This book is the third in an acclaimed series written by Ernest Burch. The first book, The Iñupiaq Eskimo Nations of Northwest Alaska, published in 1998, focuses primarily on social geography, with Burch identifying and describing the Native nations that once inhabited this region. The second, Alliance and Conflict: The World System of the Iñupiaq Eskimos, published in 2005, takes a more “macro” view, analyzing the relationships among these nations.
Burch describes the mission of this third book as an examination of the internal organization and functions of the nations that existed in northwest Alaska from 1800 to 1848. Despite that modest claim, the book offers an extraordinarily detailed and exhaustively researched body of information about the thirteen nations that occupied the region, going well beyond a routine look at political or social structures.
At first glance, folklorists might set the book aside, noting that it seems too rooted in social anthropology and linguistics to be of much value in folklore scholarship or pedagogy. The chapters, for example, are organized along anthropological lines: an introduction, then a chapter on role differentiation, then chapters on families, the economic process, the political process, and the integration process. None of the chapters or sections refer to storytelling, art, music, or other keywords that tend to capture folklorists’ attention.
And much of the information is distilled, presented in Burch’s own words, rather than the words of Native collaborators. For example, Burch notes that water was typically classified into three types: ta?iuq (saltwater), imaq (unpotable water, usually brackish), and imiq (freshwater) (197). He describes the primary use of saltwater, which was to bathe wounds, and then he goes into detail regarding the uses of freshwater, including drinking, cooking, and watering the dogs. He notes that freshwater could be obtained by melting snow, although ice was preferred for several reasons, and he discusses the warm springs and other sources that the Iñupiaq relied on year-round. Most of the information, however, is not linked to any specific source, presented instead as Burch’s understanding based on extensive research. There is no reason to question the validity of the information--Burch’s understanding is astute and well-informed--but folklorists searching for tales, descriptions, and other first-hand material from sources will largely be disappointed.
A careful reading, however, reveals a wealth of material that folklorists will find both interesting and useful. Material culture, vernacular architecture, ritual, and a host of other facets of Iñupiaq life are tucked inside the more abstract headings. In the chapter on the economic process, for example, is a subsection focused on tattoos. The subsection describes how the tattoos were made--typically involving a thread blackened with soot and drawn under the skin with a needle--and notes that the most common tattoo for women featured three parallel, vertical lines going from the lower lip to the chin. “Other variations included patterns tattooed on the arms or the back of the hands, often made by the woman herself. A few men had tattoos on the face, usually in the form of X’s, triangles, or ‘raven tracks’ near the corners of the mouth…. Among men, tattoos were apparently most common among elders who had had successful careers as whalers” (256).
The book, representing four decades of research, relies on both oral and documentary sources. The oral sources include variants collected by explorers and others who visited the region (or came close) during or shortly after the era being studied, including Vilhjalmur Stefansson, Knud Rasmussen, and Edward Curtis. In addition, Burch has gathered information from “Native historians who learned about traditional ways of life from their parents and grandparents. Many of our sources were raised while storytelling was still the primary means whereby historical information was transmitted from one generation to the next” (13). These data were gathered through direct fieldwork--Burch spent considerable amounts of time in the region from 1960 to 1999--and indirectly, through the published works of other researchers and through an examination of their field notes. The documentary materials come from various sources: Russians who gathered information about Alaska during armed conflict with the Chukchi; and the Chukchi themselves--“Chukchi knowledge of Alaska was based partly on observations made in the course of intercontinental trade and warfare” (11). Other authors used in this study include John Simpson, Charles Brower, Harrison R. Thornton, and many additional scholars.
The thirteen nations examined in this study--the Akuni?miut, Ka?i?miut, Ki?ikmiut, Kiitaa?miut, Kivalliñi?miut, Kuu?miut, Napaaqtu?miut, Nuataa?miut, Pitta?miut, Qikiqta?ru?miut, Siilviim Ka?iani?miut, Tapqa?miut, and Tiki?a?miut--were small, with populations ranging from 300 to 1,300. The total population in the year 1800 reached approximately 7,315 spread over more than 41,000 square miles. But this is an important part of the Arctic, intersecting political, economic, and social tensions that carry ramifications into today’s world. And Burch’s book does an admirable job of informing readers, in a thorough and scholarly manner, about the people who occupied the region for thousands of years.
--------
[Review length: 812 words • Review posted on February 9, 2009]