Glaciers and climate change: perspectives from oral tradition (of Athapaskan and Tlingit elders
ABSTRACT. In northwestern North America, glaciers figure prominently in both indigenous oral traditions and narratives of geophysical sciences. These perspectives intersect in discussions about global warming, predicted to be extreme at Arctic and Subarctic latitudes and an area of concern for both...
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ftciteseerx:oai:CiteSeerX.psu:10.1.1.458.1093 2023-05-15T14:18:37+02:00 Glaciers and climate change: perspectives from oral tradition (of Athapaskan and Tlingit elders Julie Cruikshank The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives 2001 http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.458.1093 http://arctic.synergiesprairies.ca/arctic/index.php/arctic/article/download/795/821/ en eng http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.458.1093 http://arctic.synergiesprairies.ca/arctic/index.php/arctic/article/download/795/821/ Metadata may be used without restrictions as long as the oai identifier remains attached to it. http://arctic.synergiesprairies.ca/arctic/index.php/arctic/article/download/795/821/ Key words environmental change exploration narratives Gulf of Alaska Little Ice Age oral tradition science studies traditional knowledge Yukon text 2001 ftciteseerx 2016-01-08T06:19:49Z ABSTRACT. In northwestern North America, glaciers figure prominently in both indigenous oral traditions and narratives of geophysical sciences. These perspectives intersect in discussions about global warming, predicted to be extreme at Arctic and Subarctic latitudes and an area of concern for both local people and scientists. Indigenous people in northwestern North America have experienced climate variability associated with the latter phases of the Little Ice Age (approximately 1550–1850). This paper draws on oral traditions passed down from that period, some recorded between 1900 and the early 1950s in coastal Alaska Tlingit communities and others recorded more recently with elders from Yukon First Nations. The narratives concern human travel to the Gulf of Alaska foreshore at the end of the Little Ice Age from the Copper River, from the Alaska panhandle, and from the upper Alsek-Tatshenshini drainage, as well as observations about glacier advances, retreats, and surges. The paper addresses two large policy debates. One concerns the incorporation of local knowledge into scientific research. The second addresses the way in which oral tradition contributes another variety of historical understanding in areas of the world where written documents are relatively recent. Academic debates, whether in science or in history, too often evaluate local expertise as data or evidence, rather than as knowledge or theory that might contribute different perspectives to academic questions. Text Arctic Arctic Climate change First Nations glacier glaciers Global warming Subarctic tlingit Alaska Yukon Unknown Arctic Gulf of Alaska Yukon |
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English |
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Key words environmental change exploration narratives Gulf of Alaska Little Ice Age oral tradition science studies traditional knowledge Yukon |
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Key words environmental change exploration narratives Gulf of Alaska Little Ice Age oral tradition science studies traditional knowledge Yukon Julie Cruikshank Glaciers and climate change: perspectives from oral tradition (of Athapaskan and Tlingit elders |
topic_facet |
Key words environmental change exploration narratives Gulf of Alaska Little Ice Age oral tradition science studies traditional knowledge Yukon |
description |
ABSTRACT. In northwestern North America, glaciers figure prominently in both indigenous oral traditions and narratives of geophysical sciences. These perspectives intersect in discussions about global warming, predicted to be extreme at Arctic and Subarctic latitudes and an area of concern for both local people and scientists. Indigenous people in northwestern North America have experienced climate variability associated with the latter phases of the Little Ice Age (approximately 1550–1850). This paper draws on oral traditions passed down from that period, some recorded between 1900 and the early 1950s in coastal Alaska Tlingit communities and others recorded more recently with elders from Yukon First Nations. The narratives concern human travel to the Gulf of Alaska foreshore at the end of the Little Ice Age from the Copper River, from the Alaska panhandle, and from the upper Alsek-Tatshenshini drainage, as well as observations about glacier advances, retreats, and surges. The paper addresses two large policy debates. One concerns the incorporation of local knowledge into scientific research. The second addresses the way in which oral tradition contributes another variety of historical understanding in areas of the world where written documents are relatively recent. Academic debates, whether in science or in history, too often evaluate local expertise as data or evidence, rather than as knowledge or theory that might contribute different perspectives to academic questions. |
author2 |
The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives |
format |
Text |
author |
Julie Cruikshank |
author_facet |
Julie Cruikshank |
author_sort |
Julie Cruikshank |
title |
Glaciers and climate change: perspectives from oral tradition (of Athapaskan and Tlingit elders |
title_short |
Glaciers and climate change: perspectives from oral tradition (of Athapaskan and Tlingit elders |
title_full |
Glaciers and climate change: perspectives from oral tradition (of Athapaskan and Tlingit elders |
title_fullStr |
Glaciers and climate change: perspectives from oral tradition (of Athapaskan and Tlingit elders |
title_full_unstemmed |
Glaciers and climate change: perspectives from oral tradition (of Athapaskan and Tlingit elders |
title_sort |
glaciers and climate change: perspectives from oral tradition (of athapaskan and tlingit elders |
publishDate |
2001 |
url |
http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.458.1093 http://arctic.synergiesprairies.ca/arctic/index.php/arctic/article/download/795/821/ |
geographic |
Arctic Gulf of Alaska Yukon |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Gulf of Alaska Yukon |
genre |
Arctic Arctic Climate change First Nations glacier glaciers Global warming Subarctic tlingit Alaska Yukon |
genre_facet |
Arctic Arctic Climate change First Nations glacier glaciers Global warming Subarctic tlingit Alaska Yukon |
op_source |
http://arctic.synergiesprairies.ca/arctic/index.php/arctic/article/download/795/821/ |
op_relation |
http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.458.1093 http://arctic.synergiesprairies.ca/arctic/index.php/arctic/article/download/795/821/ |
op_rights |
Metadata may be used without restrictions as long as the oai identifier remains attached to it. |
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1766290146112569344 |