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The Routledge Companion to Native American Literature
Deborah L. Madsen
Alaska Native Literature
Publication details https://www.routledgehandbooks.com/doi/10.4324/9781315777344.ch2 Susan Kollin Published online on: 09 Oct 2015
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The publisher does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representation that the contents will be complete or accurate or up to date. The publisher shall not be liable for an loss, actions, claims, proceedings, demand or costs or damages whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with or arising out of the use of this material. Downloaded By: 10.3.98.104 At: 21:01 01 Oct 2021; For: 9781315777344, chapter2, 10.4324/9781315777344.ch2 Americanization. While the name “Alaska Native” carries traces of the negative attitudes and culturalrecovery,themeanings ofplaceaswellresistancetoassimilation and about identityandcommunity, AlaskaNativeliteraturehascenteredonsovereignty tions broughtaboutbyhistories ofcontactandconflict.Inadditiontoaddressingconcerns cultural upheavalthatcontinuestohaverepercussionsfor AlaskaNativestoday. tion oftheTrans-Alaskapipeline,settlement act resultedintremendouspoliticaland regional Alaska Native corporations (Williams xv). In clearing the way for the construc- for forty-fourmillionacresandnearlyonebilliondollars tobemanagedthroughtwelve was signed into law in 1971.ANCSA extinguished indigenous land claims in exchange Claims SettlementAct(ANCSA),thelargestlandsettlement atthattimeinU.S.history, after statehood,thefederalgovernmenthadtonegotiatea settlement.TheAlaskaNative oil (Williamsxv).BecauseindigenousAlaskanshadnot relinquishedtheirlandrights and stategovernmententeredalandgrabinthehopeof exploring anddevelopingArctic granted statehood.Followingthe1968discoveryofoilacross theNorthSlope,federal explorers. The United States later “purchased” the region in 1867, and in 1959 Alaska was before Europeancontact,whichbeganinthemid-eighteenthcenturywithRussian Athabascans, aswellTlingit,HaidaandTsimshianIndians(Haycoxxii). Natives comprise a diverse population that includes Iñupiat and Yuit Eskimos, Aleuts, and live inover200villagesandspeaktwentyindigenouslanguages(Williams2–4).Alaska of themarelocatedinAlaska.Thestateishometomorethan127,000AlaskaNativeswho (“Alaska’s 32Ecoregions”).Ofthe562federallyrecognizedtribesinUnitedStates,225 to seaice,andfromborealforestscoastalrainforests to wetlands,rivers, andlakes Alaska comprisesmorethan586,000squaremilesandspansmanyecosystems,fromtundra “Alyeska,” meaning “the Great Land” (Williams 1). The largest state in the United States, writes (ix).AlaskareceiveditsnamefromtheUnanganorAleutpeople,whocalledit belong totheland…ThisisourWecan’thelpbutplacelovethere,”she to, oriflandcanevenbeowned,isaquestionforpoliticiansandphilosophers.Butwe byindigenous populations throughoutthestate. “Who ourlandnowbelongs differently across Alaska,issuesofownershipandbelonginghavelongbeenunderstoodquite that whilelawmakersandotherexpertscontinuetodebatelandrightsresourceclaims In her American Book Award-winning memoir, Tlingit author Ernestine Hayes notes Indigenous Alaskanwritershaverespondedtothesechanges aswellothertransforma According tooraltraditions,NativepeoplesoccupiedAlaskaforthousandsofyears Alaska NativeLiterature Susan Kollin 2 28 -
Downloaded By: 10.3.98.104 At: 21:01 01 Oct 2021; For: 9781315777344, chapter2, 10.4324/9781315777344.ch2 cultural andliterarystudies. M. Huhdorf,JamesRuppert, andotherfiguressettingthefoundationsforAlaskaNative a numberofimportantcritical essaysandvolumes,withworkbyJeaneC.Breinig,Shari Girl and theManWhoFollowed Sun appear in2013.WallisalsoadaptedanotherAthabascan storyinhersecondbook, Survival, Athabascan narrativein gest sellingnarrativebyanindigenousAlaskanauthor, VelmaWallis’sretellingofan from Tomorrow: A Memoir of Alaska and the Real People (Iñupiaq) from 2009. The big- Alaska NativeMemoir Memoir ofthe20thCentury Yukon River (Athabascan) from 2002, Elizabeth Pinson’s oirs include Velma Wallis’s efforts, PaulGreen’s Kane (Iñupiaq). TallMountain (Koyukon/Athabaskan),RobertDavisHoffman(Tlingit),andJoanNaviyuk seen an outpouring of Alaska Native poetry by writers such as Dauenhauer (Tlingit), Mary (1990); andHaaKusteeyí,OurCulture:TlingitLifeStories Tlingit OralNarratives(1987);HaaTuwunáaguYís,forHealingourSpirit:Oratory of Tlingitoralnarrativesandlifestories.Thesevolumesinclude Both ofthemservedasAlaskaStatepoetlaureatesandeventuallyeditedthreecollections poet and scholar Nora Marks Dauenhauer and her husband, the