Aleutian Tradition
The Aleutian Tradition refers to the cultural practices and historical legacy of the Unangan people, who inhabit the Aleutian Islands, an archipelago stretching over 1,300 miles from Alaska towards Eurasia. This tradition dates back to at least 1000 b.c.e., with archaeological findings of stone tools suggesting a presence as early as 10,000-6500 b.c.e. The Aleutians are distinct from, yet related to, the Inuit, possessing their own language and rich cultural heritage. Traditionally, the Unangan relied heavily on the sea for sustenance, engaging in the hunting of marine mammals and fish, and they crafted intricate clothing from natural materials.
Their communities, structured around social hierarchies, featured subterranean dwellings called barabara, which were built to accommodate their needs while providing protection from the elements. Spiritual beliefs were deeply intertwined with their daily lives, as they honored the spirits of the animals they hunted. Village life was organized around inherited social ranking, with roles assigned to nobles, commoners, and slaves. Despite their relative isolation until the mid-1700s, the Aleutians maintained their traditions despite external pressures, allowing them to preserve their unique cultural identity into the modern era.
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Aleutian Tradition
Date: 2000 b.c.e.-700 c.e.
Locale: Subarctic, southeastern Alaska
Aleutian Tradition
The Aleutian (uh-LEW-shuhn) Islands are part of an archipelago stretching more than 1,300 miles (2,100 kilometers), from the southwestern Alaskan mainland nearly to Kamchatka and Eurasia. The Aleutian tradition has existed since at least 1000 b.c.e. Stone tools have been unearthed that date back to 10,000-6500 b.c.e., characterized as being much thicker than the contemporary Arctic Small Tool or the Northwest Microblade types. Inuit subtraditions from the north and Asia later began to infiltrate and disperse, diverging into the later island societies still evident in the twenty-first century. The Aleutian peoples have their own language and culture, though they are distantly related to the Inuit.
The Aleutian people generally numbered about 15,000 and called themselves the Unangan (“the people”). They depended on the sea for most of their livelihood. Men honored the spirits of the sea mammals and game (sea otters, seals, sea lions, whales, and fish). They hunted while wearing gut-skin shirts highly decorated with glass beads, hair embroidery, yarn, and other materials handcrafted or obtained by trade. At sea in their waterproof sea-lion and seal-skin suits and large boats, or umiaks, the men wore conical wooden hats with various sizes of bills that denoted their social positions.
The Aleutians dug down as deep as 6 feet (nearly 2 meters) to build round subterranean lodgings from approximately 500 to 700 square feet (47 to 65 square meters) in size, then covered the radial log roof with earth and grass and entered from above. Heat and light were generated by seal-oil lamps. Each man stood on his roof daily at dawn to “swallow light” and scan the sea for signs. Small villages were located on or between bays, where lookouts, escape routes, and protected landings were easily found. A good salmon stream provided food and water, and the gravel beaches provided the driftwood and whalebone needed to build their barabara, or underground houses. Nearby woods provided birds, eggs, plants, and some game (caribou, bear).
Village life was highly structured, based on inherited social ranking from high noble, to commoner, to slave. They practiced bilateral descent, and powerful shamans were consulted regarding illness and hunting taboos. Leaders were chosen from among the elite nobles and chiefs. Living space, as well as burial plots, was allocated by rank. Living in relative isolation from prehistoric times, until the mid-1700’s and initial decimating contact with Russian seafarers, less than two thousand Unangan carried on the ancient Aleutian traditions in historic times.
Bibliography
Jones, Dorothy M. Aleuts in Transition. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1976.
Laughlin, William S. Aleuts: Survivors of the Bering Land Bridge. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1997.