Southwest Alaska Research Articles

Incorporating Yup'ik and Cup'ik Eskimo Traditions Into Behavioral Health Treatment

The Yup'ik and Cup'ik Eskimo of Southwest Alaska have developed programs to provide healing from historical trauma. The Village Sobriety Project, a Center for Substance Abuse Treatment-funded project administered by the Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation from 1999 to 2002, is an effort to incorporate the local Yup'ik and Cup'ik peoples' ways into treatment services for mental health and substance abuse. Activities such as tundra walks and time with elders are supported in treatment, and Medicaid reimbursement was successfully obtained for such activities. Documentation of treatment showed that it incorporated cultural elements of the Yup'ik and Cup'ik people.

Holocene tephrochronology of the Cold Bay area, southwest Alaska Peninsula

The major-element glass geochemistry of 92 tephra samples from the southwest Alaska Peninsula provides the basis for establishing a Holocene tephrochronology for the region. Electron microprobe analysis has been combined with field descriptions of samples, stratigraphic relationships between tephra samples and sample localities, and glass shard micro-morphology to correlate these sampled distal tephra units throughout the area of Cold Bay and adjacent Morzhovoi Bay. Radiocarbon dating provides age constraints on correlated horizons. Previous research had clearly delineated only one horizon in the region, the so-called ‘Funk/Fisher’ ash, dating to between 8425±350 and 9130±140 14C yr BP. In addition to constraining the bimodal andesitic and dacitic glass chemistry of that horizon, this study has recognized six additional tephra layers in the area. Two horizons pre-date the Funk/Fisher ash and four are younger than it. A tephra containing dacitic and andesitic components was identified in the vicinity of Morzhovoi Bay, with a minimum age of 9300±80 14C yr BP and a maximum age of 10,200±75 14C yr BP. A rhyolitic horizon composed of cm-sized, rounded pumice clasts was identified in the vicinity of Cold Bay; it has been correlated to the ca 9500 BP eruption of Roundtop volcano on Unimak Island. The four younger tephra beds date to between 6070±340 and 3600±140 14C yr BP. The oldest of the four is rhyodacitic, followed by a mixed rhyodacitic–andesitic horizon, another rhyodacitic horizon, and finally an andesitic layer. Comparison of all the correlated horizons to proximal samples collected on Unimak Island provides conclusive geochemical evidence that the ca 9100 BP Caldera-forming eruption of Fisher volcano is the source of the Funk/Fisher ash. Correlation between the rhyodacitic tephra horizons and proximal samples from Fisher volcano suggests that Fisher Caldera is the source of one of the rhyodacitic tephra horizons that post-dates the Funk/Fisher ash. Additional tephra samples from the southwest Alaska Peninsula and Unimak Island that were collected prior to this study correlate to the tephra horizons identified in the Cold Bay area and identify one additional horizon.

Botulism among Alaska natives in the Bristol Bay area of southwest Alaska: a survey of knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to fermented foods known to cause botulism.

Botulism cases due to traditional Alaska Native fermented foods occur periodically in Southwest Alaska. In this population, we conducted a survey on knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to botulism and fermented foods. We interviewed 140 adults randomly chosen from nine villages. Data collected included fermented food consumption frequency; knowledge about the cause and symptoms of botulism; and fermented food preparation methods. Most respondents (81%) had eaten Alaska Native fermented foods at least once. Over 70% identified botulism as a foodborne illness, and over 87% believed eating certain Native fermented foods could cause botulism. One-third of fermented food preparers used plastic containers for fermentation. To prevent botulism, 45% vwould consider boiling fermented foods, and 65% would not eat foods fermented in plastic or glass containers. Despite high awareness of botulism in this population, one-third of fermented food preparers use plastic containers, a practice which may increase the risk of botulism. Misconceptions and acceptable prevention messages about botulism, such as using traditional nonplastic fermentation methods, were identified and included in an educational video.

Botulism among Alaska natives in the Bristol Bay area of southwest Alaska: a survey of knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to fermented foods known to cause botulism

Objectives. Botulism cases due to traditional Alaska Native fermented foods occur periodically in Southwest Alaska. In this population, we conducted a survey on knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to botulism and fermented foods. Methods. We interviewed 140 adults randomly chosen from nine villages. Data collected included fermented food consumption frequency; knowledge about the cause and symptoms of botulism; and fermented food preparation methods. Results. Most respondents (81%) had eaten Alaska Native fermented foods at least once. Over 70% identified botulism as a foodborne illness, and over 87% believed eating certain Native fermented foods could cause botulism. One-third of fermented food preparers used plastic containers for fermentation. To prevent botulism, 45% would consider boiling fermented foods, and 65% would not eat foods fermented in plastic or glass containers Conclusions. Despite high awareness of botulism in this population, one-third of fermented food preparers use plastic containers, a practice which may increase the risk of botulism. Misconceptions and acceptable prevention messages about botulism, such as using traditional nonplastic fermentation methods, were identified and included in an educational video.

