Project Description

 

The title of our project - Looking to the Past to Shape the Future -  pays tribute to the work 

of the Yup'ik Elders who strive to preserve Yup'ik tradition for the benefit of future generations.  It also draws on the work of Elders with the Alaskan ethnographer Ann Fienup-Riordan (1996, p. 29).

Description of the Program:

This project is based in Quinhagak, Alaska and is one of four,  Youth::Culture::Heritage Incubator Pilot Projects, funded by the Rasmuson Foundation, though the Alaska State Council on the Arts.  Looking to the Past to Shape the Future consists of a series of four different workshops over an eight-week period.  These workshops will focus on drawing, photography, video production and 3D digital modelling as art media and will provide opportunities for Quinhagak youth to have a chance to be part of their archaeological and cultural heritage through creativity, arts and technology. Young people will have access to photos, 3D digital and printed models of 500 to 600 year old Yup’ik material culture objects from the Nunalleq excavations run in a partnership between the University of Aberdeen in Scotland and Qanirtuuq Corporation in the village of Quinhagak, Alaska.

The blog:

The purpose of this blog is to display the artworks by youth artists done during our community arts project and document the process of making arts and the thoughts of our young artists.  We would like to share our work with the larger Yup'ik and global communities.  Please feel free to comment or ask questions of the blossoming artists in Quinhagak.

Blog Content:

This space is meant to be an open environment for sharing information and ideas about Yup'ik archaeology and the artwork that has been inspired by the traditions and culture of the past and the present.  Therefore in order to maintain a welcoming and supportive environment, any material or comments posted that the project leaders deem offensive or inappropriate will be removed immediately.  Including but not limited to comments that:

1) are abusive, obscene, disrespectful, defamatory, threatening, or discriminatory

2) violate another individual’s privacy

3) infringe any copyright laws or are otherwise unlawful

4) are considered spam with repeat posts

5) are not suitable to all ages

6) are overtly political

7) are a direct advertisement for a business or commercial operation

8) attack anyone personally or become off-topic

9) link to websites that breach the above guidelines

Contacts and Questions:

If you have any questions, feel free to email me by filling out the contact form to the right or email me, Jacqui Graham, at archaeology4past2future@gmail.com.

Copyright:

All artifacts featured on this blog from the Nunalleq site physically belong to Qanirtuuq, Inc. and the people of Quinhagak, Alaska. At the moment all excavated cultural material is being cleaned, conserved and housed at the University of Aberdeen Department of Archaeology.  All objects will be returning to Alaska beginning in 2017.    3D images and photographs have been taken of the artifacts with permission from Qanirtuuq, Inc. by blog author Jacquelyn Graham.  Photos of artworks and youth of Quinhagak are owned by Quinhagak Heritage Incorporated and may not be reproduced without permission. 

The Looking to the Past to Shape the Future workshops are made possible with funding by Rasmuson Foundation through the Youth Cultural Heritage Fund, and is administered, under contract, by the Alaska State Council on the Arts.