late Richard Dauenhauer. cial issueon“AlaskaNativeWriters,Storytellers,andOrators”withaprefacebyTlingit Quarterly Review,sponsoredbytheUniversityofAlaskaatAnchorage,puttogetheraspe tended tobeproducedbylocaloruniversitypresses.In1986,forinstance,theAlaska knowledge andtheroleofexpert. have begunleadingtheseliteraryrecoveryeffortsandtakenovertheproductionof up theproject(Ruppert&Bernet15).Morerecently,however,AlaskaNativescholars anthropologists tendedtoconductthework,whilefrom1960sandon,linguiststook was primarilymissionarieswhowereinvolvedinthiseffort.Duringthenextfourdecades, to fall into the domain ofspecific professional groups over the years. From 1870to 1920, it years. JamesRuppertandJohnW.Bernetnotethattheactofcollectingthesetexttended collectionsofAlaskaNativeoralnarrativesandotherliterature appearinginrecent several literature hasbeenlostordestroyed,therehaveeffortstorecoverthework,with and memoir.Althoughhistoriesofconquestoccupationhavemeantthatsomethis Sugpiaq’” (xiv). with “self-designative terms such as ‘Yup’ik,’ ‘Yupiaq,’ ‘Iñupiaq,’ ‘Unangan,’ and ‘Alutiiq/ words established by outsiders including “Eskimo,” “Aleut,” and “Indian” are being replaced Shaa TláaWilliamsnotes,however,thatthislanguageisundergoingaprocessofchange,as facecommonexperienceswithinthecolonialsystem.TlingitscholarMaria frequently been employedstrategicallyasawayofspeakingaboutdifferentculturalgroupswho usedbyindigenouspeoplethroughoutthestate(Williams4).Thetermhas designation about indigenouspeoplesoftenfoundinsettler-colonialthinking,itisanaccepted Autobiographical writings by indigenous Alaskans include one of the earliest known With thestatelocatedfarfrommajorpublishinghouses,AlaskaNativeliteraturehas Alaska Nativeliteratureisadiversetraditionthatincludesoralnarratives,poetry,fiction, came outin2002.Itgarneredanumberofliteraryawards and sawathirdedition (Tlingit)from2006,andWilliamL.Ig˙g˙iag˙ruk Hensley’s I amEskimo:AknikMyName TwoOldWomen:AnAlaskanLegendofBetrayal,Courage, and (Iñupiaq)from2005,ErnestineHayes’ Raising Ourselves: A Gwich’in Coming of Age Story from the ALASKA NATIVE LITERATURE (1997).Finally, literary scholarship has produced 29 (Iñupiaq) from1959.Othermem (1994).Recentyearshavealso Alaska’s Daughter: An Eskimo Haa Shuká,OurAncestors: Blonde Indian:An Fifty Miles Bird - -
Downloaded By: 10.3.98.104 At: 21:01 01 Oct 2021; For: 9781315777344, chapter2, 10.4324/9781315777344.ch2 sometimes bringingtheraretreat ofbutterforthefamilytomeltontop. enjoyed baking for them, making biscuits in the oven of their wood-burning stove, and for monthsatatimewhilefishing (5).Hayesremembersthatwhenhereturnedhome, he grandfather, whose“whiteman name”shecarried,wasfrequentlyawayfromthefamily Indian,” hergrandmotherusedtosing,whiletheauthordanced andsangalong(5).Her a childandfromsonghergrandmotherusedtoshare with her.“ while growingup.Thetitleofhernarrativecomesfromthe light-coloredhairshehadas Born in1945,theauthornevermetherfatherandheard onlypartialstoriesabouthim the mid-1970swhereshewrotemostofhernovel Literature” 334).LeslieMarmonSilko,forinstance,livedinKetchikanafewyears across thestate,whichhadlastingeffectsonaudiencesandauthorsalike(“AlaskaNative Hobson, WendyRose,JosephBruchac,andothersvisitedAlaskagavepubliclectures production in the 1970sand80s.As Ruppert notes,writers such as Joy Harjo, Geary Alaska NativeandAmericanIndianauthorshelpedgenerate excitement aboutliterary Lower 48inthelate1960s.Variousexchangesallowingforcirculationofideasbetween partly asaresultofthelargerNativeAmericanRenaissancethatdevelopedacross and theAmericanWestasanonlychildraisedbyasinglemother anddevotedgrandparents. cultural revival,andstorytelling. at creatingmeaningfulpoliticalchangeorthroughafocus onAlaskaNativeeducation, rights andsurvivance,whetheritisthroughtheirworkwith legislationandotherefforts Hayes placetheirlifeexperiencesinthecontextofthese largerstrugglesforindigenous Lingít Aaní,andhowRavenbroughtlighttothepeople. Ultimately,bothHensleyand and otherlifeforms,aswelloralnarrativesabouthowglaciersshapedtheirhomeland, bering storiesherTlingitgrandmothertoldabouttheirkinshipwithbears,spiders, throughout theWest,andherreturntostateasanadult,butalsoawayofremem uses autobiographynotonlytochronicleherchildhoodinSoutheastAlaska,travels hard toensureabetterfuturefortheircommunities(8).Insimilarway,ErnestineHayes “takes manypeopletocreatesuccess”andcreditsotherindigenousAlaskanswhoworked elevating oneselfaboveothers.ThroughouthismemoirHensleystressesthewaysitalways problems, noting that in his culture there is a “sense of propriety” that cautions against ential