Diaries of Archaeological Expeditions to Alaska with the Smithsonian's Ales Hrdlicka in 1936, 1937, and 1938 Item Type Book Authors Veltre, Douglas W.; May, Alan G. Download date 07/10/2021 07:19:16 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/11122/11850 Diaries of Archaeological Expeditions to Alaska with the Smithsonian Institution’s Aleš Hrdlička in 1936, 1937, and 1938 by Alan G. May Produced with the cooperation and support of The Aleutian Pribilof Islands Association and Archives and Special Collections University of Alaska Anchorage/Alaska Pacific University Consortium Library 2021 Page 2 Diaries of Archaeological Expeditions to Alaska… Alan G. May Alan G. May Diaries of Archaeological Expeditions to Alaska… Page 3 FOREWORDS In 1834, Russian Orthodox Priest (now Saint Innocent) Ivan Veniaminov wrote that there is “no reason to conceal… cruel acts against the Aleuts.”1 At the time, Veniaminov was talking about the promyshlenniki – the cruel sailors who forced Aleuts/Unangax̂ to hunt sea otter. About 100 years later, more cruel acts were committed against the Aleut/Unangax̂ people, this time by American archaeologists who sailed to the Aleutian Islands to dig up skulls of our ancestors to display in museums. When I read Alan G. May’s diaries, I found their level of disrespect unconscionable. When Dr. Aleš Hrdlička’s wife passed away, he treated her burial with the utmost respect with soft music, rose petals, green velvet, and kisses. When you compare that with how he and his “boys” treated Aleut/Unangax̂ ancestors, you have to wonder, “Why the difference?” I encourage you to read Alan G. May’s diary. If this painful part of our history is concealed, it may be repeated. Dr. Dimitri Philemonof -- President/CEO – Aleutian Pribilof Islands Association Part of APIA’s mission is to “strengthen and preserve the Unangax̂ cultural heritage.” As director of APIA’s Cultural Heritage Department and Unangax̂ Heritage Library and Archives, part of my responsibilities are to encourage and support the publication of literature about Unangax̂ history – even if that history is sometimes less-than-perfect and sometimes even uncomfortable. What Dr. Aleš Hrdlička and his boys did in the 1930s, sailing up and down the Aleutian Islands, digging up graves – even recent graves in other parts of Alaska – is today uncomfortable. Yet people need to know this history. By sponsoring the publication of Alan G. May’s diaries, APIA and the Cultural Heritage Department are decreasing the chances of this history being buried and forgotten. Millie McKeown – Director – APIA Cultural Heritage Department I read every word of Alan G. May’s diaries. The cavalier and disrespectful attitude Dr. Aleš Hrdlička and his boys displayed was sometimes challenging to read. Yet Alan G. May’s diaries are invaluable because they clearly record how Dr. Aleš Hrdlička and his boys conducted their activities in the 1930s, what their mental thought processes were, and how they felt justified in what they were doing. As Dr. Gordon Pullar noted writing specifically about Hrdlička, to take bones of Alaska Native people and to put them in “drawers located thousands of miles from their burial place was the height of disrespect.”2 If you want a deeper understanding of Aleut/Unangax̂ history, read Alan G. May’s diaries. Dr. Michael Livingston – Cultural Heritage Specialist – APIA Cultural Heritage Department 1 Veniaminov (1984:251). 2 Pullar (1994:19). Page 4 Diaries of Archaeological Expeditions to Alaska… Alan G. May Alan G. May Diaries of Archaeological Expeditions to Alaska… Page 5 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Thanks go to many people for their help in making this version of the Alan G. May diaries possible. Arlene Schmuland, Head of Archives and Special Collections, University of Alaska Anchorage/Alaska Pacific University Consortium Library, made May’s diaries and photographs available and gave enthusiastic and patient support in seeing this project through. She continued the assistance provided by former Archives Head Dennis Walle, who was instrumental in acquiring Alan May’s diaries and other papers in 1989. Karen Workman, a former Alaska State Archaeologist, also helped to secure May’s donation to the Archives, and she provided helpful advice to this presentation of the diaries. Dr. Michael Livingston, Cultural Heritage Specialist of the Cultural Heritage Department of the Aleutian Pribilof Islands Association (APIA), carefully read the entirety of May’s diaries. His suggestions on their editing and insightful additions to many of the footnotes contained here were invaluable. The encouragement and support of Millie McKeown, director of APIA’s Cultural Heritage Department, and Dr. Dimitri Philemonof, President and CEO of APIA, likewise were critical to making these diaries available in their present form. Through its support, APIA has underscored that the methods and accounts of earlier researchers, while exposing the biases and unpleasant prejudices of their times, can still provide valuable historical documentation for Alaska Natives today. Lois Spees re-typed most of the diaries from May’s versions; her care and attention to detail were invaluable. At various stages in preparing May’s diaries, a number of people offered me insightful guidance for which I am grateful; these include Steven Street, Michael Yarborough, Jackie Pels, Karen Workman, and Kathie Veltre. Paul Guggenheim and Paul Gebhard, who worked alongside May in the Aleutians, graciously made their personal photographs and other materials available to me. Douglas W. Veltre January 2021 Emeritus Professor Department of Anthropology University of Alaska Anchorage 2533 Providence Drive Anchorage, Alaska 99508 [email protected] Page 6 Diaries of Archaeological Expeditions to Alaska… Alan G. May Alan G. May Diaries of Archaeological Expeditions to Alaska… Page 7 CONTENTS INTRODUCTION by Douglas W. Veltre ................................................................................. 17 Aleš Hrdlička ................................................................................................................................................. 18 The Aleutian Islands and Kodiak Island ....................................................................................................... 22 Alan May ....................................................................................................................................................... 23 Itineraries and participants on the expeditions ............................................................................................. 27 Notes on the diaries and photographs ........................................................................................................... 28 CHAPTER 1: THE 1936 ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXPEDITION.......................................... 31 From Seattle to Kodiak Island ....................................................................................................................... 32 Kodiak Island ................................................................................................................................................ 41 From Kodiak to Unalaska Island .................................................................................................................. 76 Unalaska Island............................................................................................................................................. 79 Unalaska to Atka Island ................................................................................................................................ 84 Atka Island .................................................................................................................................................... 85 Atka to Kiska Island ...................................................................................................................................... 86 Kiska Island ................................................................................................................................................... 87 Attu Island ..................................................................................................................................................... 89 Attu to Kiska and Atka Islands .................................................................................................................... 112 Atka Island .................................................................................................................................................. 114 Atka to Unalaska Island .............................................................................................................................. 115 Unalaska Island........................................................................................................................................... 116 Unalaska to Kagamil Island ........................................................................................................................ 120 Kagamil to Unalaska Island ........................................................................................................................ 123 Unalaska Island........................................................................................................................................... 124 Unalaska to Seattle ...................................................................................................................................... 130 CHAPTER 2: THE 1937 ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXPEDITION.......................................