This is part of the ANKN Logo This is part of the ANKN Banner
This is part of the ANKN Logo This is part of the ANKN Banner Home Page About ANKN Publications Academic Programs Curriculum Resources Calendar of Events Announcements Site Index This is part of the ANKN Banner
This is part of the ANKN Logo This is part of the ANKN Banner This is part of the ANKN Banner
This is part of the ANKN Logo This is part of the ANKN Banner This is part of the ANKN Banner
Native Pathways to Education
Alaska Native Cultural Resources
Indigenous Knowledge Systems
Indigenous Education Worldwide
 

Aleut RavenCultural Change in the Aleutian Islands:
Contact with Another Culture

A 6th Grade Social Studies Unit

 

8-10 days
SECTION I: THE ALEUTS' HOMELAND

OBJECTIVES

1. Students can find the Aleutian Islands on a map of Alaska
2. Students can locate the homeland of the Aleuts
3. Students can demonstrate an understanding of the importance of the natural environment, particularly the sea, to Aleutian history

MATERIALS

1. Cultural Change book (1 per student)
2. Long sheet of butcher paper, poster paint, magic markers and yard stick for time line (if done as a class; see p. 9).
3. Map of Alaska (Map G)
4. Native Peoples and Languages of Alaska map
5. Map of Aleutians
6. Map or globe of world (not provided in this unit)
7. F 1861: The First Americans (enrichment)
8. Aleutian Resources filmstrip
9. The Aleutians book
10. F 4280 The Aleutians: Chain of Life (enrichment)
11. Sea otter fur sample
12. Quiz I (1 per student)

PREPARATION

1. Tack up maps
2. Duplicate Alaska Geography Unit
3. Distribute Cultural Change to students (1 per student)
4. Order F 1861 if desired (see p. 9)
5. Order F 4280 if desired (see p. 12)
6. Arrange with other 6th grade teachers to share sea otter fur sample.
7. Duplicate copies of Quiz I (one per student)
8. Duplicate map of Alaska (p.27 ) for Alaska Geography unit and Quiz I

ACTIVITIES

1. Make notebooks
2. Alaska Geography study and quiz (if necessary)
3. Map study and associated vocabulary work
4. Read and discuss Chapter I in Cultural Change
5. Films (enrichment)
6. Time Line: students begin construction
7. Aleutian Resources filmstrip
8. Administer Quiz I

VOCABULARY:

ALEUTS the original inhabitants of the Aleutian Islands.
ANCESTOR a person from whom one is descended, especially anyone earlier in a family line than a grandparent.
ARCHIPELAGO a group or chain of many islands.
BIDARKI (ALSO BAIDARKA) (bə där kë) the Russian word for iqax or kayak. Also, the term by which chitons are called in the Aleutians.
CHAIN a series of islands, arranged in a chain-like line.
CHITON(kït' n) a small oval-shaped mollusk with a shell of eight overlapping plates covering its back.
INTERTIDAL the shore zone from the low tide mark to the high tide mark.
IQAX the Aleut word for a kayak.
KAMLEIKA(kam lï1 kə) a gut waterproof parka used especially when hunting from a bidarki.
LAXATIVE making the bowels loose and relieving constipation.
PENINSULA a land area projecting out into the water.
SUGPIAQ (ALLUTIIQ)the Eskimo language traditionally spoken by Kodiak, Prince William Sound, and Alaska Peninsula Natives, designated Aleuts by the Russians.
UNANGAN (UNANGAS IN THE WEST) the Aleuts' name for themselves.

 

SECTION I: THE ALEUTS' HOMELAND

I. MAKE FOLDERS

Introduce the unit to students by having them start folders or sections in their loose-leaf binders for the work they will be doing. You might keep the folders on a bookshelf in the room rather than in students' desks. Folders will eventually contain some or all of the following (exact contents are your choice):

vocabulary words
time line
maps
Data Sheet answers
crossword puzzle
tests

II. MAP WORK

A. ALASKA GEOGRAPHY UNIT

Most teachers found that a quick unit on Alaska geography was necessary at the beginning of the Aleut unit. If you have not developed one of your own, you may use the one on p. 25, developed by Carol Comeau (sixth grade teacher at Ocean View). Use Map G of Alaska as your resource for this portion of the unit. Each student will need three blank maps of Alaska. A fourth blank map should be used for the quiz. The quiz can be open-book, if you like. It can also be administered in conjunction with Quiz I (pp.33-34) upon completion of this section.

B. ALEUTIAN ISLANDS MAP

As part of the unit, you have been given a two-sheet map of the Aleutian Islands. Tape it together and use it as your main source of information. The Aleutians (Alaska Geographic) also contains a map of the Aleutians. You might also want to purchase from the U.S. Geological Survey the "Base Map of the Aleutian-Bering Sea Region," Map I-879. It costs $l.50(cash only - no purchase orders). Call 277-0577 to make sure the map is in stock before you go by for it.

Now concentrate on the Aleutian Islands. What country are they close to? Approximately how many miles separate the Aleutians from Siberia?

Refer to the large blue map of the Aleutians included with this unit. Have a student measure the distance between the easternmost and the westernmost of the islands. Measure the distance between Anchorage and the chain on your world map.

Introduce the terms "chain," "peninsula," and "archipelago."

Review the groups of islands within the Aleutian Chain: Fox Islands, Andreanof Islands, Islands of the Four Mountains, Rat Islands, Near Islands, and Sanak Islands. Mark the Shumagin Islands on your map (the group of islands northeast of Sanak Island, off the coast of the Alaska Peninsula).

Refer to the map of Alaska. Mention to students that they have probably never seen a complete map of Alaska with all Aleutian Islands in their proper locations. Discuss why not.

C. LANGUAGE MAP: WHO ARE THE ALEUTS?

Note on the Native Peoples and Languages of Alaska map where the boundaries of the Aleut language exist and where the boundary between the Western and Eastern dialects of the Aleut language is. Point out to students that the term "Aleut" has reference to several different groups of Alaska Natives:

1. the Unangan (Unangas) people from the Aleutian and Pribilof Islands (a term which will appear in Chapter I of the text)

2. the Sugpiaq (as marked on the language map) or Alutiiq (more current designation) speakers of Prince William Sound. These people are also called "Chugach Eskimo" or "Chugachmiut" and were linguistically more closely related to Yup'ik Eskimos than to Aleuts. They are today called Aleuts because that was the term the early Russian traders originally called them.

3. Sugpiaq (or Alutiiq) speakers from the Alaska Peninsula and Kodiak, the latter group of which is also called "Koniag." Koniags were, at the time of contact with the Russians, enemies of the Aleuts. Many of their customs were similar, though they, too, spoke a language more closely related to other Eskimo languages than to Aleut. Like the Chugachmiut, the Koniagmiut were first termed "Aleuts" by Russians despite linguistic and cultural distinctions.

III. TEXT: CHAPTER I OF CULTURAL CHANGE IN THE ALEUTIAN ISLANDS

A. VOCABULARY

Be aware of new vocabulary words as students read the text. Their meanings are contained in the glossary at the end of the text, and at the beginning of each section in this guide. See p. ll4. of this guide for help in pronouncing Aleut words. Mention the words "Unangan" and "Unangas".

B. PREHISTORY

For more information on this topic, refer either to Laughlin's The Aleuts (pp. 62-96) or Dumond's The Eskimos and Aleuts, pp. 66-78 (see Appendix F in this guide for reference information).

C. ENRICHMENT: F 1861

The first reel of the film First Americans contains a portion on the Umnak and Anangula Island sites. You might choose to show this film, especially to high ability students; the film may be too technical for average students.

D. TIME LINE

Introduce the concept of a time line. Explain that items that go on a time line are usually those, which happen once in history. In modern American thought, most events are placed in this category. Thus, though wars may occur over and over again, we tend to think of each one as separate and unique. Similarly, though the process of electing a president is repeated every four years, we still tend to think of each election as special and unlike any other. Refer students to the Important Events in Aleutian History list on p. 76 of their texts. Talk about students' own lives as time lines; what events would they mark down about themselves?

Now let students begin drawing a time line to be used throughout their study of Aleut culture change. This could be a class project, consisting of one long chart tacked onto your wall, or individual time lines to be placed in students' folders.

For a class project, divide the class into work groups, each being assigned to a different task. Or, you might have a committee devoted to keeping up the time line for the benefit of the rest of the class. The following steps should be followed:

1. Cut a long sheet of butcher paper, preferably the length of one of your walls.
2. With poster paints, paint a horizontal line across the middle of the paper. There should be room above or below the line to write the events, which are to be recorded on the line.
3. Decide what the earliest event should be on your time line. This event is marked on the left side of the paper.
4. The present date should be on the right-hand end of the paper.
5. Determine how many inches should be devoted to each year or decade. Mark those periods with poster paint.
6. Mark events which students have read about so far. Students may be given the choice of which dates they consider to be important, or they may use the dates at the back of their books. Events can be marked by taping a separate piece of paper on which the date and event have been marked, or they can be written with magic marker directly on the time line. In some cases, important events do not have dates attached to them, but are nonetheless important (Aleuts' expansion west is an example). Decide how to handle those events on the time line.
7. Tack or tape the time line on your wall, preferably within reach of students.

E. IGADIK'S DISCOVERY

Relate Igadik's discovery with the Aleuts' skill in boating.

Locate the Pribilof Islands on the map of Alaska. Mark and name the islands in that group (use the Language Map). Compute their distance from Unimak Island. You might have one of your students investigate methods of reaching the Pribilofs today. Airlines and barge companies could be contacted for information on how long and how often people travel there. Compare modern traveling modes with the iqax.

Discuss whether or not the Pribilof Islands have been aptly named.

F. ALEUT NAVIGATION: ENRICHMENT

Refer one of your students to Laughlin's The Aleuts, p. 43 (paragraph #5) for a discussion of how the Aleuts were able to navigate across open water. Have that student report to the rest of the class. Relate it to Igadik's feat.

IV. ALEUTIAN RESOURCES FILMSTRIP

A. FILMSTRIP WORKSHEET

Show and discuss the Aleutian Resources filmstrip. Have students fill out the Filmstrip Worksheet (pp. 29-30) as they view it. They will probably not be able to find all the answers the first time through, so be sure to make the filmstrip and its written script (pp.l3-24 following) available for student use after you have shown it. The completed worksheet should be placed in students' folders, and will be important information to be used in completing the Crossword Puzzle later in the unit (p. 51).

B. SEA OTTER FUR SAMPLE

Each school has been provided with one sea otter fur sample, to be shared among the classes. This can be passed around at this time or later in the unit -it fits in everywhere since the sea otter has been an important motivating force throughout Aleutian history. At this point in the unit, introduce it as an animal whose fur was taken for parkas, meat was eaten, and bones were used to make tools. It was not the most important of the sea mammals to the Aleuts, however. The fur seal probably holds that position for its fur was more durable and useful for a variety of purposes, and valuable oil could be rendered and used for cooking and heating.

