Dissertation - Alaska Native Knowledge Network - University of

249 Pages·2013·5.52 MB·English

by  Alisha Drabek

LIITUKUT SUGPIAT’STUN
(WE ARE LEARNING HOW TO BE REAL PEOPLE):
EXPLORING KODIAK ALUTIIQ LITERATURE THROUGH CORE VALUES
By
Alisha Susana Drabek
RECOMMENDED:! ! ____________________________________
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APPROVED:!! __________________________________________
! ! ! Dean, College of Liberal Arts
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! ! ! Dean of the Graduate School
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! ! ! Date
LIITUKUT SUGPIAT’STUN
(WE ARE LEARNING HOW TO BE REAL PEOPLE):
EXPLORING KODIAK ALUTIIQ LITERATURE THROUGH CORE VALUES
A
THESIS
Presented to the Faculty
of the University of Alaska Fairbanks
in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
for the Degree of
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

By
Alisha Susana Drabek, B.A., M.F.A.
Fairbanks, Alaska
December 2012
iii
Abstract
! The decline of Kodiak Alutiiq oral tradition practices and limited awareness or
understanding of archived stories has kept them from being integrated into school
curriculum. This study catalogs an anthology of archived Alutiiq literature documented
since 1804, and provides an historical and values-based analysis of Alutiiq literature,
focused on the educational significance of stories as tools for individual and community
wellbeing. The study offers an exploration of values, worldview and knowledge
embedded in Alutiiq stories. It also provides a history of colonial impacts on Alutiiq
education and an in-depth study of the early colonial observers and ethnographers who
collected Alutiiq oral literature, clarifying the context in which the stories have been
retold or framed. Collections of traditional Indigenous literatures are valuable on many
levels. This collection is of historical and personal significance for local Kodiak Alutiiq
tribal members’ identity as it makes these resources more accessible for community
members and educators, and therefore accessible to younger and future generations. The
conclusion also provides recommendations for next steps for developing curriculum and
revitalizing Alutiiq oral traditions. The book is intended to contribute to an understanding
of the evolution of cultural traditions in Alaska, and to serve as a model for similar
cultural reclamation and education efforts.
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Table of Contents
Page
Signature Page........................................................................................................... i
Title Page...................................................................................................................i!i
Abstract.....................................................................................................................i!ii
Table of Contents!......................................................................................................iv
List of Figures!...................................................................................................vii
List of Tables!.....................................................................................................vii
Appendices!.......................................................................................................viii
Preface!................................................................................................................ix
Acknowledgments!..............................................................................................xi
Chapter 1: Introduction & Rationale!....................................................................1
Introduction to the Kodiak Alutiiq: Place & Identity!..........................................1
Personal Background!...........................................................................................6
Forms of Alutiiq Storytelling!............................................................................11
Purpose & Value of Stories: Wellbeing through Story!......................................13
Chapter 2: Theoretical Framework!.....................................................................17
Indigenous Literature Reclamation and Storywork Pedagogy!..........................17
Role of Story within Education and Transmission Barriers!..............................20
Oral Versus Written Story Transmission!...........................................................22
Storytelling Contexts!.........................................................................................25
Chapter 3: Research Methodology!......................................................................30
Overview of Indigenous Research Methodologies!...........................................30
Archival Research and Historical Analysis!.......................................................42
Story Catalog and Self-Reflective Analysis!......................................................49
Community Review & Study Approval!............................................................51
Chapter 4: Clarifying Contexts: Historical Perspective on Past Research!......54
Introduction to Past Kodiak Alutiiq Story Research!.........................................54
v
Urey Petrovich Lisiansky — Colonial Observer — 1804-1805!.......................58
Hieromonk Gideon — Early Missionary — 1804-1807!...................................60
Gavrill Ivanovich Davydov — Colonial Observer — 1802!..............................61
Henrik Johan Holmberg — Early Ethnographer — 1851!.................................62
Alphonse Pinart — Early Ethnographer — 1871-1872!....................................64
Frank A. Golder — Early Ethnographer — 1900-1902!....................................68
Margaret Lantis — Comparative Mythology Analyst — 1933-1938!...............82
Contemporary Alutiiq Storytellers!....................................................................86
Contemporary Oral History Collections!...........................................................88
Conclusion & Other Resources!.........................................................................96
Chapter 5: History of Alutiiq Education: Impacts on Families Today.!............98
Traditional Alutiiq Education (pre-colonization) (8,000 B.P. - 1784)!...............99
Education Under Russian Colonization (1784-1867)!.....................................102
Education Under American Colonization (1867-1971)!...................................108
Alutiiq Renaissance: An Educational Countermovement (1971-Present)!......116
Historical Trauma Implications Within Education!..........................................120
Chapter 6: Before Baptism: Alutiiq Cosmology and Lifeways!.......................123
Overview of Alutiiq Cosmology!.....................................................................124
