cases. In their free state,. reindeer sleds, travel the. we have. and. most.. as a rule, the small. With. humor,. fear,. tried to return. women.. some trails.. of these small. We. hope. we have contributed at least a little to awakening among viewers some echo of the strength that created these pieces.. or obsessions of generations. of highly skilled craftsmen and. ones. Crossroads Alaska. treasures to the familiar. presented in this exhibition testify to the joy,. they usually travel. by pockets, small pouches, canoes, dog or. crafts-. Unfortunately, most creators. 9.

Inupiaq Jana Harcharek and Rachel Craig. Barrow women sewing bearded sealskin cover over. umiak frame.. Photo Charles Brower.. Denver Museum ofNatural History, neg. #BA21-753.. achel Craig: Our name Inupiaq ("the. ourselves. is. people").. The. inuk. human. out the year to ensure a. is. being").. Jana Harcharek:. I. am. indige-. nous people of that region, we have occupied. an area encompassing more than 90,000 square miles and sustained ourselves. Hope. ited since. on. earlier.. behavior,. a subsistence. sci-. from about. area.. utilize. and. all. another, revering. of its bounties.. NANA. an Inupiaq of the. elders. From. ed. seals,. rus. —not. trout,. it. to. white. lies. south of the North Slope.. It is. a. Buckland, whose people. is. Kangigmiut since time. immemorial. For centuries the Kangigmiut. is. community. usually a. effort right after ice. area. The Kangigmiut were known in traditional times for their clay pottery, much sought after before metal pots. through that. ,. of the coastal region view. and pans were brought. as their food-storage. delicacy. from Buckland. villagers. dry every spring (now they also store. seals,. spotted. seals,. and wal-. mention salmon, humpies, fish, sheefish,. them. in freezers).. tom-. herring, smelts,. to the region. is. smelts,. Another. which. Although Buckland. people are considered. coastal,. they. live upriver. along the Buckland River.. cod, flounder, and bullhead in season. In the. fall,. when heavy storms. begin to. move. in. Not. from Buckland. far. Candle.. along die beach and catch sea ribbons in. early 1900s,. nets.. restaurants,. RC:. Let. me. tell. you about. the. NANA region.. is. the ghost. town of. A thriving gold-mining town. before freeze-up, they harvest blue mussels. (Northwest Arctic Native Association) region,. which. as. also. they harvest beluga whale, beard-. ringed. known. break-up, the only time that the beluga migrate. lifestyle.. Kotzebue Sound. next village east. have harvested beluga from Escholtz Bay. This. to a limited. continuing practice of customs associated with. RC: The. A.D. 1300. Inupiat. harmony with one. am. bowhead. and only. been acknowledged by western. the same resources as they did centuries ago,. I. recently,. knowledge endures through the. continue to occupy the same area and. RC:. which only. The. have been. the general area several. until well after. the land, the ocean,. had. to generation, proves that the Inupiat. ence. This. People bearing an. in the north Alaskan interior. living in. Traditional knowledge, passed from generation. extent, has. Inupiaq technology were using local resources. A.D. 1000. Noorvik.. of. area has been continuously inhab-. thousand years. roots in the Deering area also have relatives in. were the focus of. life.. shows that the. approximately 400 B.C., though. humans may have used. spiritual. detailed information about. its. for thousands. years. Archeological evidence. Point. and. name of the new village was anglicized from the Inupiaq word nuurvik to Noorvik ("the place that people moved to"). Those of us with. an Inupiaq of. North Slope Borough. As the. abundant natural resources. Barrow, suggests that for pre-. at Utqiagvik, near. historic villagers, whales social. Alaska's. A. successfiil season.. remarkable ceremonial building excavated. word. root of the. ("a person, a. for. real. it. had a. and people of many ethnic groups,. including Inupiat from around the region. But. varied environment, with forests, tundra,. At the west end, below. the Arctic Circle, are. when. the price of gold dipped, people. canyons, mountains, wide valleys, sand dunes,. the people of Deering,. known. away.. The. rocky beaches, and sandy beaches. its. people. live. some along. on the. Some of. coast of Kotzebue Sound;. Ipnatchiagmiut ("people of the is. bluffs").. Theirs. a coastal culture. In addidon to harvesting. from Kotzebue Sound, they. the river systems. All speak. as. ones place of origin.. before contact with explorers. and. whalers in the mid-to-late 1800s, coastal. Inupiaq. life. was woven into a complex society. based on subsistence hunting of bowhead whales {Baleana ated with the. berries.. mysticetus).. Ceremonies. bowhead were. associ-. practiced through-. 10. teachers. lived there. There. In the. is. still. return to fish or pick. also a reindeer. east, inland,. of the big. About 1915,. JH: Long. who once. moved. Kialukiigmiut are gone, but those. herd at Candle.. also pick berries,. sourdocks, and willow leaves to vary their diet.. Inupiaq, with varying dialects that reveal. in the. hospital, three hotels,. from the Bureau of. the. the. Kuuvagmiut ("people. river") lived in a forested area. Kobuk. along. The Inupiaq name usually living on the Upper Kobuk in. River.. Indian Aifairs (BIA) persuaded the Natives of. refers to. Deering to move. the villages of Kobuk, Shungnak, and Ambler.. their village to Putu,. was well forested and had fish.. rivers. which. abundant with. However, some stayed behind and others. moved. in, so that. today Deering. popula-tion like any of our other. is. growing in. villages.. The. people. Being inland, the area heat in is. lush,. is. subject to extreme. summer and cold in winter. Vegetation and wild game and fish abound. In. traditional. umes, the Kuuvagmiut's trading.

