The focus of this research is on expressions of contemporary Yup'ik culture as they occur through varied tellings of an ominous narrative of a natural phenomenon, the "fireball story." While recording interviews during previous fieldwork (summers of 2006 and 2007) in Scammon Bay, a Central Yup'ik community of 450 people, located on the southwestern shore of the Bering Sea in Alaska, the CoPI Katrin Simon noted an emergent theme in oral accounts, that of the "fireballs." These are a form of dangerous sea creatures who visit the village in the form of fiery balls or burning hands and kill ill-mannered community members. Contemporary Scammon Bay residents fear attacks by these sinister ancestral beings and employ the fireball story to explain bad luck, social malaise, conflict and death.
By researching the history of this tale and recording its contemporary range of expressions, Simon will investigate how narrative and artistic production reflects and shapes the social realities of contemporary Yup'ik life. The history of contact in southwestern Alaska has been one of acute disruption brought on by the introduction of Western belief and political-economic systems. It is hypothesized that the "fireball phenomenon" acts as a central metaphor, articulating for the people of Scammon Bay modern-day social ills in a non-disruptive fashion; thus strengthening Yup'ik peoples? resilience in circumstances of rapid social change. The "fireball story" is said to provide healing for the community, offering a way to articulate societal tensions. By analyzing the connection between creative activities, colonial history and conflict resolution, this project explores the way Yup'ik people use art and storytelling to renew relationships to their traditional culture and redefine both past and present.
