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Shaw Dissertation_Final Submitted.pdf (2.08 MB)

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NAVIGATING AT A CROSSROADS:THE ROLE OF SUBSISTENCE CULTURE IN THE SUBJECTIVE WELLBEING OF DENAINA ATHABASCAN YOUTHS IN ALASKA

SHAW, JENNIFER L
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1370624534

Abstract Details

2013, Doctor of Philosophy, Case Western Reserve University, Anthropology.
Assimilation policies and practices of past centuries systematically distanced Alaska Native peoples from traditional activities that sustained them for centuries. In the late 20th century, however, a renaissance of indigenous cultures emerged across the Americas that turned attention to the role of cultural activities in modern societies. At the same time, critical youth studies increasingly considered children as active agents in social life. Such research is particularly relevant and timely in contexts of rapid social change such as rural Alaska, where global influences increasingly permeate local life-ways and indigenous youths are charting new courses to adulthood. This ethnographic, case study was conducted with 19 Dena’ina youths in Nondalton, Alaska to examine the role of subsistence culture in their subjective wellbeing and future aspirations. Mixed-methods were used, including surveys, interviews and participant-observation over the course of one year. The Developmental Assets Framework and local knowledge were used to interview youths about life experiences in six life domains, including: family, friends, school, self, community and culture. Surveys queried youths’ subjective wellbeing and aspirations, daily routines, 11 and participation in various cultural activities. Participant-observation was conducted in fish camps, family homes, school, community events, and on the land. Study findings suggest that these youths generally experience high levels of life satisfaction, identify strongly with subsistence culture, and desire to practice these traditions in the future. However, individual wellbeing is more variable and patterns of dissatisfaction related to discontinuities in the educational system, peer and elder relationships, and community cohesion are evident. Youths are increasingly faced with historically unprecedented choices and opportunities that conflict with subsistence activities. These factors converge to distance youths from their cultural heritage and diminish their wellbeing and expectations for the future, despite their desires to engage more with these practices. This study suggests that cultural activity is a protective factor for positive youth development and wellbeing. Such activity, in principal and in practice, fosters coherence, continuity and connectivity to increase youths’ resilience and capacity to navigate the challenges of coming of age at a crossroads of social and personal change.
Jill Korbin, Ph.D. (Advisor)
Larry Greksa, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Janet McGrath, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
James Spilsbury, Ph.D., M.P.H. (Committee Member)
290 p.
Cultural Anthropology
Subsistence; Subjective Wellbeing; Alaska Native; Adolescence; Inland Denaina; Northern Athabascans; Developmental Assets; Childrens Studies; Ethnography; Nondalton; Alaska; Mixed-methods; Cultural Activities;

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • SHAW, J. L. (2013). NAVIGATING AT A CROSSROADS:THE ROLE OF SUBSISTENCE CULTURE IN THE SUBJECTIVE WELLBEING OF DENAINA ATHABASCAN YOUTHS IN ALASKA [Doctoral dissertation, Case Western Reserve University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1370624534

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • SHAW, JENNIFER. NAVIGATING AT A CROSSROADS:THE ROLE OF SUBSISTENCE CULTURE IN THE SUBJECTIVE WELLBEING OF DENAINA ATHABASCAN YOUTHS IN ALASKA. 2013. Case Western Reserve University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1370624534.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • SHAW, JENNIFER. "NAVIGATING AT A CROSSROADS:THE ROLE OF SUBSISTENCE CULTURE IN THE SUBJECTIVE WELLBEING OF DENAINA ATHABASCAN YOUTHS IN ALASKA." Doctoral dissertation, Case Western Reserve University, 2013. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1370624534

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

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© 2013, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Case Western Reserve University School of Graduate Studies and OhioLINK.