A Social Analysis of Native Alaskans
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There are few regions of the world that have experienced such rapid social, economic and political change as the North American Arctic. As Richard Condon (1990) noted almost 15 years ago, this region of the world became strategically and economically significant during the prolonged decades of the Cold War, resulting in increased settlement by non-Natives and with an influx of programs and activities designed to benefit Native American peoples (many of whom are Inuit or Allutiiq) impacted by changing times. The "encounter," so to speak, between Native Alaskans and other indigenous peoples of the region and the majority population of North America (Euro-Americans) has resulted in many changes to traditional lifestyles and cultures (Sullivan & Brems, 1997). This essay will examine some of these effects, focusing on societal values, gender-specific social behaviors and rites of passage among Native Alaskans, also known as Allutiiq. According to archeological studies, the ancestors of the Eskimo-Inuit-Aleut residents of the arctic crossed the Bering Straits between 8,000 and 10,000 years ago. As they spread across the north, the group evolved into specific language groups. In 1741, the life of these Native Americans was transformed with the arrival of Russian explorers and the subsequent establishment of trading stations; consequently, the Native Alaskans were exploited by Russian traders for their otter-hunting skills, rebelling in the 1760s only to be crushed by the Rus
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madic life with a strong emphasis on hunting, fishing, and trapping as the primary sources of sustenance. Additionally, as Turner (1993) has commented, most of these Native American peoples have had a subsistence orientation in which the males assume responsibility for hunting and fishing activities while women are responsible for the processing of the food and for processing other results of the hunt such as skins and pelts from hunted animals and oil and ivory from others.
Turner (1993) has stated that this division of labor, particularly among groups such as the Inupiat and others who continue to engage in annual whale hunts tends to be extenuated. Many of these groups maintain annual whale festivals which illustrate oppositions between sea and land, safety and danger, raw whale parts and cooked whale parts as well as specific gender roles. In many of the religious and spiritual traditions of Native Alaskan groups, Turner (1993) maintains that the spirits of animals that are hunted such as whales, bears, and seals play a dominant role.
The vast majority of Native Alaskans, regardless of their particular tribal affiliation, have tended to live in relatively small villages while maintaining a fairly mobile lifestyle, trave
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Approximate Word count = 1889
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page)
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