The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill

• Main Author: J. Steven Picoul
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 1989
• Subjects: eyak; Alaska
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.495.4319; http://stevenpicou.com/pdfs/talking-circle.pdf

Technological disasters are zlniq~le in that they res~llt in long-term social impacts. The mitigation of such impacts is an area that has received little attention in both the disaster and the applied sociology literatures. This article presents a description of a cz~ltz~rally sensitive mitigation strategy, the "Talking Circle, " and its application to Alaska Natives negatively impacted by the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill. Talking Circles are a traditional social activity for Alaska iVatives and this activity was organized and implemented by members of the Village of Eyak in Prince William Sound, Alaska. The 2-day event resulted in many testimonies n b o ~ ~ t personal experiences with the oil spill. Post-Talking Circle activities by Eyak Village members indicate increased c ~ ~ l t u r a l wareness and political mobilization. These findings sug-gest that this mitigation strategy promoted c ~ ~ l t z ~ r a l conscio~sness among victims experiencing chronic disaster impacts and res~llted in a "transforming activity " for the Native Village of Eyak.