figurewhohelpedpasstheindigenouslandclaimsact,Hensleyaddressesthese over communities,placinginordinateworthandmeaningonthelifeofsingle,isolatedself. memoirs andautobiographiescanalsoprovetroublinginthattheymayvalueindividuals are abletoproduceaswellwhichvoicesgetbeheard.Genreconventionsshaping instance, mayplaceburdensandrestrictionsonthetypesofstoriesindigenousAlaskanwriters can alsoarisewiththisenhancedinterest.Thedemandsoftheliterarymarketplace,for created importantopportunitiesforindigenouswritersandtheircommunities,problems and autobiographiesingeneral.WhileanewawarenessaboutAlaskaNativeliteraturehas are gainingincreasedattention,dueinparttothegrowingnationalinterestlifewriting Ernestine Hayes’s are becominginterestedinsigningonindigenousauthorsfromthestate.Memoirssuchas also shapedsomeofthewritingsinStoryteller(Nelson248). Indigenous Alaskan literature has gained increased national and international attention, Indigenous Alaskanliteraturehasgainedincreasednationalandinternationalattention, In Elected totheAlaskaHouseofRepresentativesandSenateaninflu Today manynewAlaskaNativevoicesarecomingintoprint,andvariousmajorpublishers Blonde Indian:AnAlaskaNativeMemoir Blonde Indian andWilliamIg˙g˙iag˙ruk Hensley’s S usan 30 K , HayesdescribeshercomingofageinJuneau ollin Ceremony, while hershorttimeinBethel Fifty MilesfromTomorrow Blonde Indian, - - 1
Downloaded By: 10.3.98.104 At: 21:01 01 Oct 2021; For: 9781315777344, chapter2, 10.4324/9781315777344.ch2 she writes,butbears author with a sense of extended family. “I had no sisters or brothers and I had few friends,” me, cousin!I’monlyhereformy share!I’mnottryingtobotheryou! forest whilepickingberries,she shouldspeaktoher“unseencousin”andsay,“ explains thatifhergranddaughterwanderstoofarfrom home andfindsherselfnearthe enjoying amealtogether,Hayes’grandmotherdescribestheir cousin,thebrownbear.She the reciprocal food practices she learned from her grandmother. As they sit at the table tions inthefamily’srelationshipswitheachotherandtheir community.Sheremembers indigenous strugglesacrossAlaska. modern foodsystembecomesanimportantforcetoexamine inmakingsenseofpost-war people andthatprofitonourenchantment” with “exotic”tastesandproducts(7–8),the ing, andthetransnationalnetworksthatrelyon“geographic andpsychicdistancebetween (5). Fromthedevelopmentofagribusinesstoissuesfree trade,foodjustice,globalbrand interpersonal registers”aswellbetween“symbolicand embodied expressionsofpower” (4–5). ForCarruth,literatureaboutfoodanddietsoffersconnectionsbetween“social tion offoodtolargeraccountsglobalizationandpost-WorldWarIIAmericanpower with itsfailings,linkingtransformationsinthedevelopment,preparation,andconsump Literature ofFood,AllisonCarruthexaminesthepoliticsmodernfoodsystemalong enous cultures across the nation as a whole. In many AlaskaNativesandisrepresentativeofthelargercolonialsystemthatdisruptsindig sprinkles onenchantedcakes”(26). bake sale–desserts“made of magic” (17) – whileshedreams one day that she too will“cast poured overrice”(33).Atschool,Hayeswatchesthewhitemothersprepareitemsfor Spam withcannedsweetpotatoes…andhamburgerserveddarkbrowngravy as cannedcornedbeef“stirredintoafryingpanandmixedwithhotstickyrice… including canned milk, boxed cereals, “fried potatoes cut up with wiener nickels,” as well sistence hunting and fishing is thus replaced with processed foods purchased at the store, after caregivers lose interest in cooking and other domestic labors. A diet based on sub- crisis becomesvisibleinthediminisheddietthatreplacesbelovedmealssheonceenjoyed aunt prepared(25). carrots” whileshefedthechickensandlookedforwardtoall“enchanteddishes”her “hauled wetseaweedfromthebeachtofeedgarden,weededeagerpotatoesand her AuntErm’shousewheresheissenttostayforatime,Hayesremembersthat docks whereIwasoftensenttocollecttheheadsforthatnight’sboiledsoup”(11).At in yellowrubbersuitscuttingfishandthrowingunwantedpartsontothewooden her familystayfed,walkingalongtheedgeoftown“tocoldstoragedockspastmen belonged toourpowerfulancestors,theKaagwaantaan”(10).Hayesremembershelping she writes,“weatedeermeatandporcupinemyunclespoachedfromlandthatonce hunting andfishinginJuneau.