C. ENRICHMENT: >F4280

If possible, show The Aleutians: Chain of Life to your students.

V. QUIZ I

Administer Quiz I. The Answer Guide shows suggested point values. You may administer the map quiz as part of this one if you like.

 

ALEUTIAN RESOURCES SLIDE SHOW: SCRIPT

Start Sound

Title

Credits

Credits

Writers often describe the Aleutian Islands as a windy, barren, cold and uninviting place.

However, the islands have provided well for the Aleuts, the inhabitants of the islands, for thousands of years. In fact, these islands were the setting of an advanced and innovative culture whose members were expert at using resources in all parts of the environment: the sea, the land, and the intertidal area in between.

This filmstrip will include photographs of some of the many plants and animals that the Aleuts traditionally used as food, medicine, or shelter. Most of the photographs you'll see were taken near this fish camp on Unalaska Island.

This camp, like the Aleut fish camps through the years, is located so that it is accessible to the yearly salmon run. These fish have provided a regular and predictable source of protein for centuries.

Aleuts have always been excellent fishermen but they most impressed the early Russian explorers and traders by their outstanding skills as boatsmen and sea mammal hunters. The Russians called the Aleut craft "baidarkas", and the term is still used.

The sea provided well for the Aleuts, for the sea is the home of many kinds of sea mammals: fur seals, sea lions, whales, and sea otters among them.

These sea mammals have provided Aleuts with more than food; also clothing, like this qutskin parka, called kamleika by the Russians,,and household objects like this sea lion stomach storage bag.

Nowadays, commercial fishermen gather the sea's resources when they fish for shrimp, crab, and halibut.

And, the sea also provides another important type of food, a food that is available all year round, and that can be harvested by both young and old, in calm and stormy weather: intertidal shellfish. These are chitons, called bidarkies in the Aleutians because they look like little boats.

To eat the bidarkies, you first pound along both sides to loosen the meat from the shell. Then you can either peel off the shell and eat them raw, or soak them overnight in fresh water, and steam them lightly before eating them.

Sea urchin eggs are also a good low-tide food that you can easily find. To get the eggs, you first cut the sea urchin in two. Then scoop the yellow eggs out with the back of your thumb, and eat!

Mussels are common all along Alaska's coast. In many places they make a good food, though they can also be deadly poisonous if there has been a red tide. To eat them, cut them open with a knife, and eat them raw.

Little limpet shells also contain good meat. Just scoop the meat out of the shell with another empty limpet shell.

Altogether, the beach provides a delicious breakfast: Bidarkies, sea urchin eggs, mussels, limpets, some beach greens, and cool fresh water.

This beautiful place, with its mild, moist weather, is also rich in plant resources.

For instance, several plants have delicious edible roots. One of these is the Kamchatka lily, a common plant which grows along the entire southern arc of Alaska's coast, from Ketchikan to the Aleutians, and in Siberia as well. It is also called the wild rice or the chocolate lily.mYou dig the bulbs of the plant in the fall.

They're white and look like rice.

After you have cleaned and soaked them, you steam them in a little bit of water; then their ready to eat.

The Kamchatka lily is on the right and another plant with qood edible roots, the wild hyacinth, is on the left. Here's a close-up view of the wild hyacinth flower.

The Nootka Lupine is a beautiful plant that is common in the same area as the Kamchatka lily: all along the southern arc of Alaska. Although the seeds of the lupine are poisonous, the insides of the root are edible and, in fact, the Aleuts traditionally ate them both raw and cooked with seal oil.

You can see the putchkii, also called the cow parsnip, almost everywhere you go in the Aleutians.

The good part of the putchkii is the inside of the stem. First, you have to peel the hairy outer covering off. Then eat it raw.

This plant is called the petrouskii in the Aleutians. It grows along the beach, and its leaves can also be boiled to make a tea. The stems and leaves can also be boiled with fish and seal meat to make a good stew. This is a close-up of the petrouskii flower.

The tips of the nettle plant are also good when they're cooked. Nowadays, people eat the steamed greens with butter. Traditionally, seal oil was probably used instead of butter.

Several plants taste good raw in salads; for instance beach greens, wild spinach, the young shoots of fireweed, and the early spring leaves of the dandelion plant.

Lots of different kinds of berries grow in the Aleutians. This summertime salmonberry blossom...will form the fall time fruit.

The mossberry, or crowberry flower looks like this, while the fruit is this familiar black berry.

Other good berries that grow in the Aleutians are lingonberries, which are also called low-bush cranberries, blueberries, beach strawberries nagoonberries, bearberries, and the closely related kinnick-kinnick berry.

The Aleuts were well known for their skill as surgeons and doctors, and they were well aware of the curing properties of many local plants. Among these medicinal plants is yarrow, which they used to treat chest, stomach and muscular pains, as well as the common cold.

The beautiful wild iris plant was also used as a medicine. The root was boiled in water, then the solution was drunk as a laxative.

The Aleutian climate, with its mild winters and nearly continuous rainfall, allows for this rich diversity in plant and animal resources. It's hard to believe that some people consider this a barren and forbidding area!

Credits

 

Name__________________________

ALASKA GEOGRAPHY UNIT

Make a separate map for each of the following three lists.

Neatness and accuracy are essential.

1.Water Areas- Draw in each river, label the bays, oceans, and seas.

Colville River

Gulf of Alaska

Copper River

Bering Sea

Kobuk River

Beaufort Sea

Koyukuk River

Chukchi Sea

Matanuska River

Arctic Ocean

Nenana River

Pacific Ocean

Noatak River

Bering Strait

Chitna River

Bristol Bay

Kuskokwim River

Cook Inlet

Tanana River

Cordova Bay

Susitna River

Norton Sound

Yukon River

Kotzebue Sound

Prince William Sound

Kuskokwim Bay

Yakutat Bay

Shelikof Strait

Kachemak Bay

Portage Glacier

Cities, Villages, Towns, Mountains:

Locate and label each of the following; be sure to include a map key.

 

Brooks Range

Sitka

Alaska Range

Haines

Aleutian Range

Skagway

Talkeetna Mountains

Dillingham

Wrangell Mountains

Petersburg

Chugach Mountains

Aniak

Kenai Mountains

Fairbanks

Mt. McKinley (Denali)

Glennallen

Mt. St. Elias

Pt. Barrow

Mt. Spurr

Nome

Mt. Redoubt

Copper Center

Anchorage

Pt. Hope

Palmer

Kotzebue

Homer

Ruby

Kenai

Galena

Valdez

Prudhoe Bay

Ketchikan

Gulkana

Juneau

Tok

Wrangell

Seldovia

Cordova

Circle Hot Springs

Wales

Geographic Regions, Peninsulas, Islands -

Locate and label each of the following; be sure to include a map key.

 

Shumagin Islands

Islands of the Four Mountains

Sanak Islands

Near Islands

Rat Islands

Fox Islands

Andreanof Islands

Kodiak Island

Pribilof Islands

Nunivak Island

St. Lawrence Island

Attu Island

Kiska Island

Amchitka Island

Umnak Island

Unimak Island

Unalaska Island

Annette Island

Seward Peninsula

Alaska Peninsula

Kenai Peninsula

Regions

Southeastern (panhandle)

Southcentral

Southwestern

Central (Interior)

Arctic Slope

Bering Sea Coast

Map of Alaska
Click here to see bigger image

 

Name______________________

ALASKA MAP QUIZ

Draw and label the following on the attached map.

 

Kuskokwim River

Aniak

Yukon River

Fairbanks

Prince William Sound

Pt. Barrow

Gulf of Alaska

Nome

Bering Sea

Pt. Hope

Beaufort Sea

Kotzebue

Chukchi Sea

Prudhoe Bay

Arctic Ocean

Wales

Pacific Ocean

Shumagin Islands

Bristol Bay

Sanak Islands

Bering Strait

Islands of the

Four Mountains

Cook Inlet

Rat Islands

Shelikof Strait

Near Islands

Norton Sound

Fox Islands

Brooks Range

Andreanof Islands

Alaska Range

Kodiak Island

Aleutian Range

Pribilof Islands

Mt. McKinley (Denali)

Nunivak Island

Anchorage

St. Lawrence Island

Valdez

Unalaska

Ketchikan

Unimak

Juneau

Amchitka

Sitka

Kiska

Skagway

Attu

Dillingham

Alaska Peninsula

Map of Alaska
Click here to see image

Name____________________

 

ALEUTIAN RESOURCES

Worksheet

1. The three parts of the environment which the Aleuts used

were:

a._________________________________

b._________________________________

c._________________________________

2. This fish was important to the Aleuts because it returned every year to provide a regular and predictable source of protein:_________________________________

3. Aleut bidarkis allowed for sea mammal hunting. List four species of sea mammals the Aleuts hunted.

a._________________________________

b._________________________________

c._________________________________

d._________________________________

4. The Russian term for a gutskin rain parka is_________________________________.

5. A good storage bag can be made from a sea lion_________________________________.

6. Modern Aleut fishermen fish for:

a._________________________________

b._________________________________

c._________________________________

7. The shellfish which looks like a little boat is a chiton, also called a_________________________________.

8. The eggs of the_________________________________can be eaten raw.

9. These mollusks are good to eat unless there has been a poisonous red tide recently:_________________________________.

10. These little shellfish can be scooped out with another shell and eaten:_________________________________

11. The Kamchatka lily is also called:

a._________________________________ or

b._________________________________

12. Another plant with good edible roots is the wild_________________________________.

13. Although the seeds of this beautiful plant are poisonous, the roots are edible_________________________________.

14. The cow parsnip is called the_________________________________in the Aleutians.

15. The leaves of this plant are used to make tea or stew_________________________________.

16. The leaves of this plant are steamed and eaten with butter or seal oil_________________________________.

17. Salad foods include:

a._________________________________

b._________________________________

c._________________________________

d._________________________________

18. Berries that are harvested in the Aleutians include:

a._________________________________

b._________________________________(Or)_________________________________

c._________________________________(Also called)________________________

d._________________________________

e._________________________________

f._________________________________

g._________________________________

h._________________________________

19. A useful plant for any doctor, because of its wide variety of uses, is the_________________________________.

20. A plant whose root was boiled to make a laxative is the_________________________________.

 

 

ANSWER GUIDE
ALEUTIAN RESOURCES

Worksheet

1. The three parts of the environment which the Aleuts used were:

a. SEA
b. LAND
c. INTERTIDAL AREA

2. This fish was important to the Aleuts because it returned every year to provide a regular and predictable source of protein: SALMON

