Flynn O'Connor (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} thoronas) wrote,@ 2006-07-11 16:30:00 |
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My visit to a cultural site
I was recently in Anchorage, Alaska to support my girlfriend who was running the Mayor's Midnight Marathon. While there I decided to take advantage of this time to apply a bit of sociology in an analysis of a cultural site I may never visit again. I have been emerged in Aboriginal culture for many years due to the fact I work for The First Nations Drum and when I found out that there was a large Native cultural centre run by the various tribes in Alaska I decided this would be an apportune time to test my abilities to critically analyze the image of the native people presented by this centre in a tourist setting. It was even more interesting because I knew that it was the native people themselves that had control over the image they would present and by visiting I would get a better idea of how they incorporated themselves not only into Alaskan communities but also the greater identity of the United States.
So one morning my girlfriend Kelly and I caught the shuttle bus from our hotel to the centre which was a quick 10 minute drive. The driver was from one of the tribes, and I would later learn that the cultural centre was actually one of the major employment centre for many of the younger, more urban aboriginal people. The centre was built on Athabascan land, mainly because they were the tribe that had previously occupied the area around Anchorage.
Upon entering the main facility I was struck by the small size of it, probably a little smaller than the Museum of Anthropology in UBC.There was a stage set up with many vacant chairs in the main lobby for people to watch dancers and singers. There was at least 150 people at the Centre when I arrived but there must not have been more than 5 people that stopped to watch the dancing and singing.
We wanted to experience the site as it was intended and were lucky to have arrived 10 minutes before a free guided tour. Our tour guide was a pregnant mixed blood native girl, she pointed out that many of the younger generation were mixed blood with very few tribes having any full blooded members under the age of 50. I thought about asking her if she picked and choosed what parts of her cultures she focused on and whether you was worried about losing aspects of her people's identity as cultures merged but decided to not press my guide so early on in the trip.
The site was organized around a lake. With 5 sites representing the 5 tribes. Each site had an example of traditional housing of the tribe with a special guest speaker at each site to explain the particular unique aspects of each tribes culture, way of life and subsistence methods. While the EYAK, TLINGIT, HAIDA & TSIMSHIAN had an elderly member of their tribe greet us and describe aspects of her people's way of life, every other tribe spokesmen was a young, urban aboriginal. Each one of them would represent themselves as a member of the tribe they belonged to, usually with a very brief explanation of their family line. With so many of these younger aboriginal people being of mixed blood and wondered how important this really was to them, and why they chose one over the other.
The different houses were unique and often ingeniously designed to protect against harsh elements. Many of them did not have doors so much as they had crawl spaces into the dwelling, often the entrance was in the floor to prevent heat from escaping. Compared to the houses we are so use to now they seemed quaint but I was very impressed with the intuitive, intelligent design that reflected in so many of them. The stand out was the Athabascan, that was almost a direct copy of a frontier log cabin we see in so many period pieces. I was rather struck by this, as all the other tribes had a very unique style and design that was very clearly stamped as their own, so why then was the Athabascan so much like a European settler style house. I would learn that it was because of the Athabascan's contact with Russian sailors and traders who would teach them house building techniques. That the Athabascan's chose to represent their identity after it had been influenced by outside cultures was not lost on me but I decided it would be better to not make some arrogant comment about it, especially since our special speakers at the Athabascan site was a 10 year old girl.
One question I did ask my guide was about the apparent lack of any historical mention of fueds or wars between the tribes. My guide responded that yes there had been conflicts but that the tribes had learned to live in peace. No reason for why they learned this was given.
Since I am so embroiled in Aboriginal politics here in B.C. I find myself to be somewhat of a cynic. Many tribes will work together in this province but it usually requires long drawn out negotiations. The fact that the tribes in Alaska had chosen to represent themselves as peaceful and united in their way of life left me wondering if there was a dark side of their past that they did not want us to know about lest it change our view of them as a people.
It was an enjoyable trip, and I would recommend the centre as a spot for tourists if just for the fact that they aboriginal people offer small tidbits about US history relating to Alaska from a different perspective, giving the visitor something new to take home with them.