Risk factors for severe respiratory syncytial virus infection among Alaska native children.

The incidence of hospitalization for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection among Alaska Native children is much higher than among non-Native populations in the United States. We conducted this study to better understand factors associated with hospitalization attributable to RSV infection in this high-risk population. Case-control study, including collection of cord blood for RSV-neutralizing antibody measurement. Remote region of southwest Alaska served by 1 regional hospital and 2 referral hospitals. Case-patients identified through surveillance for RSV infection and matched control subjects without acute respiratory infection hospitalization. Breastfeeding was associated with a lower risk of RSV hospitalization (odds ratio: 0.34), whereas underlying medical conditions (primarily prematurity) were associated with increased risk (odds ratio: 6.25). Environmental factors associated with a higher risk of hospitalization included household crowding (4 or more children in the household and crowding index > or =2). The level of maternal RSV-neutralizing antibody was not associated with the risk of hospitalization. In this region with extremely high risk of RSV hospitalization, several measures, such as encouraging breastfeeding and reducing household crowding, could reduce the risk of hospitalization attributable to RSV.

Manufactured Stress; Prayers for Peace; Ilumun No. 1

Alice Rose Crow Maar'aq(Yup'ik) resides in Kotzebue, Alaska. She was born and raised in Bethel, on the Kuskokwim River in Southwest Alaska. After first attending the former Kuskokwim Community College, Alice earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Alaska. In 1999 eleven of her poems were published in Standards, the University of Colorado's International Journal for Multicultural Studies.

A Woman's Vapor: Yupik Bodily Powers in Southwest Alaska

Menstrual pollution is represented as a repressive ideology that particularly restricts women. Menstrual traditions among Yupik Eskimos of southwest Alaska challenge this model. Here, menstrual practices are understood within a set of social rules applied to persons (including men) in various states, and do not signal gender-based social-structural ambiguity. Anthropologists should not assume that menstrual restrictions are everywhere understood or experienced as rigidly inhibiting, implying regulation of the person, or indexing a primary concern with gender. (Menstrual traditions, gender, Alaska Native/Native American, Central Yupik) ********** Among the Malemut, and southward from the Lower Yukon and adjacent districts, when a girl reaches the age of puberty she is considered unclean for forty days; she must therefore live by herself in a corner of the house with her face to the wall, and always keep her hood over her head, with her hair hanging disheveled over her eyes.... The same custom formerly prevailed among the Unalit, but at present the girl is secluded behind a grass mat in one corner of the room for the period of only four days, during which time she is said to be a-gu-lin-g'a-guk [aglenrraq], meaning she becomes a woman, and is considered unclean. A peculiar atmosphere is supposed to surround her at this time, and if a young man should come near enough for it to touch him it would render him visible to every animal he might hunt, so that his success as a hunter would be gone. (Nelson 1983 [1899]:291) At the beginning of a Yupik Eskimo (1) story told around 1980, the half-human/ half-animal beings called ircinrraat are hosting a ceremony and, we are told, have explicitly forbidden the attendance of aglenrrat (those who are starting to bleed). A boy is getting ready to go to the ceremony, and his grandmother instructs him to accept and bring home all gifts that the ircinrraat offer him, even if they appear to be nothing but grass and weeds. He heads off to the festivities. The girl who has just had her first period is overcome with curiosity (a typical prelude to trouble in Yupik Eskimo stories) and goes to the hill where the ircinrraat are holding the ceremony. She can see into the hillside, which is magically open. People are laughing and dancing inside, but she is unable to climb the riverbank to get there. Like Sisyphus, she keeps sliding back all night, eventually wearing out the knees of her thigh-high skin boots. The boy, on the other hand, has a wonderful time and (unlike all the other guests) does not discard the seemingly worthless plants that the ircinrraat distribute. He and his wise grandmother are happy when the refuse turns into valuable furs on his return. Although restrictions have been relaxed in the past 40 years, Yupiit (literally, real people; sing., Yupik) are familiar with the long list of prohibitions surrounding menstruation in Yupik Eskimo society. As in many other hunting cultures, a menstruating woman is thought to offend and repel fish and game and to adversely affect a man's hunting ability. In this story, the menarcheal woman was unable to attend ceremonial activities. Menstruating women today, at least in Russian Orthodox communities, do not attend church services. A young woman's behavior was once strictly regulated not only during menarche, but also for a full year afterwards. From then on, she was expected to observe certain constraints each menstrual period. These facts alone might argue for a pollution model to explain Yupik attitudes toward menstruation. Ideas of danger, uncleanness, and behavior hedged with prohibitions appear in connection with menstruation throughout the ethnographic literature on Inuit, in Alaska and elsewhere. Yet a closer look suggests that we need to understand menstruation within a complex of ideas and behaviors concerning behavioral restrictions in general, and the social and cosmic powers of bodily substances and emanations in particular. …