3. Aleut bidarkis allowed for sea mammal hunting. List four species of sea mammals the Aleuts hunted.

a. FUR SEALS
b. SEA LIONS
c. WHALES
d. SEA OTTERS

4. The Russian term for a gutskin rain parka is KAMLEIKA

5. A good storage bag can be made from a sea lion STOMACH

6. Modern Aleut fishermen fish for:

a. SHRIMP
b. CRAB
c. HALIBUT

7. The shellfish which looks like a little boat is a chiton, also called a BIDARKI

8. The eggs of the SEA URCHIN can be eaten raw.

9. These mollusks are good to eat unless there has been a poisonous red tide recently: MUSSELS

10. These little shellfish can be scooped out with another shell and eaten: LIMPET

11. The Kamchatka lily is also called:

a. CHOCOLATE LILY or
b. WILD RICE

12. Another plant with good edible roots is the wild HYACINTH

13. Although the seeds of this beautiful plant are poisonous, the roots are edible: NOOTKA LUPINE

14. The cow parsnip is called the PUTCHKII in the Aleutians.

15. The leaves of this plant are used to make tea or stew: PETROUSKI

16. The leaves of this plant are steamed and eaten with butter or seal oil: NETTLE

17. Salad foods include:

a. WILD SPINACH
b. BEACH GREENS
c. FIREWEED SHOOTS
d. YOUNG DANDELION LEAVES

18. Berries that are harvested in the Aleutians include:

a. SALMONBERRY
b. MOSSBERRY
(or) CROWBERRY
c. LINGONBERRIES (also called) LOWBUSH CRANBERRIES
d. BLUEBERRIES
e. BEACH STRAWBERRIES
f. NAGOONBERRIES
g. BEARBERRIES
h. KINNICK-KINNICK BERRY

19. A useful plant for any doctor, because of its wide variety of uses, is the YARROW

20. A plant whose root was boiled to make a laxative is the WILD IRIS

 

Name___________________________

 

CULTURAL CHANGE IN THE ALEUTIAN ISLANDS:
SECTION I: QUIZ I

1. Where did the Aleuts originally live? Circle the area on the attached map.

2. Vocabulary: define the following:

a. Unangan

b. iqax

c. bidarki

d. archipelago

e. intertidal

3. Short Answer:

a. The westernmost Aleutian Islands are closest to what foreign country?

 

b. What invention allowed the Aleut culture to expand and develop?

 

c. How long have the Aleutian Islands been inhabited, according to archaeological evidence?

 

d. Why is Igadik important?

 

e. List the three parts of the environment which the Aleuts used:

(1)

(2)

(3)

 

 

Name____________________

 

ANSWER GUIDE
CULTURAL CHANGE IN THE ALEUTIAN ISLANDS:

SECTION I: QUIZ I(100 PTS. TOTAL)

1.(9 PTS.)Where did the Aleuts originally live? Circle the area on the attached map.

2.(7 PTS.EACH)Vocabulary: define the following:

a. Unangan- THE ALEUTS' NAME FOR THEMSELVES
b. Iqax- THE ALEUT WORD FOR A KAYAK
c. bidarki- THE RUSSIAN WORD FOR IQAX OR KAYAK- ALSO THE TERM BY WHICH CHITONS ARE CALLED
d. archipelago- A GROUP OR CHAIN OF MANY ISLANDS
e. intertidal- THE SHORE ZONE FROM THE LOW TIDE MARK TO THE HIGH TIDE MARK

3.(8 PTS. EACH) Short Answer:

a. The westernmost Aleutian Islands are closest to what foreign country? RUSSIA
b. What invention allowed the Aleut culture to expand and develop? IQAX, BIDARKI,OR KAYAK
c. How long have the Aleutian Islands been inhabited, according to archaeological evidence? 8,400 YEARS
d. Why is Igadik important? HE DISCOVERED THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS
e. List the three parts of the environment which the

Aleuts used:

(1)SEA
(2)LAND
(3)INTERTIDAL AREA

 

I. TEXT: CHAPTER II

A. INTRODUCE THE TEXT

Before having students read Chapter II, make some introductory comments: define "pre-contact"; discuss the concept of imaginary characters like Stephan and Anna, and explain that history is actually made up of individual life histories like theirs. Students might ask why the characters do not have Aleut names. Inform them that, through the years, Aleut names have been forgotten so that now the only truly Aleut names which people remember are those of certain famous people in history, such as Igadik. For reasons students will learn later, most Aleuts today have Russian or American names.

B. DISCUSSION TOPICS

After having students read the text, discuss the following:

1. What resources did Stephan and Anna's family feel were important in locating their village?

2. How did the Aleuts in Stephan and Anna's family go about claiming certain areas? (This is not spelled out in the text; have students speculate.)

C. LANGUAGE ARTS ACTIVITY: THE SONG

The song which Stephan sings in the text is actually a very old Aleut song, first recorded in the early 1800's by an Atkan Aleut named Iakov Netzvetov. The song has been translated into English by the linguist Knut Bergsland and rewritten in poetic form by Richard Dauenhauer. Talk about the song and what is happening in it. Have students do one of the following:

1. Draw a picture that shows what Stephan is singing about.

2. Act out the song for the class as you think Stephan would have done in the winter festival.

3. Write a poem or song of your own that tells about something that you set out to do but didn't accomplish.

4. Write down some things about the Aleuts that this song teaches you.

D. ENRICHMENT: THE SONG

See Appendix B of this guide for a second English version of this song. This version was translated from the Russian version which Father Veniaminov recorded in the early 1800's. Interested students could compare Veniaminov's version with the one that occurs in the text by answering the following questions:

1. Why are the versions different?
2. Which version seems more like a song?
3. Which version is easier to understand? Why is it easier?
4. Which version do you think is closer in meaning to the original Aleut? Why do you think that?
5. Which version do you prefer?

Inform students that these are thought questions and that there are no right or wrong answers. However, students should be able to defend the answers they give.

E. ENRICHMENT ACTIVITY: FOLKLORE

See Hudson's Stories Out of Slumber for retellings of traditional Aleut folklore. Note that these stories were not rewritten or edited for children, so you might want to pre-choose one or two stories to read to students.

II. DATA SHEETS AND QUESTION CARDS

A. ASSIGNMENT: SMALL GROUP WORK

The next series of activities revolves around small group or individual work (according to teacher and student preferences). Divide the class into six working groups of 4 or 5 students. Tell students that each group will receive a grade for its work, but that each student is expected to write all answers and place the work in his or her folder.

Number the six sets of Data Sheets and Question Cards so that each set can be kept separate. Give each group a packet containing the Data Sheets and Question Cards, and a copy of the Floral Resources in Makushin Bay booklet. Cuttlefish Two, The Aleutians (Alaska Geographic Society) and Aleutian Resources filmstrip should be available in a center as resources for this activity.

The Data Sheets contain information on eleven topics of Aleut culture. In addition, the Question Cards are of three types, printed on three colors of paper: Fact Questions, Thought Questions, and Research Questions. The instruction sheet tells students to:

Work together in a group or individually. You may either read through the Data Sheets first, or you may merely use them to find answers to the questions asked on the Question Cards. You may also use the Floral Resources in Makushin Bay booklet in finding the answers. Each of the 25 Fact Question Cards must be answered and the answer put in your notebook.

When everyone in your group has answered all the Fact Questions, compare answers. Be sure that you are all satisfied with the answers you each have. Later, in class discussion, you will be asked to present group answers to some of the questions.

When your group is through with the Fact Question Cards, turn to the Thought Question Cards. Answer as many as you can in the time your teacher gives you. Remember that there are no single correct answers to these questions, but you must be able to defend your answers with facts!

Your teacher may assign Research Question Cards for you to do as well.

B. DISCUSSION: DATA SHEETS AND QUESTION CARDS

Class discussion to follow the group work should begin with a review of the Fact Questions. Each question should be answered in class discussion, with student answers listed and added to. This will take from 2 1/2 to 3 hours of class time.

C. STUMP THE PANEL GAME

(This game is included courtesy of its originator, Fred Goerisch, sixth grade teacher at Wonder Park.)

The Data Sheets contain much more information than is asked for in the various Question Cards. There are several ways to encourage students to learn more of that information. A game of 20 Questions is an example. Having student groups make up worksheets for other students to answer, then trading the sheets amongst the groups is another.

Stump the Panel is a third suggestion. It involves all the students in a question-and-answer game.

Each student must write and submit to its group 15 to 20 difficult but answerable questions, based on the Data Sheets, Aleutian Resources filmstrip, and Floral Resources book (or whatever resources you designate). The group meets and reviews the questions, throwing out the duplicates until it has a large supply of questions with which it hopes to stump other groups. You should check over the questions to be sure they are worthwhile. Answers must appear with the questions in case the questions are challenged. These answers also serve as references when the group has its turn to try to answer someone else's questions.

On the day of the game, each group is armed with questions and answers. There are three positions in which a group may be: Asker, Answerer, and Spectator (several groups are Spectator at the same time).

ASKER: The Asker group chooses a difficult question and asks it. If the question cannot be answered by anyone and it is a fair question, the Asker group earns 10 points.

ANSWERER: The Answerer group tries to answer the question within a given time limit (1 to 2 minutes). The only references which maym be used are the written questions and answers which that group devised.

A correct answer earns 10 points.

SPECTATOR: Spectator groups may also earn points by knowing the answer to a question before the Answerer group does. Spectators quickly write their answers down, then raise their hands until acknowledged by the teacher. After the Answerer group has answered the question, Spectators show the teacher their written answers. Correct answers earn them 5 points. If the Answerer group cannot answer the question, Spectators can still earn 5 points with correct answers.

Rotate the positions until all groups have had a chance to be Askers and Answerers. This should take about 40 minutes. Tally points and, if you wish, assign a group grade so that the winning group gets an A, second gets a B, and so on.

This game can be adapted to other portions of the unit in those cases when you want students to learn a number of facts.

D. ANSWERS TO FACT QUESTIONS:

1. Name a tool or object that was used by the Aleuts in precontact days, and is also used in America today.

ANSWER: A variety of objects. For instance, needles, fishhooks, awls, drills, boats, whetstones, axes, knives (Objects Card and others).

2. Name at least three materials that were used in making precontact Aleut objects.

ANSWER: A variety. Examples are ivory, grass, bone, stone, animal skins, animal guts, wood (Objects Card and others).

3. What artistic skill are Aleuts best known for today?

ANSWER: Fine basketry (Objects card).

4. Give two other names for "kayak" Tell what languages the two names are in.

ANSWER: Iqax: Aleut; bidarki or baidarka: Russian (Objects card)

5. Who trained young Aleut boys to be men? Why?

ANSWER: Their material uncles because the boys belonged to their uncles' families; descent was reckoned through their mother (Growing Up card).

6. What are some of the things Aleut girls had to learn as they were growing up?

ANSWER: Will vary. Examples are: child-caring, sewing, basket weaving, cutting fish, gathering beach food, cooking, curing (Growing Up card).

