Xerox University Microfilms '■

INFORMATION TO USERS This material was produced from a microfilm copy of the original document. While the most advanced technological means to photograph and reproduce this document have been used, the quality is heavily dependent upon the quality of the original submitted. The following explanation of techniques is provided to help you understand markings or patterns which may appear on this reproduction. 1.The sign or "target" for pages apparently lacking from the document photographed is "Missing Page(s)". If it was possible to obtain the missing page(s) or section, they are spliced into the film along with adjacent pages. This may have necessitated cutting thru an image and duplicating adjacent pages to insure you complete continuity. 2. When an image on the film is obliterated with a large round black mark, it is an indication that the photographer suspected that the copy may have moved during exposure and thus cause a blurred image. You will find a good image of the page in the adjacent frame. 3. When a map, drawing or chart, etc., was part of the material being photographed the photographer followed a definite method in "sectioning" the material. It is customary to begin photoing at the upper left hand corner of a large sheet and to continue photoing from left to right in equal sections with a small overlap. If necessary, sectioning is continued again — beginning below the first row and continuing on until complete. 4. The majority of users indicate that the textual content is of greatest value, however, a somewhat higher quality reproduction could be made from "photographs" if essential to the understanding of the dissertation. Silver prints of "photographs" may be ordered at additional charge by writing the Order Department, giving the catalog number, title, author and specific pages you wish reproduced. 5. PLEASE NOTE: Some pages may have indistinct print. Filmed as received. Xerox University Microfilms '■ . 300 North Zeeb Road \ AnnArbor, Michigan 48106 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. MASTERS THESIS M-7862 ANDREWS, Elizabeth Frances SALCHA: AN ATHAPASKAN BAND OF THE TANANA RIVER AND ITS CULTURE University of Alaska, M.A., 1975 Anthropology, cultural Xerox University Microfilms Ann, Arbor, Michigan 48106 @ 1975 ELIZABETH FRANCES ANDREWS ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. SALCHA: AN ATHAPASKAN BAND OF THE TANANA RIVER AND ITS CULTURE A THESIS Presented to the Faculty of the University of Alaska in partial fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS (Anthropology) By Elizabeth F. Andrews B.A. Fairbanks, Alaska May 1975 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. SALCHA: AN ATHAPASKAN BAND OF THE TANANA RIVER AND ITS CULTURE RECOMMENDED: Chairperson, Advisory Committee K l i n * . a p ~ Department Head APPROVED: Dean of the College of Behaviofal Sciences Date ' y - y / 7 ^ ? ? • Provost y V y / ' i * r Date Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ABSTRACT The Salcha were an Athapaskan-speaking band of east central Alaska. The life style of these people at the turn of this century and their history of contact with whites is reconstructed from historical literature and from recollections cited by two elderly Salcha Indians. These Indians were a semi-nomadic band with a matrilineal kinship organization exploiting such natural resources as caribou, moose and salmon during their annual subsistence cycle. Data presented within a comparative framework indicate a subsistence pattern mid-way between an inland riverine and inland hunting-snaring emphasis. The position of the Salcha band among their Athapaskan neighbors of the Tanana River is determined in light of current linguistic and sociocultural data for these groups. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Throughout the past two years many people contributed and assisted in the gathering of data reported here as well as its presentation. Bessie Barnabas and Eva Moffit were my sole instructors in the former Salcha way of life and their information about that past culture for.ns the bulk of this thesis. To them I express my heartfelt gratitude not only as instructors and informants during the weekly work sessions, but also as friends and companions in my daily life and on weekend trips to potlatches in the area. Mertie Baggen, who first undertook anthropological work with Be iie Barnabas and Eva Moffit, and who suffered an untimely death was most helpful not only for the notes she left, but also for the dear friend ship and rapport she established with the informants. My advisor, Anne D. Shinkwin, has guided me through all phases of this work from her initial suggestion to continue what Ms. Baggen had begun to the finished work presented here. Her advice, instruction and patience are gratefully acknowledged. To many others I am thankful too. The people of Nenana, Minto, and Tanacross hosted me at potlatches in their respective villages while Robert and Elsie Titus of Minto, Julius and Greta Paul of Tanacross and Bonnie Reed of Nenana provided iv Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. a home for me on those occasions. M.E. Krauss of the Alaska Native Language Center, University of Alaska provided me with a basic understanding of Athapaskan languages and those spoken on the Tanana River in particular. Nancy McRoy provided me with a linguistic transcription of the kinship terminology as well as a list of Salcha phonemes in order to facilitate my own transcriptions. M. Bucholtz and S. Tack of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game assisted in providing information on the fauna and fish of the region. D.F. Murray, Curator of the Herbarium of the University of Alaska Museum, L. Viereck of the Institute of Northern Forestry, and O.K. Miller of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University supplied floral and fungal identifications. D. Slaby assisted with pertinent ethnographic data from Minto. The University of Alaska Archives and Brian Stocklin supple mented my own photographs. And lastly, I am grateful to the University of Alaska Department of Anthropology and the native peoples of Alaska who introduced me to some of the many different peoples and life styles of the world past and present. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract .............................................. iii Acknowledgments ......................................... iv Table of Contents ....................................... vi List of Tables ........................................ viii List of Figures ....................................... ix Chapter 1. Introduction ............................... 1 Chapter 2. Ethnohistory and the Salcha Band ........... 9 Pre-1880 ......................................... 10 1880-1890 ........................................ 14 1890-1900 ........................................ 19 1900-1910 ........................................ 28 1910-1920 ........................................ 30 1920-Present ..................................... 32 Summary .......................................... 32 Chapter 3. Environment and Annual Cycle ............... 36 Location ......................................... 36 Geography........................................ 37 Climate .......................................... 38 Ecosystems ....................................... 39 Faunal Environment ............................... 45 vi Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS (Continued) Plant Environment ................................. 64 Annual Cycle ...................................... 69 Comparison of Annual Cycles ....................... 74 Chapter 4. Social Culture ............................. £5 Sibs and Moieties ................................. 85 Kinship Terminology ............................... 97 Leadership ........................................ 107 Life Cycle ........................................ 114 Chapter 5. Conclusions: Delineation of the Salcha Band 140 The Salcha Band ................................... 140 Geographic Division of the Tanana ................. 146 Linguistic Divisions of the Tanana ................ 146 Sociocultural Divisions of the Tanana ............. 149 Appendix. Note on Salcha Transcription ................ 166 References ............................................ 167 vii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Human Population Estimates for the Tanana River Area .................................. 26 Table 2. Human Population Record for the Tanana from Mansfield to Chena ..................... 26 Table 3. Population Observations fo.: Specific Locales in the Tanana River Area ............ 27 Table 4. Salcha Annual Cycle .......................... 77 Table 5. Marriages Represented at Salcha Around 1900 .. 91 Table 6. Band Affiliation of Adults Represented at Salcha Around 1900 .......................... 96 Table 7. Marriages and Band Affiliation .............. 96 Table 8. Salcha Kinship Terminology ................... 97 Table 9. Salcha

Load more