Hunting for walrus and whale. Stretching hides over frames to make traditional boats. Carving ivory, making masks. These are the things that make Arctic life good.
Even when you pull down a paycheck and surf the web.
A new study and survey found that indigenous people across much of the Arctic see the pursuit of traditional crafts and subsistence hunting at the core of their identity, even amidst the 21st Century computer age and a society powered by modern technology.
- What seasons Arctic life?
- Arctic Living Conditions
- Daily News story
- UAA workshop
- Canadian Press story
The results came from interviews of more than 7,000 people living in hundreds of traditional communities across Alaska, Canada, Chukotka and Greenland. Additional interviews have been completed in Norway, Sweden, Finland and the Kola Peninsula.
The findings show that — despite the historical effort to force people to assimilate into modern life and turn away from traditional activities — nine out of ten Native people still value the “old ways” and often spend their wage earnings to help pay for hunting, subsistence gathering and crafts.
One intriguing excerpt from the results:
Women in Greenland and Chukotka are more likely than men to prefer working on a wage job over harvesting, herding or processing their own food. Men and women in Greenland are more likely than their counterparts in Chukotka or Alaska to prefer wage work. In Alaska, gender differences almost disappear in the preferences for lifestyle. And for some reason, almost 8 in 10 Alaska Natives see a combination of working on a wage job and harvesting, herding or processing their own food as the most attractive lifestyle. We think this may be because the structure of Alaska’s mixed economy makes it easier and more rewarding to do both. The North Slope Borough’s policy of granting subsistence leave is one example. More subtle but perhaps as important is the respect given to hunters who also have full time jobs.
There’s a lesson here from for all people, even those of European descent thousands of years removed from their original tribal culture.
Get out on the land. Gather and grow (and kill) your own food. Be outside as much as possible. Feel the weather on your face. Create your own art.
From www.farnorthscience.com.