items were dried. Mountains, using log dried meat,. lagoon side. Noatak. in the. bring. floats to. marrow, and. fat,. is eroding. There is no room for new houses and families crowd into existing homes. So much for decisions by government. and birchbark. fish, Rirs,. They hunted caribou. baskets.. back to the. sicins. Kobuk. ancient. groups of people. people lived in small. setdements near the headwaters oi the Kuuvak, miners came (1898) and schools. until gold. some. flooding in the spring ice break-up,. Kobuk. families left. Shungnak. of. to establish the village. greens.. many of these. are called. a legend that. German. dug. why. Kobuk. the. their. way out. many. River has so. the sloughs and smaller creeks. Delta was made.. better than the. one that. ages. and the receding. The. village. that's. bends.. on down, the. the village of Kiana. sea. and. to the sea,. —and. that's. scientists tell. how. about. that. were. initially. must now have formal. foreign to them; they. schooling in order to profit from these oppor-. sea. tunities.. between. But. their experience. hunting camps.. their. environment and. of survival. them how. in the Arctic has taught. RCs Our. on. named. for. a Russian explorer of. to adapt to. challenges.. rise to. But from time immemorial,. origin.. icepack.. region. of Alaska.. much. is. other rural. like. We have worked. hard to. telecommu-. nications, health sei-vices, education,. We. and job. opportunities for our villages.. big island"). Qiqiqtagruk has always been the. oped. hub. Canadians, but with metal prices very low,. of the region. Before. huge trade. any. stores. were. were held here, with. fairs. don't. Some Eskimos. briskly trading with each other.. even came over from Siberia with tobacco. and reindeer ice. areas. get decent housing, water, sewers,. people from the interior and from the coast. out. like this story. I. Inupiat had to institute forms of government. the village has been called Qiqiqtagruk ("the. built,. ser-. who dug. pents gave birth to their young,. Kobuk. some. became land-locked. So the. serpents. hunt. NANA region,. Otto von Kotzebue,. area,. fish,. skills. modern world.. for success in the. and corporate enterprise. following the. year,. the village of Kotzebue,. is. the people. sea serpents. other group, the. berries. In. In the center of the. Great Flood covered the. needed. to the headwaters. villages are. In the delta of the. after the. The. which. skills,. so. town of Ambler was born.. Kobuk River, Kuugmiut. They have. ").. Nunataagmiut, traveled. mammals, and pick. to. And. equipped both with traditional. were the Napaaqtugmiut. in the forest. the coast,. the. in the Arctic.. enable them to thrive culturally, and with. settled. caribou. After ice break-up in the spring,. establish another village closer to sources. and. Those who. lived.. they returned to the coast to. some of the Shungnak people decided. fish, berries,. Noatak, where two. of the Noatak River every. in the 1920s. In the 1950s,. of wild game,. is. ("people of the forest. began to be established (1905-15). Because of. From. hunting. Skill in. necessary for cultural continuity. Modernization has meant that people must be Southeast of Kivalina. the. and land forms. still is. people with no experience in the Arctic!. villages.. The. patterns,. was and. Old Eskimos. skins to trade.. talk. of previous generations crawling into bed to of Siberian tobacco.. sleep off the effects. It. may. We. mine. a world-class. know how. still. with. in partnership. we. long the mine will stay open.. need to develop. to keep. them from. culture.. We also want. traditional values,. and drug. to instill in. our hunting. and. youth,. activities for. the alcohol. survival techniques, their identity as. have devel-. them our. skills,. our. ground them. to. in. Inupiaq people.. have been mixed with opium.. of Kiana has been there since. JH; The. tradi-. known. as. Katyaak ("the. JH; On. fork where the rivers meet. ').. Many. missionaries. and. tional times. is. families. North Slope, the. the. and. arrival. institutionalized "education,. take pride in tracing their roots to Katyaak.. beginning about 1900, has had. The Gold Rush. and the. quences. Churches nearly eradicated traditional. on. religion.. rejuvenated the. English language. site,. a big impact. the. However, subsistence food gathering. culture. still. made. continues here, as. it. does in. all. Shamanistic. practiced, although. of our. tion about these. its. some. dance have remained strong. The recent. villages.. of Kivgiq ("messenger feast"). Downstream from Kiana. Noorvik (men-. is. have retained. tioned above), established around 1915.. A thriving community of coastal one of the. people, today. it is. in the region.. Noorvik once had. a hospital, but. and the old. now. a sawmill. is. become. and revival. that people. ceremonial dance. and. abandoned. NANA region,. school easier for us us. In this. summer. One summer, BIA. and. teachers pro-. time, the Native people. for heating, cooking,. went back upriver. if. teachers. difficult, far. move. ing, the. to. to higher ground.. water table. ocean side. to. is. is. BIA. make them conform. is. global. warm-. the beach. on the. With. rising,. considering. shrinking, and the land. on the. and other