article

Alutiiq vikings: kinship and fishing in Old Harbor, Alaska

Human organization55 (3) • Published In 1996 • Pages: 263-278

By: Mishler, Craig, Mason, Rachel.

Abstract
The community of Old Harbor on Kodiak Island is populated mainly by Autiiq Natives and by descendants of male Scandinavian immigrants who married Alutiiq women. Sandinavian and Alutiiq intermarriage during the last one hundred years has produced a new creolized social class, but this new class is maintained by an aboriginal Alutiiq social structure built upon hierarchy and rank. Looking at Alutiiq kinship terminology allows us to map the complex network of relationships between fishing captains and between fishing captains and crews. It is within the framework of Alutiiq kinship and the Scandinavian work ethic that Old Harbor residents of Scandinavian descent have attained a high level of material prosperity that is invisible in neighboring Alutiiq communities where such intermarriage has not occurred (p. 263).
Subjects
Acculturation and culture contact
Sociocultural trends
Marine industries
Competition
Status, role, and prestige
Accumulation of wealth
Classes
Kinship terminology
Kin relationships
Parents-in-law and children-in-law
Rule of descent
culture
Alutiiq
HRAF PubDate
2005
Region
North America
Sub Region
Arctic and Subarctic
Document Type
article
Evaluation
Creator Types
Subsistence Resource Specialist
Ethnologist
Document Rating
4: Excellent Secondary Data
5: Excellent Primary Data
Analyst
John Beierle ; 2004
Field Date
ca.1990-1991
Coverage Date
1870-1991
Coverage Place
Old Harbor, Kodiak Island, Alaska, United States
Notes
Craig Mishler and Rachel Mason
Includes bibliographical references (p. 269)
LCCN
47033317
LCSH
Pacific Gulf Yupik Eskimos