Aron Crowell
Alaska Director, Arctic Studies Center
Smithsonian Institution
Adresse:
Arctic Studies Center
Smithsonian Institution
c/o Anchorage Museum
625 C St.
Anchorage, AK 99501
Utvalgte arbeider
Postcontact Koniag Ceremonialism on Kodiak Island and the Alaska Peninsula: Evidence from the Fisher Collection
Late nineteenth century dance masks, beaded headdresses, and other ceremonial articles from Kodiak Island and the Alaska Peninsula provide evidence for the extended postcontact continuity of Koniag religious beliefs and shamanic practices. Objects were selected for study from the large and well-documented William J. Fisher collection at the National Museum of Natural History. Postcontact innovations in the styles, media, and uses of ceremonial art are discussed on the basis of the Fisher materials. Results include documentation of a Koniag hunting ritual similar to the «Doll Ceremony» of the mainland Alaskan Yupik. Sources employed in the description and interpretation of the objects include Fisher’s field catalogs and correspondence, ethnographic and historical records, recent archaeological research, linguistic analysis, and materials studies.