“Inmygrandmother’shousebackacrossthechannel,” they traditionallyprovidedfoodforthemselves.Hayesrecountsthefamily’ssubsistence and acapitalisteconomicorder,whichdisruptedtheirrelationshiptothelandhow memoir, anactivitythatislinkedtothechallengesoflivingunderacolonialsystem Throughout The family’s transformed diet ultimately reflects a larger crisis of delegitimization facing When familymemberssuccumbtoalcoholism,theauthor’slifestartsdecline.The The processofproviding,making,andsharingfoodappearsasacentralfocusher Blonde Indian,changesintheauthor’schildhooddietalsoforegrounddisrup ALASKA NATIVE LITERATURE 31 Global Appetites: American Power and the (5).Thestoriesprovidethe Don’t bother - - - - Downloaded By: 10.3.98.104 At: 21:01 01 Oct 2021; For: 9781315777344, chapter2, 10.4324/9781315777344.ch2 the landinSoutheastAlaska: Seagulls arethelowestandBluebirdshighest.Shedescribes thebookstheyread: a strongimpressiononher.Hayesremembersthereadinggroups intowhichtheyaredivided; late” (8).Forastudentwhowentontobecomeanaward-winning writer,storiesalreadymade girls andcleanlittleboysstaredatmewhenIentered,always dirty,alwayshungry, remembers thebasementschoolroomthathouses“stifflyfolded chairs…wheredaintylittle what shecalls“whitepeople’sschools”whereteachersdid notvalueherculture(10).She educational systemthatisalsodamaging.Hayes’memoiraddresses herexperiencesattending similar accommodationsinrecreatingtraditionalmeals. food systemandinAlaskaNativecommunitiesthatitbecomes difficultforhertomake culture, however,thecolonialsystemhasmadesuchdramatic transformationsinthemodern thus forherafewcompromisesdonothurtthedish.BytimeHayesreturnstoTlingit in anearliergeneration,DauenhauerstruggledtonegotiatechangesTlingitdiets,and other cookstoopeninsteadfruitcocktailfromacan( wouldbealongsidethesalmon,sheagainacknowledgeslimitationsandwelcomes berries the cityinakitchenwithelectricityandblackfryingpan.Thinkinghowtastyfresh rural placesorhaveaccesstothesesupplies,sheconcedesthatthefoodmaybepreparedin using afireandwoodenstick.Knowingthatmanyinhercommunitynolongerlive The poet describes how salmonis best prepared when itis cooked atcamp near the beach a recipeforadaptingtraditionalwaysofpreparingmealstotherealitiesnowfacingreaders. into herlife.In“HowtoMakeaGoodBakedSalmonfromtheRiver,”Dauenhaueroffers few decadesearlieraboutadaptingtodietarychangesthatweregraduallyfindingtheirway Hayes rememberslessonstooaboutharvestingfoodfromtheabundantlifeofseaand Just as the colonial system diminishes the food traditions of her community, so it brings an Just asthecolonialsystemdiminishesfoodtraditionsof her community,soitbringsan The passagecallstomindapoemthatTlingitauthorNoraMarksDauenhauerwrote crabs dancedintheoceanchannelatmyfeet.Ineverquestionedthatbelonged. and beside ouroldhouse,andacreekledupthemountainbehindme,seaweed were mycousinsandthewindwasgrandfather.…wildplantsgrewonhill me totakefromtheedgeofforest,wherehequietlywatched. picked thatveryday,berriesmycousinthebrownbearhassokindlyallowed seaweed andsalmoneggs.Chewonsomedryfish.…ThenfreshberriesImayhave a littlebutterintothebroth.Otherwise,maybesomesealoil.Eatclaimswith Drink thejuice.Ifthereissomebutterleftoverfromgrandfather’slastvisit,melt uncomplaining shellsinfreshcoldwater.Watchhercookthesea-flavoredclams. and carryithome,wethungrybeachsandsuckingmyuntiedshoes.Scrubthe spit, runfast,digplacemytreasuredclamscarefullyintoapail,fillthepail She taught me to dig fast for clams on the rich beach, watch for their squirting goodbye across the manicured lawn to Father, dressed in a business suit and stepping goodbye acrossthemanicured lawntoFather,dressedinabusinesssuitandstepping yellow-haired womanwithwhite skinandsmilingredlipswhowavesamorning Dick, Jane,andSpotliveinan oversized,brightlyshutteredhousewithMother,a S usan 32 K ollin Droning Shaman11–13).Growingup (5–6) (7) Downloaded By: 10.3.98.104 At: 21:01 01 Oct 2021; For: 9781315777344, chapter2, 10.4324/9781315777344.ch2 gets piercedears,itistraditionally anEaglewhoperformsthetask(53). reciprocity andbalancesothat anEagletraditionallymarriesaRaven,andwhenRaven with itsmatrilinealsocietyand itssubgroups,theEagleandRaven,whoadhere to a plentiful natureofLingítAaní enabledthecommunitytodevelopanelaboratesocialorder screens, stylizedwovenblankets,formlinepaintingand design” (52).Theybelievethe develop itscomplexart,“theyellowcedarcarvings,red bentwoodboxesandhouse the tourists,somepeoplebelievethatrichandabundant landenabledtheTlingitto involves teachingvisitorsabouttheregionanditsindigenous people.Assheexplainsto her work as a tour guide on ships that travel through the Inside Passage. Her position when shefirstreturnedtoAlaska,Hayesisablereconnect withhercommunitythrough English DepartmentattheUniversityofAlaska,Southeast inJuneau.Intheearlyyears Theater in Juneauperforming Tlingit stories. She iseventually hiredas a professorin the north” (111).Theauthorenrollsincollege,earnsanMFA, andworksattheNaakaahidi ship, facingphysicalailments,depression,anattemptedsuicide, andeventuallyhomelessness. not tobelievehim”(78).Shehastwochildrenandlaterfindsherselfinanabusiverelation- Alaska withpeoplewhoclaimedtobeNativeunlesstheyactuallywere,andIhadnoreason about awhitemanwhotoldherhewasIndian,whichshebelieved.