Abstract

This study focuses on the conflicts faced by Yup'ik Eskimos of the Western Alaska Delta in adapting their culture and their lives to a contemporary world. The inquiry, while fictional, is limited to the Lower Yukon and Kuskokwim River area, and deals with day-to-day ethical, moral and legal issues faced by individuals in a village. Particular emphasis is on subsistence as it affects cultural values and the environment. ;By presenting three fictional generations in a Yup'ik family, the study attempts to connect traditional and modern spiritual beliefs and values especially tied to the salmon within the context of a May-to-September commercial and subsistence fishing period. The knowledge of the elders is passed on to their children and grandchildren through traditional story-telling, making this study a frame-tale, in part, for the wisdom ensconced in an oral tradition. ;Since an understanding of environmental ethics is the beginning of an understanding of human nature and its codes of ethical behavior, by presenting daily conflicts through the eyes of family members this study may be considered a starting point from which the development of ethical and value-related educational programs may occur. In addition, the ethics, legalities, and commercial enterprises depicted in rural Alaskan fishing pursuits are presented simply and as fact, giving a base from which to examine culture-related issues. ;As with any nationality or race, the Alaskan Yup'ik people are not an homogeneous group, acting and thinking in unison. Using a creative narrative approach, this study attempts to examine universal questions about living in "two worlds," while at the same time reinforcing the diversity of human nature and the beauty of that diversity