Mediated Identity And Negotiated Tradition: The Inupiaq Atigi, 1850--2000 Item Type Thesis Authors Martin, Cydny Brynn Download date 04/10/2021 10:03:04 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/11122/8623 INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI fcrr.s the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction.. In the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. 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MEDIATED IDENTITY AND NEGOTIATED TRADITION: THE INUPIAQ ATIGI 1850-2000 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 Cydny Brynn Martin, B.A., M.A. Fairbanks, Alaska May 2001 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMI Number: 3017494 UMI____ ® UMI Microform 3017494 Copyright 2001 by Bell & Howell Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. Bell & Howell Information and Learning Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. MEDIATED IDENTITY AND NEGOTIATED TRADITION: INUPIAQ ATIGIIT 1850-2000 By Cydny Brynn Martin RECOMMENDED: "Advisery-Qdm rmttee Chair ' V Anthropology'Department Head APPROVED: ~Deafb College of Lib^aTA^ - ^ 1 Date Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Abstract The Inupiaq parka and associated activities constitute an unbroken practice from the prehistoric to modern times. The overall form and use of the garment remains constant while materials and technology evolve. Inupiaq parkas, often categorized as art because of their craft, creativity, and aesthetic appeal, also serve as tangible reminders of cultural abstractions. When considered within the age-old Inupiaq subsistence system, the position of women and the role of parka sewing suggests that both are critical to the maintenance of the human/animal relationship central to Inupiaq culture. The Inupiaq parka is seen to mediate between the physical and spiritual relationship of humans and animals and, in contemporary times, to make tangible the dialectic between tradition and modernity that defines Inupiaq identity today. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. iv Table of Contents List of Figures vii Acknowledgments x Preface: Catching Caribou and Shopping at Fred Meyers xii A Beginning xiii Chapter 1: The Inupiaq Atigi, Problem and Approach Introduction 1 Method 3 Research Scope/Relation to Previous Research 7 Ethnicity and Tradition: A Theoretical Discussion 13 Ethnicity: Concept and Process 18 Defining Ethnicity 19 Boundaries and Markers 22 Ethnicity as a Tool 30 Ethnicity and Class 36 Tradition: Symbol and Process 41 Tradition as a Symbol 46 Conclusion 49 Chapter 2: Northern Alaska— Environment and People Introduction 55 Environment Geography 57 Climate 58 Vegetation 60 Fauna 61 People Prehistory 63 History/Ethnography 66 Spirituality 71 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. V Neighbors and Intercontinental Trade 73 Contact 74 Goods and Tools 79 Missionaries/Schools 83 Contemporary Issues 97 Economics 98 Conclusion 103 Chapter 3: Clothing Introduction 105 Clothing Terminology 106 Parkas Through Time 108 Prehistoric Clothing Evidence 110 Historic Clothing Evidence 111 Tools and Materials 114 Parka Attributes 118 Introduction of Cloth 123 Gender 125 Parka Trim 134 Changes in Form and Context 140 Contemporary Practice 144 traditional' Inupiaq Weddings 149 Function 164 Environmental Function 165 Social Role of Clothing 168 Clothing, Identity and Ethnicity 170 Choices, Individual Identity and Tradition 173 Chapter 4: People and Stories 178 Introduction 179 Stories Lela - Context 180 Lela's Parkas 183 Boarding School 186 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. vi Elizabeth 192 Elizabeth's Story 193 Grocery Store - Nome 197 Pearl's Cabin 197 Pearl on women's work 200 Pearl on tradition 200 Pearl on walrus quotas 200 Anaktuvuk Pass 202 Thinking About Tradition 203 Job 206 Discussion 210 Chapter 5: Meaning Introduction 212 Identity 216 Gender 222 Tradition 223 Conclusion 226 Appendix: Inupiaq Sewing and Clothing Terminology 229 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. List of Figures Figure 1. Map of northern Alaska ................................................... 8 2. Wainwright Mother's C lu b ............................................ 90 3. Girls at Sheldon Jackson School ............................... 92 4. "A Sewing Class" ................................................................. 94 5. DEW Line installation ......................................................100 6. "Tak-puk, Barrow chief."............................................. 113 7. Parka collected by E.W. Nelson 1887 . 115 8. Stitching d etail.................................................................. 115 9. Slate and metal u lu s ......................................................117 10. Needlecase ........................................................................... 117 11. Emma Nachookpuk ......................................................119 12. Male and female parka styles ................................120 13. Parka collected by Lt. Stoney ..................................... 121 14. Koryak parkas documented by Jochelson . 121 15. Women wearing atikluks ............................................. 124 16. Man in parka cover..........................................................124 17. Inupiaq family on cargo sh ip .....................................126 18. Bertha lyatunguq and child ......................................... 128 19. Fanny Akpik with her grandson.................................128 20. Qupak trim in cloth .....................................................130 21. Qupak trim in fu r .........................................................130 22. Hunting p arka .................................................................. 132 23. Vera Weber wearing her aunt's parka . 133 24. Fabric detail .......................................................................133 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. v iii 25. Parka with linear trim .............................................135 26. Linear trim detail......................................................135 27. Brow band designs ................................................. 137 28. Trim on parka from Point H o p e ...................139 29. Christian Klengenberg fam ily ............................141 30. Inupiaq woman in Western dress ...................143 31. 1900 Sears Roebuck catalog ........................... 143 32. Reindeer Fair in N om e ........................................ 147 33. Pearl in fur parka ............................................................... 147 34. Miss World Eskimo Olym pics ................................148 35. Wedding in Valdez .......................................................... 151 36. Wedding in W ainwright............................................. 153 37. 1960s wedding in B arro w ................................154 38. Vera and Bill Weber's wedding.......................155 39. Traditional Inupiaq w edding ........................... 157 40. Hopson-Rochon wedding p a rty ................... 157 41. Wedding cake ..........................................................159 42. Traditional wedding in Anaktuvuk Pass. 160 43. Harriet and Earl Williams wedding ...............160 44. Vera Weber wearing a man's style parka . 175 45. Teenager wearing a sports team jacket. 176 46. An elder in a woman's style p a rk a .................. 176 47. Lela Oman in fur parka .............................................184 48. Detail of trim on Lela's parka .................................... 184 49. Lela Oman showing a'formal'atikluk