Our Death is Our Strongest Surviving Tradition. A Guest Essay by the Artist of Our Cover Image

• Authors: Ukjese van Kampen

Abstracts

EN

In Canada, Yukon First Nations are politically powerful and, when viewed by an outsider, everything appears to be progressing well. But the adoption of the Western political model has a downside. We have generally sacrificed our culture for that political power. The loss of our culture has resulted in many social problems and this essay discusses what has resulted from those problems, specifically our high death rate. Ironically, our death ritual, the Potlatch, is one of the strongest surviving cultural traditions we still exercise, while our languages, laws, art, lifestyle, and spirituality are almost all forgotten.

Keywords

EN

Funeral Traditions; Potlatch; Yukon First Nations; Sacred Spaces

• Publisher: University of Silesia Press
• Journal: Review of International American Studies
• Year: 2023
• Volume: 16
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 31-47

Dates

published

2023

Contributors

author

Ukjese van Kampen

• Independent Artist, Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canada

• https://orcid.org/0009000343739526

References

• Coates, Kenneth S. Best Left as Indians: Native-White Relations in the Yukon Territories, 1840–1973. U of British Columbia P, 1984.
• Park, Jungwee. “Mortality Among First Nations People, 2006 to 2016.” Statistics Canada, 20 October 2021. https://www.doi.org/10.25318/82-003-x202101000001-eng
• Tjepkema, Michael, Tracey Bushnik and Evelyne Bougie. “Life Expectancy of First Nations, Métis and Inuit Household Populations in Canada.” Statistics Canada, 18 December 2019. https://www.doi.org/10.25318/82-003-x201901200001-eng
• van Kampen, Ukjese. History of Yukon First Nations Art. 2012. Leiden University, PhD Dissertation.
• van Kampen, Ukjese. The Journey of Floral Bead Styles from 1500s France to 1800s Yukon First Nations. 2022. University of Lapland, PhD Dissertation.

Identifiers

DOI

10.31261/rias.15431

Biblioteka Nauki

27177606