| NSF Org: |
OPP Office of Polar Programs (OPP) |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | September 8, 2015 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | September 8, 2015 |
| Award Number: | 1523189 |
| Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Anna Kerttula de Echave
OPP Office of Polar Programs (OPP) GEO Directorate for Geosciences |
| Start Date: | September 15, 2015 |
| End Date: | August 31, 2017 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $11,528.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $11,528.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
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| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
2145 N TANANA LOOP FAIRBANKS AK US 99775-0001 (907)474-7301 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
Nikolai AK US 99775-7720 |
| Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
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| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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| Parent UEI: |
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| NSF Program(s): | ASSP-Arctic Social Science |
| Primary Program Source: |
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| Program Reference Code(s): |
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| Program Element Code(s): |
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| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.078 |
ABSTRACT
The project investigates historical and contemporary forms of spirituality and religion in Alaska's Upper Kuskokwim River region. The focus is on the Athabascan village of Nikolai, where Russian Orthodoxy is the predominant religious practice. Study of Nikolai's historical religious traditions and villagers' traditional relations with the local environment will help to provide a better understanding of not only their spiritual practices, but of the place of human-environment relations in the study of religion and spirituality more generally. The research provides a good base of comparison for others interested in the study of religious movements in rural and indigenous contexts. At the same time it contributes to knowledge of and appreciation for Athabascan cultures and ways of life in the history of northern North America and of the challenges villagers face today as they continue to encounter dramatic social change.
The goals of the project are to better understand to meaning and significance of spirituality in the contemporary lives of this Athabascan community. The community of focus is Nikolai in particular but includes also the surrounding area where community members have relatives, and travel for work, study, recreation, subsistence activities and visiting. The research will be conducted through participation in community activities and observations of practices and community events. Formal interviews will also be conducted to answer specific questions about local history and practices. Overarching questions are as follows: How have people of the Upper Kuskowkim Region incorporated new and older spiritual and religious ideas and practices? What ideas and practices are meaningful to different individuals and groups of the region today? Why and how are their varying meanings established? The proposed research project has strong comparative value to researchers of the circumpolar areas influenced by Russian Orthodoxy, including Southeast Alaska, Aleutian Islands, the Russian Far East and Siberia. Considering the well-documented sudden resurgence of spirituality and religion in post-Soviet regions, the proposed research provides a valuable comparative perspective for researchers of indigenous societies in Siberia and Russian Far East.
PUBLICATIONS PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THIS RESEARCH
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PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
The project investigated historical and contemporary forms of spirituality and religion in Alaska's Upper Kuskokwim River region. The goal of the project was to better understand the meaning and significance of spirituality in the contemporary lives of the community of Nikolai, Alaska. Co-PI, Shiaki Kondo, conducted a total of 14 months of ethnographic fieldwork in the community of Nikolai (including preparatory field visits before this funded project). Various traditional stories, folklore, and life histories were recorded in 11 interviews, all of which have been deposited in the Oral History Archive of the Elmer E. Rasmuson Library, University of Alaska Fairbanks. The results of the fieldwork have so far been published in a journal paper and a book chapter (in Japanese) and presented at international academic meetings (in English). One of the significant findings of this project is the importance of “survival” in Athabascan spirituality. A focus on “survival” makes it possible to find connections among diverse topics such as story-telling practices, Christianization, cultural revitalization projects, and interspecies empathy (e.g. rescuing migratory birds left behind). In this interior Alaskan community, traditional Athabascan spiritual beliefs and practices, deeply connected with hunting and fishing, have been at the same time linked with Russian Orthodox beliefs and practices that are selectively incorporated in subsistence-based life. For instance, until the 1980s, traditional chiefs were in charge of Church affairs. One of the agenda items at weekly church meetings was to secure provisions for the community, especially for those in need. Young people were sent to hunt and given advice on where to look for game. This selective incorporation of Christian beliefs and practices can be explained by the shift from life in mobile bands to life in the semi-nomadic village with the Russian Orthodox Church as the center of the community.
The project contributes to the existing scholarship on Russian Orthodoxy in Native Alaskan societies by adding substantial information on Northern Athabascans’ relations with this denomination. The project also documented a few examples of new practices related to alternative spirituality, which is comparable to the spiritual resurgence in post-Soviet indigenous Siberian societies. For example, some community members are interested in Native American dances performed in powwow and others may consult with traditional healers from diverse cultural backgrounds.
Last Modified: 11/28/2017
Modified by: David C Koester
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