Module 3 Cultural History

Module 3  People, Places and Practices


How can an examination of "culture" in Alaska contribute to an understanding of Alaska History?
In the reading  Why study Alaska history anyway? on the  Alaska History and Cultural Studies website, it raises the point that the study of history needs to extend far beyond a series of facts and dates.   The study of history falls into the liberal arts and humanities.  This is where we can make connections with events, land, people, music, and arts.  From a neuro-developmental point of view, one of my favorite subjects, these connections set the brain "on fire."  Allowing students an opportunity to explore and experience historical connections as they listen to a piece of music or feel a found object allows learning to be "tagged" in the brain, accessible for higher level thinking.  The image below emphasizes how reliant the brain is on neural connections for memory.  As educators, when we ask students to comprehend and assimilate history, we can offer lessons that include culture presented in a variety of ways.  

PET scan showing glucose metabolism in response to human brain activity performing  different tasks. 

Maybe this is why one of my favorite courses in college was a year of the History of Religion.  I looked forward  to each class as the professor carefully collected the art, music, images, and objects to share with us.  The emphasis was on engagement and connections  rather than the recitation of facts and dates.  As the article said, my experience in this course was more like the study of philosophy and literature, with humanity woven in. I imagine my brain was more active during this course!

Gene Tagaban, Tlingit Storyteller

Also mentioned in the previous cited reading, historian William Cronon said that  for  history to be meaningful, it must be told as a story.   I am reminded of the oral traditions present in the Natives of Southeast Alaska and how their stories contain culture.  Tlingit Moon and Tide Teaching Resource: Elementary Level by Dolly Garza intertwines Tlingit storytelling with the Native teaching of science.  There is an important introduction  to inviting and respecting elders in the classroom. Another resource for the classroom is KNBA Stories of our People eleven stories told by Alaska Native people.  PBS Circle of Stories Lesson Plans  oral tradition of Native American Storytelling and how to incorporate it into the classroom.  The lesson plans include ideas for allowing students to record their own family stories. As emphasized in earlier Modules in this course, students who have a firm understanding of their own and other's cultures are more likely to look towards their surroundings and consider looking at history as it contributes to culture.  


Is there an "Alaskan" culture?  How could it be described?
The comment on the Explore Alaska! blog refers to Alaskan culture of being more of a "salad bowl" rather than a "melting pot."  It goes on to say "The various flavors enhance the whole, with the balance the result of an ongoing process of give and take,  confrontation of difficult issues, and adjustments over time. It is a delicate dance with inevitable missteps, reassessment, and slow progress toward an Alaska which honors all cultures and which holds in special recognition its indigenous population." This salad bowl metaphor does create a better description of my view of Alaska over the past 18 years, with the cultural communities intertwined and yet distinct in their culture and history. 

A video describing this is is recollections by Tlingit Elder Cecilia Kunz as she recalls life in Juneau and memories of the Chinese immigrants working in the canneries. Students in Juneau would likely enjoy her descriptions of early Juneau places and people and be able to contrast it with their city today.  This might be a interesting lesson for students in how geography, resources and culture merge as Place evolves as elders describe their memories while referring to Juneau maps.   


I consider the number of students I work with who are first generation and American born.  Born to parents who arrived in this country within the past 10 years.  Obvious is their contrast with "sense of place" for the Pacific Islanders and Asians.  How strong their cultural communities are in Juneau as they redefine their lives in this new landscape and culture.  Their gatherings are rich with traditional foods and language of home.

Filipino Community Float, Juneau 4th of July Parade, 1949

I, too, am a first generation American to one parent who had arrived in the US 10 years before my birth.  Although the landscape change was not as dramatic, the cultural change and loss of ties with family certainly impacted my family culture.  It was not until I was a young adult and went to live and work in my mother's home county that I began to see and understand the nuances in cultural differences between my friend's families and my own experience.  As a language therapist, I was particularly interested in how I had to be in context to understand certain phrases which were often lost in translation as well as world views that differed often from my experience of an American's view. 

Tlingit Elder Elizabeth Katasse


Guidelines for Respecting Cultural Knowledge shares important guidelines for sharing Native culture.  I am new to this resource and this an important document as an educator to rely on  as we share cultural knowledge within the classroom.   Culture is defined from people within the cultural group as well as those outside.  Many of the resources emphasize the importance of inclusion of Elders as primary resources for cultural interpretation.  

Not only is the landscape of Alaska raw and dynamic, also are the cultures which exist within it.  The long Native history of Alaska conjures an image of the deep rock formations with each new culture establishing itself in relation to what has existed before. These new cultures might be the another "pioneer species" taking root and thriving, yet dependent on the new environment they are in.  

My children and their friend, creating place and culture in Alaska.

Module 3  Reflections

O.K. Blogging is becoming easier and I find myself attending less to technical aspects and more focus on the content (despite the errant font issues). I find that I wander through links of photos and resources and realize that a great deal of time has passed.  A good sign that I am enjoying this learning process!  I wonder about the great photo resources from the Alaska State Museum on the Alaska Alive! website.  Any guidelines on how to access those?  Thanks.

Module 3  Colleague's Blogs

Appreciated Claire's blog (Alaskan History Blog) reference with our responsibility to teach others about the human impact on the environment. 

Agreed with Chris (Learn Alaska or Bust) that some of the content of the course will be a challenge to link with our educational courses but that it was great to learn about!

Explore Alaska blogger, Joel, has a great photo of a moose on his banner.  He also emphasizes the possibility of concurrent global discussions that are possible due to access to technology.