regional. have prospered.. Inupiat attend prestigious schools. how. colleges to learn. successful corpora-. and how governments can benefit. people.. RC;. WTiatever happens,. we. are very. much. concerned that our people continue to provide for their families through subsistence. we have developed an. in school.. home. Few parents speak the. become. can't. subsistence activities.. to be successful, this. is. not enough local industry to replace our. fathers lived;. it is. the. is. how. way we. live.. That. our. fore-. must have the support of Inupiaq. speakers at. has. But. for. some. lan-. JH; Many. challenges face the Inupiat today.. In addition to having to adapt to changes. students, Inupiaq. a secret language that their parents. understand.. caused by development, tain those values that. we. make. also. us. need to main-. who we. are.. This means taking the best ot what both. from. favorite fishing areas, but the. had the power. Today, the village of Kivalina a. move back. effort. it. guage now;. they had children of school age.. Living on the coast was. wood and. to. and building. Soon,. however, they found they had to Kivalina. BIA. us assimilate. Inupiaq language curriculum and are teaching. homes, close to supplies of wood. The. hunting, fishing, and plant-gathering. There Since then, however,. ceeded to build a school there. In the mean-. their winter. make. campsite along the Singaq,. a favorite site for seal hunting, fishing,. berry picking.. to. built.. way. into industrial society.. Kivalina,. is. who wanted. home-rule. primary goal was to. been. village corporations. Many young tions are run. teachers. in 1972. Its. provide residents with the same basic services. and. make. North Slope. as a. enjoyed by other Americans. Since then,. parents were punished in school for speaking. by speaking only English to. south of the North Slope,. originally a. government. destroyed our traditional culture. Because our. they inadvertently became an extension of. just. Borough was incorporated. service facilities have. education system almost totally. Inupiaq, they tried to. living. quarters for teachers.. In the northern part of the. Regional Corporation and various village. and. RC: The. village corporations. In response,. schools, clinics, fire stations, housing,. ages.. river. largest villages. the sawmill. hospital has. and. intricate. forms through the. means. and. corporations. In addition, the. elders have informa-. Fortunately, song. rites.. regional. the Inupiat formed the Arctic Slope. conse-. no longer. rituals are. Alaska Native Claims Settlement. Act of 1971 mandated the formation ot. of. JH; in. worlds have to offer and remembering always. Traditionally, education consisted. acquiring survival. to navigate. on. sea. skills.. and. One. land, in. learned. all. how. those values taught us by our ancestors.. weathers,. using astronomy, wind, ocean currents, weather. For further reading,. sec:. Burch 1984; Hall. 1984; and Spencer 1984..

Larry Kairaiuak: TheYukon-. YupUt. ("the real people"). Kuskokwim. of the. to the port I. on. River delta were. town of Provideniia. that flight. Shortly after. I. stepped off the. plane, a Native. man came up. be invaded by outsiders. There has not been. in Yupik, "I'm. from the Kivak. much. clan are. one of the. contact,. last. Native peoples to. due to the lack of natural. resources in the region, so Yupik. Eskimos. culture,. was a. and language.. me and. to. clan.. said. Which. you from?" I was speechless. Here man from a different country, speaking. my Native. have maintained most of their traditions,. Chukotka.. in. was among the twenty Yupik passengers. language, telling. the same clan. I. me. Ungaziq (Chaplino),. tional coastal village of. but in 1958 the Soviet government saw. move made. it. inland.. fit. to. The Russian Yupik were. to live within fluctuating boundaries. shared by Russians and Chukchi.. The. Chukchi and Russian people have become the majority in an area that was once. he was from. occupied by Yupik alone.. exchanges. cultures have. was!. Forced relocations and the presence of other. Yupik communities cover a. That. of. large area. western Alaska, chiefly along rivers and the. Bering Sea coast.. Many Yupik villages. most Native communities. this social structure has. produced a tradition. ing up on Sea,. I. St.. a Siberian. Yupik grow-. Lawrence Island in the Bering. heard stories of the Ungazighmiit,. the other Siberian Yupik people. who. lived in. the forbidding Soviet Union. But nothing that. I. me. heard prepared. for. my first. meet-. ing with one. For forty years the Cold. War had el. cut off all communication and trav-. in the Bering Strait region. Before then,. since time immemorial, the Siberian. had moved St.. freely. Yupik. miles.. 40 came down,. in Russia, a distance of only. When. sides.. of. many. Today, Yupik people visas.. the "Ice Curtain". generation of Chaplinski speakers has. land,. and. sea.. This unique connection to the. cover those. ties,. when. we began. the Soviet government. allowed a "Friendship Flight" from Alaska. 