COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH - Change and Its Impact on Culture, Economy and Identity in Three North Bering Strait Alaskan Inupiat Societies: Little Diomede Island, King Island, Wales

Oregon State University, Corvallis OR

Investigators

Abstract

Abstract OPP-0096985 and 0095120 This project examines local perceptions of sociocultural and economic changes often associated with globalization processes in three subsistence-oriented Inupiat societies in the north Bering Strait region of Alaska. The study focuses on three ethnically related but sociopolitically, culturally, and economically distinct Inupiat communities: people from Ingaliq on Little Diomede Island; from Wales, on the northeastern Bering Strait coast; and from King Island. The study addresses change components that have influenced identity in the areas of foraging technologies and traditions. It relies on a variety of methods, including participant observations and multigenerational family interviews. The researchers will collaborate with a wide spectrum of residents in each community and will employ local adults and students as consultants, research assistants, and interns in an effort to provide locally meaningful research experiences.