I was recently in Anchorage, Alaska to support my girlfriend who was running the Mayor's Midnight Marathon. While there I decided to take advantage of this time to apply a bit of sociology in an analysis of a cultural site I may never visit again. I have been emerged in Aboriginal culture for many years due to the fact I work for The First Nations Drum and when I found out that there was a large Native cultural centre run by the various tribes in Alaska I decided this would be an apportune time to test my abilities to critically analyze the image of the native people presented by this centre in a tourist setting. It was even more interesting because I knew that it was the native people themselves that had control over the image they would present and by visiting I would get a better idea of how they incorporated themselves not only into Alaskan communities but also the greater identity of the United States.
So one morning my girlfriend Kelly and I caught the shuttle bus from our hotel to the centre which was a quick 10 minute drive. The driver was from one of the tribes, and I would later learn that the cultural centre was actually one of the major employment centre for many of the younger, more urban aboriginal people. The centre was built on Athabascan land, mainly because they were the tribe that had previously occupied the area around Anchorage.
Upon entering the main facility I was struck by the small size of it, probably a little smaller than the Museum of Anthropology in UBC.There was a stage set up with many vacant chairs in the main lobby for people to watch dancers and singers. There was at least 150 people at the Centre when I arrived but there must not have been more than 5 people that stopped to watch the dancing and singing.
We wanted to experience the site as it was intended and were lucky to have arrived 10 minutes before a free guided tour. Our tour guide was a pregnant mixed blood native girl, she pointed out that many of the younger generation were mixed blood with very few tribes having any full blooded members under the age of 50. I thought about asking her if she picked and choosed what parts of her cultures she focused on and whether you was worried about losing aspects of her people's identity as cultures merged but decided to not press my guide so early on in the trip.
The site was organized around a lake. With 5 sites representing the 5 tribes. Each site had an example of traditional housing of the tribe with a special guest speaker at each site to explain the particular unique aspects of each tribes culture, way of life and subsistence methods. While the EYAK, TLINGIT, HAIDA & TSIMSHIAN had an elderly member of their tribe greet us and describe aspects of her people's way of life, every other tribe spokesmen was a young, urban aboriginal. Each one of them would represent themselves as a member of the tribe they belonged to, usually with a very brief explanation of their family line. With so many of these younger aboriginal people being of mixed blood and wondered how important this really was to them, and why they chose one over the other.
The different houses were unique and often ingeniously designed to protect against harsh elements. Many of them did not have doors so much as they had crawl spaces into the dwelling, often the entrance was in the floor to prevent heat from escaping. Compared to the houses we are so use to now they seemed quaint but I was very impressed with the intuitive, intelligent design that reflected in so many of them. The stand out was the Athabascan, that was almost a direct copy of a frontier log cabin we see in so many period pieces. I was rather struck by this, as all the other tribes had a very unique style and design that was very clearly stamped as their own, so why then was the Athabascan so much like a European settler style house. I would learn that it was because of the Athabascan's contact with Russian sailors and traders who would teach them house building techniques. That the Athabascan's chose to represent their identity after it had been influenced by outside cultures was not lost on me but I decided it would be better to not make some arrogant comment about it, especially since our special speakers at the Athabascan site was a 10 year old girl.
One question I did ask my guide was about the apparent lack of any historical mention of fueds or wars between the tribes. My guide responded that yes there had been conflicts but that the tribes had learned to live in peace. No reason for why they learned this was given.
Since I am so embroiled in Aboriginal politics here in B.C. I find myself to be somewhat of a cynic. Many tribes will work together in this province but it usually requires long drawn out negotiations. The fact that the tribes in Alaska had chosen to represent themselves as peaceful and united in their way of life left me wondering if there was a dark side of their past that they did not want us to know about lest it change our view of them as a people.
It was an enjoyable trip, and I would recommend the centre as a spot for tourists if just for the fact that they aboriginal people offer small tidbits about US history relating to Alaska from a different perspective, giving the visitor something new to take home with them.
