Globalisation and development in a post-nomadic hunter/gatherer Alaskan village: a follow-up assessment

• Published in: Polar Record
• Main Author: Dinero, Steven C.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 2007
• Subjects: General Earth and Planetary Sciences; Ecology; Geography, Planning and Development; Arctic; Athabascan; Polar Record; Alaska
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0032247407006389; https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0032247407006389

ABSTRACT Using data collected in the Gwich'in Athabascan community of Vashraii K'oo/Arctic Village, an examination of how the village has continued to develop and evolve as a native space since its initial creation in 1908, is presented. Data collected using a household survey in 2006 is compared with data that was collected in a 1999 survey in order to address and measure such issues as: the village residents’ economic standing and subsistence activities; satisfaction with the planning and governance of the village; and residents’ overall attitudes toward the degree to which their village continues to function as an ‘ethnic space’. The previous conclusion (Dinero 2005) was that these villagers have responded relatively well to globalising forces, effectively bridging the native and white worlds in a manner which allows them to live in both, yet to retain a strong sense of their identity and cultural values despite residence in a settled, post-nomadic setting. While this remains the case, one cannot overlook in the present research the sense of loss of past lifeways that has resulted from the changes brought on by new technologies, despite any positive benefits deriving therefrom. Therefore, the conclusion of this paper is the suggestion that the development of this ‘hybridised’ Alaska native is still very much in process, as these people strive to adapt to the new challenges presented by their ever-changing environment.