12. Chaplinski was used to teach Russian and to disseminate. Communist. beliefs.. The younger. been affected by Russian pronunciation.. the strange accent.. who. Unlike Chukotka, few people on Island are non-Yupik, still. and most. St.. Of. have. Lawrence. islanders. speak Siberian Yupik. However, with the. introduction of television,. English. is. VCRs, and. radio,. quickly becoming a major force of. change in language and culture.. DO: On people. live. the American side, most Yupik. on. St.. Lawrence. off the Alaskan coast. island,. Island,. 200 miles. and 40 miles from. Two. villages are. Savoonga and Gambell, each. the communities with ulations are Sireniki. to redis-. to. policies.. the arctic regions. In the animal world, the. members of each species look after each other. They warn each other when danger is near, or they call others when one finds food or a safe haven. They bring food for their young that are not capable of surviving on their own.. with a population of 550. In Chukotka,. wasn't until 1988 that. was subject. it. changes under Soviet. course, they say we're the ones. tainous Soviet coast constantly reminded. It. many. universe has been essential to survival in. on the. side.. virtually. no one under the age of 30 speaks. linked people to animals, the spirit world,. were cut off from each other, but the moun-. and kin on the other. on the. Chaplinski. Although literacy in the Native. the Russian mainland.. Lawrence Islanders that there were friends. effect. language began in 1932,. the two halves of the Yupik population. St.. had an adverse. Yupik (Chaplinski) language. Today. LK: The indigenous people of Alaska believe that there was a time when people could become animals, and animals could become people. A special relationship. and frequently between. Lawrence Island and the coast of. Chukotka. between the two. first. As. in Alaska,. of sharing and giving.. Darlene Orr: As. was the. can travel back and forth without. consist of several large extended families. in. trip. dominant Yupik pop-. and. New. Chaplino.. When. LK:. a. Yupik hunter catches game of. any kind, he distributes other. and. families. who. to relatives or. first. seal. party. of sharing. is. Sireniki has a population of 800, of which. of the. first. bearded. more than half are Yupik; in New Chaplino most of the 500 residents are. or the. first. game caught by. a. little. Yupik.. New. Chaplino used to be the. tradi-. widows,. to receive a share.. are also other kinds. Every spring, a. Elders,. are unable to provide for. themselves are the. There. it. community members.. seal. rituals.. given in honor. caught that season, a. young hunter.. Food, clothing, and toys are given away at the seal party..

Another custom. is. being revived. south-. in. more of. Soviet side, Yupik retained. The mother. their. Communism. woman. western Yupik communities. Residents. Native beliets because. of a community prepare for this event tor. proved to be an inadequate replacement.. months, and invite several surrounding. Spiritual beliets. communities, the extended. by old Russian customs.. host village. This event. relatives of the. takes place. every night, and each village takes turns. providing the entertainment. Fhe host. in. on the. lage entertains. tinal night,. and. vil-. gifts. are distributed to guests that night or the tol-. lowing day. Gifts range from. Community. ing or store-bought items.. members' accomplishments time. tirst. gathered. whom. from the invited. the child. woman. addressed the boy by the grand-. father's. name.. of. ivory/bone carving and Native dancing was. Ellam. spirituality.. all. Yua provided and watched over everything Yupik. existence. Today,. in. DO:. spirit. could partake of. Another. observed was the placing of a pot. a. practice. under. a master (often. Chukchi), and dancers perform. sional ensemble.. Compared. dancers from. Lawrence. St.. polished. But. some. family put. to. as a profes-. Yupik. Island, Russian. most people don't. realize that. they are trained to be professional dancers.. On. in a fire so that the it.. transformed into an economic resource.. Yupik dancers look very dramatic and. brought. I. Soviet rule, traditional. perfect their craft. reli-. Recently in Provideniia, visiting the. The. Under. Carvers work in a cooperative where they. speak about. still. — the Moravian, Russian. gions in the region. food aside to be placed. villages. cup of. fresh. DO:. the basis of. Native food with me.. named.. is. (Spirit. boy a. to give the. from now on. From that time, the. God, was. family ot a deceased triend,. time, the parents or. or to relatives of the deceased person for. Yua. Orthodox, and Catholic churches.. grandparents give plastic bags of frozen berries to elders. the Yupik, Ellam. mother about her dream. the Universe), the equivalent of the Christian. are recognized. as well. If a child has. berries for the. LK: Among. Ellam Yua, regardless of the dominant. local foods. that were collected during the year, to cloth-. at this. tea. lasts tor several. Eskimo dancing. days. Traditional. and asked her. were also reinforced. The. replied that her son did.. told the. I. if. St.. Lawrence. they want, as. and not. in the. Island,. it is. a. anybody can dance. form of recreation. livelihood.. middle of the deceased person's living room. DO:. Another aspect of Yupik. differs. on both. On. sides. Lawrence. St.. much. the. same. Yupik. Island,. subsistence hunting. life. and. practice. still. fishing,. traditional patterns ot distri-. more advanced than having the. terparts,. their Russian. coun-. models of boats,. latest. outboard motors, snow machines, and them.. all-terrain vehicles available to. Russian. equipment. side,. or. homemade. Under. all. equipment belonged. On. state farms.. ing.. They. lifestyle,. fishing, trapping,. the. and. the jobs. and. and. are paid in cash. villages. and our. land and. A. sea.. fur farm-. in kind.. survival. all. things in the. has had a. warm. vil-. lages,. and. some. people. At present, with a depressed. it. reception from. economy and low morale, almost. Russian. anything trom America. is. seen as wonderful.. treat the. a harsh. animals they catch. respectfully, it is. from the moment. it is. consumed, has been passed. on from one generation. Our. to another.. thoughts and actions affect the success. ple to give. and. friends look after the fami-. The community. from surrounding. a. grieves together. People. villages also take part. up. for us to eat, therefore. respect to. them. we must pay. as well as the. environment. With. life in. the former Soviet. changing. the collapse of. at a. tain. its. On. St.. Lawrence. and. villages.. One way. of easing the pain ot. one. name. The. is. to. child. is. he or she. often spoken to or treated in. same way. exactly the is. loved. loss ot a. a child after the deceased.. named.. from the deceased's. person for. as the. whom. Relatives of the deceased. This. try's. economy. is. has been in upheaval, and any. means of extra income appears good. Life for. American Yupik. favorite foods to clothing. that. no one. that. when. really passes. a child. is. out of existence, and. named. person, that person's soul case, a child. after a. who had. deceased. In fact, are. many. people on. on some form. government. of. died about tour. years before. Because a girl child in the family. had already been given the grandfather's. name, some people. in the village. assistance.. (Russian Yupik also received government assistance,. but were required to hold a job in. Lawrence. Islanders share with the Russian. Yupik the. However, with the opening ot the bor-. der and the renewal of kinship. ties,. of pride. among. is. being re-established. the older child. had the name. was adamant. missionaries arrived in 1894, exerting their. by squeezing used. influence to replace the Native religion. ing, if. first.. until she. tea bags.. the. Russian Yupik. is. now making an. attempt to. speak their Native language again, and there is. on. great interest in cultural exchanges sides.. We. see changes. cation of this culture,. from the. and we. reimifi-. also see. the effects from forty years of separation and acculturation, yet. we can only guess what homogenous. the future holds for the once. For further reading,. see:. making. The. 1984;. Fitzhugh and Kaplan 1982; and Yugtun. One. dreamed. Damas. Fienup-Riordan 1983, 1990;. that. tea. next morn-. she visited the boy's mother and asked. any ot her children made. a sense. Yupik people. The younger generation of. Qaneryaramek Calivik. would. life.. Lawrence Island. after his pater-. the deceased grandfather was. the. St.. Siberian Yupik people.. reborn. In. is. was named. Island, the. On. better in terms of. is. access to material goods, but that does not. both. kinds, ranging. all. woman. with Christianity. They succeeded.. especially true since the coun-. side.. lence.. from nearby. visitors. culture: spiritual first. now. holds an attraction to Yupik on the Russian. not address the boy by name, insisting that. demise, the. system actually helped to main-. one aspect of Yupik. beliefs.. Union has been. breathtaking pace. While good. things can be said for totalitarian. Communism,. island.. and. nal grandfather,. DO:. is. at. problems of alcoholism, suicide, and vio-. one. that provides these animals.. around the. traditional village sites. return.) Unfortunately, St.. or toys at special occasions. Yupik believe. Yupik believe that animals give themselves. dug up. relatives host a potlatch for the village. give the child gifts of. of each hunt or gathering of wild plants.. controversial source of cash. necessarily guarantee a higher quality of. community allows peoand share. When someone. LK: Death within. basic to survival.. is. with respect. This tradition of handling. caught until. message to the Yupik. A. This method ot getting quick money. in this event. After the funeral, family. tied to the. is. respect for. and unpredictable one,. game. traditional. Lawrence. St.. the increased travel to Russia. dies, relatives. maintain a subsistence. Yupik environment, sometimes. Yupik always. With. on. in cash.. means of bringing. the selling of ancient artifacts. now, missionaries have been bringing. ly.. LK: Our. had much inHuence. Such. practices have ceased Island.. observed. these cooperatives, chosen. members of a community have of hunting,. On. the Soviet system, to collective. hasn't. still. where Christianity. side,. their Christian. often antiquated. is. Traditional spiritual customs are. done on. is still. individual basis, too, as a. on the Russian. with. bution. Technologically, American hunters are. Carving on the island. to keep evil spirits at bay.. that. the economic base.. is. tea that way.. 13. n.d..

