Aleut Traditional Culture

Unangax People of the Aleutian Chain
Data Taken from William S. Laughlin, Aleuts

The Aleutian Islands of Southwest Alaska comprise a chain 1250 miles in length. Port Moller is on the easternmost end, and the Commander Islands (of Siberia) are at the western end. Attu is the westernmost Island in Alaska. The Hawaiian Islands are about 2000 miles to the south. The islands rest on the North American Plate (one of 12 rigid tectonic plates which make up the outer shell of the earth, and separate the Pacific Ocean from the Bering Sea. The volcanic islands are treeless and often foggy, with winds up to 104 knots. It is usually warm, with an annual mean temperature of 40 F (range = 10F to 70F). Although subject to high winds, "the wind is not a river;" the wind does not blow constantly as a river current flows. The presence of wind is also referred to "in the lee of the house," a regular social grouping of men on the leeward side of a house who meet regularly to watch for seal and other mammals. Seismic activity occurs daily, one of the most active areas in the world.

The aboriginal population estimated at the time of Russian arrival (1741) was 16,000 to 26,000. The western islands were home to 1,000 Aleuts, the central islands to 5,000 Aleuts, and the eastern islands to 20,000 Aleuts. Unanax (eastern dialect) and Aliguutax (central dialect) people were long lived (80 plus life expectancy) and of Asian descent (indicated by skeletal conformation, dental characteristics, and mongoloid spot on the back).

Precolonial history is documented. Anangula site on Anangula Islet off Umnak Island (7,200 to 8,700 y.a.) a. large unifacial blades (volcanic cherts, obsidians) b. carved stone dishes c. grinding stones (for grinding minerals, e.g. red ochre) d. ground stone lamps e. line weights for fish lines and nets 2. Port Moller (4,000 y.a.) 3. Indications from sites: continuity of occupation dating back at least 8,700 years Economic activities 1. Sea mammal hunters Iqyax (kayak) hunting (1, 2, and 3 holes) . whaling society for men . mummification of whalers . language contains specific whaling society terminology . hunting done in a programmed unity . strongest hunter went out alone, performance of sympathetic death ritual by lead hunter (gender reversal of whale hunting done by Inupiat) other hunters watched and waited for the death of the whale, then brought it in. at this time the lead hunter is revived . aconite poisoning used in whaling--causes paralysis Whaling society and hunting system indicates continuity from Inupiat in north, west along Siberian coastline, and south toward Vancouver Island (Nuthchaluth or Nootka)and Makah of Olympic Peninsula Childhood programming for hunting in games, daily regimen (including diet and sleep schedule), exercises to strengthen, lengthen and shape specific muscle groups (legs, hands, arms), religious ritualism. Training in locating game * scanning the sea for data on conditions and game, includes weather knowledge *Language is precise for direction and conditions, stalking techniques, astronomical data (contained with language) *Learning to kill ritualized precise to species precise for where in water, where on body to strike, for what purpose (i.e., immediate death or to cause the creature to float back) *Game retrieval (use of iqyax (kayak) and use of specific tools for hooking and towing) 2. Birding (women) eggs bird hunting 3. fishing (women and men) deep sea (cod, lincod, and salmon) fresh water (salmon, shellfish, other fish) 3. Herb usage for medicine and food (womena and men) 4. trade a. goods traded out: minerals (for pigment and medicine), stone (volcanic stone for tools), skin boats, stories, slaves b. goods traded in: wood (for boats, houses, and implements), slaves, skin boats, wooden implements Colonial economic activities: 1. seal and sea otter hunting under direction, employment, and slavery of the Russians from 1741 until 1867 2. seal and sea otter hunting under management, now acknowledged slavery of the U.S. government from 1867 until 1945 3. fishing (commercial) Traditional houses (barabaras in Russian, ulax in central Aleut) 1. semisubterranean, covered with sod and grass 2. entryway was in the top, with ladder to descent through combined smokehole and entryway a. used as a means of warfare (fire into the entryway, and killing the residents one at a time as they exit the dwelling) b. split wood rafters (driftwood or trade), sometimes whale bone as rectangular to rounded structural framework c. earliest houses used stone foundations with