|
Authentic Alaska |
| |
 |
Authentic Alaska - Voices of Its Native Writers
 This anthology features non-fiction stories, essays, short autobiographies, and how-to pieces by Alaska's indigenous peoples, including Inupiat Eskimos, Yup'ik Eskimos, Siberian Yup'ik Eskimos, and Athabascan Indians. These writings explore a range of experiences and issues, including skinning a polar bear; traditional subsistence practices; marriage customs; alcoholism; balancing traditional and contemporary demands; discrimination; and the social realities of speaking standard and "village" English. The book is divided into chapters titled Autobiography, Rural Alaska Life, Stories of the North, Formal Schooling, and Traditional and Western Cultures.
Published in 1998 by the University of Nebraska Press, Authentic Alaska offers a rare view into the way of life in the huge expanse of rural Alaska, sometimes called the "Bush." Writers hail from isolated islands in the treacherous Bering Sea, or from the treeless, windswept communities that cling to Alaska's rugged arctic coast. They may live farther south, or inland, along unfettered river systems in country so wild that roads rarely connect these far-flung villages to each other and even less often to the outside world. Most communities are accessible only by airplane, watercraft, snowmobile or dog team, as they are not connected by road to the outside world.
In straightforward prose, Authentic Alaska allows readers to learn how Alaska Natives are striving to combine a time-honored, traditional way of life with the more recent arrival of Western technology, religions, and formalized education. This ground-breaking collection, filled with stunning contemporary and historical photographs, delivers a unique, and authentic Native voice from remote Alaska.
This anthology was created, compiled and edited at Chukchi Campus, a branch of the University of Alaska located in Kotzebue, a predominately Inupiat community some 26 miles above the Arctic Circle on the northwest coast of the state.
|
|
|
 |
 
Susan B. Andrews and John Creed are writers, editors and educators. Since the late 1980s, Professors Andrews and Creed have taught humanities and journalism at Kotzebue-based Chukchi College, a branch of the University of Alaska. Kotzebue lies about 26 miles above the Arctic Circle in northwest Alaska and some 175 miles from the eastern tip of Russia. Their anthology of Alaska Native student writers, Authentic Alaska: Voices of Its Native Writers, is part of an ongoing cultural journalism project. Former full-time journalists, since joining the UA faculty they have authored non-fiction articles, columns, and book reviews for newspapers, magazines, websites, blogs, and scholarly journals. They also publish photographs and fiction. Read more... |
|
|
|
 |
|
