Effects of a Technological Change in an Aleutian Village

Abstract

In Nikolski a community of 56 Aleuts on Umnak Island, the large wooden dory, introduced by Americans, has superseded the bidarky, traditional one-man skin boat. Social and economic changes accompanying this shift are described. A self-sufficient economy based on sea hunting, traditional skills, and cooperative effort is replaced by individual dependence on cash income from outside, often unreliable sources. The breakdown in family mores and disintegration of village life is stressed. The study is based on information gathered in summer 1952 when author lived at Nikolski with a party of anthropologists led by W.S. Laughlin, supported by Arctic Institute of North America and University of Oregon Graduate School.