As. Kodiak Island. the decade of the 1990s. 800 human. some with. and shipped. (Jordan and Knecht 1988:232; Crowell. and taking action. traditional. making. many thought. these symbols of Alutiiq culture. An. that. had perhaps. Then the Kodiak Area Native Association (KANA), the regional vanished forever.. ing. ceremony took place. Now Prince William. communities. human. skele-. Smithsonian Institution.. to the. elaborate reburial. in 1991.. to preserve their language.. a decade before,. Sound. are in the process of repatriat-. remains taken from that. Today Alutiiq communities. area.. are expe-riencing. a significant resurgence of pride in their. heritage. and ethnic. Island,. began. efforts to preserve. This movement spread to the Alutiiq people of Prince William Sound and the Kenai and Alaska. History The struggle ture. came. of Alutiiq cul-. for the survival. in the. acculturation,. wake of 250. first. to Russian culture. and. been a "sobriety movement" that addresses. culture. This intense period. of contact. the issue of alcohol abuse at a grassroots. lowed more than 7,000 years of flourishing. Several Alutiiq. of taking control. communities have imple-. mented mariculture and salmon hatchery programs to develop an economic base. The. culture. and population growth. The. European landing. in Alaska,. was on Kayak Island. fol-. first. by Danish. explorer Vitus Bering in 1741 Russia,. is. to. rarely. two decades, they withstood. on behalf of. to contact Alutiiq people regularly. 1760s. Alutiiq culture was at. its. territory.. by the. peak. men, muskets, and cannon and. demanded. at. in. arrived at. August 1784.. that ruling families. He. among. the. Alutiiq provide their children as hostages. Terrified villagers gathered children, elders,. and warriors. on. —. as. many. sea).. used such refuges. 2,000 in. as. a fortified sea stack (a. ing out of the. in Prince. William Sound, in northern Alutiiq. (Black 1990). Finally the Siberian merchant. Three Saints Bay. Ships bearing Russian fur hunters began. 14. warriors were repelled only by firearms,. which were unfamiliar and frightening. Gregori Shelikhov loaded two ships with. years of. American. efforts. Alutiiq fiercely resisted the Russian. presence; mass attacks by armored Alutiiq. Russian attempts to occupy Kodiak Island. then, beginning in 1867, to. new. The. people in a land where thunder. identity.. peninsulas. Associated with this effort has. of political power and resource management.. as. 1988:132-135; Hrdlicka 1944:19).. heard. For. and. revitalize traditional culture.. well as. of 20,000 spread. Alutiiq. organization of the Alutiiq of. level, as. among numerous villages, many as 1,000 inhabitants. tons excavated in the village in the 1930s. traditional clothing, building kayaks,. Kodiak. that time, with an estimated population. south-central Alaska were singing. and performing. tribal. of Larsen Bay secured. the repatriation of nearly. dances, carving ceremonial masks,. Only. village. opened, the Alutiiq people of. all. column of rock. ris-. Alutiiq people had long. when. attacked by invaders..

and. Shelikhov attacked in the early morning. into towns. hours of August 13, 1784. Five small. reachable only by sea.. cannons panicked the Alutiiq defenders, and. traveled outside Alaska, usually for the. seventy-one Russians stormed up the. time;. — hundreds, according. some Russian. accounts.. About 500 women. and children were taken. name. changed. life. Three Saints. to. Alaska became Russian, and. as hostages.. Alutiiq. to. for the rock. The. forever.. is. Alutiiq. A'wauq, which means. become numb" (Knecht, Haakanson,. "to. and Dickson. The. became impressed. laborers for the Russian-American. Hunters were forced to join. Women. for sea otters.. clothing, gather berries,. ering bird eggs from the sea. of disease hitherto. disaster. 24,. oil. Sound,. trauma. cliffs.. the. were. vital tradition-bearers. without a written language,. among. the. first. Family. to die.. trees,. epic stories, songs, and specialized knowl-. effect of the spill it. is. being debated, the. is. intervened, relax. its. 18th and. in the. 1. The. 9th centuries applied the. term Aleut to both the indigenous people of the Aleutian Islands. Unangan) and. (who. called themselves. (who. to the Alutiiq. called. By. known. as. The. lives. were again jolted when. many. sprang up near. villages,. of workers poured into the. commodity and fed economy thousands of miles fishing. Salmon,. comthe American became. the staple of the Alutiiq diet,. mercial. and thousands. area.. away. Over-. wiped out runs of salmon. many map. fed Natives for. appeared on the. a. had. that. generations. Lines as. land also became. owned. Alcohol became yet. a thing to be. Kodiak. Island.. sometimes. called. The. Eskimos. —. ously object. a label that the Alutiiq strenu-. skiffs.. The. sea otter. hunt. also. became. a. thing of memory, as sea otters were nearly extinct by the early 1900s.. wroughtstill. more changes. people. Roads. and. airstrips. World War. 11. and. effect. their culture.. pride and ethnic identity, control of. and. political. power. reshaping. is. communities. They have weathered the. a chief. Toyuq), a second chief (Siikashiq),. (. who was. a third chief (Staristaq) er. was governed by. of the. village's. to be. the lay read-. changed. will retain.. a council of elders still. governments and. (KANA. control their. and what they. own. destiny.. "Our