7. Name a medical skill which Aleut healers had and which modern doctors also use.

ANSWER: acupuncture; suturing wounds; surgery (Healing card)

8. What flower eases a sore throat?

ANSWER: Geranium, avens, yarrow (Healing card)

9. What flower helps heal intestinal disorders?

ANSWER: yarrow, iris, or pondweed (Healing card)

10. What flower has poisonous roots?

ANSWER: Monkshood (Whaling card)

11. How did the pre-contact Aleuts use amulets?

ANSWER: To protect them or bring them luck in life's activities (Religion card).

12. What was done to prepare the bodies of wealthy people for death?

ANSWER: Mummification (Mummies Card)

13. What characteristics did a good Aleut leader have to have?

ANSWER: Support of others, wealth, wisdom, generosity (Leaders card).

14. What is a toyon?

ANSWER: The Russian term for an Aleut leader or chief (Leaders card).

15. How were the parts of a whale used after they were caught?

ANSWER: Whale ribs were sometimes house supports; meat and blubber were eaten; oil used to burn in lamps for light and heat; teeth and bones for tools. (Whaling Card)

16. Which relatives lived together in a single barabara?

ANSWER: Relatives who were related to the toyon of the barabara, or head of the family, through the mother's line (Households card).

17. How were Aleut mummies preserved?

ANSWER: Some were rubbed with a special mixture before being put in a cave. Some scientists think volcanic fumes may have helped preserve some mummies (Mummies card).

18. Name three items of clothing which provided an adaptation to the Aleut environment.

ANSWER: There are many possibilities. Examples: kamleikas protected against the rain; wooden hats did the same; bird and otter skin parkas were both warm and water resistant (Clothing card).

19. How were the Aleut women able to sew their kamleikas with a waterproof stitch?

ANSWER: The seams were sewn with sinew which swells when wet. In swelling, the sinew completely filled the holes made by the needle (Clothing card).

20. How many birdskins did it take to make a parka:

ANSWER: 25-40, depending on the size of the bird and the parka. (Clothing card)

21. How long was an atlatl?

ANSWER: Exactly the length from a hunter's middle finger to his elbow (Objects card).

22. How many holes did the iqax or bidarki have?

ANSWER: Before the Russians came, one or two. Afterward, some bidarkis were made with three hatches, or holes (Objects card).

23. Describe an exercise that prepared young boys for hunting.

ANSWER: Arm-stretching, finger-hanging, and cold-water bathing (Preparation for Hunting card).

24. What foods were obtained by women, old people, and children?

ANSWER: Shellfish, sea urchins, octopus, fish, birds, bird eggs, and plants (Food Gathering card).

25. Who owned the barabaras?

ANSWER: Women usually owned the barabaras (Households card).

E. THOUGHT QUESTIONS

Next, refer to the Thought Questions. Each student should have chosen three or four to answer. Go over all questions briefly in class. Questions are:

1. What modern objects take the place that Aleut baskets used to serve?

2. What do you think Aleut parents looked for in husbands or wives for their children?

3. Read this paragraph. Then tell what culture it is talking about.

"When boys and girls reach the age of 5 they leave their homes, many for the first time. They are taken to a new location to be taught by strangers. These strangers are adults who are not even distantly related to the children; in fact, many times the children have never seen them before. Still, the adults are respected and considered very knowledgeable by the children's parents."

Discuss what students think of this educational process. Compare it with the Aleut process.

4. Name some modern-day religious beliefs and practices similar to the traditional Aleut ones.

5. In what ways is the Aleut system of choosing a toyon like the modern American way of choosing a mayor? Unlike it?

6. What do you think the Aleuts learned about human beings by preparing their bodies for death? How might this information have helped them in other areas of life?

7. Can you think of any modern objects which people use as amulets today?

8. Why do you think the whales' spirits were told they were going to be hunted?

9. Why were there different sizes of barabaras in the precontact days?

10. How does the practice of mummification show that the Aleuts believed in an afterlife?

11. Why was a woman's skill in sewing as important as a man's skill in hunting when it came to getting food?

 

F. ENRICHMENT: RESEARCH

Research Questions are designed to be enrichment activities and may be worked on as you feel is appropriate. Each student should work on only one research question. This could be a long-term project to be turned in at the completion of the entire unit. Be sure to check with your librarian ahead of time for help in locating resources. Discuss the various resources (aside from books) which might be used to answer the questions. The Research Questions are:

Research which species of whales migrate through the Aleutian Island passages.

ALEUTIAN TOPICS CROSSWORD

puzzle
Click to see larger image

ACROSS

1. The sea mammal for which the Russians traveled thousands of miles
8. Nowadays, many Aleuts make a living from this small animal
11. What the weather often does in the Aleutian Islands
13. A red tide can make these poisonous
14. Whales or seals provided this valuable energy source
17. Used to make holes in leather
18. Used for sore throats & other sores
19. This plant has delicious roots and a delicious-sounding name
22. This animal is called by the same name as an Aleut boat
24. A plant which no Aleut healer would be without
25. Country which paid Russia for Alaska (abbrev.)
20. A small body of land surrounded by water
27. Describes much of the coastline of the Aleutians
29. The part of the whale used in making Aleut houses
30. Same as 31 Down
32. This weed actually makes a good salad in the spring
35. 14 Across provided the Aleuts with light and-------.
36. A drink introduced by the Russians
37. Every year the Aleuts look for their return
39. This part of the sea lion makes a good storage bag
40. Aleut girls played with these

DOWN
2.This part of the body is not visible in hair seals
3.This part of the sea urchin is good to eat
4.Hot stones placed in a basket of water will make the water______.
5.Aleut boys needed to learn the--------of their families
6.Also called a "throwing board," this implement was always at a hunter's side
7.Also called the mossberry, this plant was stored in oil for the winter
8. The northernmost island in the Pribilofs is named------- Paul (abbrev.)
9. Abbrev. for millimeter
10. The cow parsnip, a common plant in the Aleutians and much of Alaska, is called this in the Aleutians
12. To feel ill
15. An Aleut house
16. A large island in the Fox Island group of the Aleutians
20. Describes temperatures throughout the year in the Aleutians
21. Lots of food can be gathered at this time
23. The skins of this animal were used to make parkas
24. Abbrev. for yard
28. Same as 1 across
29. Means "regarding"
31. Large island in the Andreanof Island group of the Aleutians
An important food resource to the Aleuts
33. Skilled Aleut boatsmen could________the boats completely over in the water
34. This drifted in to shore
35. A thin board was bent into a cone-shape to make this
38. Negative

by Patricia Partnow

 

ALEUTIAN TOPICS CROSSWORD ANSWERS

ACROSS

DOWN

1. SEA OTTER

2.EAR

8. SHRIMP

3.EGGS

11. RAINS

4.BOIL

13. MUSSELS

5.HISTORY

14. OIL

6.ATLATL

17. AWL

7.CROWBERRY

18. AVENS

8. ST.

19.CHOCOLATE LILY

9. MM

22. BIDARKI

10. PUTCHKII

24.YARROW

12. AIL

25. U.S.

15. BARABARA

20. ISLAND

16. UNALASKA

27. ROCKY

20. COOL

29. RIB

21. LOWTIDE

30. ATKA

23. DUCK

32. FIREWEED

24. YD

35. HEAT

28. OTTER

36. TEA

29. RE

37. SALMON

31. ATKA|

39.STOMACH

32. FISH

40.DOLLS

33. ROLL

34. WOOD

35. HAT

>38. NO

Name______________________

CULTURAL CHANGE IN THE ALEUTIAN ISLANDS:
SECTION II: QUIZ II

1. Vocabulary: define each of the following terms:

a. Toyon______________________
b. Atlatl______________________
c. Barabara______________________
d. Pre-contact______________________
e. Kamleika______________________

2. Fact Questions: answer all of the following questions:

a. Name four tools or objects that were used by the Aleuts in pre-contact days, and are also used in America today:

(1)______________________
(2)______________________
(3)______________________
(4)______________________

b. Name at least four materials that were used in making pre-contact Aleut objects:

(1)______________________
(2)______________________
(3)______________________
(4)______________________

c. What artistic skill are Aleuts best known for today?

____________________________________________

d. Give two other names for "kayak". Tell what languages the two names are in.

(1)______________________
(2)______________________

e. Who trained young Aleut boys to be men? Why?

____________________________________________

f. Name a medical skill which Aleut healers had and which modern doctors also use. ___________________________

g. Name one flower used by the Aleuts in medical practice. What was it used for?______________________

h. How did the pre-contact Aleuts use amulets?______________________

i. What was done to prepare the bodies of wealthy people for death? ____________________________________________

j. Name two parts of the whale and tell how they were used after they were caught.

(1)______________________
(2)______________________

k. Which relatives lived together in a single barabara?______________________

1. How were Aleut mummies preserved?______________________

m. Name four items of clothing which provided an adaptation to the Aleutian environment.

(1)______________________
(2)______________________
(3)______________________
(4)______________________

n. Name four foods which were obtained by women, old people, and children:

(1)______________________
(2)______________________
(3)______________________
(4)______________________

o. Describe how the waterproof stitch, which Aleut women used, worked.

3. Thought Question:

List three reasons the pre-contact Aleuts placed their village sites where they did.

a.______________________

b.______________________

c.______________________

 

ANSWER GUIDE
CULTURAL CHANGE IN THE ALEUTIAN ISLANDS:
SECTION II: QUIZ ll

1.(5 POINTS EACH) Vocabulary: define each of the following terms:

a. Toyon LEADER OR CHIEF
b. Atlatl SOUTH AMERICAN INDIAN WORD FOR THROWING DART
c. Barabara TRADITIONAL STYLE SEMI-SUBTERRANEAN SOD HOUSE WHICH, IN PRE-CONTACT DAYS, MIGHT HOUSE SEVERAL FAMILIES
d. Pre-contact TIME IN ALASKA HISTORY BEFORE ALASKA NATIVES MET, OR HAD CONTACT WITH EUROPEANS
e. Kamleika GUT WATERPROOF PARKA

2. (4 POINTS EACH) Fact Questions: answer all of the following questions:

a. Name four tools or objects that were used by the Aleuts in pre-contact days, and are also used in America today:

NEEDLES

BOATS

FISH HOOKS

WHETSTONES

AWLS

AXES

DRILLS

KNIVES

b. Name at least four materials that were used in making pre-contact Aleut objects:

IVORY

GRASS

BONE

STONE

ANIMAL

SKINS

ANIMAL

GUTS WOOD

c. What artistic skill are Aleuts best known for today?

FINE GRASS BASKETRY

d. Give two other names for "kayak". Tell what languages the two names are in.

