Cultures with traditional religions change as they come in contact with proselytizing religions. This project will explore the process and effect of religious change in the St. Lawrence Island Yupik community of Sivuqaq (Gambell, Alaska) and analyze the degree to which change from traditional religious practices to Protestant Christianity has been incorporated into Yupik Eskimo ethnic identity. This project addresses the nature of the conversion process as well as the place of Christian religious practices in contemporary Sivuqaq identity. Using a combination of ethnohistorical, ethnographic and textual analytical methods, the student will look at the relationship between social practice, historical process and cultural mediation. This project will contribute to the important current debate on the role of Christianity and missionization in the incorporation of non-western peoples into the industrial world. In addition, it will have applied as well as theoretical implications. As Eskimos try to cope with a changing world, it is crucial that we understand the processes that have affected them and influenced their sense of identity.
