Aqqaluk Trust Alaska Native Voices: Pilot Study to Preserve and Disseminate the Indigenous Spirit Conference Tapes
FAIN: PW-259128-18
Robert Aqqaluk Newlin, Sr. Memorial Trust (Kotzebue, AK 99752-0509)
Hans Bernhardt Nelson (Project Director: July 2017 to July 2020)
Denise Koutchak (Project Director: July 2020 to present)
A Foundations project to preserve and create access to 700 audiocassette tapes of
Alaskan Iñupiaq elders, recorded between 1976 and 1981, that document native
lifeways during a period of rapid cultural change. The collaborative project includes training, digitization,
cataloging, long-term storage, and creation of online access to the original
recorded narratives, speeches, and musical works. It would establish a collaborative process
for native Alaskan organizations to preserve at-risk audio recordings.
Aqqaluk Trust Alaska Native Voices (ATANV) is a collaborative effort to preserve and provide access to 700 unique Alaska Native Elders’ cassette tapes recordings. These primary source materials document the Iñupiaq “Spirit Program” from 1976-81 which records firsthand descriptions in Iñupiaq of essential indigenous Northwest Alaskan survival skills and moral maxims. The lifeways described are now largely historical, yet the Spirit Program forms the bedrock of present-day Iñupiaq values. Stored in extremely high relative humidity conditions on the Northern Alaska coast for the past 36-41 years, these tapes are now at risk from magnetic tape failure or ever-present threats from the natural environment. The ATANV project hopes to provide these historic audio tapes with preservation and digital access before they are lost, providing cataloging and online access to the digital files while storing the originals in environmentally controlled conditions.
Associated Products
WorldCat Database (Database/Archive/Digital Edition)Title: WorldCat Database
Author: Leslie McCarty
Author: Joanne Henszey
Author: Robin
Abstract: The UAF Oral History Program personnel had cataloged the data to make the elder recordings discoverable through the WorldCat Database. They received low level level metadata to catalog from Hans (Previous Project Director), so to catalog to a higher degree and on each individual recording, they would need full transcripts in English.
Year: 2020
Primary URL:
http://worldcat.orgPrimary URL Description: WorldCat is the world's largest network of library content and services. WorldCat libraries are dedicated to providing access to their resources on the Web, where most people start their search for information.
Access Model: Once Release Agreement are signed by NANA, it will be open access to researchers, students, general public.