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• 1 2023-04-17T14:27:03-07:00 I Am Eskimo: Aknik My Name by BRIDGET MEDO 3 plain 2023-04-19T13:20:24-07:00
  Artifact Analysis - Public Summary
  This project focuses on a collection of stories called I Am Eskimo: Aknik My Name written by an Inupiaq man named Paul Green. However, because analyzing the entire collection would make it difficult to focus on specifics, I chose one story from the collection to look at: “How to Make Snow Igloo” (pages 8-10 in the book). There were three main topics I wanted to focus on, which were the history of Alaska Native literature, the history of Kotzebue, Alaska (Paul Green’s home town), and the effect of the Inupiaq language on Green’s use of English.
  As a collection of stories written by an Inupiaq man, it seems obvious that I Am Eskimo: Aknik My Name would be considered Alaska Native literature. Instead of automatically making that assumption, though, it’s important to consider how we determine whether a story or author is “authentic” to the varied experiences of Alaska Native people. Written literature is also a relatively new form for Alaska Native people, who have relied on oral storytelling for much of their history. The shift to the written word among some Alaska Native cultures began with picture writing, where pictures and symbols were used to help people remember stories they had already heard and become familiar with, such as stories from the Bible. Picture writing disappeared as Chrsitian missionaries began spreading literacy and the English language more widely, and writing has since almost completely taken the place of oral storytelling. This has enabled Alaska Native stories to spread beyond their communities, but it has also damaged an important part of their cultures and the way they pass on their knowledge and history to younger generations.
  Kotzebue is located on a peninsula in Kotzebue Sound, named for Otto van Kotzebue who sailed through the area on an expedition for Russia in the early 1800s. Inupiat people have lived in the area for more than 600 years, and their name for it is Qikiqtagruk (also spelled Kikiktagruk) which means “almost an island.” Kotzebue is a center of activity for many of the smaller surrounding villages in Northwestern Alaska, bringing together communities along three major rivers (the Kobuk, Noatak, and Selawik Rivers) for trade and communication. The Friends, also known as Quakers, were the first Christian group to arrive in the area, where they began discouraging traditional cultural practices in favor of Christian religion and thought. From Kotzebue, Christianity spread through the rest of the region.
  Paul Green’s dialect––his specific way of speaking and writing in English influenced by where he lived––is a type of non-standard English, meaning it is different from the English that is taught in school and generally heard on the radio or television. However, it is important to note that the differences present in his use of English don’t make it inferior to standard English. In fact, it is actually influenced by the Inupiaq language. The Inupiaq language has many differences from English. For example, words in Inupiaq are often much longer than English words because they are created by adding multiple suffixes (endings) onto base words. This makes it much easier to create new words when they are needed, and it also means that a lot of information can be expressed with a single word. English, on the other hand, uses a greater number of short, separate words in a sentence in order to express information. The influence of Inupiaq on Green’s use of English can be seen in the way he uses Inupiaq words like “igloo” and “kayak” in his story, the way he sometimes omits small words like prepositions (i.e. “to” or “a”) from sentences, and the way he leaves off the -s ending for a third person singular verb, such as writing “it sure get hot” instead of “it sure gets hot.” The overall effect of Green’s use of non-standard English in his storytelling is not at all negative. It is not difficult to understand his meaning or relate to his words. Rather, it allows a valid variety of English and an Inupiaq man’s perspective and words about his own life and culture to reach a larger audience and provide a counter-argument to the often-inaccurate information presented by non-Native people throughout history
  
                                                                   
   BRIDGET MEDO is a senior pursuing a degree in English with a minor in Anthropology. Selected by Trish Jenkins.