Observations on Oral History

• Photographs Donated: 1950s-1980s images by Kenneth Frank.

• Location: Venetie, Alaska, home to the Gwichyaa band of Gwich'in.

• Historical Context: Gwich'in have lived in the region for 20,000 years.

• Project Jukebox: Recorded recounting of events depicted in the photos.

• Community Life: Moose hunting, settlement life, and the band council.

In the late 1990’s Kenneth Frank of the Gwich'in, "People of the Flats" Gwichyaa band of Alaskan indigenous peoples donated a handful of photographs from the 1950’s, 60’s, 70’s and 80’s to the University of Alaska at Fairbanks.  The Gwich’in live in the NW corner of the subarctic culture area, and the Gwichyaa band has a settlement in Venetie, Alaska.  The Gwich’in have lived in this region for as long as 20,000 years and have been impacted by contact with Western culture like the rest of the North America indigenous and First Nation peoples.  In 2000, Kenneth was approached by anthropologist Bill Burke of the Project Jukebox Oral History Program to record a recounting of the events depicted in the photographic images he donated.  His descriptions offer a compelling look into a remote Alaskan community committed to maintaining a traditional way of life amid changing times.

Frank and his wife submitted about 15 photographs in total, and they can be view along with and audio recording at http://jukebox.uaf.edu/site/frank/.  The community in Venetie are expert moose hunters.  In Photograph 1 below we see a skinboat that had been taken upriver to hunt and return a family of moose.  The skinboat, as Frank explains, is stitched together from two hides of the dead moose and acts as a shipping container for returning from the hunt. 

In Photograph 2 we see the early 20th century settlement where Frank grew up, with sod roofs and a large arrangement of homes and centers where people congregated.  After 1970 the village was relocated on a nearby hill where there are more modern facilities, but this village photographed before the move reminded Frank of how the community spent a lot of time walking between houses and community centers to interact with one another.

And in this last example, Photograph 3, we see the band council in 1954, with the second and newest chief on the far right.  All of these men are wearing traditional handmade moccasins that Frank explains were worn out, year after year.  These tribal leaders passed away in the 1960’s and 70’s and were instrumental in preserving the cultural and traditional practices and community the Gwich’in have known for thousands of years.

References

Burke, Bill, Frank, Kenneth, and Caroline Frank. "Home | Gileech'agarohookhyaa Shro': Don't Forget the Past."  University of Alaska Fairbanks Project Jukebox, 2000. Web. 16 Feb. 2016. <http://jukebox.uaf.edu/site/frank/>.