Document Expressive Culture of Area Dena’ina

Project ID: P14AC01651

Federal Agency: National Park Service

Partner Institution: University of Alaska Anchorage

Fiscal Year: 2014

Initial Funding: $60,992

Total Funding: $235,328

Project Type: Technical Assistance

Project Disciplines: Cultural

National Park: Lake Clark National Park and Preserve

Principal Investigator: Boraas, Alan

Agreement Technical Representative: Evanoff, Karen

Abstract: This multi-year ethnography project is a collaborative effort to document Dena’ina expressive culture such as stories, myth, dance, music, and drama with area Dena’ina within Lake Clark National Park and Preserve (LACL). Basic documentation of Dena’ina expressive culture is necessary to record the artistic expressions of culture which is in transition and for people facing great cultural change. Working with Dena’ina elders and community members, the project will record, describe, and evaluate present conditions of Lake Clark/Cook Inlet Dena’ina expressive culture. Culturally sensitive information will be kept confidential and will be treated in accordance to the wishes of the participating Native groups. Current archived oral histories and interviews will be reviewed and indexed for topic themes in preparation for the project. Follow-up interviews will be conducted and several classes will be organized where specific traditional Dena’ina skills and expressions of culture will be taught providing hands-on learning. National Park Service (NPS) staff will collaborate with University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) and Dena’ina Tribes through a Dena’ina Steering Committee (DSC) in assessing, documenting, and developing the final products. This process will be video recorded and photographed. The products including DVDs and a publication of booklets that can be used by park associated tribes to support their efforts to further identify and preserve traditionally significant resources. The products and report will guide the appropriate management and protection of cultural resources of national importance and will also provide content for public interpretation of the areas rich cultural history and resources. An effective way to support management of these valuable cultural resources is to create products that help to maintain ethnographic knowledge as an actively shared and alive resource. The work will be
conducted in accordance with the NPS Management Policies and the ethical principles agreed upon for social science research in the Arctic by the Interagency Arctic Research Policy Committee, the Alaska Native Science Commission, and the Alaska Federation of Natives.