(1) IQAX: ALEUT
(2) BIDARKI: RUSSIAN

e. Who trained young Aleut boys to be men? Why?
THEIR MATERNAL UNCLES BECAUSE THE BOYS BELONGED TO THEIR UNCLES' FAMILIES; DESCENT WAS RECKONED THROUGH THE MOTHER.

f. Name a medical skill which Aleut healers had and which modern doctors also use. ACUPUNCTURE, SUTURING WOUNDS, SURGERY

g. Name one flower used by the Aleuts in medical practice.
YARROW, IRIS, PONDWEED FOR INTESTINAL DISORDERS, MONKSHOOD FOR POISON USED IN WHALE HUNTING

h. How did the pre-contact Aleuts use amulets?
TO PROTECT THEM OR BRING THEM LUCK IN LIFE'S ACTIVITIES; PATICULARLY IN HUNTING FOR THE MEN

i. What was done to prepare the bodies of wealthy people for death? THEY WERE MUMMIFIED ESPECIALLY IN CENTRAL AND EASTERN ALEUTIANS

j. Name two parts of the whale and tell how they were used after they were caught.

RIBS: HOUSE SUPPORTS;
MEAT AND BLUBBER:FOOD;
OIL: LIGHT AND HEAT ;
TEETH AND BONES: TOOLS

k. Which relatives lived together in a single barabara?
RELATIVES WHO WERE RELATED TO THE TOYON OF THE BARABARA OR HEAD OF THE FAMILY, THROUGH THE MOTHER'S LINE

1. How were Aleut mummies preserved? SOME WERE RUBBED WITH A SPECIAL MIXTURE BEFORE BEING PUT IN A CAVE, SOME SCIENTISTS THINK VOLCANIC FUMES MAY HAVE HELPED PRESERVE SOME MUMMIES 

m. Name four items of clothing which provided an adaptation to the Aleutian environment.

(1) KAMLEIKAS
(2) WOODEN HATS
(3) BIRD SKIN PARKAS
(4) OTTER SKIN PARKAS

n. Name four foods which were obtained by women, old people, and children:
MUSSELS, CITONS, SEA URCHINS, HALIBUT, BIRDS,& BIRD EGGS

 

o. Describe how the waterproof stitch, which Aleut women used, worked.
THE SEAMS WERE SEWN WITH SINEW WHICH SWELLS WHEN WET, IN SWELLING, THE SINEW COMPLETELY FILLED THE HOLES MADE BY THE NEEDLE

3.(5 POINTS EACH)Thought Question:

List three reasons the pre-contact Aleuts placed their village sites where they did.
LIST MAY INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING:

EASE OF BIDARKI LANDING AND LAUNCHING
AVAILABILITY OF FISH
AVAILABILITY OF SEA MAMMALS
AVAILABILITY OF BIRDS AND EGGS
AVAILABILITY OF LAND ANIMALS
AVAILABILITY OF MARINE INVERTEBRATES
AVAILABILITY OF FRESH WATER
AVAILABILITY OF DRIFTWOOD
AVAILABILITY OF BEACHED WHALES
GOOD LOOKOUT SPOT
EASILY DEFENDED FROM ENEMIES

  

SECTION III: CONTACT
OBJECTIVES

1. Students apply their knowledge about Aleut and Russian motivations to simulation and values clarification exercises involving contact between the two cultures.

2. Students begin to formulate a definition of the term "culture shock"

3. Students apply their knowledge about Aleutian culture to predict outcomes of the contact situation

MATERIALS

PREPARATION

1. Cultural Change

1. Prepare information slips for the
Contact Simulation (p. 61)

2. Objects for Recognizing a Claim simulation (see p. 64)

2. Duplicate Value Ratings worksheet

3. Value Ratings list (1 per student)

3. Duplicate Quiz III

4. Quiz III

ACTIVITIES

1. Read and discuss Chapter III in Cultural Change
2. Simulation Activity: Contact
3. Read and discuss Chapters IV and V
4. Simulation: Recognizing a Claim
5. Value Ratings worksheet
6. Predictions
7. Read and discuss Chapter VI
8. Mark time line
9. Quiz III

 

>VOCABULARY:

CONTACT a meeting, as between two groups of people
CULTURE SHOCK the reaction people have when faced with another culture which changes their day-to-day lives
CZAR the title held by Russian emperors
OKHOTSK a town on the coast of Siberia from which early Russian fur traders sailed on their way to Alaska
RETALIATE to pay back injury for injury
SERF a person bound to his master's land and transferred with it to a new owner.

 

SECTION III: CONTACT

I. TEXT: CHAPTER III

Read and discuss the reading. Should Bering be given credit for discovering Alaska? Discuss the concept of "discovery" of already inhabited lands. Review the Russian traders' motivations for coming to Alaska.

Have students add important events to their time lines.

II. SIMULATION: CONTACT

A. PURPOSE

Students will have an opportunity to experience the contact situation from either the Aleut or the Russian point of view.

B. STRATEGIES

1. Divide the class into two groups. Explain that each group will be planning for a meeting with another group of unknown people who do not speak their language. You will give each the information it needs in order to plan for the meeting.

2. You could subdivide each of the two groups into workable smaller groups of 5 to 8 students each. Assign areas of the room for meetings. Explain to students that they must plan all strategies within their group since they will not be allowed to talk aloud once the meeting occurs.

3. Now distribute slips of paper to each group with the following information on them:
"A" GROUPS: each slip should say:
"You have lived in this place for centuries. You are used to enemies from nearby territories, but your lookout has noticed that these people are not from your area. They look strange, act strangely, and wear strange clothes. You have no idea why they are here. As usual, you have your spears, knives, and harpoons in a handy location should any trouble arise."

"B" GROUPS: each slip should say:
"You have read reports of this area and know that there are rich furs here which you plan to obtain. Unfortunately, you have never hunted sea mammals before.

You also know that some of the men who have visited here before were probably killed by the local inhabitants -perhaps the very same people who live at the village you see on shore.

Your experiences tell you that these do not have guns and probably do not know know you will need their help, though, so be friendly."

4. Give students 5 to 10 minutes to plan for the contact situation.

5. You could act out the meeting itself in one of two ways:

a. Have one A group and one B group act out their meeting for the rest of the class.

b. Have each A group meet face to face with a B group.

Remind students that the groups speak different languages and so cannot communicate verbally. Any talk within a group must be done out of earshot of the other.

C. EVALUATION
Discussion to follow the simulation should include consideration of:

1. Feelings of the two groups: what did the actors feel like? What did the observers feel?

2. Strategies of the groups: were there any surprise moves? Were the sides evenly matched? Was. violence resorted to? If so, do students feel violence is inevitable in a cross-cultural meeting? How might it have been avoided?

3. Culture shock: introduce the term to students. A definition might be that the rules and expectations which people are used to living with are suddenly changed. People must suddenly change their ways of doing things, valuing things, thinking about themselves and the world. A writing assignment could involve giving an example of a way in which a sudden change in their own lives upset them and how they dealt with it. Relate students' experiences with those of the Aleuts and Russians at the time of contact.

 

III. TEXT: CHAPTERS IV AND V

DISCUSSION

Read Chapters IV and V in Cultural Change. Compare the actions of Stephan and Anna's village with those of your "A" groups. Refer students to the previous discussion on Stephan and Anna as imaginary characters. Ivan is also such a character who could have lived in 1756, but whose actual existence is not claimed.

Discuss the cruelty of the Russians. What specific acts indicate that they were cruel? Why did they act that way? What do you think of the Russians' behavior? Were they acting in self-defense or were they the protagonists?

Discuss Ivan's motivations. What was important to Ivan? Does Ivan fit the students' preconceptions of what the Russians were like? Were all Russians cruel? Why didn't Ivan stop the cruelty? Do you think he could have stopped it if he wanted to?

 

IV. SIMULATION: RECOGNIZING A CLAIM

A. PURPOSE

The contact between the Russian traders and trappers and the Aleuts was often marked by strife, and one of the first causes of this strife was a disagreement over who had the rights to the various resources in the islands.

The following simulation deals with this issue. It will take from 1 to 10 hours and should be done in one session if possible.

The basis of the simulation is that two separate groups will, independently of each other, claim the same resources. You may use any of the following as your resources:

1. areas of the classroom
2. valuable resources in your classroom (such as textbooks)
3. objects which you bring in

The following directions can be adapted to any of the three options listed above.

B. STRATEGIES

1. Bring to class a box with various items which the students can divide among themselves. There should be about 2/3 the number of items as there are students in your class. Examples of items might be a pencil, a pen, scotch tape, etc.

2. Divide the class into two groups (not the same ones as in the Contact Simulation). These groups should be completely separated throughout the simulation. Send the first group, Group 1, out of the room.

3. Group 2 should look through the items in the box and each student should select one item. Students should then announce to each other and the group as a whole which objects they have chosen. Allow them to assimilate, as best they can, which student has selected which item. No writing is allowed at this stage.

4. Now Group 2 goes out to the hallway and Group 1 comes in to select items. Again, let each student select one item.

5. Group 1 students write descriptions of their items and sign the papers. You should collect the papers and hide them in your desk before calling Group 2 back into the room.

6. Bring Group 2 back into the classroom. Hold up the items one by one and ask who selected each one. Whenever a disagreement arises, ask for confirmation of ownership from both parties.

 

C. EVALUATION
Then discuss the simulation. Points to cover:

1. Group 1: did you know someone else had already claimed your items? Should priority of a claim count for anything in this instance? Why or why not? Why did you assume it was OK to claim any objects in the box?

2. Both groups: how did you seek to prove that you owned the object?

3. Group 2: did you have difficulty convincing other Group 2 members of your claim to an object? Did you have any problems remembering who claimed what later?

4. Group 1: did you have difficulty convincing other Group 1 students of a claim to an object?

5. Both groups: why did problems arise when the two groups got together? Relate it to the previous discussion on culture shock.

6. Both: How does this relate to the situation of the Aleuts and the Russians? Refer to Chapters III, IV, and V of the text.

7. As a writing assignment have students describe the Aleut and Russian methods of claiming resources. Then have them define "recognizing a claim."

 

PREDICTIONS

A. VALUE RATINGS

Students now have a background for understanding both the Aleut and the Russian points of view. Individual work assignments can now center on their using that understanding to make predictions.

By way of preparation, distribute to each student the Value Ratings worksheet(p. 69). Explain the worksheet, then have students fill it out. Emphasize that there are no right or wrong answers to this exercise, but that students are to use what they have already learned in filling it out.

B. WRITING ASSIGNMENT

Based on their understanding of Aleut and Russian values, have students write predictions on the way Aleut culture will change (or remain the same) in the Aleutian Islands following contact with Russians. You can provide guidance with the following questions:

How involved will the Aleuts become in the Russian fur trade? Will the Russians take on some of the Aleut customs? Will the Aleuts take on some of the Russian customs? Which parts of the Aleut culture will Stephan, Anna and their relatives cling to most strongly? Which parts will be changed most quickly?

