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Essential Questions:
Essential Questions:
What is culture? How can it be defined?
Whale Harvest, Barrow ca. 1930
VILDA ASL-P262-18- How can an examination of "culture" in Alaska contribute to an understanding of Alaska history?
- Why is a study of Alaska Native cultures critical for an understanding of Alaska, past and present?
- Is there an "Alaskan"culture? How could it be described?
ENGAGE
Cultural Connections
In this module you will begin to examine the human landscape of Alaska, and to link it to the content of Module II where you learned about the natural landscape and the processes that shape it.
As you read in the Philosophical Foundations piece from the AK History and Cultures Studies site, it is critical to consider human cultures as dynamic and ever responsive to human and environmental forces. As you examine the online resources and consider the questions for this module, keep in mind the themes of linkages, cause-effect, and connections.
As you read in the Philosophical Foundations piece from the AK History and Cultures Studies site, it is critical to consider human cultures as dynamic and ever responsive to human and environmental forces. As you examine the online resources and consider the questions for this module, keep in mind the themes of linkages, cause-effect, and connections.
EXPLORE
What is included in an understanding of culture? It is a term that has been used and abused for generations. Yet, in the simplest and broadest terms it is all the life-ways of a group of people, as they identify themselves.
Carefully examine this photo. Attu is in the western Aleutians. What clues to culture are evident in this photo? What does this tell you about cultures over time?
Cultural Context
Culture - What is it?
It's time to develop a working definition. Do some exploration and examine definitions from various sources. Consider the "enduring understandings" in the AK History and Culture Studies Teacher's Guide site. |
| Unangax Basket Weavers, Attu, AK ca. 1920 VILDA UAF-1990-3-5 |
Carefully examine this photo. Attu is in the western Aleutians. What clues to culture are evident in this photo? What does this tell you about cultures over time?
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| Southeast Alaska ca.1900 VILDA ASL-_226-017 |
The module title, People, Places, Practices, indicates a study of culture. It is helpful to consider culture in broad terms; cultures over time, cultures in different contexts, cultures subject to various forces.
Alaska is home to many cultures; a study of the indigenous peoples of Alaska, both traditional and contemporary, is a natural starting place which rightly places them at the heart of an interplay of the human/physical worlds over thousands of years.
The newcomers to Alaska, starting in the mid-1700's, brought European, American, and Asian influences. They also borrowed from Alaska Native cultures in a bid to survive and thrive in the new environment. The resulting cultural exchanges impacted both the environment and human lifeways. The impact upon Alaska Natives was profound in ways both positive and negative, with consequences still evolving in the current generation.
Today Alaska is home to people from diverse cultures; Pacific Islanders, Koreans, Mexicans, and Russians are examples of immigrant populations that are contributing to the cultural dynamic of Alaska. This module places a strong emphasis on Alaska Native cultures, but not in spatial or temporal isolation.
An understanding of Alaska Native cultures today, and of Alaska today, requires an awareness and understanding of the historical interplay of cultures over time - causes and effects.
And then a question naturally arises out of this diversity - is there an Alaska culture?
Alaska is home to many cultures; a study of the indigenous peoples of Alaska, both traditional and contemporary, is a natural starting place which rightly places them at the heart of an interplay of the human/physical worlds over thousands of years.
Cultural Changes
The Native cultures of Alaska warrant significant study as the "first peoples" living in an environment that required specialized skills and knowledge. The Alaska environment did not "suffer fools gladly", or at all; the survival of the individual and of the group demanded an astute analysis and response to the conditions at hand. Over time, the skills and knowledge were reflected in a particular worldview and in the transfer of cultural mores to the succeeding generations.The newcomers to Alaska, starting in the mid-1700's, brought European, American, and Asian influences. They also borrowed from Alaska Native cultures in a bid to survive and thrive in the new environment. The resulting cultural exchanges impacted both the environment and human lifeways. The impact upon Alaska Natives was profound in ways both positive and negative, with consequences still evolving in the current generation.
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| Alaska Native Brotherhood regalia Angoon, Alaska VILDA ASM-91-50-2 |
An understanding of Alaska Native cultures today, and of Alaska today, requires an awareness and understanding of the historical interplay of cultures over time - causes and effects.
And then a question naturally arises out of this diversity - is there an Alaska culture?
A Word of Caution
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Hauling Whale Meat to Gambell, Alaska 1969 VILDA AMRC-wws.4706.08 |
The participant should also consider the universal features of all cultures for which Alaska Native cultures are examples: the issues of livelihood/subsistence/use of environment, communication, social and political order, human relationships, symbolic meanings/beliefs and values, tool making technologies.
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| Kotzebue 1962 VILDA UAA-hmc-1071-f1-8 |
Other subcultures include immigrant neighborhoods in Alaska cities or the gathering of transient workers who arrive each summer for the fishing and construction seasons. Yes, these are cultures also.
EXAMINE
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| Meeting the mail plane, Pt. Hope, mid-1950's VILDA UAF-2001-129-347 |
- What is your concept of culture?
- How do you explain your own cultural identity?
- How does that influence how you approach the study of culture in Alaska?
As you move through the rest of this module, think of culture as the construct by which people make sense of their world.
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| Soldiers ready to dress halibut, Skagway ca. early 1900's VILDA ASL-P226-867 |
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| Japanese Gathering in Juneau, 1923 VILDA UAF-1992-0072-3 |
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| Serbian Sisters Society, Juneau ca.1920's VILDA ASL-P87-2854 |
What's Next?
Now that we're developing a more critical understanding of what culture means, let's move on to the next section of Module III - People, Places & Practices.