STOCK STRUCTURE OF SEA OTTERS (ENHYDRA LUTRIS KENYONI) IN ALASDA

AbstractSea otters in Alaska are recognized as a single subspecies (Enhydra lutris kenyoni) and currently managed as a single, interbreeding population. However, geographic and behavioral mechanisms undoubrably constrain sea otter movements on much smaller scales. This paper applies the phylogeographic method (Dizon et al. 1992) and considers distribution, population response, phenotype and genotype data to identify stocks of sea otters within Alaska. The evidence for separate stock identity is genotypic (all stocks), phenotypic (Southcentral and Southwest stocks), and geographic distribution (Southeast stock), whereas population response data are equivocal (all stocks). Differences in genotype frequencies and the presence of unique genotypes among areas indicate restricted gene flow. Genetic exchange may be limited by little or no movement across proposed stock boundaries and discontinuities in distribution at proposed stock boundaries. Skull size differences (phenotypic) between Southwest and Southcentral Alaska populations further support stock separation. Population response information was equivocal in either supporting or refuting stock identity. On the basis of this review, we suggest the following: (1) a Southeast stock extending from Dixon Entrance to Cape Yakataga; (2) a Southcentral stock extending from Cape Yakataga to Cape Douglas including Prince William Sound and Kenai peninsula coast; and (3) a Southwest stock including Alaska Peninsula coast, the Aleutians to Attu Island, Barren, Kodiak, Pribilof Islands, and Bristol Bay.

Two Genotypes of Pedicularis chamissonis (Scrophulariaceae) Distributed at Mt. Gassan, Japan: Additional Genetic and Morphological Studies

Steven, which is broadly distributed from northern Honshu of Japan to southwest Alaska, is known to comprise a few different cpDNA haplotypes grouped into two major (“Northern” and “Southern”) clades. This paper presents on the basis of chloroplast and nuclear DNA analyses that no gene flow exists between the two clades at Mt Gassan where two haplotypes D and J of the Northern and Southern clades occur. The two haplotypes are further distinguished from each other in corolla and leaf shape and the number of flower whorls on an inflorescence axis, a fact indicating that individuals of the two clades should be treated as separate species. At Mt. Gassan and in other regions in general the haplotypes of the Southern clade currently grow at higher altitudes than those of the Northern clade. Based on the difference in habitat as well as the lack of gene flow between the two clades, evolutionary processes resulting in the current distribution of the two genotypes are also briefly discussed.

Vegetation ecotone dynamics in Southwest Alaska during the Late Quaternary

To examine Late Quaternary vegetation change across the modern vegetation gradient from continuous boreal forest (central Alaska) to Betula shrub tundra (Bristol Bay region), pollen records from Idavain and Snipe Lakes are described and compared to those of four other sites in southwest Alaska. Major features of the vegetation history at Idavain Lake include herb-dominated tundra (ca 14–12 ka BP), mixed herb/ Betula shrub tundra (ca 12–8 ka BP), and Alnus/Betula shrub tundra (8 ka BP to present). The Snipe Lake record reveals a brief period of herb tundra (>12 ka BP), Betula shrub tundra (ca 12–8.5 ka BP), and Picea forest mixed with Alnus/Betula shrub tundra (ca 8 ka BP to present). Comparisons with other pollen records indicate that southwest Alaska has been the location of major vegetation ecotones throughout the last 12 ka years. Northern areas have consistently been dominated by larger growth forms (shrubs or trees) than have southern areas. During the Betula period (12–8 ka BP), a dense Betula shrubland occupied central Alaska, changing to a mixed low- Betula shrub and herb tundra in the south. In the Alnus/Picea period (8 ka BP to present), Picea and Betula trees were more common to the north; Alnus and Betula shrubs more abundant to the south. Vegetation dynamics have been complex at individual sites and across the region. Each site shows both long- and short-term shifts in major taxa, but the magnitude of these changes varies across the transect. In addition, some pollen changes appear to be synchronous among sites (within the constraints of existing chronologies), whereas others are strikingly time transgressive across the region. Similar vegetation dynamics at all sites are: (1) long-term decreases in herb taxa during the Betula period, (2) short-term oscillations between Betula shrubs and herbs during the Betula period, and (3) major increase in Alnus shrubs ca 8 ka BP. Significant differences among sites include: (1) major expansion of Populus trees in northern but not southern areas during the Betula period, (2) progressively later expansion of P. glauca at northern sites than at southern sites (ca 9.5–4.5 ka BP), and (3) fluctuation of P. glauca populations in extreme northern areas during the early Alnus/Picea period.

