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    Sled dogs as gifts. An ethnography of dog exchanges among kennels in Alaska.

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    Author
    Cruz, Allison K.
    Chair
    Plattet, Patrick
    Committee
    Yamin-Pasternak, Sveta
    Koester, David
    Keyword
    Sled dogs
    Dogsledding
    Kennels
    Mushers
    Ethnology
    Sled dog racing
    Gifts
    Metadata
    Show full item record
    URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/11122/13117
    Abstract
    This thesis investigates the social relationships that develop through the circulation of sled dogs among Alaskan kennels. It is based on multi-sited ethnographic fieldwork at racing events, in sled dog kennels, as well as semi-structured interviews around Fairbanks. The research is informed by anthropological literature on kinship, personhood, and gift-giving economies. It examines how sled dogs are acquired and exchanged in Alaska and offers a novel perspective on the value of dog bloodlines and the relationships that unite breeders, mushers and sled dogs. The main argument is that Alaskan sled dogs are exchanged as gifts (rather than commodities) with the result that sled dog exchanges reestablish social connections between two or more kennels through the passage of the animals and their blood. The possession and ownership of specific bloodlines carries not only the genetic characteristics of the sled dog breed, but also the accomplishments of the breeder's kennel. The exchange of dogs ensures a continued cycle of interactions and cooperation within the dog mushing community. This continued cycle of dog exchanges allows for kennels to further develop and continue their breed in the mushing community. The overall findings of this work show that sled dogs, as relational gifts, are central figures within the mushing community and play a key role in creating multifaceted connections within and among kennels in Alaska.
    Description
    Thesis (M.A.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2022
    Table of Contents
    Chapter 1. Introduction -- 1.1 Research objectives and questions -- 1.2 Previous research and historical background -- 1.3 Theoretical background -- 1.3.1 Gift-giving and exchange -- 1.3.2 Blood and relatedness -- 1.4 Methodology -- 1.5 Primary consultants and field sites. Chapter 2. How history and culture affected sled dog value -- 2.1 Utilizations of dogs in the North -- 2.2 Subsistence on the land -- 2.3 Mail and transportation -- 2.4 Early Alaskan dog breeds -- 2.5 Gold rush -- 2.6 Transition into racing: the all-Alaska sweepstakes -- 2.7 The 1925 serum run -- 2.8 Modern races. Chapter 3. Exchanging sled dogs, keeping the bloodline: Alaskan kennels and the preservation of dog mushing -- 3.1 Breeding as exchange -- 3.2 Legitimization through exchange -- 3.3 Agency of the dogs (vs. Vehicles of exchange). Chapter 4. Gifting, loaning, buying: modes of exchanging sled dogs in Alaska -- 4.1 Historical costs of dogs -- 4.2 Contemporary costs of kennel operations -- 4.3 Rules governing the exchange of sled dogs -- 5.1 Mushers' mindset and dog minds: non-physical qualities in dog mushing -- 5.2 Nurturing the relationship with sled dogs -- 5.2 A narrative of teamwork. Chapter 6. Conclusion. Bibliography.
    Date
    2022-12
    Type
    Thesis
    Collections
    Anthropology

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