Module 3- People and Places

Essential Questions:  What is culture?  How can it be defined?   


 According to the Roshan Institute of Cultural Heritage Studies, culture includes, but is not limited to, language and thought, the arts and sciences, spirituality, and social interaction and activities. Culture is what makes a people unique and interesting and is related to their history and ways of coping and surviving.  In Alaskan culture all of these aspects overlap and are interconnected. 

Cupik people of the Western Tundra

 Native peoples in Alaska developed their culture around subsistence living. Their values came out of an interdependence which helped them to  survive.  They passed on knowledge and skills through keen observation and experimentation. They developed tools and crafts out of need and through tried and true testing.They treated each other and the environment with respect by sharing what they had and not taking more than they needed. They had close relationships with their environment including the plants and animals; they saw themselves as part of the land.  Stories and legends were passed down from generation to generation teaching the Natives not only about their place in the world but about right and wrong and taking responsibility for what you do. 

We can learn a lot about a culture through their use of
language. For example, the Yup'ik and Ieupiaq language is rooted in a relationship to nature and is a reflection of a changing environment.  One sentence or thought can be said a number of different ways and the order of the words can vary, based on what is  being expressed and emphasized.  It is a reflection of the unpredictability of nature and their  changing roles in it.

 

Traditional Native  clothing was made from the skins of animals they hunted and killed. Each Eskimo group had their own unique way of decorating their clothing  and was

recognizable as coming from a particular area.

The interrelationship of all the aspects of culture changed over time as the indigenous people adapted to their environment and the changes around them.  However the  challenging changes brought by the Western culture were not as easy to adapt to.

Examine:  What insights about the nature of Alaska Native cultural change do you gain from the essays by Paul Ongtoogok ?

DVD Maniilaq, the Eskimo Prophet

In Maniilaq: Preparing for Change Paul Ongtooguk tells about a remarkable leader and his ability to predict the dramatic change the Natives had to go through and his efforts to prepare his people for these changes. Stories of his greatness were passed down carefully through chosen and reliable elders. He was able to predict how Western culture would impose their beliefs on the Native culture which would shake up and confuse traditional spiritual practices and the traditional way of living in harmony with their surroundings.  When the small pox epidemic broke out, many Natives were recruited to the Russian Orthodox Church because of the church's ability to save lives through vaccination, while the Shaman had no power over the disease.  Maniilaq tried to encourage the Natives to continue to live together through respect for nature. 

In the essay  Education and Cultural Self –Determination

Paul Ongtooguk brings up questions of what the cultural legacy of Alaskan natives should be and what is important to preserve and pass on to generations.  Unfortunately, when Western educators first came to Alaska, they tried to deny and eradicate Native cultural heritage.  Native languages and cultural connections were not allowed; they were taught that these things were inferior to Western ways of thinking and doing things.  There were, however, Native elders who held onto their beliefs and passed them down to the younger generation.  In hunting and fishing and traditional dances and ceremonies younger generations were taught cultural values. Time spent at boarding schools did not prepare students to become leaders in their communities.

Today Native communities must decide what needs to be taught and how to teach younger generations about their Native cultural heritage.  Through the efforts of Native elders students need to understand their connection to their rich past.

Extend: After 250 years of contact with 

outsiders, what is the status of Native

 cultures in Alaska? 

  Native people in Alaska and elsewhere face the dilemma of accepting and learning from Western culture while still holding on to their own culture.  There is confusion among the people as to the value of their own past and heritage, especially among the young. We all have a cultural heritage that we must come to terms with.  However,  at one time Natives were encouraged to forget their heritage to assimilate into the new culture.  That is a difficult heritage to overcome.

 According to Paul Ongtooguk in his article Modern and Alaska Native? Yes it is possible to be both Native and Modern and that Natives need to define what that means.  Being entirely Native or entirely Modern is not desirable or realistic.  It is possible to combine these two aspects of culture in a harmonious way. It is the responsibility of the community and educators to help help younger generations to achieve this.


Evaluation:
I really enjoyed this module. I would like to learn more about language and educational methods of Alaska Natives.  I feel like I spend a lot of time on the modules, I haven't quite figured out how to budget my time to get the most done.  It didn't help that I lost Module 2 and had to spend a lot of time trying to figure out how to retrieve it.  Oh well, spring break is coming soon.
 
Blogs I have visited:

Claire Powell  writes about the fragility and interconnectedness of the landscape and our responsibility as educators to understand and to know about our environment.
Joel's Blog is about coming into a new culture and bringing science education, while being sensitive to Native science.
In Tina's Blog she talks about how she grew up in Alaska and left for a few years.  Later she came back and saw how much the Portage Glacier had receded.