C. DISCUSSION

After students have written their predictions, hold a brief discussion about students' own lives if faced with a similar situation: specifically, which parts of their cultures would they cling to most strongly if faced with an alien presence?

 

VI. TEXT: CHAPTER VII

A. BACKGROUND
For more detailed information on Medvedev and the Aleut rebellion, see Laughlin's The Aleuts, pp. 120-133.

B. DISCUSSION

Read Chapter VII in Cultural Change. Discuss: do you think the Aleuts were justified in rebelling? Under what circumstances do you think violence is justified? Relate this rebellion to the Revolutionary War; to wars fought by other Native American groups in the Lower 48. Suggest to students that the American Indians, too, were motivated by a desire to protect their homes and cultures. Relate the rebellion to the concept of culture shock.

Discuss the changes in Aleut history in the context of their changing cyclical patterns. What cycles had been interrupted for the Aleuts in 1763?

Ask students: has your life cycle ever been disrupted? (Examples might be moving, divorce of parents, birth of a sibling, etc.) Ask students how they reacted to those changes.

C. TIME LINE

Turn again to the time line made at the beginning of this unit. Have students mark any significant events since they last added to the line.

 

VII. QUIZ

Administer Quiz III at this time.

 

Name______________________

CULTURAL CHANGE IN THE ALEUTIAN ISLANDS:
SECTION III: QUIZ III

1. Vocabulary: Define the following:

a. czar______________________
b. contact______________________
c. serf______________________
d. recognizing a claim______________________
e. culture shock______________________

2. Short answer. Use the back of this page for your answer if necessary.

a. Did Vitus Bering discover Alaska? Explain your answer with details.

 

b. How did the Aleuts make claims on land or resources before the 1700's?

 

c. How did the Russians (and other European countries) make claims on land resources?

 

d. What happened when the two systems of making claims met?

 

e. Why is the date 1763 important to the Aleuts?

 

3. Thought Question: Answer one of the following. You may use the back of the paper if necessary.

a. Do you think violence is bound to occur whenever two unlike cultures meet? Explain your answer.

 

b. Do you feel the Aleuts were justified in killing the Russians during their rebellion? Explain your answer.

 

APPENDIX C
LISTING IN ASD AVS CENTER RELATING TO ALEUT CULTURE

F 1861 First Americans
F 4280 The Aleutians: Chain of Life
VT 360 Atka: An Aleut Village (preview first; the visual quality is low)
VT 450 The Aleutian Story: World War II
VT 485 The Aleutian Story: A Matter of Record
VHS 883 And the Song Goes On
UN 489 Outlook Unit
UN 517 Aleut Basketry (ask librarian to put in display case)
UN 521 Time of Change
UN 599 Aleut Social Studies Unit
UN 611 Aleut Resources Packet
UN 642 Far North Unit
UN 692 Aleut Material Culture Slide Show
UN 701 A Visitor in Unalaska Slide Show
UN 735 The Aleutians: Looking Back; Looking Forward

 

In addition, there are a number of films on specific natural resources indigenous to the Aleutian Islands.

 

 ANSWER GUIDE
CULTURAL CHANGE IN THE ALEUTIAN ISLANDS:
SECTION III: QUIZ III

1.(9 POINTS EA.)Vocabulary: Define the following:

a. Czar THE TITLE HELD BY RUSSIAN EMPERORS BEFORE 1917
b. Contact A MEETING, AS BETWEEN TWO GROUPS OF PEOPLE
c. Serf A PERSON BOUND TO HIS MASTER'S LAND AND TRANSFERRED WITH IT TO A NEW OWNER
d. Recognizing a claim ACCEPTING SOMEONE'S CLAIM TO OWNERSHIP OF LAND OR PROPERTY
e. Culture shock THE REACTION PEOPLE HAVE WHEN FACED WITH ANOTHER CULTURE WHICH CHANGES THEIR DAY-TO-DAY LIVES

2. (9 POINTS EA.)Short answer. Use the back of this page for your answer if necessary.

a. Did Vitus Bering discover Alaska? Explain your answer with details.
STUDENTS ANSWERS SHOULD MENTION THE POINT THAT SINCE "DISCOVER" MEANS THE FIRST PERSON TO SEE A LAND, BERING DID NOT DISCOVER ALASKA. HOWEVER, THE EUROPEANS THOUGHT HE DID, AND SO GAVE HIM CREDIT.

b. How did the Aleuts make claims on land or resources before the 1700's?
VERBALLY, BY INFORMING OTHERS OF THEIR CLAIMS

c. How did the Russians (and other European countries) make claims on land resources?
THE RUSSIAN SYSTEM CONSISTED OF FORMALLY CLAIMING LAND AND PLACING THE CLAIM IN WRITING, THEN SENDING IT OUT TO OTHER MONARCHS.

d. What happened when the two systems of making claims met?
WHEN THE TWO SYSTEMS MET, THE ALEUT SYSTEM WAS VIRTUALLY IGNORED BY THE RUSSIANS, WHILE THE ALEUTS IGNORED THE RUSSIANS CLAIM AT FIRST. NEITHER SIDE UNDERSTOOD THE OTHERS' SYSTEM. INCLUDE OTHER ANSWERS PER CLASS SIMULATION AS CORRECT. FOR INSTANCE, VIOLENCE, RUSSIANS TOOK CONTROL, ETC

e.Why is the date 1763 important to the Aleuts?
THIS WAS THE YEAR OF THE ALEUT REBELLION

3. (10 POINTS )Thought Question: Answer one of the following. You may use the back of the paper if necessary.

a. Do you think violence is bound to occur whenever two unlike cultures meet? Explain your answer.

 

b. Do you feel the Aleuts were justified in killing the Russians during their rebellion? Explain your answer.

 

ANSWERS WILL VARY

  

SECTION IV: THE NEXT HUNDRED YEARS

OBJECTIVES

1. Students can recall at least 10 of 25 facts about the Russian period in the Aleutian Islands

2. Students examine in-depth at least four causal or speculative questions about the Russian period in Alaska

3. Students write about the social and cultural effects of at least one change brought about by the Russians

 

MATERIALS

PREPARATION

1. Cultural Change

1. Prepare Aleut Bingo game for playing; gather or make markers for students

2. Time line (should still be to use in playing the game tacked on wall from Section I)

2. Duplicate Quiz IV (1 per student)

3. Research materials (for enrichment activities - see pp. 77-79)

4. Bingo cards and markers for students, clues for teacher

5. Kasakam Uniikangis: Russian Stories (enrichment)

6. Quiz IV

ACTIVITIES

1. Read and review Chapter VII in Cultural Change
2. Discuss or assign at least 4 of the suggested discussion topics
3. Mark time line
4. Enrichment: population changes in the Aleutians
5. Non-reading and writing experiment
6. Literacy writing assignment
7. Bubblegrams on other areas of change in the Russian period (enrichment)
8. Play Aleut Bingo as a class and in small groups
9. Read Kasakam Uniikangis: Russian Stories (enrichment)
10. List the stages of cultural change
11. Enrichment: apply those stages to other aspects of history
12. Quiz IV

 

VOCABULARY

CLERGYMAN-a minister, priest, rabbi, etc.
ECONOMY-a system of producing, distributing, and consuming wealth
ENDANGER-to expose to danger, loss, or harm; to be near extinction
EXTINCT-no longer in existence; having no living descendent
HEIROMONK-a monk who has also been ordained as a priest
LITERACY-ability to read and write
MONOPOLY-an exclusive privilege of engaging in a certain business granted to only one company by a ruler or monarch
ROOKERY-a breeding place; a place where baby animals are born (especially birds, seals, penguins, etc.)
RUSSIAN ORTHODOXY-the state religion of the Russians from the 11th century until 1917
RUSSIAN PERIOD-the period in Alaskan history when Russia claimed sovereignty over the territory from 1741 to 1867
VENIAMINOV (pronounced Vën yä mën öff)-a Russian Orthodox priest who stayed in the Aleutians from 1824 - 1834, respected among the Aleuts and known for, among other things, helping to write the Aleut language for the first time.
VERST-a measure of distance. One verst equals approximately 3/5 mile

 

SECTION IV: THE NEXT HUNDRED YEARS

 

l. TEXT: CHAPTER VII

A. REVIEW

Read Chapter VII in Cultural Change. Then quickly compare what actually happened in the Aleutians with the students' predictions made during the previous lesson.

Review with the class the ways in which life in the Aleutians became more like life in Russia during this hundred years, and less like life in the old days.

B. BACKGROUND INFORMATION: RUSSIAN ORTHODOXY

Russian Orthodoxy is still the dominant religion in the Aleutian Islands. There are also many people in Southeastern Alaska, the Kenai Peninsula, and parts of the lower Kuskokwim and South-central Alaska (Eklutna, for instance) who follow that faith. If you or your students would like more information on the history or dogma of the Orthodox Church, refer to Paul, Archbishop of Finland, The Faith We Hold, Ware, The Orthodox Way, or Smith, Russian Orthodoxy in Alaska (see Appendix F this guide). More information, a visit by a resource person, or a field trip to the Russian Orthodox Church in town could possibly be arranged through the Community Resources office (276-8011).

Most non-Orthodox people are aware of two outward signs which differentiate Russian Orthodoxy from other Christian religions: the cross shape and the dates for Christmas and Easter. There are at least two interpretations of the triple-barred cross symbolism:

1. The criminal's charge or crime was written on the top bar. The middle bar was the part of the cross which the criminal carried on his way to the crucifixion area, and to which he was nailed and hoisted up to the vertical bar (which remained in place for subsequent crucifixions). The bottom slanted bar allowed the criminal to sit and relieve some of the pressure on his esophagus.
2. An alternate explanation for the bottom slanted bar is that it symbolizes the good thief on one side of Christ (pointing toward heaven) and the bad thief on the other side of Christ.

The date for Christmas (January 7) is different from that celebrated by other Christian religions because Orthodoxy follows the old Julian calendar. This calendar made no provision for leap-year so that each four years it advanced one day beyond what it should have been. Today, this accounts for the 13 day difference between other Christmas days and Orthodoxy's date. There is currently discussion within the church on changing to the newer Gregorian calendar, with an accompanying change in the date of Christmas.

Easter's date in the Russian Orthodox calendar is dependent on the date of Passover, which is derived from the Jewish calendar which is lunar-based rather than solar-based. Other Christian religions set Easter on the first Sunday after the first full moon following the spring equinox.

C. DISCUSSION TOPICS

The following topics can be handled in one of several ways: as discussion topics, writing assignments, enrichment projects. Choose at least four of the topics to cover in class.

1. Why did the Russian trading companies want to form monopolies?

2. Do you think the monopolies were respected by other companies? What do you think happened in case of a dispute between companies?

3. Why did the Russians think their "discovery" of the Pribilof Islands would solve the problem of the dwindling sea otter population?