“Ihadnodealingsin and doesn’tcutherhair,playcards,watchTV,or“saygoshdarn”(80).Theauthorwrites Sister ErnestineandteachesSundayschool;shedoesn’twearslacksormakeupanyjewelry with the “back-to-nature movement” and the “back-to-jesus movement” (79). She is called chronicles hertravelsthroughCalifornia,Nevada,andWashington,tracingexperiments in astrangedarkforest.…ItwaslongtimebeforeIfinallycameback”(26). returns, they leave for California. For many years, Hayes wanders the Lower 48, “like a person ing timeatHainesHouseandamissionaryboardingschoolinValdez.Whenhermother left alone and unsupervised. She ends up being sent to juvenile and reform centers, spend receive suchextraordinaryfavor,”shewonders(11). woman so precious, so unusual, that she can confidently complain of a trifle, demand and She especiallyremembersaperplexingtaleaboutprincessandpea.“Whatmakes 286). Thus, for Hayes, some of the stories her teacher reads to the class do not make sense. tive epistemology that the colonial system has “repressed and supplanted” (“Survivance” (15). Thesestoriesprovideadifferentvaluesystem,whatRuppertdescribesasanalterna Raven. NotSeagull.YouwillalwaysbeanEagleandaWolf.neverBluebird’” fort inhergrandmother’s stories. “‘Neverforget,’ she toldmedaily,‘youareanEagle.Not would never be a Bluebird. Nor a Wren, Nor a Seagull,” the author writes, but takes com- that shedoesn’tbelongatthewhitepeople’sschool,knowsbelongstoland.“I alone,” eventhoughsheisoneofthestrongestreadersinclass(13).YetifHayessenses move “comfortablyandconfidently”intheworld,sheremembersenteringit“timid At age forty, Hayes realizes she needs to “go home now, or … die with my thoughts facing When her mother enters a hospital in Seward to be treated for tuberculosis, Hayes is often When her mother enters ahospitalinSeward to be treated for tuberculosis, Hayes is often As a child, Hayes already notes the differences dividing the classroom. While “Bluebirds” belted trousers.IsensethatJaneisaBluebird. eye. Itisaclever,playfulname.Dickneatlytuckshisstriped,colorfulshirtinto sunny yard.Spotisasmall,mostlywhite,friskydogwithblackspotaroundhis into ashinynewcar.…DickandJaneSpotfrolicwithbrightredballinthe ALASKA NATIVE LITERATURE 33 Blonde Indian (10) - -
Downloaded By: 10.3.98.104 At: 21:01 01 Oct 2021; For: 9781315777344, chapter2, 10.4324/9781315777344.ch2 grandmother tellsher. Alaska Nativesintheearly1970s. eventually becameaninfluential figureinstatepoliticsandsecuringlandclaims for in WashingtonD.C.While he struggled withissues ofidentityand belonging, Hensley outside Alaska,inhiscaseattending boardingschoolinTennesseeandthenuniversity led himtobeadoptedbyhismother’suncle,andlike Hayes, hespentpartofhislife miles fromtheInternationalDateLine(11).Asachild, Hensleyfacedhardshipsthat Sound, lessthanthirtymiles from the Arctic Circle, ninety miles fromRussia, and fifty the colonialsysteminNorth.Theauthorwasborn1941 neartheshoresofKotzebue L. Ig˙g˙iag˙ruk William Hensley likewise chronicles a history of conflict and survival under rich from in totelleveryonehowcleanupalltheshit”(122).Peoplestatesoon become “They elbowedtheirwayintoshitallovereverythingandthenthey her memoirdescribestheExxonValdezoilspill.“Whyweretheystillincharge?”heasks. up toomuchspace,/andalwaysneedmore”(SoulCatcher19;Kollin144–46). the landscarredandbareintheirwake.“Somemencan’thelpit,”heexplains,“theytake writes aboutresourceextractionanddeveloperswhobulldozeforestsacrossAlaska,leaving this greed. In his well-known poem, “Saginaw Bay: I Keep Going Back,” Robert Davis that newpeoplecamewhowantedtoomuch.ApoembyanotherTlingitwriteraddresses ravens” (65).Forthousandsofyears,therewasenoughforallthepeople;problemis be, therewasenoughforallthepeople,andbears,eaglesgulls strawberry, thimbleberry”(52).Astheauthorexplains,“Whenlandwasasitshould berry, huckleberry,blueberry,raspberry,soapberry,cranberry,nagoonberry,Jacob with salmoneggsorenjoyed“drylikepopcorn”(52).Shedescribestheberries:“salmon seaweed, which are collected in the spring to be used the rest of the year, often cooked of salmonandthedifferentshellfishinhabitingwaters.Shetellsmanytypes the wordsofhergrandmother. system, Hayes does not end hermemoir on a note of despair. Instead, she concludes with In hisnarrative, Hayes commentsontheproblemsofthosewhowantandhavetoomuch.Onefigurein The authorteachesvisitorsabouttheabundantnatureofLingítAaní–fivekinds While shechroniclesvariouscrisesandnegativeeffectsbroughtaboutbythecolonial want toembraceit. remember this,andfeelknowyouwillwantto hugtheland.Youwill remember thatittooisconductingitslife,andseesyou aswell.