I’m not sure if you are asking for more information about Becky2844’s opinion or if I’m missing a question somewhere.
Are traditional Alaska Native arts, such as ivory carving or baleen basket weaving still practiced where you are from?
Becky’s statement about Cecil’s facts being outdated is an empty assertion. I don’t know why she considered the suggestion insulting, but for whatever reason she did, and I suspect that the entire basis for her assertion that Cecil was wrong was the fact that she found it insulting.
But you never know, so I figured I would ask.
Ivory carving and traditional clothing is still being done. Baleen is used as decor mostly with carvings made on the baleen.
Parkas, mukluks, hats and gloves are still very popular because they work very well. Mukluks are boots.
People hunt the region for mastadon tusks as they sell very well to colleges. I don’t know current prices but about twn years ago it was in the thousands for a single tuak. Hunt for tusks while you hunt for food.
The wordage embarrassed me. “Arranged blood vessels” I envisioned as being closer to the skin (?) which would cause ropey-looking hands—and face! “You guys might cut a more dashing figure on the beach…” It just seemed less than…sensitive.
I apologize for hijacking Boogly’s thread. I want to hear more and expect to learn much.
Plus, I have a lot more questions. 
No worries, that is what this thread is for; to answer questions and almost all discussion is welcome. I do draw the line about talking about my ropey hands and face. And me belly…we do not talk about the pulsating belly!
Boogly - thanks again for doing this thread. Interesting stuff.
There are a couple of Cecil’s articles of note:
Why dont Eskimos get Scurvy?
Can Tupperware cause botulism?
The issues are settled in those articles, however, I am curious about some of the foods mentioned: stink eggs, muktuk, etc. How common are these foods? Can you mention some other foods you have had that you would consider unusual to the outsider? How about some unusual stuff you have encountered that were mainstream elsewhere (e.g. peanut butter).
Have any Eskimo foods gone mainstream?
Salmon, halibut and crab are mainstream but not limited to Alaska. A popular gift is sausage from the Alaskan Meat and Seafood for smoked salmon and Indian Valley Meats for sausages. Mmmmm…smoked salmon, but it’s very greasy and gives you evil breath. Hunters flock in for large animals; moose, bear, musk ox etc. Perhaps not mainstream but very popular. And the huge influx during the fishing season for yummy salmon.
The last time I was in Kotzebue a pod of beluge swam through the sound and there was a huge rush to get out there. Muktuk is treasured. There is a platic bucket of seal oil in my Moms freezer. That shit STINKS and to me tastes as it smells. But it is another desired condiment and I can see how it is compared to ketchup, everything can be dipped in it.
Full disclosure; I like steaks and hamburger and don’t like most Native foods. Shame on me I know but what can you do. I have eaten the food because it’s food but do NOT take what I say as fact.
Seal meat and seal oil are big. Any animals in the area are food. Beaver, muskrat are food and the fur is good for clothes. Seal stomachs used to be used to waterproof clothes. Tomcod and herring fiah are plentiful and people put in long hours during the salmon runs.
I’ve talked about fish head soup (with the fish looking at you!), but I haven’t tried stink eggs. A staple during the winter is dry fish. Fish cleaned, beheaded and cut lengthwise down to, but not past, the tail. The fish is then hung to dry and then frozen. Pull it out in the winter and add seal oil.
Boom fish jerky.
Most of the foods that surprised me is normal regional stuff that would be new to anyone in the region. Pigs feet? The first time I saw that in a supermarket I did more than a double take. Green and red chilis from the southwest is the veggie version of bacon…how has that not taken off all over?
Another food staple that I forgot is something called Sailor Boy Pilot Bread. I’m told it is basically hardtack. Someone started a rumor that the company was shutting down and caused a panic. If I recall correctly the state government even called the company to see if they were shutting down.
ETA: dammit it’s not Alaska Meat and Seafood, it’s Alaska Sausage and Seafood. How could I forget a company named A.S.S.?
Having spent a couple summers in New Mexico, I fully agree. They don’t even have to be spicy hot; they add so much to a dish even if they’re merely a bit tangy.
How common do you perceive Seasonal Affective Disorder to be where you’re from? Do stores there routinely carry sun lamps for the winter and thick curtains for the summer?
Do high schools commonly have hockey teams?
Do any Eskimo at all still practice sustinence living, or is that just impossible in today’s world?