4. How could so few Russians have brought about so many changes in the Aleutian Islands?

5. Why do you think so little effect?

6. Why do you think the Russians began to depend more on the Aleut hunters and less on the Russian hunters?

7. What hardships did Aleuts face as a result of being paid once a year? Have students ask their parents what problems might face if they were only paid once a year.

8. Discuss the statement that the Aleuts' main pre-contact strength, their abilities with the iqax, was ultimately the means for the destruction of much of their culture.

D. TIME LINE

Mark time lines using the information in the chapter.

E. ENRICHMENT: POPULATION

Have students research the present and past population of the Aleutian Islands as of the 1980 census. They can do so by calling the Alaska Department of Labor, Labor Market Information Office (Neal Fried or Greg Huff) at 264-2400. Alternatively, they could write to the Bureau of the Census; Department of Commerce; Information Data User Service; Federal Building, Room 312; 915 2nd Ave.; Seattle, WA 98174.

Compare 1980 populations with the populations of 1741, 1866, 1870, 1880, and 1970. Advance theories on any changes or trends in population.

An example of a chart reflecting this information might be:

 
Population of Aleutian and Pribilof Islands

Aleut & Creole

Non-Aleut

TOTAL

1741(estimate)

16,000-20,000
0
16,000-20,000

1866 (U.S. Census)

4,363

1870 (est.by John Dall)

2,154 Total:
1,789 Aleut
365 Creole

1880 (est.
by John Muir)

2,369

1970
(U.S. Census)

1980
(U.S. Census)

7,768

 

II. COMMUNICATION: BEFORE AND AFTER LITERACY

A. BEFORE LITERACY: AN EXPERIMENT

Chapter VII discusses Pan'kov's and Veniaminov's contributions in bringing literacy to the Aleutians. For this next series of activities backtrack to the days before literacy and consider how the Aleuts communicated without the use of a written language. It is important to avoid placing any positive or negative values on literacy at this point. The goal is to collect data, not to judge.

B. AFTER LITERACY: WRITING ASSIGNMENT

As a way of organizing some of the ideas students have come up with in these discussions, prepare to chart and group those ideas with a "bubblegram" (see p.85 for an example). Write on butcher paper the words "people become literate." Ask students some of the things that occurred as a result of literacy, both positive and negative. Draw lines between related ideas as in the example. When the chart is completed, assign a writing project to students. They are to write an essay on the effects of literacy, based on the organization and ideas expressed in the bubblegram. You might require each student to write on only one set of ideas represented on the chart, rather than the chart as a whole.

 

III. ENRICHMENT: MORE BUBBLEGRAMS

There are several other topics which might be treated in the same manner to determine cause and effect relationships. Students could construct their own bubblegrams or design bulletin boards showing the effects of one or more of the following changes:

trading posts
population decrease
schools
extinction of sea otters
hunting for furs rather than for food
having the chief chosen by Russians rather than according to traditional methods

You may have to help students find resource books on some of the above topics (extinction of sea otters, for instance).

Remind students of the vast amount of medical, scientific, practical, historical, and legendary knowledge which was communicated in precontact days. Ask for examples.

Ask students whether they could conduct most of their business without the use of reading and writing. You might experiment by announcing that, for one day you will be giving all instructions orally with no written backup. Stick to the plan; it is bound to create frustration, but can be a valuable learning experience. The following day have the students assess their abilities to act without written instructions. Did they remember the directions? Did the work get done? Did the class seem disorganized?

The experience should stimulate discussion in two opposite directions. Be sure to cover both:

1. Our total dependence on literacy today, to the extent that we find it hard to operate without the written word. To emphasize this point, brainstorm the things we do read. Include everything from funny papers to signs to labels on food, and so on.

Consider some of the skills which the pre-contact Aleuts must have had which most literate people do not possess. If some students have pre-school siblings they might be aware of how well non-readers can remember facts. Talk about this. Many children seem to have phenomenal memories for stories, details, facts, etc., before they learn to read; those memories often seem to atrophy due to disuse after the children become literate.

2. The things which literacy allows which would be impossible without written language. Brainstorm some of the new abilities the Aleuts must have discovered as they began to communicate with each other through writing.

 

IV. ALEUT BINGO

A. DIRECTIONS

The Aleut Bingo game is designed as a review and reinforcer of the topics covered in Chapter VII. Be sure students have markers (buttons or construction paper squares, for instance) before you begin playing the game. Distribute one card to each student. Shuffle the clue cards and draw them from a pile, one at a time. Read the clue; then it is up to the students to determine which answer that clue refers to and to mark it with a button. A child wins when he has marked 5 squares in a straight line, either vertically, horizontally or diagonally. He must then check his answers with the clue cards you have called. If he is incorrect, he is out of the game. Continue calling clues until someone else wins.

B. PLAY AGAIN

You should play this game with the class as a whole at least three times. This is especially important since it is one of the students' main review vehicles before Quiz IV. Also allow students to play the game in small groups after they have finished other work.

 

V. ENRICHMENT: AN EXAMPLE OF CULTURAL CHANGE

Each elementary school library should have a copy of Kasakam

Uniikangis: Russian Stories by Nevzoroff, Bergsland and Dirks. An enrichment activity could involve a student reading the booklet and writing or telling how it exemplifies cultural change in the Aleutians.

 

Vl. STAGES IN CULTURE CHANGE

A. REVIEW
As students complete their study of the Russian period in the Aleutians it is appropriate for them to review the stages through which the Aleuts went in their attempts to adapt to this new presence. Review those stages with the students, eliciting them when possible. Tie them in with the time line. One listing of stages might be:

1. Disbelief, denial: Aleuts refuse to believe that the Russians are there to stay.

2. Anger and rebellion: Aleuts attempt to extract the Russians through raids, ambushes, etc.

3. Bargaining: Aleuts attempt to improve the situation by sending letters and representatives to the czar

4. Depression and hopelessness: Aleuts realize that the Russians are there to stay and feel powerless to do anything about it.

5. Acceptance and adaptation: Aleuts begin to accept those portions of Russian culture which are useful, adapt to those they can't do anything about, change their yearly cycle to match the new situation.

NOTE: Your students might come up with a slightly different set of stages, equally valid with the one given above. The important thing is for them to begin to generalize from the particular actions to a more general picture of what occurred.

 

B. ENRICHMENT

Some students might be interested to learn that the five stages listed on the previous page are those through which the dying have been observed to go (see Elisabeth Kübler-Ross'On Death and Dying). This is not to imply that Aleut culture was dying; rather that human beings may all react in similar ways to situations of extreme stress.

If you have any students who are very interested in history they might be interested in looking at other cataclysmic events in the history of Alaska or the United States in light of the above stages. Let them report to the class on their research.

An additional enrichment activity might be for students to research the Russian Orthodox yearly cycle. Then, based on what they have learned about Aleut culture during this period have them draw what was probably a "typical" Aleut yearly cycle during the Russian period. Compare it with Stephan's pre-contact cycle and present it to the class.

VIII. OUIZ IV
Administer Quiz IV at this time.

 

Name______________________

CULTURAL CHANGE IN THE ALEUTIAN ISLANDS:
SECTION IV: QUIZ IV

1. Definitions: define all six of the following terms:

a. literacy______________________
b. monopoly______________________
c. Russian Orthodoxy______________________
d. extinct______________________
e. Russian period (give dates and define)______________________
f. rookery______________________

2. Identification: identify the following:

a. A priest who learned from the Aleuts as well as taught them.______________________
b. An Aleut who helped invent the Aleut writing system.______________________
c. A Russian who is given credit for finding the fur seal rookeries.______________________
d. This animal was the main object of hunting during the first part of the Russian period.______________________
e. This animal was the main object of hunting during the last part of the Russian period.______________________
f. The name of the company which ran all the hunting and trading operations in Alaska after 1799.______________________

Extra Credit

g. The name of the first Aleut (Creole) Russian Orthodox priest.______________________

3. Thought questions: answer 2 of the following 4 questions. Use the back of this page for your answers.

a. Explain how literacy changed life in the Aleutians. Be as complete in your answer as you can.

 

b. Explain why the Russian trading companies wanted to form monopolies.

 

c. Do you think the Pribilof Islands were well named? Why or why not?

 

d. Explain why you agree or disagree with the following statement: The iqax was both the Aleuts' main strength and the instrument of their downfall.

4. Thought Question:

You have studied life in the Aleutians from early times to the 1860's. Now imagine that you are an Aleut girl or boy living at that time. Write a paragraph or more telling how the Russian presence in the Aleutians changed the culture of your people.

 

 

Name______________________

 

ANSWER GUIDE
CULTURAL CHANGE IN THE ALEUTIAN ISLANDS:
SECTION IV: QUIZ IV

1. (7 POINTS EA.) Definitions: define all six of the following terms:

a. literacy-ABILITY TO READ AND WRITE
b. Monopoly-AN EXCLUSIVE PRIVILEGE OF ENGAGING IN CERTAIN BUSINESSES~ GRANTED BY A RULER OR MONARCH
c. Russian Orthodoxy-THE STATE RELIGION OF THE RUSSIANS FROM THE 11TH CENTURY UNTIL i~17
d. Extinct-NO LONGER IN EXISTENCE~ HAVING NO LIVING DESCENDENT
e. Russian period (give dates and define)-THE PERIOD IN ALASKAN HISTORY WHEN RUSSIA CLAIMED SOVEREIGNTY OVER THE TERRITORY FROM 1741 TO 1867.
f. Rookery-A BREEDING PLACE; A PLACE WHERE BABY ANIMALS ARE BORN (ESPECIALLY BIRDS, SEALS, PENGUINS, ETC.) 

2. (6 POINTS EA.) Identification: identify the following:

a. A priest who learned from the Aleuts as well as taught them.
VENIAMINOV

b. An Aleut who helped invent the Aleut writing system.
IVAN PAN'KOV

c. A Russian who is given credit for finding the fur seal rookeries.
PRIBILOV

d. This animal was the main object of hunting during the first part of the Russian period.
SEA OTTER

e. This animal was the main object of hunting during the last part of the Russian period.
FUR SEAL

f. The name of the company which ran all the hunting and trading operations in Alaska after 1799.
RUSSIAN AMERICAN COMPANY 

Extra Credit

g. The name of the first Aleut (Creole) Russian Orthodox priest.
IAKOV NETZVETOV

 

3. (11 POINTS EA.)Thought questions: answer 2 of the following 4 questions. Use the back of this page for your answers.

a. Explain how literacy changed life in the Aleutians. Be as complete in your answer as you can.

b. Explain why the Russian trading companies wanted to form monopolies.

c. Do you think the Pribilof Islands were well named? Why or why not?

d. Explain why you agree or disagree with the following statement: The iqax was both the Aleuts' main strength and the instrument of their downfall.