Heads or Tails: The Zooarchaeology of Aleut Salmon Storage on Unimak Island, Alaska

Identifying salmon processing and storage is a critical area of research among archaeologists investigating salmon's role in prehistory. The basic zooarchaeological model, based on ethnographic and historic observations, predicts a dichotomy between processing sites containing discarded cranial elements and winter villages dominated by salmon vertebrae or other elements indicative of stored fillets. Examination of the salmon preservation methods practiced by the Aleut and Alutiiq people of southwest Alaska supports this archaeological model, with the additional observation that fish processing sites often contain the remains of salmon consumed while at fish camp.Excavations on Unimak Island, Alaska, provide well-preserved faunal assemblages necessary for evaluating the zooarchaeological model. Adjacent to a salmon stream, the West Terrace Camp (UNI-072) produced an assemblage dominated by salmon head parts with a smaller amount of post-cranial elements consistent with the modern practice of eating fresh salmon and some additional salmon heads while at camp. Agayadan Village (UNI-067), in contrast, is located a short distance away on the Bering Sea coast, and contained an assemblage dominated by salmon fins and vertebrae indicating the consumption and discard of stored fillets and backbones.The Agayadan Village fauna resembles assemblages documented at other northern villages, suggesting widespread similarities in salmon processing and preservation practices. The West Terrace Camp assemblage is unique when compared to published archaeological reports and suggests that fish processing camps will be identified by the discarded remains of salmon consumed at camp rather than by the salmon portions discarded during the butchery process.

Grasslands of the Aishihik-Sekulmun Lakes Area, Yukon Territory, Canada

Grassland communities found on dry, steep, south-facing slopes in the Aishihik-Sekulmun Lakes area, southwest Yukon Territory, are dominated by Artemisia frigida and Carex filifolia , with Calamagrostis purpurascens , Poa glauca , Penstemon gormanii , Phlox hoodii , and Potentilla nivea subdominant. The grasslands are similar in terms of dominants and subdominants to other grasslands in southwest Yukon, but twelve species that have not been recorded at other sites were found in the Aishihik-Sekulmun area. The composite species list from southwest Yukon grasslands was compared to those from grasslands found in Alaska and in the boreal forest on the northern Great Plains. These three regions share a number of species; however, at least 25% of the species in each region are restricted to that region alone and absent from the other two. The southwest Yukon grasslands flora contains the following groups: species restricted to southwest Yukon, species found in both southwest Yukon and Great Plains grasslands, species found in both southwest Yukon and Alaska grasslands, and species found in grasslands in all three regions. Further work is needed to more fully characterize the floristic components of southwest Yukon grasslands and variations among them. Key words: Aishihik Lake, grasslands, steppe, Yukon Territory

The magnetic record of the Late Glacial-Holocene transition in sediments from Grandfather Lake (Southwest Alaska)

Las mediciones preliminares de propiedades magnéticas en muestras de un núcleo de 8.5 m. de longitud del lago Granfather (suroeste de Alaska), indican que la magnetización remanente de estos sedimentos reside en magnetita con comportamiento de multidominio y grano grueso. Esto sugiere una señal magnética de cristal. El cambio abrupto en las propiedades magnéticas a 5.95 m de profundidad (ca. 9500 14C años), es probablemente el reflejo del comienzo del Holoceno templado. Los registros magnéticos y de polen muestran un patrón diferente bajo esta transición. Ello sugiere la ocurrencia de un ligero calentamiento al término de la última glaciación, seguido por el evento de enfriamiento Younger Dryas y el inicio del Holoceno. El primer evento de calentamiento y el Younger Dryas no están registrados en la señal magnética. Una explicación a esta discrepancia es que el impacto de estos eventos climáticos, si es que tuvieron algún efecto en el clima del suroeste de Alaska, es que fue limitado en esta región.

