A Tale of Three Villages

Indigenous-Colonial Interactions in Southwestern Alaska, 1740–1950

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Archaeology
Cover of the book A Tale of Three Villages by Liam Frink, University of Arizona Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Liam Frink ISBN: 9780816533800
Publisher: University of Arizona Press Publication: May 12, 2016
Imprint: University of Arizona Press Language: English
Author: Liam Frink
ISBN: 9780816533800
Publisher: University of Arizona Press
Publication: May 12, 2016
Imprint: University of Arizona Press
Language: English

People are often able to identify change agents. They can estimate possible economic and social transitions, and they are often in an economic or social position to make calculated—sometimes risky—choices. Exploring this dynamic, A Tale of Three Villages is an investigation of culture change among the Yup’ik Eskimo people of the southwestern Alaskan coast from just prior to the time of Russian and Euro-North American contact to the mid-twentieth century.

Liam Frink focuses on three indigenous-colonial events along the southwestern Alaskan coast: the late precolonial end of warfare and raiding, the commodification of subsistence that followed, and, finally, the engagement with institutional religion. Frink’s innovative interdisciplinary methodology respectfully and creatively investigates the spatial and material past, using archaeological, ethnoecological, and archival sources.

The author’s narrative journey tracks the histories of three villages ancestrally linked to Chevak, a contemporary Alaskan Native community: Qavinaq, a prehistoric village at the precipice of colonial interactions and devastated by regional warfare; Kashunak, where people lived during the infancy and growth of the commercial market and colonial religion; and Old Chevak, a briefly occupied “stepping-stone” village inhabited just prior to modern Chevak. The archaeological spatial data from the sites are blended with ethnohistoric documents, local oral histories, eyewitness accounts of people who lived at two of the villages, and Frink’s nearly two decades of participant-observation in the region.

Frink provides a model for work that examines interfaces among indigenous women and men, old and young, demonstrating that it is as important as understanding their interactions with colonizers. He demonstrates that in order to understand colonial history, we must actively incorporate indigenous people as actors, not merely as reactors.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

People are often able to identify change agents. They can estimate possible economic and social transitions, and they are often in an economic or social position to make calculated—sometimes risky—choices. Exploring this dynamic, A Tale of Three Villages is an investigation of culture change among the Yup’ik Eskimo people of the southwestern Alaskan coast from just prior to the time of Russian and Euro-North American contact to the mid-twentieth century.

Liam Frink focuses on three indigenous-colonial events along the southwestern Alaskan coast: the late precolonial end of warfare and raiding, the commodification of subsistence that followed, and, finally, the engagement with institutional religion. Frink’s innovative interdisciplinary methodology respectfully and creatively investigates the spatial and material past, using archaeological, ethnoecological, and archival sources.

The author’s narrative journey tracks the histories of three villages ancestrally linked to Chevak, a contemporary Alaskan Native community: Qavinaq, a prehistoric village at the precipice of colonial interactions and devastated by regional warfare; Kashunak, where people lived during the infancy and growth of the commercial market and colonial religion; and Old Chevak, a briefly occupied “stepping-stone” village inhabited just prior to modern Chevak. The archaeological spatial data from the sites are blended with ethnohistoric documents, local oral histories, eyewitness accounts of people who lived at two of the villages, and Frink’s nearly two decades of participant-observation in the region.

Frink provides a model for work that examines interfaces among indigenous women and men, old and young, demonstrating that it is as important as understanding their interactions with colonizers. He demonstrates that in order to understand colonial history, we must actively incorporate indigenous people as actors, not merely as reactors.

More books from University of Arizona Press

Cover of the book Matrons and Maids by Liam Frink
Cover of the book Beyond Germs by Liam Frink
Cover of the book The Book of Want by Liam Frink
Cover of the book The Prehistoric Pueblo World, A.D. 1150-1350 by Liam Frink
Cover of the book Hopi Basket Weaving by Liam Frink
Cover of the book Shameful Victory by Liam Frink
Cover of the book Petrified Forest National Park by Liam Frink
Cover of the book Pueblo Indians and Spanish Colonial Authority in Eighteenth-Century New Mexico by Liam Frink
Cover of the book Ceramics and Community Organization among the Hohokam by Liam Frink
Cover of the book Gerard P. Kuiper and the Rise of Modern Planetary Science by Liam Frink
Cover of the book Ranching, Endangered Species, and Urbanization in the Southwest by Liam Frink
Cover of the book Hashknife Cowboy by Liam Frink
Cover of the book Dry River by Liam Frink
Cover of the book Asegi Stories by Liam Frink
Cover of the book The Making of a Mexican American Mayor by Liam Frink
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy