Ethnographic Research on Social Change and Native Alaskan Spirituality in the Upper Kuskokwim Region of Alaska

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The project investigates historical and contemporary forms of spirituality and religion in Alaska's Upper Kuskokwim River region. The focus is on the Athabascan village of Nikolai, where Russian Orthodoxy is the predominant religious practice. Study of Nikolai's historical religious traditions and villagers' traditional relations with the local environment will help to provide a better understanding of not only their spiritual practices, but of the place of human-environment relations in the study of religion and spirituality more generally. The research provides a good base of comparison for others interested in the study of religious movements in rural and indigenous contexts. At the same time it contributes to knowledge of and appreciation for Athabascan cultures and ways of life in the history of northern North America and of the challenges villagers face today as they continue to encounter dramatic social change. The goals of the project are to better understand to meaning and significance of spirituality in the contemporary lives of this Athabascan community. The community of focus is Nikolai in particular but includes also the surrounding area where community members have relatives, and travel for work, study, recreation, subsistence activities and visiting. The research will be conducted through participation in community activities and observations of practices and community events. Formal interviews will also be conducted to answer specific questions about local history and practices. Overarching questions are as follows: How have people of the Upper Kuskowkim Region incorporated new and older spiritual and religious ideas and practices? What ideas and practices are meaningful to different individuals and groups of the region today? Why and how are their varying meanings established? The proposed research project has strong comparative value to researchers of the circumpolar areas influenced by Russian Orthodoxy, including Southeast Alaska, Aleutian Islands, the Russian Far East and Siberia. Considering the well-documented sudden resurgence of spirituality and religion in post-Soviet regions, the proposed research provides a valuable comparative perspective for researchers of indigenous societies in Siberia and Russian Far East.