You mentioned the strong social links among the Eskimo in their villages, and at times their anti-outsider attitudes. Do these social links stay when people move to a city like Fairbanks or Anchorage?
What are the social links between Eskimo and Alaskan Indian tribes?
I don’t see SAD very much, if at all, because most of the people I know are used to the summers/winters. There are places to get the special lights and curtains and people swear by them.
From what I’ve noticed is that most people can put up with winter but lose it in the summer. Sometimes due to the light messing with the persons ability to sleep. But mostly because of all the rain we have. Cold grey clouds and cold rain for long lengths of time means that the promise of summer isn’t enough to justify the winter.
I am not a shrink so don’t take what I say as gospel. Just because I don’t see it doesn’t mean it isn’t there.
Subsistence living is more of a hybridized lifestyle. It is possible to live off the land but very hard and usually alone. We like us some houses in the winter. That means money for heat and electricity, and if you’re doing that you might as well get a cell phone, internet and cable.
There is nothing seen as wrong in leaving the region and a person would be welcomed back without question.
I think there is little ‘outsider hostility’ but I’ve found that everyplace has ‘that person’ who just has to hate somebody for some reason. Tourists and hunters are welcomed with open arms. The economy can use all the help it gets.
The relationships is good overall. Once a year we have WEIO, World Eskimo Indian Olympics, and people come from all over the state. We also have a statewide Native political gathering called AFN, Alaska Federation of Natives, where issues are brought up and discussed. The board of the AFN works with the State and the people to try to get stuff done.
Why do you think he is an idiot?
Why do you think she is dumb?
Wrong thread for that discussion or one on Palin, although I’m pretty sure there is a multi-page older thread in the Pit that I started long ago. Do some reading.
Quoted from Fear Itself:
Alaska Native arts, like other Native American arts, are alive and well and not relegated to the dustbins of history. Most museums give Native arts little attention and you usually find displays in some dark corner. That is changing, and there are many brilliant Native American and Alaska Native artists doing contemporary work. An exhibit called “Changing Hands: Art Without Reservation” toured the US a few years ago. It was amazing. Google that name and then click on “Images” to see much of the exhibit.
I have a six foot piece of baleen that a Native friend of mine carved for me. It hangs on my wall here in Portland and has scenes of whaling and other activities. I also have a large piece of whale skull that has a carved seal hunter standing on top and seals swimming in the “ice caves” in the bone. Then there are the dolls made by Yupik mother and daughter Shelley Chamberlin and Margaret Abraham that are so lifelike they look like they might get up and talk to you. All made from natural materials; fur, wood, reeds, etc.
Subsistence is a huge deal. People eat a lot of salmon, moose, caribou and so on. It took me at least a decade of living in Seattle before I actually looked forward to eating salmon after choking down tons of frozen salmon as a kid.
But even in villages imported food is a major part of the diet. People need starches and vegetables and sugar and junk food and so on. Yeah, pilot bread (which is just giant saltine crackers) is a huge thing in villages, I guess because you can buy cases of it and stick it in the closet for years.
Of course in towns like Fairbanks you have regular grocery stores and people eat exactly like they do in the rest of the US. Except lots of people hunt and fish, having a freezer full of moose meat is not weird. But moose are really big, and one moose will fill up your freezer and after months of eating moose people are tired of it.
Anyway, lots of people in Alaska are in love with the idea of subsistence, even if in practice most people only get a small fraction of their food from the wild. And it really is a huge deal in the villages, because jobs are scarce and money is tight.
Can you point to sources of common/traditional music or rhythms? Is it generally regarded as folk music, as in ‘that’s what they play on such-and-such a meeting’, or is it part of the community fabric?
Here’s a site with some good examples. Scroll down for music. Eskimo music is traditional and the songs are handed down through generations. That said, there are new songs written all the time. Songs and dances are celebrations or stories, obviously.
Eskimo dancing is different from Indian dancing in that the feet seldom leave the ground. There is a lot of hand action to denote activities like hunting, etc., but the lower body stays connected to earth and is usually limited to swaying or bobbing.
Pamyua is a great contemporary Yupik group. They do both traditional songs and modern versions. Here’s a recent video:
Fascinating, thanks. They have four albums on Rhapsody; and pretty diverse styles. Some of there tracks sound R&B at first blush. The A/B album is an interesting contrast!