…Whenyou When asyouconductyourlifechancetoseeaneagle,orawolf,bear, years toruin. and destroyed in a few hours what everyone thought would take at least a few more oil allovereverythingfromoneofthosetankersthatspilledmillionsgallons all theworkerswhowentnorthtoValdezgetpaidbigmoneycleanup Fifty MilesfromTomorrow:AMemoirofAlaskaandthe Real People, “Remember thatthelandisenspirited.Itquickened,” S usan 34 K ollin (173) (121) her - Downloaded By: 10.3.98.104 At: 21:01 01 Oct 2021; For: 9781315777344, chapter2, 10.4324/9781315777344.ch2 each yearinlatesummertothearrival of the the namethatisgiventoanyonenotfromAlaska.Asaboy,Hensleylookedforward NATIVES ALLOWED”(213).HealsorememberscontactwithpopulationsfromOutside– up atatimewhensomewhiteestablishmentsdisplayedsignsthatread“NODOGSOR extraction intheformoffur,minerals,andoil(Huhndorf101). habitable bythecolonizers,interestinFarNorthwasmostlyconsignedtoresource to other parts of the United States. Also, because the region was regarded as nearly unin- arrived intheregionsmallernumbersandoveramoregradualtimeperiodcompared not partakeinstraightforwardwarfarewithcolonizers.ThiswaspartlybecauseEuropeans in theFarNorthindigenousgroupsengagedvariousformsofpoliticalresistance,butdid groups intheUnitedStates.AsYup’ikscholarShariHuhndorfpointsout,acrossregions subarctic Alaskahaveoftenexperiencedadifferentcolonialhistoryfromotherindigenous that theseitemsareobjectsone’s“forebearsusedmillenniaago”(18–19). moment, one“mightunearthanivoryharpoonheadoraflintscraper”andsuddenlyrealize camped atthesameforkinrivergivesyouasenseofbelonging,”heexplains.Atany paddled thesamerivers,smelledcampfiresmoke,chasedgame,and knowledge “thatyourancestorsplayedwiththesamerocks,lookedatmountains, bears wereheretenthousandyearsago.Thatisapowerfulfeeling,”hewrites(18).The a respectfortheland(16).“TherearefewpeopleinAmericawhocansaythattheirfore knowing therewas“verylittleroomforerror”undersuchconditionsandthusmaintains the personislikelytofreezemomenthisorherbodystartscool.Hensleygrowsup a signthatfrostbitehassetin.Ifsomeonemanagestoworkupsweatintemperature, ing “bittercold,socoldithurts”(16).Inthisweather,anyexposedskinquicklyturnswhite, becomes reallycold–around50or60belowzerothepeopledescribeitas“ explains, thelandpresentsmanychallenges;wintersareninemonthslong,andwhenit thousands ofyearsknowitas“Qikiqtag˙ruk,” meaning“smallisland”(11).AsHensley transnational politicalorganizations linkingtheIñupiatwithindigenousgroupselsewhere, cultural upheaval” (9). Partly due to his community’s isolation and because there were no …familiesandculturesindangerofbeingobliterated bychange,disease,and generations and “thestoryofahundred thousandAlaskaNativesofeverytribe,spanningseveral Indians thanwiththeironscreenenemies”(62). entirely – ofthefact that our ownpeoplehadconsiderablymoreincommonwiththe bait Hollywoodgaveus,”heexplains,“andsidedwiththe ‘goodguys.’Wewereunaware– his friendsmanagedtointernalizetheracialpoliticsof colonialsystem.“Wetookthe balconies. AndthefierceIndians”(62).Itwasmanyyears beforeherealizedhowand fancy horsetricks,thequickdrawswithsix-shooters, thebrawlingandfallingoff recalls. “Hopalong Cassidy, Tex Ritter. … we would really get into the wild western – the someone’s parkaiftheydidn’thaveenoughmoney(62).“Westerns wereourfavorites,”he his friendseitherpaidthetwenty-fivecentstoseenew movieorslippedinunderneath motion pictures,whichplayedatArchieFerguson’s Midnight SunTheater.Hensleyand across theregion(65–67).Theauthorrecallscirculationofculturalproducts,including appear offtheshoreofKotzebue,bringingpeopleaswellgoodsthattraderswouldsell In hismemoir,Hensley recalls this history ofcolonial contact andremembers growing Because they occupyarelativelyisolatedregion, the indigenouspeopleofArcticand While official maps call his hometown Kotzebue, the people who have lived there for Later whilewritinghismemoir,Hensleybeginstomake connectionsbetweenhislife ALASKA NATIVE LITERATURE 35 North Star (a shipoutofSeattle)thatwould itraliq,” mean- -
