The work translated here is Ocherki po etnografii aleutov (konets XVIII-pervaia polovina XIX v.) (Leningrad: Nauka, 1975), one of Roza G. Liapunova's two monographs on the Aleuts of Alaska. Liapunova discusses the archaeology of Aleut origins, Aleut life as documented in early historical sources, and Aleut material culture based on historical sources and in museum collections. Essays remains a valuable synthesis of English- and Russian-language sources on these topics. It also showcases the wide-ranging interests and broad expertise of a Soviet scholar whose work deserves to be read by an English-speaking audience. The volume includes a brief biography and bibliography of selected works of the author and an index.
For the past 9,000 years, people lived and flourished along the 1,000-mile Aleutian archipelago reaching from the American continent nearly to Asia. The Aleutian chain and surrounding waters supported 40,000 or more people before the Russians arrived. Despite the antiquity of continuous human occupation, the size of the area, and the fascinating and complex social organization, the region has received scant notice from the public. This volume provides a thorough review describing the varied cultures of the ancestral Unangax̂, using archaeological reports, articles, and unpublished data; documented Unangax̂ oral histories, and ethnohistories from early European and American visitors, assessed through the authors’ multi-decade experience working in the Aleutian Archipelago. Unangam Tanangin ilan Unangax̂/Aliguutax̂ Maqax̂singin ama Kadaangim Tanangin Anaĝix̂taqangis (Culture and Archaeology of the Ancestral Unangax̂/Aleut of the Aleutian Islands, Alaska) begins with a description of the physical and biological world (The Physical Environment and The Living Environment) of which the Unangax̂ are part, followed by a description of the archaeological research in the region (The People). The rest of the book addresses ancestral Unangax̂ life including settlement on the land, and the characteristics of sites based on the activities that took place there (People on the Landscape). From this broad perspective, the view narrows to the people making a living through hunting, fishing, and collecting food along the shore-line, making their intricate tools, storing and cooking food, and sewing and weaving (Making a Living); household life including house construction, households, and the work done within the home (Life at Home); and the personal changes an individual goes through from the time they are born through death, including spiritual transitions and ceremonies (Transitions), and the evidence for these events in the material record. This book is written in gratitude to the Unangax̂ and Aleut people for the opportunity to work in Unangam Tanangin or the Aleutian Islands, and to learn about your culture. We hope you find this book useful. The purpose of this book is to introduce the broader public to the cultures of this North Pacific archipelago in a single source, while simultaneously providing researchers a comprehensive synthesis of archaeology in the region.
"Lucien M. Turner's ethnographical work in the Aleutians remains unique. He alone made a concerted effort to learn Aleut and therefore could communicate more or less directly with the local population. Turner lived for extended periods in three primary Aleut communities in the eastern, central, and western islands. He interacted with Aleuts on a day-to-day basis, shared some of their difficulties, and felt at home enough to joke with them. The collections he made in the Aleutians surpass all others from the late nineteenth century. The items he shipped to the Smithsonian Institution provide researchers and contemporary Unangan glimpses into an irrecoverable past. It is this collection that forms Turner's primary legacy." "Turner's extant ethnographic notes are directly tied to his collections of natural history. Photographs of many of the ethnographic specimens are beautifully reproduced in this book. Ray Hudson's brilliant annotation of this most thorough ethnography of the Aleutian Islands and its people to date will shed light on both the Aleuts near the end of the nineteenth century and on those outsiders who lived among them."--BOOK JACKET.
The first Aleut ethnography in over three decades, Aleut Identities provides a contemporary view of indigenous Alaskans and is the first major work to emphasize the importance of commercial labour and economies to maintain traditional means of survival. Examining the ways in which social relations and the status formation are affected by environmental concerns, government policies, and market forces, the author highlights how communities have responded to worldwide pressures. An informative work that challenges conventional notions of "traditional," Aleut Identities demonstrates possible methods by which Indigenous communities can maintain and adapt their identity in the face of unrelenting change.
Living Our Cultures, Sharing Our Heritage: The First Peoples of Alaska features more than 200 objects representing the masterful artistry and design traditions of twenty Alaska Native peoples. Based on a collaborative exhibition created by Alaska Native communities, the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian, and the Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center, this richly illustrated volume celebrates both the long-awaited return of ancestral treasures to their native homeland and the diverse cultures in which they were created. Despite the North's transformation through globalizing change, the objects shown in these pages are interpretable within ongoing cultural frames, articulated in languges still spoken. They were made for a way of life on the land that is carried on today throughout Alaska. Dialogue with the region's First Peoples evokes past meanings but focuses equally on contemporary values, practices, and identities. Objects and narratives show how each Alaska Native nation is unique—and how all are connected. After introductions to the history of the land and its people, universal themes of “Sea, Land, Rivers,” “Family and Community,” and “Ceremony and Celebration” are explored referencing exquisite masks, parkas, beaded garments, basketry, weapons, and carvings that embody the diverse environments and practices of their makers. Accompanied by traditional stories and personal accounts by Alaska Native elders, artists, and scholars, each piece featured in Living Our Cultures, Sharing Our Heritage evokes both historical and contemporary meaning, and breathes the life of its people.
In the quiet of morning, exactly six months after Pearl Harbor, the Japanese touched down on American soil. Landing on the remote Alaska island of Attu, they assailed an entire village, holding the Alaskan villagers for two months and eventually corralling all survivors into a freighter bound for Japan. One of those survivors, Nick Golodoff, became a prisoner of war at just six years old. He was among the dozens of Unangan Attu residents swept away to Hokkaido, and one of only twenty-five to survive. Attu Boy tells Golodoff’s story of these harrowing years as he found both friendship and cruelty at the hands of the Japanese. It offers a rare look at the lives of civilian prisoners and their captors in WWII-era Japan. It also tells of Golodoff’s bittersweet return to a homeland torn apart by occupation and forced internments. Interwoven with other voices from Attu, this richly illustrated memoir is a testament to the struggles, triumphs, and heartbreak of lives disrupted by war.
Examining human occupation of the arctic and subarctic zones, irrespective of place and time, this book explores a wide variety of fascinating areas and inhabitants along several points in history. Beautifully illustrated, Arctic Archaeology is essential reading for all those curious about how organisms survived in this life threatening environment.
Editorial The Social Importance of Volcanic Peaks for the Indigenous Peoples of British Columbia - Rudy Reimer/Yumks The Pacific Crabapple (Malus fusca) and Cowlitz Cultural Resurgence - Nathaniel D. Reynolds and Christine Dupres Enduring Legacy: Geoarchaeological Evidence of Prehistoric Native American Activity in the Post-Industrial Landscape at Willamette Falls, Oregon - Rick Minor and Curt D. Peterson A Multi-Authored Commentary on Carry Forth the Stories: An Ethnographer's Journey into Native Oral Tradition with a Response from the Author, Rodney Frey - Darby C. Stapp, Deward E. Walker, Jr., Caj and Kim Matheson, Tina Wynecoop, Suzanne Crawford O'Brien, Aaron Denham, and Rodney Frey A History of Anthropology at Reed College and the Warm Springs Project - Robert Moore, Robert Brightman, and Eugene Hunn New Materials on the Ancient Bone-Carving Art of the Eskimos of Chukotka - Yu. A. Shirokov, translated by Richard L. Bland
A memoir of Nick Golodoff. A story of a young boy's experiences as a Japanese captive and intern during World War II, and of his resettlement in Atka after the war.
