DOCUMENT RESUME ED 028 870 RC 003 366 Indians, Eskimos and Aleuts of Alaska. Bureau of Indian Affairs (Dept. of Interior),Washington. D.C. Pub Date 68 Note-20p. Available from-Superintendent of Documents,U.S. Government Printing Office, (0-315-121, $0.15). Washington, D.C. 20402 EDRS Price MF-$0.25 HC Not Availablefrom EDRS. Descriptors-*American Indians, *CulturalBackground, Cultural Differences, Cultural Environment, Development, Economic Progress, *Educational *Economic Opportunities, Employment Opportunities, Eskimos,Ethnic Groups. Health Program% *United StatesHistory Identifiers-sAlaska, Aleuts, Athapascans,Haidas, Tlingits, Tsimshians Brief descriptions of thehistorical and cultural backgroundof the Eskimo, Aleut, Athapascan, Tlingit, and HaidaIndian groups of Alaskaare presented. Further information is givenconcerning the educational, health,employment, and economic opportunities avz-Aable to the natives today.A list is included of activitiesand points of interest in variousareas of Alaska. (DK) U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, EDUCATION & WELFARE OFFICE OF EDUCATION THIS DOCUMENT HAS BEEN REPRODUCED EUCTLY AS RECEIVED FROM THE PERSON OR ORGANIZATION ORIGINATING IT.POINTS OF VIEW OR OPINIONS STATED DO NOT NECESSARILY REPRESENT OFFICIAL OFFICE OF EDUCATION CC' POSITION OR POLICY. INDIANS, ESKIMOS 116/1 AND ALEUTS OF 402 0 a CTS ocri) Alaska has been a member of the Union since January 3, 1959.Yet today, the giant northern peninsula remains in many ways as mysterious and fascinating as ever. Winters of quiet, blinding whitenesslow-lying coasts hidden by heavy mistsappalling distances that must be spanned by airplane abundant fish and wildlifea colorful aboriginal populationall spell Alayeska, an Aleut word that means "The Great Land." Explorers, gold-seekers, adventurers and homesteaders found Alaska a land of challenge, opportunity, rich reward, and bitter disappointment. Opposite: Famous Mt. McKinley, the highest peak But they were latecomers.Already on the scene were native peoples on the continent (20,300 ft.), as seen who had learned to cope with the rigorous demands of the climateand from the Alaska Railroad.The moun- taMisthe principal featureof Mt. with the iron fist of the Russian traders until "Seward's Folly" brought McKinleyNationalPark,drawing thousands of visitors each year. PHOTO: them into the first phase of Americanization.This is their story. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR the coast of the Arctic Ocean from Little Diomede Islandto Indians, Eskimos, Greenland.In any event, when Alaskawas discovered in 1741 by Vitus Bering, a Danish captain sailing for Russia, and Aleuts the natives were already well distributed throughout thearea. The latest available population count (1960) indicated 14,444 Indians, 22,323 Eskimos, and 5,755 Aleuts.This of Alaska represents nearly one-fifth of the total State population and it is growing at a rate perhaps three times that of the United States as a whole. In a word association test,many Americans would prob- Unlike the Indians of other States, most of the Alaska ably match the word "Alaska" with "Eskimo." The anthro-Native people have no tribal organizationsor tribal enroll- pologist, however, classifies the native people of the State inments, although a substantial number are organized under four main groups: the Eskimos of the north andwest, who the Indian Reorganization Act and the Alaska Act.They live along the coast of the Bering Sea and Arctic Ocean andhave tended to live in well defined areas, moving seasonally. the rivers that flow into them; the Athapascan Indians in The culture of the 20th century has affected most Alaskan central and interior Alaska; the Aleuts (Al-ee-oots) oftheNative people, but in varying degrees.Many have become Kenai and Alaska Peninsulas, and the Aleutian chain of bush pilots, teachers, State legislators, artists, mechanics, and islands; and the Indian tribes of southeastern Alaskacarpenters.Others, however, still live on their ancestral Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian. lands and cling to centuries-old traditions. Authorities disagree on the origins of Alaska Indians and The airplane and the short-wave battery radio havepene- Eslamos.According to one widely accepted theory, theytrated the isolation of distant dwellers; and the White Alice migrated in successivewaves from Asia across the Bering.Communications Project, a network providing worldwide Strait to the North American continent.The most recenttelephone service, has extended communication services to arrivals seem to be the northern Eskimos who settled along many isolated areas. 