ANSWERS WILL VARY

 

SECTION V: THE AMERICAN PERIOD

OBJECTIVES

1. Students will be able to identify Aleut, Russian, and American elements in present-day Aleut culture

2. Students will be able to recount the cause of cultural change in at least one specific technological area

 
MATERIALS
PREPARATION

1.Cultural Change

1. Obtain filmstrip from school library

2. Time Line

2. Order VT 450 from AVS Center

3.Land claims texts (enrichment) (see p. 93)

3. Invite an Aleut resource person or land claims expert to speak to your class (if available through ASD Community Resources office)

4. VT 450 The Aleutian Story: World War ll.

4. Prepare art supplies for mural activity

5.UN 701 A Visitor in Unalaska slide show (also in filmstrip form in your school library)

5. Duplicate Quiz V

6. Research material (enrichment: see appendices) (see p. 93)

6. Duplicate map of Alaska (p. 27) to be used as part of Quiz V.

7. Art supplies for mural

 

ACTIVITIES

1. Read and discuss Chapters VIII through XI in Cultural Change
2. Show an discuss VT450
3. Discuss or study Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (enrichment)
4. Show Visitor in Unalaska filmstrip
5. Reports or study of Aleut communities today (enrichment)
6. Invite Aleut resource person to class if available
7. Make a mural showing the three historical periods in Aleut history
8. Quiz V

 

VOCABULARY

AMERICAN PERIOD-the portion of Alaska history after the United States purchase of Alaska (1867)
EVACUATION-the removal of people from some place, often to protect them
DEPRIVATION-the state of being without things which are normally part of one's life
ICON-an image or picture of Jesus, Mary, a saint, etc., to be held sacred
INTERNMENT-the confinement within a defined area
MONETARY-having to do with money
PARTITIONED-divided into parts
PELT-the skin of a fur-bearing animal
SCENARIO-an outline for a series of events
SCORES-sets of twenty; one score is twenty

 

SECTION V: THE AMERICAN PERIOD

I. TEXT: CHAPTERS VIII THROUGH XI

A. DISCUSSION/QUESTION/WRITING TOPICS

Read Chapters VIII through XI in Cultural Change. The following questions relate to the reading:

1. What changes do you think the Aleuts went through after the American take-over of the Aleutians? Do you think they were as traumatic as the Russian changes? Why or why not?

2. In what ways were the Americans different from the Russians in the early days? Discuss possible American motivations which might explain why they encouraged certain changes, discouraged others.

3. Why did the barabara, the bidarki, and the throwing dart persist through the Russian period in spite of the other changes which occurred in Aleut culture during that period? What factors determined that they, too, would finally be changed?

4. On September 15-19, 1981, hearings on the reparations requests by the interned Aleuts were held in Anchorage, Unalaska, and St. Paul. VT 450 provides excellent background on the entire topic. It consists of interviews with the people who were interned. Show this videotape and provide any further developments on the issue which have occurred since the hearings. Then discuss or have students write on one or more of the following:

a. Do you think the Aleuts should receive reparation?
b. What motivated the U.S. Government to remove the Aleuts from their homes?
c. Could this happen today under similar circumstances?
d. Could the Aleuts have done anything to prevent their removal? Should they have?
e. More information can be obtained on World War II in the Aleutians in Garfield's Thousand Mile War (Appendix

5. Enrichment activities on the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (see Arnold, Alaska Native Land Claims, Appendix F) or current-day life (see below) would be appropriate at this time.

B. TIME LINE

Have students complete their time lines.

C. FILMSTRIP OR FILM

Prepare to show the filmstrip A Visitor in Unalaska (available in all elementary school libraries), or the slide show by the same name (UN 701) to the students. Before showing it instruct the students to watch especially for evidences of the three cultures: Aleut, Russian, and American. Afterwards, discuss what students found.

D. ENRICHMENT: COMMUNITY STUDIES

Students can do individual reports or studies on Aleutian villages today based on information in the community profiles produced by the university of Alaska (see Appendix F). Ask your librarian to obtain a set through inter-library loan (there are only a limited number of copies available) for a classroom center. Prepare questions about the communities. Examples of questions are:

1. Locate the community on a map of the Aleutians
2. When was the community established?
3. How do people make a living there today?
4. What resources are available near this community?
5. If this is a recently established community, would it have been chosen by the pre-contact Aleuts as a village site? Why or why not?
6. What evidence can you find of the Aleut, Russian, and American periods in the community?

 

II. RESOURCE PERSON

This would be a good time for a visit by an Aleut resource person to your classroom to talk about the ways the three cultures are interwoven into modern Aleut culture, or about the status and future of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act provisions. Contact the ASD Community Resources office for assistance in scheduling such a person.

 

III. FINAL ACTIVITY: A TIME MURAL

As a way to reinforce and use the information learned in this unit, work on a class time mural. The mural should show the three periods in Aleut history, and could be arranged in one of several ways. For instance, the mural might have three panels, each showing the same place in a different period. Or, the mural might consist of transparent overlays, each overlay showing a different period in history. Or, the mural might show a single modern picture with evidences of the different periods somehow marked.

Subjects for the mural might be:
the waterfront
a village
subsistence practices

Your art resource teacher might be able to help with the technical aspects of painting a mural.

 

IV. QUIZ V

Prepare students for Quiz V. It is the final exam for the unit and covers material from the entire unit, including map study. Some questions are from previous quizzes, and some are designed to test students' overall mastery of the information in the unit.

 

Name______________________

 

CULTURAL CHANGE IN THE ALEUTIAN ISLANDS:
SECTION V: QUIZ V

 

1. Vocabulary: Define the following:

a.Unangan
b. pre-contact
c. Kamleika
d. barabara
e. czar
f. literacy
g. Russian Orthodoxy
h. bidarki
i. archipelago

2. Identification: tell why 2 of the following people are important in Aleut History (Extra Credit for identification of more than two):

a. Veniaminov______________________
b. Pan'kov______________________
c. Igadik______________________
d. Pribylov______________________

3. Give the dates for:

a. Russian period______________________
b. American period______________________

4. Timeline: below is a timeline with some important dates marked on it. Choose 2 of those dates and identify what happened in each of those years which was important to the Aleuts.

 

>6400 B.C.

>1763

>1786

>1799

>1824

>1941-45

>1971

>Today

___________________________________________________________________

5. Map Section:

Label the following on the map of Alaska:

 

a. Bristol Bay

f. Juneau

b. Bering Sea

g. Pribilof Islands

c. Kodiak Island

h. Attu Islands

d. Pacific Ocean

i. Fox Islands

e. Anchorage

6. Thought Question. Use the back of this page for your answer.

You have studied life in the Aleutians from early times to the present. Describe the one aspect of Aleut life which was, in your opinion, the most changed by the Russian presence in the Aleutians.

  

ANSWER GUIDE
CULTURAL CHANGE IN THE ALEUTIAN
SECTION V:QUIZ V

1.(4 POINTS EA.) Vocabulary: Define the following:

a. Unangan-THE ALEUTS' NAME FOR THEMSELVES

b. pre contact-THE TIME IN ALASKA HISTORY BEFORE ALASKA NATIVES MET, OR HAD CONTACT WITH, EUROPEANS; IN THE ALEUTIANS, BEFORE 1714

c. Kamleika-A GUT WATERPROOF PARKA, USED ESPECIALLY WHEN HUNTING FROM A BIDARKI

d. barabara-A TRADITIONAL STYLE SEMI-SUBTERRANEAN SOD HOUSE WHICH, IN PRE-CONTACT DAYS, MIGHT HOUSE SEVERAL FAMILIES

e. czar-THE TITLE HELD BY RUSSIAN EMPERORS BEFORE 1917

f. literacy-THE ABILITY TO READ AND WRITE

g. Russian Orthodoxy-THE STATE RELIGION OF THE RUSSIANS FROM THE 11TH CENTURY UNTIL 1917

h. bidarki-THE RUSSIAN WORD FOR IQAX OR KAYAK. ALSO THE TERM BY WHICH CHITONS ARE CALLED IN THE ALEUTIANS.

i. archipelago A GROUP OR CHAIN OF MANY ISLANDS

2. (4 POINTS EA.)Identification: tell why 2 of the following people are important in Aleut History (Extra Credit for identification of more than two):

a. Veniaminov-A RUSSIAN PRIEST WHO WAS LOVED AND RESPECTED BY THE ALEUTS, AND WHO WAS INSTUMENTAL IN WRITING THE ALEUT LANGUAGE FOR THE FIRST TIME

b. Pan'kov-AN ALEUT CHIEF WHO HELPED INVENT THE ALEUT WRITING SYSTEM

c. Igadik-THE LEGENDARY ALEUT WHO IS SAID TO HAVE DISCOVERED THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS

d. Pribylov-THE RUSSIAN NAVIGATOR WHO IS CREDITED WITH FINDING THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS

3. (4 POINTS EA.)Give the dates for:

a. Russian period 1741-1867

b. American period 1867 TO PRESENT

4. (4 POINTS EA.)Timeline: below is a timeline with some important dates marked on it. Choose 2 of those dates and identify what happened in each of those years which was important to the Aleuts.

6400 B.C. FIRST EVIDENCE OF PEOPLE LIVING ON ALEUTIANS
1741 BERING FIRST SIGHTS ALEUTIAN ISLANDS
1763 ALEUT UPRISING
1786 PRIBYLOV FIRST SIGHTS PRIBILOF ISLANDS
1799 RUSSIAN AMERICAN COMPANY GRANTED MONOPOLY OVER ALL RESOURCES
1824 FR. VENIAMINOV FIRST CAME TO ALEUTIANS
1876 U S. PURCHASED ALASKA FROM RUSSIA
1941-45 W. W. II: ALEUTS WERE RELOCATED TO OTHER PARTS OF THE STATE
1971 PASSAGE OF THE ALASKA NATIVE CLAIMS SETTLEMENT ACT

5. (3 POINTS EA.)Map Section:

Label the following on the map of Alaska:

a. Bristol Bay

f. Juneau

b. Bering Sea

g. Pribilof Islands

c. Kodiak Island

h. Attu Islands

d. Pacific Ocean

i. Fox Islands

e. Anchorage

6.(13 POINTS)Thought Question. Use the back of this page for your answer.

You have studied life in the Aleutians from early times to the present. Describe the one aspect of Aleut life which was, in your opinion, the most changed by the Russian presence in the Aleutians.

ANSWERS WILL VARY

 

Back to Cultural Change in the Aleutian Islands

 
 

Go to University of AlaskaThe University of Alaska Fairbanks is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer and educational institution and is a part of the University of Alaska system.

 


Alaska Native Knowledge Network
University of Alaska Fairbanks
PO Box 756730
Fairbanks  AK 99775-6730
Phone (907) 474.1902
Fax (907) 474.1957
Questions or comments?
Contact
ANKN
Last modified August 15, 2006