Sunday, November 30, 2008

Hunting Tradition in a Changing World: Yup'ik Lives in Alaska Today


Fienup-Riordan, A. (2000). Hunting Tradition in a Changing World: Yup'ik Lives in Alaska Today. New Jersey: Rutgers University Press.

This book shows changes the Yupiit went through in their hunting experiences. They are connecting their communities with the larger world. By that I mean that the Alaska Natives are working around the environment changes to keep hunting. It’s hard work to subsistence hunt and fish, including the rules and regulations everyone has to follow. Fienup-Riordan mixes her essays and individual Yupiit narratives in this book to show experienced hunters and their view of the hunting traditions. Some examples in this book are hunters teaching themselves and others about their past and present lives; how they maintain their cultural identity, even when they move away from native villages; and working with museums to show the exhibition of Yup’ik ceremonial masks. Ann Fienup-Riordan has lived and written about the Yupiit for twenty-five years. She knows a lot about the Yup’ik history and oral tradition. After reading her articles it influenced me to know more about the traditions and cultures in Alaska.

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