Transition to Russian Orthodoxy!.....................................................................135
Chapter 7: Alutiiq Values Analysis!....................................................................142
Introduction to Alutiiq Values!.........................................................................142
Nuna — Earth: Physical Sphere!......................................................................148
Suuget — People: Social Sphere!.....................................................................157
Keneq — Fire (Process): Cognitive Sphere!....................................................163
Anerneq — Breath: Spiritual Sphere!...............................................................168
Lla — Conscience: Ethical Sphere!..................................................................174
Chapter 8: Close Reading Samples.!...................................................................179
Values-Based Analysis of Story as a Learning Tool!........................................179
Woman Who Became a Bear — Alutiiq Right Relationships and Ethics!.......180
vi
Girl Who Married the Moon — Correlation of Reality, Light and Vision!......184
Chapter 9: Conclusion!........................................................................................193
Rising from the Ashes!.....................................................................................193
Collaborative Storywork Recommendations!..................................................200
Appendices!...........................................................................................................209
Appendix A: Frank A. Golder Papers Notated Index!......................................209
Appendix B: Values Catalog of Kodiak Alutiiq Stories!..................................212
References!............................................................................................................218
vii
List of Figures
Page
Figure 1.1: Alaska Native Language Map (Krauss, 1982) .................................................!1
Figure 1.2: Qik’rtaq - Kodiak Island. Map of Kodiak Villages & Tribes .........................! 2
Figure 1.3: Story as Survival Diagram .............................................................................!15
Figure 4.1: Alutiiq Literature Timeline Since Contact .....................................................!56
Figure 4.2: Alutiiq Literature Timeline During Alutiiq Renaissance ...............................!57
Figure 4.3: Map of Unga Island in Relation to Kodiak Island .........................................!69
Figure 5.1: Gregory Ivanovich Shelikhov, 1747-1795 RAC founder ............................!102
Figure 7.1: Llam Sua Icon ..............................................................................................!143
Figure 7.2: Llam Sua Wellbeing Model .......................................................................! 143
Figure 7.3: Kodiak Alutiiq Values Map ..........................................................................!144
Figure 7.4: Iceberg Model of Culture (Lower Kuskokwim Schools District) ................!145
Figure 7.5: St. Peter the Aleut Icon, unknown provenance.
Retrieved from www.allmercifulsavior.com) .............................................. 170
Figure 8.1: Llam Sua box panel, Karluk 1 collection, courtesy of the Alutiiq Museum !188
Figure 8.2: Afognak village petroglyphs ....................................................................... !187
Figure 8.3: Afognak ceremonial mask, photo courtesy of the Alutiiq Museum .............!187
Figure 9.1: Hand of Imam Sua .......................................................................................!197
List of Tables
Page
Table 5.1: Deities and Supernatural Beings ....................................................................!125
Table 5.2: Key Roles in Ancestral Alutiiq Society .........................................................!131
Table 7.1: Aspects of Alutiiq Wellbeing .........................................................................!146
viii
Appendices
Page
Appendix A: Frank A. Golder Papers Notated Index (3 pp.) ......................................... !212
Appendix B: Values Catalog of Kodiak Alutiiq Stories (4 pp.) ....................................! 215
ix
Preface
! Chapter 1 provides an introduction to the Kodiak Alutiiq people and a summary
of my background combined with the purpose of the book and my rationale for its
research objectives and long-term goals for integration into the education system. It also
explores the traditional role of story within education and the various genres and
practices that comprise Alutiiq literature.
! Chapter 2 introduces the theoretical framework behind my research methodology.
This literature review examines the significance of traditional knowledge education, oral
versus written story transmission, and historical reclamation of knowledge through
archival research.
! Chapter 3 details the research methodology used for this study based on a
paradigm shift in Indigenous studies raised international to decolonize Indigenous
Knowledge Systems, education, history and literature.
! Chapter 4 provides an extensive history of Alutiiq story collection and exploration
into the motivations and influences of past researchers so that current and future
audiences are better able to evaluate, use, and enjoy Alutiiq literature. Combined with the
appendix Values Catalog of Kodiak Alutiiq Stories, this chapter in essence serves as an
annotated bibliography as well.
! Chapter 5 offers a history of Native education in the Kodiak Archipelago, and the
impacts on families and students today within the context of educational processes and
the transmission of knowledge based on oral literature as a foundation of traditional
education.
! Chapter 6 is an introduction of Alutiiq cosmology, archetypes and themes that are
essential for understanding Alutiiq literature within the context of Alutiiq traditions. It
also explores the transition to Russian Orthodoxy and Christianity, which has had an
impact on the transmission of traditional stories.
x
! Chapter 7 analyzes core Alutiiq values as aspects of five spheres that comprise
Alutiiq wellbeing, using traditional stories that demonstrate lessons of the importance or
manifestation of Alutiiq values.
! Chapter 8 offers samples of close readings of two Alutiiq stories through this
values-based literary analysis.
! Chapter 9 concludes the dissertation, calling for collaborative story research and
educational curriculum development with the hope that teachers will recognize the
significance of acknowledging what the rich Alutiiq culture and heritage offers for
students’ wellbeing so that they will include it within all aspects of education,
reversing cycles of dysfunction.