Episode 2: Invisible Hands
Episode Length: 29:32
Focus
The history and impact of colonization on the people of Shishmaref
Location
Shismaref, Alaska
Keywords
colonization, assimilation, climate migration, Inupiat people
Episode Outline
These outlines are intended to help you locate ideas and topics more easily, but these are narrative episodes with many interlocking themes and ideas, so you may want to share segments that cross multiple points in the outline.
MINUTES: 00:00 - 05:17
People of Shishmaref have decided to relocate, like several other communities in Alaska, but leaving here is more than just leaving a physical place—it’s also leaving culture behind.
05:18 - 10:59
People have lived on these islands for a long time and learned to adapt to changing conditions:
Huge number of changes in the 20th century alone, including living in sod houses to wood frame houses
11:00 - 13:49
Inupiat people moved around, using the island as part of their annual migrations, but that started to change in the 19th century with U.S. government interventions:
Government built permanent structures like churches and schools that made community a permanent rather than seasonal settlement
Government threatened to take Inupiat kids away if they didn’t go to school
13:50 - 18:24
Inupiat people have kept traditions alive, especially local and wild foods:
Colonization devalued traditional expertise and experience, which brought shame to Native people
BREAK
18:25 - 23:17
Colonization and its impacts are one of the biggest threats to people in the Arctic right now:
Colonization and climate change are interconnected and the ability to adapt comes from understanding that connection
23:18 - 29:32
People of Shishmaref are very focused on maintaining community and adapting to climate change:
Any debate over climate change is a waste of time here because time is of the essence in saving this place