Mission of Change in Southwest Alaska is, primarily, a series of conversations, a historical narrative from the points of view of two old friends and colleagues. Father Astruc and Paul Dixon spent much of their lives living and working in southwest Alaska with Yup’ik communities. Through thirty hours of interviews, they recount their experiences with cultural, political, and religious change in the region. Ann Fienup-Riordan is a cultural anthropologist who has been working with Yup’ik communities in Alaska since 1973. Using an oral history methodology, she strives to present Yup’ik history and culture from the perspective of the people. This book offers an alternate narrative: two non-Natives who spent a considerable amount in time in southwest Alaska with the goal of helping to empower Natives to make informed decisions to impact their futures. Fienup-Riordan’s goal with this text was to better understand the complex and sweeping series of changes that took place in southwest Alaska during this period of time. Recognizing that this narrative is one-sided (as all historical narratives are), she suggests that these men’s opinions and reflections are valuable in terms of augmenting the historical record both for Natives and non-Natives interested in the region and culture.
This is a surprising, remarkable book. It’s a history of two men, but it’s also the history of a region, an ethnography of cultural and political change, and an homage to cross-cultural communication. The deep respect and genuine love that Father Astruc and Paul Dixon have for southwest Alaska and the Yup’ik people is obvious throughout the text, from their reminiscences of spending time with Yup’ik friends to the continuous political and linguistic efforts that they made throughout the years. Fienup-Riordan inserts herself in the narrative; or rather, she doesn’t remove herself. This book is not a series of monologues, but a conversation. The ethnographer is present, asking questions and making comments. This is not to say that the text is a long transcript. It’s well edited, maintaining the storytelling style but without all the hesitations, stops and starts, repetitions, and backtracking that a typical interview involves.
The book begins with an excellent introductory chapter in which the background, geography, and methodology are described. Fienup-Riordan provides a comprehensive anthropological analysis of all the pertinent cultural, social, political, and economic factors in the southwest region. Her intimate knowledge of Yup’ik culture is apparent from her thoughtful descriptions of community identity and cultural traditions. She presents information about the long history of encounters between Native and non-Native peoples in Alaska, depicting it as an ongoing relationship of resistance, forced assimilation, coexistence, cultural change, and empowerment. Native peoples are not portrayed as unfortunate victims but rather as active agents, and culture is not lost but instead changes in response to various catalysts. The book is arranged chronologically and topically, with themes emerging naturally from conversations.
Fienup-Riordan contextualizes each chapter with a thorough introduction, tying together each conversation with historical and political information, as well as concise narrative summaries. This prepares the reader for a sometimes meandering but always interesting conversation. Many of the politico-legal machinations that Father Astruc and Paul Dixon discuss would likely be confusing to all but the most specialized reader. Fienup-Riordan’s clear explanations of state and federal policies are an excellent foundation for the reminiscences of those who were intimately involved. Chapter 1, “Changing Continents,” describes Father Astruc’s early years and how he became interested in mission work in Alaska. He first came to Alaska in 1950 for theological training, and settled into his new career in 1956. He freely admits that he was ill-prepared and had to learn as he went, with a lot of help from the community. This theme of humility and learning from the people is a constant throughout the book: “He originally came to Alaska to change Yup’ik people, but in the process the people changed him” (38).
In Chapter 2, “Changes in Education,” Father Astruc discusses his work as Superior of St. Mary’s Mission School. His educational methods were vastly different from other schools at the time; he allowed Yup’ik to be spoken, encouraged traditional dancing, created opportunities for travel, and supported cross-cultural education and parental involvement. At a time when Native children had quite recently been forced to attend strict boarding schools where they were punished for speaking their native languages, Father Astruc’s approach was fairly revolutionary. Chapter 3, “Changing Careers,” introduces Paul Dixon and his arrival in Alaska as an aeronautical engineer. He quickly transferred to a new career in consulting, working with Native communities with the primary goal of helping the community to “find a way to keep our young people” (130). He advocated for legal recognition, performed contracting work to strengthen infrastructure, and facilitated community education meetings.
Chapters 4 (“Changing Communities”) and 5 (“Changes on Nelson Island”) describe the work that Father Astruc and Paul Dixon did together to empower Yup’ik people to make well-informed choices around complicated legal and political issues. The community education meetings were a series of public forums in which the two men presented issues and potential options regarding legal incorporation. They respected and adopted traditional communication styles of thorough discussion and public consensus. Both men remarked numerous times throughout the text that their most significant role was as translator; more than linguistic differences, they had to translate complex legal concepts into cultural references that Yup’ik people could understand. In particular, notions of boundaries, legal recognition, and ownership were very difficult to explain, because the Yup’ik had no similar concepts.
In Chapter 6, “Regional Changes Before ANCSA,” Father Astruc and Paul Dixon reflect on the widespread land loss, hunting rights, employment, health, and education issues affecting Alaska Natives, and the beginning of political activity and unification among Native communities in the 1960s. Chapter 7, “Statewide Changes,” focuses on the passage of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) of 1971 and how it impacted Yup’ik communities. Father Astruc and Paul Dixon played significant roles in facilitating communication and understanding of land claims. Through an Adult Basic Education program, English and math were taught in direct reference to current political events, which increased Native understanding of and involvement in land claim settlements. With their combined efforts, the two helped incorporate twenty-three city governments in southwest Alaska.
Chapter 8, “Change Continues in St. Marys,” follows Paul Dixon back to the city of St. Marys, where he agreed to an ostensibly temporary corporate management position that he remained in for fourteen years. He managed the village store, taught an Alaska Native Affairs class at the high school, and continued the community education meetings. The final chapter, “Changes in the Church,” is a discussion of the ways in which Father Astruc incorporated Yup’ik traditions into the Mass. After reading Fienup-Riordan’s scholarship on Yup’ik ceremonial traditions, Father Astruc started slowly introducing many of the nineteenth-century Yup’ik ritual elements into the liturgy. Traditions such as baptismal names, use of water, traditional tea used as incense, Yup’ik garments as vestments, personal items like drums laid on coffins to represent the deceased, and the healing power of touch all served to help Yup’ik parishioners understand and appreciate the sacraments from their own cultural references. Fienup-Riordan is quick to point out that this was not syncretism but incorporation; Father Astruc was emphasizing similarities while Yup’ik parishioners were asserting their cultural identity. This notion of decolonializing mission work was a fascinating theme throughout the chapter and indeed throughout the book as a whole.
Mission of Change in Southwest Alaska provides a nuanced view of a period of rapid change in Yup’ik communities and the region in general, through the personal reminiscences of two non-Natives who spent their careers trying to understand the Yup’ik people and helping Yup’iks understand the world around them. At times emotional, uplifting, funny, and profound, this text documents two lives and the significant ways in which these men effected change and were changed in the process. I highly recommend this book to anybody interested in Alaska Native culture, Alaskan state history, or Native American land claims. I believe it would be well received in graduate seminars in cultural anthropology, oral history methodology, or any course dealing with themes of change in Native cultures.
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[Review length: 1366 words • Review posted on February 13, 2013]