Abstract
Complex and ever-changing sea ice coverage results in often highly differentiated spring hunting conditions on an annual basis in eastern Bering Strait. Kigiqtaamiut (Shishmaref) hunters’ way of knowing about biophysical phenomena reflects this variability. A continuously advancing, experientially informed analysis, the hunters’ way of knowing is an ongoing processual engagement in the world. This chapter explores what Kigiqtaamiut hunters know about local sea ice conditions and how they come to make authoritative claims about what they know. A comprehensive analysis of Kigiqtaamiut hunters’ ice knowledge includes an equally critical engagement with the sociocultural mechanisms of local knowledge construction. Drawing upon an experientially driven ethnography of spring-bearded seal hunting conducted over three seasons, this chapter examines how Kigiqtaamiut hunters’ understanding of sea ice and their way of learning are mutually constitutive and inseparable components of Kigiqtaamiut ways of knowing about sea ice in an environment of extreme temporal variability and annual fluctuations.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Armstrong, T. and Roberts, B. 1956. Illustrated ice glossary. Polar Record 8(52): 4–12.
Briggs, J.L. 1991. Expecting the unexpected: Canadian inuit training for an experimental lifestyle. Ethos 19(3): 259–287.
Burch, E.S., Jr. 1998. The Iñupiaq Nations of Northwest Alaska. Fairbanks: University of Alaska Press.
Burch, E.S., Jr. 2006. Social Life in Northwest Alaska: The Structure of Iñupiaq Eskimo Nations. Fairbanks: University of Alaska Press.
Burns, J.J. 1967. The Pacific Bearded Seal. Alaska Dept of Fish & Game, Pittman-Robertson Project. Rep. W-6-r and W-14-R. 66p.
Casey, E. 1996. How to get from space to place. In Senses of Place. S. Fled and K. Basso (eds.), Santa Fe: School of American Research Press.
Fienup-Riordan, A. 1983. The Nelson Island Eskimo: Social Structure and Ritual Distribution. Anchorage: Alaska Pacific University Press.
Fienup-Riordan, A. 1994. Boundaries and Passages: Rule and Ritual in Yup’ik Eskimo Oral Tradition. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press.
Fienup-Riordan, A. 2007. Yuungnaqpiallerput the Way We Genuinely Live: Masterworks of Yup’ik Science and Survival. Seattle: University of Washington Press.
Hallowell, I.A. 1976 (1960). Ojibwa ontology, behavior and world view. In Contributions to Anthropology: Selected Papers of A. Irving Hallowell. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, pp. 357–390.
Ingold, T. 2000. The Perception of the Environment: Essays in Livelihood, Dwelling and Skill. London: Routledge Press.
Nelson, R. 1969. Hunters of the Northern Ice. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Rosaldo, R. 1986 Ilongot hunting as story and experience. In The Anthropology of Experience. V. Turner and E. Bruner (eds.), Urbana: University of Illinois Press.
Sartre, J.-P. 1965. The Philosophy of John Paul Sartre. In R. Cumming (ed.), New York: Vintage Books.
Wisniewski, J. 2005 “We’re always going back and forth”: Kigiqtaamiut Subsistence Land Use and Occupancy for the Community of Shishmaref. Report for the US Army Corps of Engineers, Alaska District. Anchorage.
Acknowledgments
This work could not have been carried out without the financial support provided through a National Science Foundation Dissertation Improvement Grant OPP-0715158. Equally Kawerak’s Eskimo Heritage program provided financial support at an important moment in the field. Igor Krupnik of the Smithsonian Institution invited me to participate in SIKU and suggested that I use my field opportunity and experiences to formally document sea ice terminology in Shishmaref. This proved to be a recommendation that radically enriched my project. His editorial comments were likewise invaluable toward enriching this chapter. The Shishmaref tribal government and the Shishmaref Elders Council have been continuously supportive of my research efforts. The Shishmaref tribal council’s efforts to ensure elders was compensated for all of their participation in monthly gatherings was significant toward our success. Finally to Clifford and the Weyiouanna family, none of this would have been possible without your continuing support. You know most of all the value that my experiences Shishmaref have come to have in my life. The digital image of the Eskimo Mermaid was provided by Molly Lee and is used here with permission.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2010 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Wisniewski, J. (2010). Knowings About Sigu: Kigiqtaamiut Hunting as an Experiential Pedagogy. In: Krupnik, I., Aporta, C., Gearheard, S., Laidler, G., Kielsen Holm, L. (eds) SIKU: Knowing Our Ice. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-8587-0_12
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-8587-0_12
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-90-481-8586-3
Online ISBN: 978-90-481-8587-0
eBook Packages: Humanities, Social Sciences and LawSocial Sciences (R0)