people have made. systems were in. The. government that. fit its. a. own. through. lots. of years. All the troubles since the Russians. their effectiveness.. political. it. of storms and disasters for thousands. speak of the old. are like. tribal. in their culture. They. latest. will allow. Russian Orthodox. one long. Like everything. some. federal. stretch of. else, this. bad weather.. storm. will pass over. day.". model of. — Barbara Shangin,. needs. Some. Alutiiq elder,. Chignik Lake, 1987. formed governments under the. federal Indian Reorganization Act.. wooden. cumulative. storms and will decide what they. village. villages. Indian, was discarded in favor of. a. Once, each Alutiiq. language, a practice that persisted into. the Alutiiq as the horse did for the Plains. had. today's Alutiiq people. Alutiiq Political Structures. rather than those of the communities.. kayak, which held a place for. is. the future for Alutiiq people and their. punished children for speaking the Alutiiq. The. There. years of contact.. doubt that the catastrophic events of. resources,. to.. Bureau of Indian Affairs required. the 1960s.. little. impact. are addressing the. 250. Today, however, the resurgence of cultural. as. tribal. language. Teachers. people of the twenty remaining Alutiiq. communities. pologists have often classified the Alutiiq. place in Alutiiq communities.. new. Bay Native. that period have. to disappear.. a. Bristol. on. By the 1970s new. ways and. are. Because of close linguistic relationship. backward by the Americans, and soon began. iar. The. of the past. Alutiiq are also. as. Schools and missions brought more unfamil-. These organizations. with the Inuit people of the Arctic, anthro-. 1987:1). Elders today. adopted by the Russians, were viewed. in political issues.. Conclusion. Unegkurmiut of. Koniagmiut or Koniag.. Church, and. ing and housing, tolerated and even. programs to. cultural. Alutiiq people include at least three. major subgroups: the Chugachmiut of. and. does today. Traditional cloth-. to create regional. and. Chugachmiut, and the. another epidemic that brought death loss, as it. ANCSA. organizations that provide health,. Association.. of. the Americans occupied Alaska. Canneries. established by. the Kodiak Area Native Association,. Sugcestun. the Kenai Peninsula, and the Qikertarmiut. In 1867 Alutiiq. an. Alutiiq tribal governments of today. the villages and represent the villages. had dropped from 10,000. (Holmberg 1985:36).. shareholders in a par-. social, educational,. differences,. Prince William Sound, the. about 1,500. to identify. in. first as. themselves Sugpiaq) (Clark 1984:195-196).. 1800s, the population on Kodiak Island to. like. These two cultures have many. The. the mid-. of identity,. issues. — other Alaska — tend. Alutiiq people. have also utilized the geographic boundaries. tribal. or Suk.. and the. grip.. This has created new. many. confusing to many. Russian fur traders. a library burning. Eventually the Russian. Orthodox Church company began to. as. ethnic identity.. often. however, including different languages.. like. Sound and. ticular regional corporation rather than. identity of the Alutiiq people. Alutiiq language was. is. Prince William. Inc.;. Native groups. has caused remains evident.. edge, accumulated through thousands. even today, the death of a elder. Alutiiq cultural area, however,. in three sections. Thtis the. Peninsula by the Bristol Bay Native Corporation.. Alutiiq Identity. The. major Native. a regional "for-profit" cor-. Chugach Alaska Corporation; and Alaska. While the long-. of years, died with the. elders. In the villages,. manANCSA's. the Kenai Peninsula are represented by the. themselves. Epidemics. unknown among. 1989:201). Elders, the. Koniag, vil-. spread through the sound, affecting. the Alutiiq villages.. of 1971. Alutiiq of Kodiak Island are represented by. of Tatilek. Eleven million gallons of oil. The. was divided. tanker Exxon. from the Alutiiq. just four miles. group creating poration.. on March. fell. Valdez ran agroimd in Prince William. hunt. people devastated entire villages (Fortuine. in a culture. was the Great Alaska Earthquake of. The second 1989, when the. term. work gath-. (ANCSA). exert considerable political influence in. intention was to divide the state along. 1964, which destroyed several Alutiiq. all. and perform other to. Claims Setdement Act. cultural boundaries, with each. sew. set to. Even the aged were put. tasks.. two major. communities.. villages.. Company.. in the. were. past three decades,. first. crude Alutiiq people soon. first. returned, but as changed people.. disasters struck Alutiiq. lage. n.d.). officially political bodies, the. corporations formed under the Alaska Native. aging land and other resources.. Over the. hundreds died. Male adults and elders were executed. Bay. More young people. pandemonium, many. In the ensuing. cliffs.. some. Although not. had been. villages that. up an elected council headed by. Others. set. a "presi-. For further reading,. see:. Black 1990;. Clark 1984; Crowell 1988a; Davis 1984;. dent" (these are called "traditional councils". Fortuine 1989; Holmberg 1985;. although they are modeled after the U.S.. Hrdlickal944; Jordan and Knecht 1988;. government rather than. Knecht, Haakanson, and Dickson. a traditional system).. n.d.;. Kodiak Area Native Association 1987; and Pullar 1992.. to the Alutiiq. brought strangers. 15.