Downloaded By: 10.3.98.104 At: 21:01 01 Oct 2021; For: 9781315777344, chapter2, 10.4324/9781315777344.ch2 oil. The demandforfuel,instance, originallybroughtEuropeanstoGreenland,where oil. indigenous Alaskanshavehad acomplexrelationshipwithpopulationswhodesired whale oil,andwalrusoil.Seal oilpracticallyrunsinourveins”(150).Throughouthistory, our forefatherspoweredtheir bodiesandfedtheirdogskept had usedthemfortheirownfuel”(151).Heexplainsthat a“thousandgenerationsof “For millennia,theInuithadbeenawareofoilseepsin the NorthSlopeofAlaska,and Hensley notes the ways that oil has actually long served at the center of Iñupiaq culture. officials discover oil under the surface of the land, more changes arrive in the region. under thesurface,andbonesofourancestorswerethere amongthem”(108).When We hadlivedonit,gloriedinit,”hewrites.”Thousands ofyearsourheritagelayjust not thinkofstraightlinesandpiecespaperasdescribing ourrelationshiptotheland. “We didat publicauctions. for individual sale lots to establish surveyors toKotzebue dispossession. After statehood, the BLM (Bureau of Land Management) decided to send drill becausetheirequipmentcouldnotcutthroughthedense shale(102). That summer, his team managed to complete only half of the holes they were supposed to that he likes to believe his crew may have contributed to the demise of Project Chariot. claims act(Hensley102;Andrews&Creedxxii–xxiii).Inhismemoir,Hensleyconfesses ties between Alaska Native groups and later played arole in passingthe indigenous land their ownpaper.In1961, newspapers weregenerallyinsupportofthesedevelopments,AlaskaNativesalsostarted talists eventuallyleakedinformationthathelpedstopProjectChariot.Becausemajorstate the Iñupiaq community for generations to come. Iñupiats along with various environmen Hiroshima andwereguaranteedtohavecatastrophic effects ontheenvironment aswell explosions wereestimatedtobe160timesmorepowerfulthantheatomicbombdroppedon in themiddleofIñupiatlands.HadAtomicEnergyCommissiongoneforward, Kotzebue bydetonatinguptosixthermonuclearbombs.Theprojectwouldhavebeensituated the AtomicEnergyCommissiontocreateadeep-waterharboralongArcticcoastnear Edward Tellersupported“peacetimeusesofatomicenergy”anddevelopedaprojectwith mer onthecontroversial“ProjectChariot.”In1950sand60s,nuclearscientist but findsheneedsajobinordertopayhislivingexpenses.Heendsupworkingonesum on Washington(105). where heandhisnewfriendHankAdams,anAssiniboine-Sioux,attendthe1963March Cherokee and the Trail of Tears. He goes on to study at George Washington University him hometoNorthCarolina;therehelearnsforthefirsttimeaboutstrugglesof school inTennessee,HensleybefriendsanotherathletewhoisCherokeeandinvites their education,theyhadtoattendboardingschoolselsewhere.AthisBaptist Because the school only operated through the eighth grade, if students wanted to continue like othersuchschools,aimedtoassimilateindigenousAlaskansintoAmericanlife. complexes?”(230). superiority we have forestalledthenegativeeffectsofdisease, alcohol,starvation,andpeoplewith indigenous peoples, beginning in Jamestown four hundred years ago,” he writes. “Could happened in our world had we been more aware of the catastrophes faced by our fellow Hensley didn’tmaketheseconnectionsuntilmuchlater.“Ioftenwonderwhatmighthave A keymomentinHensley’spoliticalawakeningcomes inthewakeofhisfamily’s Upon hisreturnhomein1956,HensleyenrollsattheUniversityofAlaskaFairbanks, As aboy,HensleyattendstheBIA(BureauofIndianAffairs)schoolinKotzebuewhich, Tundra Times,ledbyIñupiaqHaroldRock,helpedtofostercloser S usan 36 K ollin iglus warmwithsealoil, - - Downloaded By: 10.3.98.104 At: 21:01 01 Oct 2021; For: 9781315777344, chapter2, 10.4324/9781315777344.ch2 and politicallaborsofAlaska’sindigenouspopulationsforyearstocome. continued recognitionandstudyofsharedhistoriesislikelytoinformtheliteraryproduction communities havewithindigenouspeoplesacrossthenationandworld.Indeed,this world. Intheprocess,theirmemoirsnoteaffinitiesandconnectionsthatAlaskaNative tions aboutitsindigenousinhabitantsasapremodernpeopleoccupyingpastanddying to settler-colonialunderstandingsofAlaska’sNativepeoples,whilecounteringmisconcep understandings of indigenous Alaskan identity. Their texts offer an important corrective modern society (Freeze Frame culture, theepitomeofnature,andpurestform“essentialman”encounteredby premodern peoplefrozenintime,theembodimentofprelapsarianoriginswestern particular – and one could argue indigenous Alaskans in general – as an unchanging and what shedescribesasaparticularlyAmericanformofOrientalismthatdepictsEskimosin indigenous peoplesacrosstheArctic(210). Inuit ofthepolarworld,animportantdevelopmentforpoliticalandculturalfutures Circumpolar Council,atransregionalandtransnationalorganizationthathelpsunitethe and runsforpublicoffice.Laterinhiscareer,hebecomesinvolvedsettinguptheInuit Claims Settlement Act (112–13). Hensley plays an influential role in passing ANCSA aboriginal title to the land, a discovery that becomes the legal basis for the Alaska Native through treaty.BecauseAlaskaNativeshadnotrelinquishedtheirlandrights,theyretained