Alaska Native Local and Traditional Knowledge Inventory and Bibliographic Data Base Report

Alaska Native Local and Traditional Knowledge Inventory and Bibliographic Data Base Report By Carl M. Hild Institute for Circumpolar Health Studies Under Agreement with Alaska Native Science Commission 27 February 1998 PART ONE - OVERVIEW “We have the wolf by his ears and we can neither hold him nor let him go!” Thomas Jefferson SUMMARY There are large amounts of uncataloged Alaska Native Local and Traditional Knowledge (LTK) which exist. Some is in unpublished reports and papers. Some is recorded on audio and video tapes. Some exists as photographs, maps and drawings. Some is documented in artifacts. Some exists in the bodies of those who have learned to dance. Some exists in the eyes of those who have learned to hunt. Some exists in the hands of those who have learned to sew or heal. Some exists in the minds of our elders and in the hearts of our children. The problem of an Alaska Native LTK Inventory and Bibliographic Data Base is that it is a huge and changing issue. A culture can neither be preserved in a box nor on a computer disk, albeit aspects must be passed on to others for the foundation of the society to be understood. There is much LTK material that has been recorded in one form or another. It is currently located in a large variety of places. Some of it is old and it may not survive in its current state of preservation and so is in danger of being lost forever. From dozens of interviews with knowledgeable individuals it is clear, no one even knows how much really exists. The cost just to conduct a thorough inventory would be large. The value of such an inventory would diminish with each passing hour as materials physically degrade or collections are lost to damage, neglect, or ignorance. Several people interviewed appreciated the contact as it acted as a reminder to go check on the condition of their own collections and think about modifying their wills to include the deposition of the valuable materials. It has been suggested that the best way to incorporate Alaska Native LTK into new plans, policies, projects, research, and proposals is to involve Alaska Natives who know their culture. This may also be an important key for a way to look at how to further the process to preserve Alaska Native LTK. Alaska Native LTK Project 2/98 - Hild The Alaska Native Science Commission (ANSC) could work as a “server” to access and deliver LTK. No archive of Alaska Native LTK is complete or able to be as interactive as is desired by the growing number of interested students and researchers. No electronic web site could be large enough to house the breadth of information that has been collected, in a format, so it can easily be accessed and contain the details and nuances of each culture. The active participation of Alaska Natives providing this information will keep the dynamic nature of Alaska Native LTK alive. When each request is received the accession record could be updated for where and how the materials were obtained and exactly what was provided. This process would then, over time, build a more effective and detailed method to utilize LTK. The priority for ANSC is to take action so that unique materials are not forever lost. The recordings of elders from 25 years ago are in danger of being lost as magnetic tapes degrade. There were efforts in the 1960s and 70s to record Alaska Native elders before their information was lost when they passed-on. Those recordings are now going beyond their useful life span and “passing-on.” If they are not copied and protected soon they will be lost as surely as if our elders had never been. The stewardship of knowledge does not end with it being recorded once, but in its regular use. It is critical that the ANSC take action to determine how the collections of LTK are stewarded for future generations. POSSIBLE ANSC OBJECTIVES Bring together the major players to decide what is possible. Bring together the Alaska Native Science Commission with others who are involved to decide what is desired. Bring together the Alaska Native corporations to decide what potentially they or others can financially support. Bring together the appropriate technical staff of archivists, preservationists folklorists, anthropologists, librarians, and others to decide on the process and procedures for assessing the existing materials for triage, and protecting the most threatened. Have appropriate personnel inventory the existing collections. Identify the materials that have been collected with public funds, which have releases, and are cataloged and logged, so that they can be made readily available to all requesting them. Identify the materials that are in hand but need work to be able to be made available to the public, such as getting release forms, logging information, translation, transcription, or culling for appropriate content. Identify the materials that are in the worst physical condition so they may be prioritized for preservation. Identify resources, including funding, to begin the process of meeting objectives. Establish criteria for the use of LTK particularly the access and interviewing of elders who have provided many interviews in the past. Communities could establish records of which of their elders have been interviewed, on what topics, and assure that 2 Alaska Native LTK Project 2/98 - Hild copies of those are available so the elders do not have to be bothered unless there are new questions. Establish ownership and intellectual property rights definitions and procedures. Others… QUESTIONS How to establish the most efficient means of cataloging the materials for effective access? (A form of multi-tiered system to search first for general levels of information, then find particular items, then extract specific facts. Systems that can search a variety of media that must be used in composite for full meaning. Establishing the fields on reporting forms so that material information can be entered and transported between user systems as well as linking it to other relevant material.) What has worked well in the past? (Document processes and examples such as the video “Arctic Haze” and how Matthew Bean is portrayed; St. Lawrence Sea Birds research by Alaska Native Caleb Pungowiyi; LTK information on Beluga and how Henry Huntington of the Inuit Circumpolar Conference conducted the research; LTK information for the Polar Bear Habitat Strategy and how Suzie Kalxdorff of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service conducted the research; work of the “Keepers of the Treasures – Alaska.”) How have Alaska Natives made commentary about the dynamics of changing systems for environmental observations? (The North Slope Boroughs (NSB) involvement with the drafting of the Environmental Impact Statement for the “North Star” oil prospect in conjunction with the Minerals Management Services, and British Petroleum. There is an Alaska Native Harbor Seal Commission that is a resource, but for example, there is no parallel body that is engaged in the study of ravens. How is change noted? How is knowledge expressed in story or action? Is the knowledge of one culture or area supportive or contrary to the knowledge of another area for the same species?) Who do you ask to get the information? (Access to information is based on an individual’s awareness of sources of information. The quality of the information that is gained is based on the quality of the source of the information and the ease of access to that information. When Alaska Natives, no matter from which culture, need information, to whom do they turn? Natives who were new to an area traditionally asked permission to hunt on the grounds of others. Should there be a similar practice of respect and asking permission when hunting LTK information? When non-Natives need information, to whom should they turn? How is the community involved? How does the community want to be involved?) 3 Alaska Native LTK Project 2/98 - Hild How do you “preserve” a living culture? (Preserving Alaska Native LTK is very different than documenting what was known by the Romans. Living cultures are dynamic and not like history, folklore, or archived materials. The ability to make wood and gut snowshoes and snowgoggles is folklore, while the current LTK of Alaska Native culture uses either new lightweight materials or snowmachines and glacier sunglasses to conduct winter travel across deep snow.) How are the admired Alaska Native cultural strengths of adaptability and resiliency transmitted in a collection of LTK? (The collection needs to be flexible and accessible from a variety of mind-sets, and capabilities. It needs to assist everyone from professional computer techno- jockies, to students in school, to children who need personal contact.) How to maximize the viability of communities? (With increasing desires for local control, communities are being fenced in with maps, land ownership, and knowledge structures placed upon them from other world views. In a changing world LTK is a tool to help keep cultures viable and in itself needs to be reflective of a dynamic nature and contain the required spiritual components.) What are the criteria for use of Alaska Native LTK? (Archives and rare book rooms in libraries require white gloves be worn and pencils be used with limits on the use of rare books. Elders are “rare books” and deserve limited access that has protective requirements. Information was traditionally personalized in that when a person was observed to need information, and be ready to receive it, then it was provided by those who knew it. A personal relationship with everyone who needs the information may not be possible, but providing a personalized service to access information may be welcomed if it is seen as a resource and not a hurdle.

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