Abstract: Stratigraphy, Structure and Petroleum Potential of the Holitna Lowland Area, Southwest Alaska 

Abstract: Stratigraphy, Structure and Petroleum Potential of the Holitna Lowland Area, Southwest Alaska 

In My Opinion: Ethnomathematics and Multicultural Mathematics Education

For over a decade, teachers, administrators, elders, and other community members of the Yup’ik Eskimo villages in southwest Alaska have been planning ways to integrate traditional Yup’ik mathematics and science into the school curriculum. introducing such topics as the Yup’ik base-twenty system of number words and the symmetry of patterns in clothing and basketry.

Prevalence of Asthma and Respiratory Symptoms among Alaskan Native Children♦ 1966

The prevalence of asthma among children has increased in the last decade, particularly among ethnic minorities. However, the prevalence of asthma and other respiratory conditions among Alaskan native children has not been previously reported. Children attending grades 6-9 in three villages in the Yukon-Kuskokwim delta region of Alaska were surveyed in 1997 using modified validated instruments developed by the International Studies of Asthma and Allergies in Children (ISAAC). Children were categorized as those who had received a diagnosis of asthma by a doctor, children with asthma-like symptoms without a diagnosis of asthma, children with daily sputum production without asthma-like symptoms, and normal children without respiratory symptoms. The proportions of children (as% of total children surveyed/village) in each category are depicted below. The frequency of different respiratory symptoms varies among villages. Yet, in all three sites asthma symptoms are more common than diagnosed asthma. Daily sputum production suggestive of chronic bronchitis is more common than both diagnosed and undiagnosed asthma. Remarkably, more than half of middle school children in Southwest Alaska by self-reporting have chronic respiratory symptoms. Table

Protection provided by hepatitis B vaccine in a Yupik Eskimo population--results of a 10-year study.

A hepatitis B virus vaccine demonstration project was conducted in southwest Alaska in 1981-1982 to determine the immunogenicity and efficacy of the vaccine. A total of 1630 susceptible persons in the Alaskan Native population were vaccinated with the recommended three-dose regimen of plasma-derived hepatitis B vaccine, and 94% demonstrated antibody to hepatitis B surface antigen (anti-HBs) at levels > or = 10 mIU/mL. After 10 years of follow-up, 76% of those immunized had anti-HBs levels > or = 10 mIU. During the 10 years following the first dose of vaccine, 13 study participants developed antibody to hepatitis B core antigen (10 vaccine responders, 3 nonresponders), and none developed sustained HBs positivity or had clinical hepatitis. These data suggest that immunization with hepatitis B vaccine continues to provide high levels of protection from clinical disease for at least 10 years.

Cervical cancer screening on the Yukon-Kuskokwim delta, southwest Alaska: A population-based study

Cervical cancer screening on the Yukon-Kuskokwim delta, southwest Alaska: A population-based study

Cervical cancer screening on the Yukon-Kuskokwim delta, southwest Alaska: A population-based study

Alaska Native women suffer excess morbidity and mortality due to cervical cancer. This population-based study analyzed data from a regional Pap smear registry to describe the 2-year prevalence of cervical cancer screening for the women who live in remotely located villages in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta region. All women older than 18 years of age who lived in one of the villages of the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta were included (n = 6916). A 2-year Pap prevalence rate for each village was estimated by counting the number of women who had at least one Pap smear between September 1, 1992, and August 31, 1994, using the computer-based Pap registry located at the regional medical center in Bethel, Alaska. Population estimates for each village were obtained from a database maintained by the local office of the State of Alaska's Public Health Nurses. The overall 2-year Pap prevalence rate for the population was 62%. By age group, 2-year prevalence rates were as follows: women 18 to 44 years, 64%; women 45 to 64 years, 58%; and women 65 years and older, 52%. This study demonstrated that there is a significant need to improve access to and use of cervical cancer screening in this region to achieve national and state objectives. Village-based clinic staff are underutilized for cancer prevention service delivery; with additional training and supervision, staff members may serve as a means to improve this preventive health care service.

Cervical cancer screening on the Yukon‐Kuskokwim delta, southwest Alaska: A population‐based study

Cervical cancer screening on the Yukon‐Kuskokwim delta, southwest Alaska: A population‐based study