circular formation 3. size: variable from 30 to 60 feet long (<220' largest) 20 to 30 feet wide 4 to 6 feet deep (pit) 12 to 15 feet in height 4. ownership: variable from object to object a. some indications that they were corporate ownership by a matrilineal clan group b. some indications that the smaller houses and/or cubicles within larger houses were owned by women c. lamps: owned by women c. furniture: owned by women d. sewing equipment: owned by women e. cradles: owned by the child for whom they were made, used sometimes as a burial cradle f. cubicles: separated by hanging grass mats g. headman: prestige depended on household size, religious stature (figure gave indications for those who know what they signify) h. ikyak: owned by hunter Traditional Religious beliefs 1. dominated by whaling culture 2. reincarnation both by birth and by contagious magic (contact with the corpse or mummy of a strong whaler/hunter 3. cosmology based on tri-level: sky, land, underwater 4. hierarchy of land and sea creatures based on perceived spiritual strength (which corresponds to Unanax values of moral, mental and physical strength) 5. ancestor based beliefs invested in figurines which adorned the ikyak, houses, and helmets of the hunters. 6. Burials: a. flexed position (placed in cradle from infancy), mummification through dessication, use of specific herbs and grasses, and preservation in cool, dry caves b. use of red ochre in ritual context (now a signal of blood of the mother and earth) c. use of amber in ritual context d. use of whale bone e. often buried in the family house by preference, but not the most common burial type f. powerful shaman or whale hunters buried in sacred sites away from the communities--sites feared/coveted g. occasional burial in kayak owned by hunter Kinship intricate, matrilineal, 56 terms for distance and social obligations from ego Language: considered part of Eskimo-Aleutian family 1. three dialects (western, central, eastern) 2. agglutinative 3. basal morpheme + infixes + suffix 4. anatomical precision 5. social precision (for social position in society with respect to consanguinity, spatial relationship to others, and ritual relationship to the rest of group) 6. environmental precision (wind, sea, wave action, terrain) 7. ritual precision (indications of connection to Asian/North American religious theology) Art: 1. petroglyphs (connections to Siberia in Y-Shaped faces) 2. pictographs (use of red ochre facing the sea) 3. hunting helmet shape (connection to the Bering Sea hunters) 4. masks (connection to the Bering Sea and Kodiak Island area) 5. boats (connection to Bering Sea traditions) 6. carvings (connection to Kodiak Island traditions) 7. grass baskets Aleut Evacuation of WWII Summary taken from When the Wind was a River by Dean Kohlhoff 1942 Populations of 11 Aleut villages on 8 islands Attu (western-most island) Pop: 44 Aleuts 650 miles northeast of Kurile Islands of Japan Atka (nearest island to Attu) Pop: 89 Aleuts 600 miles east of Attu, village called Atka Nikolski (on Umnak Island, 200 miles east of Atka, 150 miles west of Dutch Harbor) Pop: 97 Aleuts Kashega (on Unalaska Island, 80 miles east of Nikolski)†† Pop: 26 Dutch Harbor On Unalaska Island Makushin (on Unalaska Island, 45 naut. miles from Unalaska village). Pop: 8 Unalaska on eastern end of Unalaska Island Pop: 389 (138 Aleuts) Biorka (on Sedanka Island), 25 miles southeast of Unalaska Pop: 18 Akutan (on Akutan Island, 50 miles northwest of Unalaska Pop 80, 41 Aleut St. George on St. George Island in the Pribiloffs Pop: 183 Aleuts St. Paul on St. Paul Island in Pribilofs Pop: 294 Aleuts Internment sequence of the War effort 1940 Dutch Harbor transformed into a defense center 1941 military personnel and dependents arrived on Unalaska without support system (housing, education, health) Property values escalated, liquor sales became a prominant industry Dec. 7, 1941 bombing of Pearl Harbor in Hawaii June 3/4, 1942 Dutch Harbor in Alaska bombed by Japanese U.S. decision to compel evacuation of All Aleuts of 1/8 blood quantum or more U.S. occupied Kiska (unoccupied) and Attu June 12, 1942 U.S. Military burned most buildings on Atka after having villages sent to fish camps June 13, 1942 All Atkans forced to get on ship without luggage or supplies (destination unnamed, but initially went to Dutch Harbor) June 14, 1942 Notice given to Pribilovians to pack 1 bag each, one sleeping roll each June 15, 1942 Pribilovians required to enter the same ship Total number evacuated: 881 Aleuts from 9 villages June 24, 1942 Arrival of 458 Aleuts