How Indigenous Oral Tradition Is Guiding Archaeology and Uncovering Climate History in Alaska

  • 📰 DiscoverMag
  • ⏱ Reading Time:
  • 88 sec. here
  • 3 min. at publisher
  • 📊 Qulity Score:
  • News: 38%
  • Publisher: 53%

Scientific research and indigenous oral traditions have long been separated. But increased interaction is bringing new insight into the past and uncovering climate change history in Alaska. Discover more by clicking the link below.

United States Headlines News

United States Latest News, United States Headlines

This article appeared in the March/April issue ofOn the Copper River in south-central Alaska, a celebrated chief named Łtaxda’x once owned a dish hewn from the antler of a giant moose. When Łtaxda’x died, four brothers fought over this ceremonial platter of the Raven clan. According to some tellings of the ancient story, one brother who lost gathered the people who sided with him and led them away from their ancestral home into the unknown.

Crowell knows the Indigenous Raven stories nearly as well as the people raised on them. He is also deeply familiar with Yakutat Bay on the Gulf of Alaska, where the Tlingit people claim to have been guided by the spirit of Mount St. Elias, the mountain that first appeared as a rabbit. As an archaeologist, Crowell has found copper artifacts on the land the Tlingit still occupy, and has seen trace metal analyses that prove the alloy originated a couple of hundred miles away on the Copper River.

He isn’t alone in this mission. “It’s very powerful for Native peoples’ point of view to be respected, to see that our knowledge is just as valid as Western science,” says Judith Ramos, a member of the Yakutat Tlingit clan and an anthropologist at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. She has worked alongside Crowell as a co-investigator on the Yakutat Bay project. “Indigenous knowledge can enrich scientific knowledge. They can be mutually enriching.

Over five years in the early 1950s, de Laguna lived with the Tlingit and collected their stories, many of which had never been written down. Her research led to a 1,400-page English-language monograph published by the Smithsonian Institution, still used as a standard reference by the tribe. De Laguna is also the one who, guided by oral traditions, led the first excavation of Knight Island and found traces of Tlákw.aan.

Crowell arrived in Alaska by way of his work in Labrador. The archaeologist who had brought him to the Arctic as an undergraduate, William Fitzhugh, was running the Smithsonian Arctic Studies Center, and wanted to open an Alaska field office. Crowell’s combination of interests, experiences and a Ph.D. made him the ideal candidate.

We have summarized this news so that you can read it quickly. If you are interested in the news, you can read the full text here. Read more:

 /  🏆 459. in US
 

Thank you for your comment. Your comment will be published after being reviewed.
Please try again later.

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

Alaska News Nightly: Tuesday, March 22, 2022 - Alaska Public MediaTonight on Alaska News Nightly: Two special elections will decide who serves the remainder of Rep. Don Young's term. And the City of Nome settles a lawsuit after a police mishandled a woman's sexual assault case. Listen here:
Source: AKpublicnews - 🏆 387. / 55 Read more »

Alaska News Nightly: Wednesday, March 23, 2022 - Alaska Public MediaTonight on Alaska News Nightly: Sport and commercial fishermen reach a compromise over king salmon bag limits. Also, Alaska’s labor commissioner says the department has learned from the pandemic. Listen here:
Source: AKpublicnews - 🏆 387. / 55 Read more »

Alaska News Nightly: Thursday, March 24, 2022 - Alaska Public MediaTonight on Alaska News Nightly: Sen. Lisa Murkowski says Russia's invasion of Ukraine could impact Alaska's workforce. Also, some fishermen say the Board of Fisheries' conservation efforts have hurt business. Listen here:
Source: AKpublicnews - 🏆 387. / 55 Read more »

Special election dates announced to fill Alaska’s sole seat in US House - Alaska Public MediaAlaskans will vote by mail in a special primary election. Then, a special election will be held to pick who will fill Rep. Don Young's seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. down right intrigued to see anchorage democrat Constant4Alaska in the running for this ––– here's looking for a statement on his support of women's rights, BIPOC, native+ lgbtq rights, voting rights, land protection...yadda yadda : ) alaska Congress ImranKhanPTI threatens to abandon as PM of Pakistan. Due to ongoing failures of Gov. Pakistani people are in strife. Opposition parties, coalition and members of PTI put pressure on PMIK. PMIK claims he was given incorrect figures. 👇
Source: AKpublicnews - 🏆 387. / 55 Read more »

$34M remains for Alaska businesses impacted by COVID-19The second round of funding has approximately $34 million remaining of the $90 million appropriated by the Alaska State Legislature from the State's American Rescue Plan Act business relief program.
Source: AKNewsNow - 🏆 460. / 53 Read more »

Prominent Alaska women speak on how representation mattersFor many on the panel of Alaskan women, they didn't grow up with popular media showing people who looked like them. They know how much representation matters.
Source: AKNewsNow - 🏆 460. / 53 Read more »