Unalaska Alaska, August 2003.

During our stay in Unalaska, we had the pleasure to meet and spend time with Sharon Livingston and her daughter Laresa Syverson of the Qawalangin Tribe. We spent an afternoon at HumpyÕs Cove watching the salmon and talking about native herbal remedies, sustenance fishing, the lower 48 states, and current events in the world of the Unangan people of the Aleutian Islands.

The word Aleutian and the name "Aleut" was given to the native people by the first Russian explorers to visit the Aleutian Islands. Its meaning is unclear, so the present-day Natives of Unalaska and most of the Aleutian Islands prefer to call themselves Unangan, or the people of the passes. In the dialect of the eastern Aleutian Islands, the self-given term for this group of Native peoples is Unangan; in the western dialect, Unangas. Collectively, Unangax^ (with the "^" positioned directly over the "x") is the proper term for the Native people of the Aleutian region. This group of hunters, whalers and fishers are the original inhabitants of the Aleutian Island Chain, predating the Russian settlement of the region by thousands of years.

Resources from the sea provided livelihood for the Unangan people as they still do today for not only the Unangan, but also many residents of Unalaska. The harsh climate and unforgiving topography of the islands created a Unangan culture both rich in art and oral tradition that lives today, and continues to grow and flourish in the present generation of Unangan People. Language, Unangan dance, and medicinal plants are being brought back and used as they always were over thousands of years. The Unangan People are mostly widely known for their ultra-fine grass basketry, sleek and efficient wood-frame iqyan (skin boats made of wood frames and marine mammal skin) and mastery in handling these skin boats at sea. The Unangan People are also well known for their excellence as marine mammal hunters, superior skin sewing and embroidery techniques, and beautiful, streamlined bentwood hats and visors.

Historically, the Aleutian Island of Unalaska has been home to the Unangan people who through oral history have documented an estimated 8,000 years of trade and travel. Recent archaeological investigation in the Unalaska area gives evidence that the Unangan people have inhabited the Aleutian Islands for at least 9,000 years. Artifacts found in the archaeological site at Margaret Bay on the Island of Unalaska were ancient at the time the Egyptians were building the first step pyramids. By 1745, the Unangan People had come into contact with Russian explorers, fur traders and hunters who came across the Bering Straits to the Aleutian Islands such as Unalaska. There were inevitable clashes between the Russians and the native islanders, as the RussiansÕ treatment of the Unangan was less than favorable. At this time, the explorers branded the Unangan/Unangas people with the name, "Aleut", a word of uncertain meaning and origin that has become a catchall name for various Alaska Native groups.

International commerce began in 1759 when Stephan Glotov and accompanying fur hunters spent two years on Unalaska and nearby Umnak Island. Soon under Russian control, the Unangan People were consolidated into fewer and fewer communities to accelerate the efficiency in which the Russians could take advantage of their hunting skills. The decline of the Unangan population was rapid and occurred for varied reasons, from genocide to contact diseases brought by the Russian newcomers.

According to Unalaska resident Moses Dirks, a linguist specialist and teacher of the Unangan Language at the high school in Unalaska, the word Unangan means people of the passes. The Aleutian Islands are home to the earliest known continually inhabited coastal site in North America.

The Qawalangin Tribe of Unalaska is a federally recognized tribe in the community of Dutch Harbor, Sharon and her family belong to. Sharon was born in Anchorage, but grew up in her motherÕs hometown of Unalaska. At the age of 11, she left Unalaska and was gone for 20 years living in a variety of locations. Never feeling totally satisfied with where she was living, she made the pilgrimage back home in the 80Õs to raise her family in Unalaska. Sharon works for the Qawalangin Tribe of Unalaska as the environmental coordinator, as well as manages the Native American Lands Environmental Mitigation Program. She also spends time searching for grants for tribal projects and needs. She has three children, Scott, 26 who is currently studying music as an undergrad, Alena, 24 who works in management at the Ounalashka Corporation in Dutch Harbor, and Laresa, 21 who is an avid musician, artist and teacher of Unangan dance to the youth of Unalaska.

For more information on the Qawalangin Tribe of Unalaska, the Unangan people and other native tribes in Alaska, please visit these websites:

www.ounalashka.com
www.afgonak.com
www.ahta-inc.com
www.beringstrates.com