Subarctic cultural area (Native American history)

Category: Culture area

Language groups: Algonquian, Athapaskan, Eskimo-Aleut

Tribes: Ahtna, Beaver, Carrier, Chilcotin, Chipewyan, Cree, Dogrib, Haida, Han, Hare, Ingalik, Inland Tlingit, Koyukon, Kutchin, Montagnais, Mountain, Naskapi, Saulteaux, Slave, Tagish, Tanaina, Tanana, Tsetsaut, Yellowknife

The Subarctic culture area covers a huge region, spanning three continents and the coasts of three oceans. For the purposes of a study of North American native cultures, the area can be considered to cover Alaska, the Yukon, the Northwest Territories, Labrador, and the northern portions of British Columbia, Alberta, and Manitoba. There is, however, no clear break between the cultures of North America and those of Greenland, Siberia, and Northern Scandinavia, as these cultures spread long before current boundaries between nations were established, and the cultures remain very similar.

Generally, the native population of the area can be divided into three groupings: Eskimos and Aleuts, Athapaskan Indians (sometimes spelled Athabaskan—the actual sound is an aspirated p, which cannot be rendered in the English alphabet), and the Northwest Coast Indians. These are three distinct cultures and will be discussed separately below. It should be noted that the term “Eskimo” has engendered some controversy (with many Canadian Arctic and Subarctic natives, for example, preferring “Inuit”), but it is used here because it incorporates a large number of groups that cannot easily be united under any other term and because it has a long scientific tradition of usage.

Prehistory

The people of the Subarctic did not have a written language before the arrival of European explorers and missionaries, and physical evidence is in short supply owing to the harsh climate and sparse population. Most modern archaeologists, however, have agreed that the North American continent was first settled by immigrants from Asia during the last Ice Age, over a land bridge (Beringia) across the Bering Strait, which now separates Alaska from Siberia. During the Ice Age, sea level was considerably lower, and the islands that now exist in the Bering Strait were once almost certainly mountain peaks on that land bridge.

At least two, and probably three, separate Bering Strait migrations occurred, according to linguistic evidence. It is impossible to date these migrations accurately, but the land bridge probably existed from about twenty-five thousand to ten thousand years ago, so the migrations must have taken place during those time spans. It is likely that the people we call Athapaskans were the first to arrive, because they later made much farther inroads south. Surprisingly, the Athapaskan languages of Alaska are closely related to the Apache and Navajo but are not apparently related to the language groups that exist in the huge area between Alaska and the Southwest United States. The area in between is populated by people who speak a completely different family of languages, including Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian in Alaska and a great number of languages in Washington, Oregon, and Northern California. The gap in cultures remains a mystery, but these groups may represent a second migration.

The third group involved were the Eskimos and Aleuts. Modern linguists generally believe that the two groups split about three thousand years ago. Between eight hundred and eighteen hundred years ago, the Eskimo language split into a number of dialects, but the dialects are not nearly as different as one might expect, considering the huge distances involved. The language and culture of Eskimos in northern Alaska and in Greenland are similar enough so that the people can communicate more easily than can most people in bordering countries in Europe.

The Natural Environment

Before considering the conditions of modern-day Subarctic cultures, it is important to dispel some stereotypes that many people unfamiliar with the territory have formed. There is a stereotypical tendency to picture Eskimos in igloos, living in a frozen wasteland that is dark six months out of the year. While this environment certainly exists, it is limited to areas near the North Pole and at high elevations. Several other climatic situations exist in the Subarctic.

Along the west coast of Alaska, British Columbia, and Washington State, there is a warm ocean current (the Japanese Current), similar in nature to the Gulf Stream that warms the western coast of Europe, and the temperatures are warmer than one might expect. Temperatures in Anchorage, Alaska, are actually warmer, on the average, than in many parts of New York and New England. In the interior, temperatures can reach 70 degrees (Fahrenheit) below zero during the long winter nights, but summer days can be as warm as 80 above.