2 31?Yr: 141. THE ESKIMOS Best known and most numerous of the native Alaskans are the Eskimos, usually associated with a world of igloos, fur parkas, and sled dogs.The culture of the modern Alaskan Eskimo does not completely fit this popular concept. A hunting people, the Eskimos live today in more than imeLt2L f 4 100 widely separated villages along the Bering Sea and the 11111ki .2,712 fr:6 Arctic Ocean coasts; the lower river deltas of the Yukon, Kuskokwim and smaller rivers in western Alaska; and the Diomede, King, St. Lawrence, and Nunivak Islands.Much - of Eskimoland is windy and treeless, with temperatures well - below zero in winter and rarely higher than 500 in the brief mummer months.The finger of 20th Century progress has _ beckoned many Eskimos to jobs in Alaska's cities and larger Storage sheds in native villages are built on stilts as a protec- tion from marauding animals.The man is preparing to store a supply of dried fish for feeding sled dogs in winter. PHOTO : DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR sti 3 communities, while others havegone outside the State forand umiak, which they plyon rivers and the open sea in employment and training. search of small fur-bearing animals, fish,whale, walrus, and The pattern of Eskimo lifewas carefully matched to theseal. turn of the seasons and the migration ofgame and fish Village life centers around the church, school, andnative periods of furious activity out of doors, followed byweeksstore.In areas that were strongly influenced by the period of relative inactivity when bad weather preventedwork. of Russian occupation, theremay be one or more public Alaska Eskimos never builtsnow igloos, although theysteam baths, similar to the sauna, where villagers gather. sometimes constructed snow windbreaks when caughtoutsideEskimo Battalions of the National Guard playan important in storms. The old-fashioned igloo (the Eskimo word forpart in the activities of young men. Where thereare armory house) was framed in driftwoodor whalebone and insulatedbuildings, they may alsoserve as community centers. with blocks of sod. Modem homes along the Yukon and There are skilled artists and craftsmenamong the Eskimos Kuskokwim deltas are wood frameor log dwellings, some-and their carvings in wood, jade, andivory have found times made of driftwoodor other salvage. enthusiastic collectors around the world. The familiar and functional hooded furparka and muk- luks are still in evidence in Alaska.In many areas, however, this type of clothing is replaced by items selectedfrom a mail order catalogue, and theart of working skins is known only to the older women. THE ALEUTS Dependent upon the sea and the tundra for food and cloth- The Aleutian chain of islands extends likea broken string ing, the Eskimos have highly developedtechniques for hunt-of beads south and west from the mainland of Alaska toward ing and fishing, and these skillsare being rapidly augmentedthe coast of Russia. A series of volcanic mountain by modem technologysteel tops fishhooks, semiautomatic rifles,thrusting above the surface of thesea, they are treeless, deso- nylon fish nets and outboard motors.They also build excel-late and fog shrouded for most of theyear. lent plank boats, Winters are canvas canoes, and the skin-covered kayakcolder than in southeastern Alaska, andthe average July 4 Fr- temperature ranges around 57°. Of strategic importancea layer of sod.They were entered by ladders through holes during the war with Japan, the islands were lonely outpostsin the roof. A later Aleutian house, or "barabara," wasa for American servicemen. smallersingle-familydwelling, partly underground and The Aleutians, the Alaska and Kenai Peninsulas, and thecovered with sod, with the entrance at the side. Pribilof Islands are home to the Aleuts, related to the Eski- Both men and women wore long, shirt-like skin garments mos and once numbering about 24,000 according to theirthat resemble the Eskimo parka, but were not hooded.The ZI own tradition.They were first in the path of the 18thmen wore a peculiar kind of wooden hunting helmet. century explorers from Russia and suffered most from theWomen tattooed their faces, and both sexeswore stone or incursions of Russian fur traders, who fought their dartsivory labrets in the lower lip and a variety of ornaments with firearms and killed them in great numbers. such as bone pins, beads, small stones, and feathers in the It is estimated that the Aleutswere reduced to one-tenthnose and ears. their original numbers during a period of virtual enslave- Aleutian grass basketry, once classed with the world's ment by the traders.Later, intervention by the Czarist gov-finest, was produced from a type of grass that grows only ernment in the trading operations and the arrival of Russianon Attu Island.Since World War II, when all Attu people missionaries began to improve conditions for the islanders.were resettled, basketry has become unimportant to the Aleut As in the case of the Eskimos, the Aleutian people absorbedculture and only a small quantity is still woven. much of the Eastern Slavic culture, andmany today are Today, the long association and intermarriage with Euro- members of the Russian Orthodox Church. peans has greatly reduced the number of fullbloods among The abundance of fish andsea mammals, bears, andthe Aleut people, and has led to the decline of traditional migrating birds enabled the Aleuts to establishpermanentcustoms.Usually living in well-constructed frame houses, villages and to develop a sea-hunting culture similarto thatthey employ their knowledge of the sea as commercial fish- of the Eskimos.