Are Alaskan native traditions still used today?

Yes, many Alaskan Native traditions are still practiced today. These traditions include, but are not limited to:

1. Cultural Ceremonies and Celebrations: These ceremonial gatherings have cultural, spiritual, and social importance. They often include traditional dances, songs, and storytelling, passing on cultural values, narratives, and history from generation to generation. Festivals like Nalukataq (Yup'ik New Year), Raven's Feast (Tlingit), or Qasgiq Nights (Inupiaq) are examples.

2. Subsistence Hunting and Fishing: Subsistence practices are vital for many Native communities, providing sustenance and cultural sustenance. They involve traditional methods to harvest, process, and preserve fish, caribou, moose, marine mammals, and other wild resources, ensuring food security and maintaining ancestral ties to the land.

3. Language Preservation and Revitalization: Several Alaskan Native languages were significantly impacted by colonization, government policies, and residential school systems. Language revitalization efforts involve documenting, teaching, and encouraging usage of these languages to ensure cultural continuity and preservation of the distinct linguistic heritage.

4. Storytelling, Oral History, and Traditional Knowledge: Oral traditions remain influential in passing down narratives, cultural values, and historical accounts from elders to younger generations. Storytelling sessions or potlatches (among Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian) showcase a rich body of oral literature.

5. Arts, Crafts, and Handicrafts: Native arts are globally renowned for intricate carvings, beadwork, basket weaving, walrus ivory engraving, and other crafts that reflect cultural aesthetics and symbolism. They retain cultural values while connecting Natives to their ancestral heritage.

6. Spiritual Practices: Many Alaskan Natives still practice traditional spiritual beliefs, including animism, shamanism, and the acknowledgment of spiritual beings. While influenced by Western religions like Christianity, elements of indigenous spirituality persist within contemporary practices.

7. Social and Cultural Organizations: Native organizations contribute to community development, cultural preservation, language education, and land management. Examples include the Alaska Native Brotherhood and Sisterhood, Kawerak Inc. (Bering Strait Region), Cook Inlet Tribal Council, and others actively advocating for Native rights and cultural continuity.

These are a few examples among the vast range of Alaskan Native traditions that continue to be practiced today, reinforcing the resilience, cultural pride, and cultural continuity of Alaska's diverse Native communities.