Exploring Kodiak Alutiiq Literature Through Core Values
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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, BA., M.F.A. Fairbanks, Alaska December 2012 UMI Number: 3537832 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. UMI 3537832 Published by ProQuest LLC 2013. Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 LIITUKUT SUGPIAT’ STUN (WE ARE LEARNING HOW TO BE REAL PEOPLE): EXPLORING KODIAK ALUTIIQ LITERATURE THROUGH CORE VALUES By Alisha Susana Drabek 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. IV Table of Contents Page Signature Page ...............................................................................................................i Title Page......................................................................................................................ii Abstract ........................................................................................................................iii 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 Story work 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 Urey Petrovich Lisiansky — Colonial Observer — 1804-1805 ....................... 58 Hieromonk Gideon — Early Missionary — 1804-1807 ................................... 60 Gavriil 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 Anemeq — 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 Girl Who Married the Moon — Correlation of Reality, Light and Vision 184 Chapter 9: Conclusion.......................................................................................... 193 Rising from the Ashes....................................................................................... 193 Collaborative Story work Recommendations ...................................................200 Appendices.............................................................................................................309 Appendix A: Frank A. Golder Papers Notated Index...................................... 209 Appendix B: Values Catalog of Kodiak Alutiiq Stories .................................. 212 References..............................................................................................................318 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