The Eskimos

The old Eskimo culture is a rapidly dying one. While there are still people living in igloos and wearing seal skins, and while Eskimo languages are still spoken, most modern Eskimos have taken advantage of Western civilization and removed themselves from the harsh life of their ancestors. By and large, it is only in the most remote places that Eskimo civilization as it once existed can still be found.

These areas are remote indeed. In Alaska, for example, only one road runs north of Fairbanks; beyond the Yukon River it is a private road built by the Alaskan Pipeline companies that is still inaccessible to the general public. The Alaskan Highway is built of gravel and is unsuitable for travel by car for about half the year. There are still villages largely untouched by Western civilization. These villages are reached by plane or by dogsled, and they are hardly tourist attractions.

According to archaeological evidence, Eskimos once occupied considerable inland territory that is now mostly inhabited by Athapaskans and people of European ancestry, but it is impossible to determine when they abandoned these lands to others. At present, Eskimos are largely confined to the coasts of the Arctic, Atlantic, and Pacific Oceans and probably number about thirty to forty thousand, an extremely sparse population considering the area involved.

The Aleuts

There are only a few thousand people in the present day who consider themselves Aleuts. They primarily inhabit the Aleutian Islands, an archipelago stretching southwest from the Alaskan mainland. They are apparently related closely to the Eskimos, at least linguistically, but they may also be related to the Athapaskans farther inland. They also may have a tie to the natives of Siberia, though this is much harder to determine.

The Athapaskans

Those in the Athapaskan language family presently comprise a great number of tribes over a wide range of territory. For some undetermined reason, as mentioned above, they appear to be closely related to some of the tribes in the southwestern United States, but there is a large group of tribes in between. Currently, they inhabit most of interior Alaska as well as the Yukon and the Northwest Territories.

The Athapaskans encompass what is in some ways a strange mixture of cultures. They were among the last American Indians to be “discovered” by people of European descent and were largely unknown before the Alaskan gold rush of the late nineteenth century. When gold was discovered along the Yukon River, the Athapaskans were found to be already in control of the land; they were not especially upset by the arrival of whites. There was an attempt by Christian missionaries to convert the native people they found in Alaska and the Yukon. This effort was successful to some extent, but only on a superficial level. Until the 1970’s, most of the territory the Athapaskans controlled in Alaska was still Indian Territory, never ceded to the United States by treaty. During that time, much of the land became national park or national monument land, but this has had little effect on the lifestyles of the people who live there.

The largest numbers of Athapaskans in the Subarctic live along the Yukon and Tanana Rivers in Alaska and the Yukon. Most speak English, although the native dialects are still used for religious ceremonies. Generally speaking, Christianity is common but has not replaced older customs. Like many American Indian groups, the Athapaskans believed in many gods and had no objection to accepting Jesus Christ into the pantheon. At important times such as births, deaths, and marriages, two ceremonies often take place: a Christian ceremony conducted in English and a native one conducted in the native language.

Bibliography

Bancroft-Hunt, Norman. People of the Totem. New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1979. A description of the Northwest American Indian culture, including a study of their history, ceremonies, and contemporary conditions.

Bandi, Hans Georg. Eskimo Prehistory. Translated by Ann E. Keep. College: University of Alaska Press, 1969. An archaeological study of early Eskimos, including illustrations, diagrams, and maps, and discussing their history from their arrival on the American continent until the 1960’s.

Bone, Robert W. Fielding’s Guide to Alaska and the Yukon. New York: Fielding Travel Books, 1990. A traveler’s guide, mostly involving areas that can be reached by car. Includes some useful information about where to find artifacts and living examples of the native cultures of the area.

Hamilton, Charles. Cry of the Thunderbird: The American Indian’s Own Story. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1972. A compilation of articles by American Indians about their culture, including memories of childhood, historical beginnings, and contemporary conditions.

Spencer, Robert F., Jesse D. Jennings, et al. The Native Americans. 2d ed. New York: Harper & Row, 1977. An encyclopedic discussion of American Indian culture, from prehistory to contemporary times.