Wow! eBook
Alaska Native Cultures and Issues: Responses to Frequently Asked Questions
Author(s): Libby Roderick
- Publisher: Univ of Chicago behalf of UP Colorado
- Publication Date: 15 July 2010
- Language: English
- Print length: 108 pages
- ISBN-10: 9781602230910
- ISBN-13: 9781602230910
Book Description
Making up more than ten percent of Alaska's population, Native Alaskans are the state's largest minority group. Yet most non-Native Alaskans know surprisingly little about the histories and cultures of their indigenous neighbors, or about the important issues they face. This concise book compiles frequently asked questions and provides informative and accessible responses that shed light on some common misconceptions. With responses composed by scholars within the represented communities and reviewed by a panel of experts, this easy-to-read compendium aims to facilitate a deeper exploration and richer discussion of the complex and compelling issues that are part of Alaska Native life today.
Editorial Reviews
Review
—CHOICE
"A valuable contribution to the literature on Alaska Natives that libraries should acquire for use by students doing research."—Choice
― Choice Published On: 2011-03-01
About the Author
Libby Roderick graduated from Yale University and has worked as a television and print news reporter, radio consultant, and writer on Alaska Native issues.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
ALASKA NATIVE CULTURES AND ISSUES
Responses to Frequently Asked Questions
University of Alaska Press
Copyright © 2010 University of Alaska Press
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-60223-091-0
Contents
Identity, Language, and Culture.......................................................................................................1Who are Alaska's Native peoples?......................................................................................................2What is important to know about Alaska Native cultures?...............................................................................4How many Native languages are there? Is it important to save them?....................................................................6Readings..............................................................................................................................10Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act and Corporations..................................................................................19What is the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA)?..............................................................................20How did Alaska Native corporations start up?..........................................................................................22Do all Alaska Native people get dividends?............................................................................................23What do Alaska Native people think of ANCSA?..........................................................................................24Readings..............................................................................................................................26Subsistence and Relationship to Land, Waters, and Wildlife............................................................................29Do Alaska's Native peoples want subsistence hunting and fishing rights that are different from non-Natives?...........................30Why are the land and waters so important to Native cultures?..........................................................................33What do the phrases "traditional ways of knowing" or "traditional knowledge and wisdom" mean?.........................................35How is climate change affecting Alaska Native communities?............................................................................37Do some Native corporations and organizations support drilling, mining, and logging on their lands?...................................38Readings..............................................................................................................................56Tribal Government.....................................................................................................................61Are there tribal governments in Alaska?...............................................................................................62Are there reservations in Alaska?.....................................................................................................63Why are there no casinos in the state?................................................................................................64Readings..............................................................................................................................65Effects of Colonialism................................................................................................................67Why do we hear so much about high rates of alcoholism, suicide, and violence in many Alaska Native communities?.......................68What is the Indian Child Welfare Act?.................................................................................................71Readings..............................................................................................................................72Education and Healthcare..............................................................................................................77How are traditional Alaska Native ways of educating young people different from non-Native educational practices?.....................78Is the dropout rate for Alaska Native high school and college students higher than rates for other students?..........................80Why are some scholarships for Alaska Native students only?............................................................................81Do Alaska Native people get "free" medical care?......................................................................................82Readings..............................................................................................................................85The Future............................................................................................................................89What does the future look like for Alaska Native communities and cultures?............................................................90Where do we go from here?.............................................................................................................92Additional Resources..................................................................................................................96Alaska Native History Timelines.......................................................................................................96Cultural Sensitivity..................................................................................................................96Sources for Quotations Used in This Book..............................................................................................97Index.................................................................................................................................99
Chapter One
Identity, Language, and Culture
Who are Alaska's Native peoples?
What is important to know about Alaska Native cultures?
How many Native languages are there? Is it important to save them?
"First, who we are ... we are Iupiaq, Yup'ik, Cup'ik, Siberian Yupik, Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian, Eyak, Athabascan, Aleut, and Alutiiq. We are the indigenous people of Alaska. For over ten thousand years our ancestors have lived and thrived in one of the harshest areas of the world. We are the last remaining indigenous people in the United States to have never been forcibly removed from our homelands and settled in reservations. We have more than 230 small villages scattered in the largest land mass contained in one state of the union. The residents of many of these Native villages depend on subsistence hunting and fishing to sustain their bodies as well as their traditions and cultures."
Sheri Buretta
Who are Alaska's Native peoples?
The term "Alaska Native" is used to describe the peoples who are indigenous to the lands and waters encompassed by the state of Alaska: peoples whose ancestors have survived here for more than ten thousand years.
Distinct cultural groups. Alaska Native people belong to several major cultural groups-Aleut /Unangan, Athabascan, Eyak, Eskimo (Yup'ik, Cup'ik, Siberian Yupik, Sugpiaq or Alutiiq, Iupiaq), Haida, Tlingit, Tsimpshian-and many different tribes or clans within those groupings. Each of these cultures is distinct, with complex kinship structures, highly developed subsistence hunting and gathering practices and technologies, and unique and varied languages, belief systems, art, music, storytelling, spirituality, and dance traditions, among many other attributes.
Common values. What these cultural groups share in common, however, are deeply ingrained values, such as honoring the land and waters upon...