to Funter Bay on Admiralty Island near Juneau (Pribilovians divided into two camps) Rest of Aleuts placed in three other camps in Southeast, Alaska Conditions: abandoned canneries (for which the canneries owners were paid by the government) which were unheated, not designed as housing, no plumbing. Outhouses in every internment camp were usually next to the fresh water supply. Water in Kilisnoo was contaminated. Slept in shifts the first year. 1943 were given building supplies to build their own housing Diet was without meat No medical supplies, not even bandages Deaths: 90/881 in three years May, 1944 Repatriation to Aleutians was authorized. Pribilovians returned immediately to be in time for the seal harvest June 1945 Rest of the Aleuts were returned to 4 of the 9 islands (the 2 Pribilof Islands were already repatriated) Islands not repatriated: Borka, Makushin, Kashega, and Attu Pribilofs: by International Agreement, only Aleuts are allowed to hunt or kill fur seals Aleuts were Employees of the U.S. federal government, under the direction of the US Dept. of the Interior through the Fouke Fur Company (established in 1910 with a monopoly agreement with the U.S. Government) were required to return to the Pribilofs to for the 1943 and 1944 harvests under penalty of never being allowed to return again. 1943 - record harvest of 125,000 fur seals, and $1,580,000 profit for the U.S. Government Other Aleuts (like most other Native Americans) were managed by the BIA, unlike the Pribilovians. Not an employee relationship. June 1942 40 POWs taken from Attu to Japan by Japanese September 1942 to September 1945 Where: Northern Japan at Otaru on Hokkaido Island All placed in one house that might have been an old chicken coop. Became Impressed workers in the city When they were released they left the house via the windows in a symbol of release and renewal Returned to the United States, they were not permitted to return to Attu. They were resettled instead on Atka REPARATIONS During the war the US government allocated $700,000 for the Aleuts under the auspices of the US Dept. of Interior. The sealing revenue of 1942 which came to the US Dept of Interior amounted to well over $1 million. The Aleut hunters were paid less than $100 per month each for their labor. They had to buy their own food while they were working. In 1951 the Pribilovians filed a lawsuit against the federal government for violations of agreements. Settled in their favor in 1978. 1944 and 1946 they were awarded $79,500 for resettlement APIA: Aleut/Pribilof Islands Association in 1977 began the effort for reparation and redress from the federal government PL 100-383 The Aleutian and Pribilof Islands Restitution signed by President Reagan on August 10, 1988 Terms Trust of $5,000,000 to benefit Aleut evacuees and descendants (unless already dead) does not include descendants of those who died before the bill was enacted does not include the Attuans who were interned by the Japanese Includes $1,400,000 for destruction of church property $12,000 awarded to each eligible Aleut for "damages for human suffering" $15,000,000 for damage to lands and properties on Attu Island which was placed into the National Wilderness Preservation System Public education of what happened Pacific Eskimo traditional culture Geographic area: Kodiak Island, Alaska Peninsula, Prince William Sound Prehistory Ocean Bay I tradition 2,500 to 6000 years ago on Kodiak characteristics: * maritime hunting in winter (seals, sea lions, sea otter, porpoise, whales, waterfowl) salmon fishing in summer, shelfish chipped or flaked stone tools Ocean Bay II 2000 to 2500 years ago add ground slate to the materials Kachemak Bay traditions in Cook Inlet 800 to 2000 years ago materials are akin and dislike those of Kodiak Island, include both flaked and ground tools Burials found, **personal adornment, such as laberets, pendants, figurines, ornamental pins made of bone, ivory, jet, shell, and red stone ** artwork found in small sculptural work, figurines, and figures carved into lamps, incisions made in many items. Athabascans Cook Inlet 700 to 800 years ago, along Kenai Peninsula. Prince William Sound insufficient cohesive material found to give a full picture until approximately 1000 years ago (too much upheaval in terrain) Indications: stone adzes -- heavy woodworking along with shifts in technology which were occurring throughout region during this period showing influence from the southwestern Yup'ik (use of sweatbath and men's communal houses), the Aleutians, and the interior Athabascans (use of copper)