Living on Thin Ice. Steven C. Dinero
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at this point that in essence suggests that the narratives of “civilization” and “cleanliness” or “hygiene” may be seen as similar if not identical objectives when pursued within the context of colonization. Yet here again I show that formal education arrived late in the village environment, taking form only midcentury. Again, I seek to argue that such efforts dovetailed well with other social and economic changes then occurring both within the community and indeed through the United States at that time.
In chapter 4, I quantify and qualify how the Nets’aii community has evolved into its present state. The Nets’aii once lived largely independently in geographically dispersed camps. The imposition of the European settlement model in the early twentieth century brought on greater communal organization and with it a new, functional form of community development. And so, as the Nets’aii Gwich’in’ settled at Arctic Village over the past century, they should have also embraced the provision and use of publically planned services. These utilities include such basic infrastructure as water and electrification, as well as health care services. But is this entirely so? Using village planning theories as my framework for analysis, I assess the degree to which the village operates today as a cohesive whole. In other words, I pose a basic but crucial question as I conclude this section: is Arctic Village truly a “village” in the Western sense of the word, or is it more like the traditional Nets’aii Gwich’in hunting camp comprised of a group of families, residing in homes, who, though drawn together by outside forces, no longer see themselves as a single unified community?
The second section begins with chapter 5, in which I problematize the issue of subsistence activity, practice, and behaviors in today’s changing global economy. On the one hand, the Nets’aii Gwich’in still practice hunting, fishing, and gathering at exceptionally high rates relative to other twenty-first century indigenous populations. On the other, these practices are in rapid decline in many though not all quarters. In this chapter, I document these changes and analyze both quantitatively and qualitatively what the role of subsistence is among the Nets’aii Gwich’in at present and what it might be going forward. As subsistence is the heart and soul of any Native community, this chapter, purposely located in the center of this narrative, is in fact the core of my argument, for without hunting, fishing, and gathering, many would argue, the future of the Nets’aii Gwich’in appears to be a bleak one. The Nets’aii Gwich’in are the “Caribou People,” but without the caribou, who are they and what sort of future lies ahead?
Of course, changing subsistence behaviors are related to several factors, including a fluctuating climate. I quantify and qualify these changes among the Nets’aii Gwich’in in chapter 6, showing that the subarctic boreal forest region provides an ideal environment through which to analyze the impact of warming upon flora, fauna, and, ultimately, those who interact with this natural setting on a daily basis. In effect, the case presented here supplies an ideal study of the issues that the Gwich’in are facing at present, as well as what is likely to come for those of us who live in the urbanized South. The Nets’aii Gwich’in community’s experiences provide numerous examples of what the entire global community, indigenous and non-indigenous alike, will face in an era of globalizing technologies and rising political and environmental threat, as well as ways to overcome and adapt to these challenges.
Chapter 7 picks up on the theme of “where do we go from here?” By concentrating on the youth (for the most part, those under 18 years of age) as central to the future of the Nets’aii Gwich’in—a thread found throughout all four chapters of the second section—I address the ways, especially since 1970, younger generations now live in the village community. Indeed, the “vill” may occupy the same geographic location but is sociologically a very different place from only a few short decades ago. Communications and transportation technologies have irreversibly altered the face of Native bush village life. New opportunities, as well as challenges in the form of the “three S’s” (substances, sex, suicide), make village life extremely difficult for today’s youth. Here I highlight material gathered from the general literature, as well as my own interviews, household surveys, and even a survey of the youth themselves, all of which confirm that the Arctic Village of today is a new entity with issues and concerns the likes of which the early founders could never have anticipated.
This leads me to the concluding chapter, chapter 8. Here I speculate about the future of the Nets’aii Gwich’in community in general and of Arctic Village in particular. Villagers will often repeat the phrase, “We don’t know where we are anymore!” The feeling of disorientation in the new society and global economy of the twenty-first century is truly overwhelming. There is no doubt that the community is under siege from a multitude of social and economic forces: ongoing oil drilling interests in the neighboring Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) that threaten wild food resources, poverty and unemployment, substance abuse, teen pregnancy, outmigration and brain drain, and on and on. Here I turn to an analysis of social media to better understand how today, just as the Nets’aii Gwich’in settlement system is beginning to alter and fray, new virtual networks may sustain and support the expression of Nets’aii Gwich’in identity and unity well into the future.
I conclude this final chapter by suggesting that reports of the death of Native cultures like the Nets’aii Gwich’in of Arctic Village are premature at best. While the Nets’aii Gwich’in people of today differ greatly from their ancestors, likely to spend more hours each day watching television or posting on Facebook than hunting caribou or moose, one thing remains consistent: the Nets’aii Gwich’in remain a proud community, able and willing to adjust to change over time and to overcome adversity.
Every fall, without exception, the call “Vadzaih!” (Caribou!) can be heard across Arctic Village; each year, men, women, and children continue to head up mountain on their four-wheelers to camp, hunt, eat, and sleep. Some then head back and forth (a minimum of ten miles round-trip)—sometimes more than once in a day—to get supplies and to visit those villagers down below who no longer go up mountain to hunt but who support and sustain their friends and relatives, as well as anticipate their success. It is the twenty-first century in North America, and still the hunt goes on. Animals are harvested across the Yukon Flats, and the village freezers are slowly but surely filled. The Caribou People of the Chandalar have lived in this region for some ten thousand years and continue to do so today. We have much to learn from their example.
Note
1. Alaska Natives are divided into tribes not only based on heritage (e.g., Athabascans) but also by community. In short, throughout, I will refer to the Arctic Village “tribe” and the Native Village of Venetie Tribal Government (NVVTG), which includes the Village of Venetie and Arctic Village.
SECTION I
At the turn of the new millennium, many felt it was time to stop and take stock of where humanity had been and, more importantly, where it was heading. From theoreticians like David Harvey and Francis Fukuyama to New York Times writer Thomas Friedman, from CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, and every source in between—men and women of every political persuasion expressed the belief that the turn of the century and the millennium seemed to coincide with a major social, economic, and political paradigm shift. Such a shift signaled the end of something that could never be recovered and the beginning of something perhaps great, perhaps wonderful, but all the more likely frightening, sinister, and worthy of concern. Thus, in the early twenty-first century, we are repeatedly bombarded with cataclysmic images of melting icecaps, exploding buildings, and seemingly unprecedented levels of conflict, violence, and hatred that threaten every species on the planet, including us, and ultimately the planet itself.
Within this context of major global change, fear, and uncertainly is where the following case study must be situated. In an ever-globalizing world where overpopulation, scarcity, and social and economic