Aleut. i I. Barbara Svarny Carlson. Akutan. Aleuts on board ship. chain up. at Unalaska, being. were hastily removed. where. relocated away from. andforced to. ill. to. in southeast Alaska,. live in. many diedfrom. health.. the. war zone during. extremely primitive. kept there. the. summer of 1942.. conditions in long-. abandoned canneries. All of the Aleuts on the PribilofIslands. and. They were. and only. village. ofAttu was. were forced. Japanese. and the peo-. their release from. ple sent to Japan where. Japanese. allowed to return at. a third of them. National Archives,. the conclusion. Surviving Attuans. war. in 1945.. ofthe The. died.. We. is. no such thing. Courtesy of the Aleut. our. is. an Aleut.. PribilofAssociation.. We. "Aleuts" are actually three different. maritime peoples ourselves. call. Unangas This. as. name. in the. Unangan, or. Atkan. dialect.. for ourselves, the indige-. ties. who had. their. own. 1). identi-. and subdivisions before contact: the. Unangam Tunuushould we hang on to. of Bristol Bay, and the. Why. speakers.. When. our original names to show pride in our. "Aleut," a foreign. the. island people that they. first. were the Sasxinan, Russians. named. who. the. lived in. Near. came upon what the. cultural heritage. name?. and. to reclaim. maintain our identities. moved eastward on. whose stem, una,. Russians continued to. Aleut. call. —even when they. and. is. the singular. Unangam. is. Dialects form of a word. are plural forms,. and. ously called Sugpiaq) of the Alaska. as. Peninsula. Recognizing a language difference,. and. as. Koniag Aleuts.. The Russian language became. the. common. denominator of acculturation among these diverse groups.. Naahmigus, on: (Delarof Islands);. 4) the Niigugis, on:. (Andreanof Islands);. Saguugamax (Seguam); 5) the. many. as. Unangan may have had. nine distinct subgroups, or. tribes,. Where possible, the major islands are named in the indigenous language (see Bergsland 1994 and map p. 108); foreign names are in parentheses. From west dialects.. to east:. Akuugun. or Uniigun, on: (Islands of. Amuuxtax (Amukta), Yunaxsxa 6) the. Before contact, the. as. 3) the. (Yunaska),. and Chuginadax;. the possessive.. encountered Alutiiq-speaking people (previ-. however, they sometimes referred to us. (Buldir),. Qixsa (Kiska), and Unyax (Semisopochnoi);. the Four Mountains); Qagaamila (Kagamil),. dividing line of language and culture and. Fox Aleuts and the Alutiiq. Islands);. Atxax (Atka), Amlax (Amlia), and. and. refers to the seaside.. Unangan and Unangas. the people. crossed a major. Qaxun, on: (Rat. Amchixtax (Amchitka), Idmaax. (Amatignak);. Who We Unangax. their conquest, the. 2) the. Samiyax (Shemya), and. (Agattu);. Kanaga (Kanaga), Adaagix (Adak),. Russians called them Aleut, and as they. near Russia at the western end of the. (Attn),. Tanaxax (Tanaga), and Amatignax. Islands, because. Are: Pre-Contact Tribes. lie. revive. as a distinct people.. Aleutians. For uncertain reasons, the. they. We should. the Sasxinan, on: (Near Islands);. Atux. Angatux. AJutiiq-speakers, the Central Yupik-speakers. nous people of the Aleutian Archipelago. Russian explorers came to our land,. captivity.. neg #80-6-12163.. along the Aleutian. There. to live. atAtka upon. captured by the. Qawalangin, on: (Fox. Samalga (Samalga),. Nawan-Alaxsxa [one of the. names. for Unalaska],. (Sr. Paul),. Amiq. Angaaxchalux. earliest. or. (St.. Xulustaakan Tangingin (The. and. Islands);. Umnax (Umnak), recorded. Tanax-Amix. George), Seals' Place),. (Pribilof Islands);. 7) the Qigiigun, on: (Krenitzin Islands);. Sidaanax (Sedanka), Akutanax (Akutan),. Akungan (Akun), and Qiqalgan. 16. (Tigalda);.