thattheUnitedStatesneverwonanylandfromAlaskaNativesinbattleor indicated his studies, he learns that the 1959Act of CongressadmittingAlaskaas the 49thstate has theopportunitytoresearchlegalissuessurroundingAlaska’slands(111).During Hensley. When he enrolls in a constitutional law class at the University in Fairbanks, he of manyAlaskaNativecommunities(150–51). oil inPennsylvanialedtothedeepdeclinewhalingalongwitheconomicstability starvation amongtheindigenouspeoplesinregion.In1865,discoveryofcrude 1800s, bothwhaleandwalruspopulationswerealmostkilledoff,causingwidespread (150). Likewise,whalersfromNewEnglandhuntedwithsuchintensitythatbythelate in “justafewhundredyears,thewhaleswerevirtuallywipedoutthatpartofworld” Andrews, SusanB.&JohnCreed. “Introduction.” “Alaska’s 32Ecoregions,”Alaska DepartmentofFishandGame.StateAlaska.Web.Accessed 28 1
American writerscurrentlyemploy. systems of genre classification do not fully describe the diverse narrative practicesmany Native narrative alongsideherlifestory. Astheauthorexplained tomeinemailcorrespondence,current Susan B.Andrews&JohnCreed. Lincoln:UniversityofNebraskaPress,1998.xv–xxvii. Nov. 2014.http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=ecosystems.ecoregions Although The anthropologist Ann Fienup-Riordan has noted that Alaska Natives have often faced Struggles forlandrightsandresourcedevelopmentthusbecomeimportantissues Blonde Indianismarketedasanon-fictionmemoir, Hayesincludesaparallelfictional ALASKA NATIVE LITERATURE xi).Intheirmemoirs, Hayes andHensley provide different Works cited Note 37 Authentic Alaska:VoicesofItsNative Writers. Ed. - Downloaded By: 10.3.98.104 At: 21:01 01 Oct 2021; For: 9781315777344, chapter2, 10.4324/9781315777344.ch2 ——, eds. Dauenhauer, Nora&Richardeds.HaaKusteeyí,OurCulture:TlingitLifeStories.Seattle: Dauenhauer, Nora.TheDroningShaman:Poems.Haines,AK:BlackCurrentPress,1988. Carruth, Allison.GlobalAppetites:AmericanPowerandtheLiteratureofFood Breinig, Jeane. “In HonorofNastao:Kasaan Haida EldersLooktotheFuture.” Williams, MariaShaaTlaá.“AlaskaandItsPeople:AnIntroduction.” ——. ——. RaisingOurselves:AGwich’inComingofAgeStoryfrom theYukonRiver. Wallis, Velma.BirdGirlandtheManWhoFollowedSun.NewYork:HarperPerennial,1997. Ruppert, James&JohnW.Bernet.“Introduction.” ——. “SurvivanceintheWorksofVelmaWallis.” Ruppert, James.“AlaskaNativeLiterature:AnUpdatedIntroduction.” Pinson, Elizabeth.Alaska’sDaughter:AnEskimoMemoirofthe20thCentury.Logan:UtahState Nelson, Robert. “Leslie Marmon Silko: Storyteller.” Kollin, Susan.Nature’sState:ImaginingAlaskaastheLastFrontier Huhndorf, ShariM. Hensley, WilliamL.Ig˙g˙iag˙ruk. ——. emailcorrespondencewiththeauthor.13January2015. Hayes, Ernestine. Haycox, Stephen.Alaska:AnAmericanColony.Seattle:UniversityofWashingtonPress,2002. Green, Paul.IamEskimo:AknikMyName.Juneau:AlaskaNorthwestPublishingCompany,1959. Fienup-Riordan, Ann.FreezeFrame:AlaskaEskimosintheMovies Davis [Hoffmann],Robert.SoulCatcher.Sitka,AK:Raven’sBonesPress,1986. Dauenhauer, NoraMarks,RichardDauenhauer&GaryHolthaus,eds.“AlaskaNativeWriters, ——, eds.HaaTuwanáaguYís,forHealingOurSpirit:TlingitOratory University ofWashingtonPress,1994. University Press,2013. Indian Literature25(Spring2013):53–67. Maria ShaaTlaáWilliams.Durham,NC:DukeUniversityPress, 2009.1–11. Reprint. NewYork:HarperPerennial,2013. Epicenter Press,2002. Ed. JamesRuppert&JohnW.Bernet.Lincoln:UniversityofNebraska Press,2001.1–37. Gerald R.Vizenor.Lincoln:UniversityofNebraskaPress,2008. 285–95. Maria ShaaTlaáWilliams.Durham,NC:DukeUniversityPress,2009.333–36. University Press,2005. 245–56. Literature. Ed.JoyPorter&KennethRoemer.Cambridge:CambridgeUniversityPress,2005. Carolina Press,2001. University Press,2001. New York:Farrar,StraussandGiroux,2009. Press, 1995. Storytellers, andOrators.”SpecialissueofAlaskaQuarterlyReview4.3–4(1986). Press, 1990. 1987. Two OldWomen:AnAlaskanLegendofBetrayal,CourageandSurvival. Haa Shuká:OurAncestors:TlingitOralNarratives Blonde Indian:AnAlaskaNativeMemoir Going Native:IndiansintheAmericanCulturalImagination Fifty MilesfromTomorrow:AMemoirofAlaskaandtheRealPeople S usan 38 K Our Voices:Native Stories ofAlaskaandtheYukon. ollin The Cambridge Companion to Native American Survivance: NarrativesofNativePresence.Ed. . Tucson:UniversityofArizonaPress,2006. . Seattle:UniversityofWashingtonPress, . Seattle:UniversityofWashington . ChapelHill:UniversityofNorth . Seattle: University of Washington . Seattle:UniversityofWashington The AlaskaNativeReader. The AlaskaNativeReader. . Cambridge:Cambridge 1992. 20thAnniversary . Ithaca,NY:Cornell Studies inAmerican Kenmore,WA: Ed. Ed. .