Fienup-Riordan to discuss 'culturalism' in Nelson Island road debate
October 25, 2017
Anthropologist Ann Fienup-Riordan will discuss cultural features of a debate over
a proposed road on Nelson Island in Southwest ÐÓ°Épro during a lecture at 6:30 p.m.
Thursday, Oct. 26, in the Murie Building auditorium.
Fienup-Riordan's lecture is titled "The Past is Old, the Future is Traditional: Icenrraat,
the DOT, and the Inventiveness of Tradition."
In 2005, the state Department of Transportation proposed a 15-mile road to connect
villages on Nelson Island. Some villagers opposed the route because they said it crossed
a place inhabited by "icenrraat," or other-than-human persons. For a variety of other
reasons, islanders also were divided about whether the road was a good idea.
Fienrup-Riordan was invited to sit in on some of their discussions. She wrote an essay
about the debate in the 2016 collection "A Practice of Anthropology: The Thought and
Influence of Marshall Sahlins." Fienup-Riordan wrote that the villagers' public conversations
about the project "provide a modern means for the traditional ends of consensus building
and recognition of wider social responsibilities." Their discussion was an example
of what Sahlins called "culturalism" — the use of heritage to gain recognition of
a distinctive way of life.
A book signing and light refreshments will be available following the presentation.
Fienup-Riordan is a cultural anthropologist with Calista Education and Culture. She
has lived, worked and taught in ÐÓ°Épro since 1973. Her lecture is sponsored by UAF's
Resilience and Adaptation Program and the American Association for the Advancement
of Science, Arctic Division.