Yupiaq Worldview Analysis

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Yupiaq Worldview Within this paper, a glimpse into the Yupiaq society will hopefully be accomplished by answering a few questions. First question, what is the Yupiaq worldview? Next, what are the core values that are essential to the success of Yupiaq society? And finally, how are those values expressed in their approach to subsistence behaviors and knowledge of their environment? According to Kawagley, the worldview of the Yupiaq society is very basic in how they relate to ella, or the universe. The Yupiaq believe that the land is giver of life (p.7). Kawagley himself viewed nature as a part of themselves. They lived in harmony with the world around them and learned how to relate to other humans and the natural and spiritual worlds (p.8). …show more content…

They believed in sharing what they have, especially any hunting or fishing gains, to others in the village to include the elders. Their worldview consists of principles, or ideals that made sense of the world around them. This view of the world enabled them to make artifacts (tools for hunting and fishing, clothing, and shoes to name a very few) that were apt for their world. Everything that they made was sufficient, efficient, renewable, natural, eco-friendly, and compatible to their worldview. This was done as to not offend the animals or harm the landscape.
In regards to education of math and science, the Yupiaq learned many years ago how to avoid botulism and how much they needed to survive. As previously stated, ella provided all that was needed for sustaining life, and the Yupiaq took only what was needed. This thought process was key to their worldview.
Thoughts regarding math was on a very basic level and was simple for the Yupiaq. The Yupiaq do not think in additive or qualities of things. Since the Yupiaq were a tribe of hunter-gatherers, to use fish as an example, they would estimate what could fulfill their needs by acquiring enough that could fit in a box. They knew that the women could not clean any more fish than that in one day, so there was no need to take more than that. They also used math in the concept of time for traveling, basically how long it would …show more content…

They were more astute future observations. As previously stated they learned how to avoid botulism. This was accomplished by burying food at certain depths depending on the type of meat to prevent decay, or adding salt to meats for preserving. This was vital to their survival, especially during months of no hunting. It was quite the basic ideas of cause and effect, but by honoring ella you can become informed. The traditional knowledge and experiences of the Yupiaq were adapted to the environment and learned through their daily life tasks (p.41). Complete and sudden change would mean the destruction of the Yupiaq worldview, but science continues to be an agent of change in their region (p.42).
There were myriad of core values essential to the success of the Yupiaq society. Success was not unilateral in the Yupiaq society. Of the most important of the core values, sharing made the top of the list. Sharing was about meeting the needs of the village and considering the feelings and well-being of everyone. For the Yupiaq, sharing is official and

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