Alaskan Native History
Alaskan Native Indians are people that migrated to North America approximately 1,300 years ago from the Eurasian continent. They had developed intricate cultural lines and pioneered advanced methods for surviving the fridged Arctic climate using nothing but what was available in nature. For this reason, the Alaskan Natives developed a deep cultural bond with the land that was also rich with materials useless to them such as gold and oil. This situation along with abundant levels of wild game and “unclaimed” territory brought fourth foreign settlers in search resources to feed their more technologically advances societies such as Russian colonist from Siberia in the 1750’s. The Russians course specifically the …show more content…
Popular literature of the time depicted Native people as wild savages, who wore little clothing (temperate zone Natives) accept for ornamental animal remnants such as feathers, furs, bones, and shells. This of course, was not an accurate portrayal, but this was the image that they were expected to exhibit. Once more, cultural traditions were superseded to accommodate the hegemony of the time, and the Native identity distanced itself from the next generation. Dime novels of the 1800’s continued the portrayal Natives as bloodthirsty savage and would easily translate when the camera was introduced and motion pictures became popular. Some of the first American films were westerns, and like the popular literature of the time, the “Indians” depicted as the adversary defeated in the end by the hero. This fostered the Native Americans, to include Alaskan Natives as simple and wild beings that could not adapt to technology or modern civilization. This stereotype is likely the culprit for perpetuating discriminatory …show more content…
Surviving the harshest winters, weening hours of light in the same wilderness where other living creatures were competing for the same scantily available resources. They had become one with the land and took much pride in their ingenuity. Pride and self-worth in their accomplishments provided the rich cultural identity of the Alaskan Natives. After the 1900’s the population and Alaskan Native land ownership was so diminished that familial bonds broke, and much of the knowledge, history, language, and traditions died with the last generation (Octaviana V. Trujillo, 2006). Conforming to Neo-American ideology seemed like the only viable solution for many. Massive gold and crude oil operations changed the landscape, forcing Alaskan Natives to move into unfamiliar farming communities closer to cities away from the wilderness and cultural lands. Tribal advocates believe that a lot of the emotional and spiritual turmoil with Alaskan Natives is based on that loss of the feeling of self-sufficiency, replaced by a dependency on a Neo-American hegemony. This loss of culture context in the community leads to identity, self-esteem problems, and even suicide. Adolescent teens are the most susceptible to depression and anger because they struggle to identify with a seemingly antediluvian culture with no familiar bonds. Unfortunately, the most common medication for depression is the consumption of alcohol in
Alaskan Native Indians are people that migrated to North America approximately 1,300 years ago from the Eurasian continent. They had developed intricate cultural lines and pioneered advanced methods for surviving the fridged Arctic climate using nothing but what was available in nature. For this reason, the Alaskan Natives developed a deep cultural bond with the land that was also rich with materials useless to them such as gold and oil. This situation along with abundant levels of wild game and “unclaimed” territory brought fourth foreign settlers in search resources to feed their more technologically advances societies such as Russian colonist from Siberia in the 1750’s. The Russians course specifically the …show more content…
Popular literature of the time depicted Native people as wild savages, who wore little clothing (temperate zone Natives) accept for ornamental animal remnants such as feathers, furs, bones, and shells. This of course, was not an accurate portrayal, but this was the image that they were expected to exhibit. Once more, cultural traditions were superseded to accommodate the hegemony of the time, and the Native identity distanced itself from the next generation. Dime novels of the 1800’s continued the portrayal Natives as bloodthirsty savage and would easily translate when the camera was introduced and motion pictures became popular. Some of the first American films were westerns, and like the popular literature of the time, the “Indians” depicted as the adversary defeated in the end by the hero. This fostered the Native Americans, to include Alaskan Natives as simple and wild beings that could not adapt to technology or modern civilization. This stereotype is likely the culprit for perpetuating discriminatory …show more content…
Surviving the harshest winters, weening hours of light in the same wilderness where other living creatures were competing for the same scantily available resources. They had become one with the land and took much pride in their ingenuity. Pride and self-worth in their accomplishments provided the rich cultural identity of the Alaskan Natives. After the 1900’s the population and Alaskan Native land ownership was so diminished that familial bonds broke, and much of the knowledge, history, language, and traditions died with the last generation (Octaviana V. Trujillo, 2006). Conforming to Neo-American ideology seemed like the only viable solution for many. Massive gold and crude oil operations changed the landscape, forcing Alaskan Natives to move into unfamiliar farming communities closer to cities away from the wilderness and cultural lands. Tribal advocates believe that a lot of the emotional and spiritual turmoil with Alaskan Natives is based on that loss of the feeling of self-sufficiency, replaced by a dependency on a Neo-American hegemony. This loss of culture context in the community leads to identity, self-esteem problems, and even suicide. Adolescent teens are the most susceptible to depression and anger because they struggle to identify with a seemingly antediluvian culture with no familiar bonds. Unfortunately, the most common medication for depression is the consumption of alcohol in