Some trends in non-native adaptation in villages along the Kobuk and Koyukuk Rivers in northwest Alaska

Abstract

Non-Natives living in isolated village settings in Alaska have traditionally been Ignored in anthropological investigations. These non-Natives are the subject of this thesis. It is a preliminary treatment of the adjustments they must make as newcomers to a cultural environment that is at first unfamiliar to them. As a result of these adjustments ,• the newcomers develop a different approach to life, one which includes a blend of elements from both their own culture and that in which they find themselves as strangers.

The thesis also briefly discusses these non-Natives as change agents in the modification of the life patterns of the Native people among whom they live.

Finally, the thesis suggests tentative guidelines for the recruitment of bush personnel in Alaska.