Alaska Area Studies /Children’s Literature; SS 2003 Andrea Schnepf / Katharina Scholze July 4th 2003

1) Facts: State: Alaska (Alyeska (Aleut) = the great land) State Capitol: Juneau (~27,000 residents), only to reach by ship (nearly every municipality is at the coast and you have to use the ship or the plane to reach it) Inhabitants: Alaska native: Aleut (1,8 % of total population), Eskimo (8,1 %) and Indian groups (5,7 %), many intermarriage among persons of different native and tribal backgrounds and between natives and non - natives; friendly and helpful to strangers Languages: official language: English; Aleut: Aleut, Eskimo: Inupiat, Yupik, Koniag, Indian: Chugach, Athapaskan, Eyak, Haida, Tsimshian, Tlingit Currency : US Dollar Economy: fishin g, industry (oil), tourism (=> beautiful unspoiled landscape and many rare animals) Land area: 570,376 square miles (1,7 million qkm); largest state in the union Population: 626932 inhabitants, who only live in the South or Central Alaska Biggest City: Anchorage, 257,780 residents (1995) Time Zones: Alaska Time: - 9 and Hawaii time (at the west Aleut): - 10 State mineral: Gold, famous Gold rush State Flower: wild forget-me-not

2) Climate: Ø except South and Southeast Alaska there is permafrost Ø 3 climate zones : I. Sea climate: maritime weather at the coast: Southeast, golf regions of South-central Alaska and Aleut: often rain and warm breeze from Japan, average temperatures: summer 10° - 14°C, winter 3° - 7°C II. Land climate: weather in the interior and at the west coast: extreme variation in temperature (highest temperature: 38°C in Fort Yukon 1915, lowest temperature: - 62°C at Prospect Creek 1971), cold winter, fast autumn storms III. Arctic climate: north of the Brooks- Range: extreme cold winter, cold summer and low rain, because in the 9 month of winter the sun doesn't shine very often, but from May 10th - August 2nd the sun shines the whole day

3) History: 22000 - 20000 years before nomads migrated on the Bering street from Asia, who was at that time ice - free. Among the centuries four cultures developed, who adapted at the harsh climate: Ø Southeast of Alaska: lush forests, many fish and hunting - grounds and edible plants: - Indian group: Tlingit with high culture, but also good warriors: won against Russian people although they didn't have rifles and guns - 17. / 18. century: two other small Indian groups migrated from Canada to the Southeast of Alaska: Tsimshian, Haida Ø Central Alaska: hard living conditions for the Athabascan Indians, but they were excellent hunters

- 2Ø North and West from the Athabascan the Inuit live from hunting (walrus, seals, polar bears, Caribou and some birds) and fishing in this harsh and infertile country, collected berries and roots in the short cold summer, some brave Inuit hunted whales Ø Aleut: the Aleut were very toughened up, life basic: ocean 1741: On instructions of Russian tsar Peter the Great Danish sailor Vitus Bering discovered Alaska on his third expedition to find the sea route from Russia to India and China, when he got in a storm, but only some of his team could tell from the variety of animals in Alaska (=> trade with the furs); because Bering and most of his team died of scurvy 1774 -1779: Spain discovered Alaska to get the expensive sea otter furs 1778: England discovered Alaska to get the expensive sea otter furs, but England and Spain were driven out of Alaska by the natives 1867 : Purchased from Russia by U.S. for 7,2 million Dollars ("Seward Icebox / Seward Folly"), because Russia did not get enough furs and fought with the Natives and English people 1872 : first gold discovery in Sitka (in the beginning state capital) 1897 : gold rush in Juneau, named after Joseph Juneau and Richard Harris, who found 1880 the first gold nuggets there 1912 : official declaration as an American territory Second World War : important strategic area for the defence of the U.S.A, who built the Alaska Highway, because the Japanese landed on the Aleut 1959 , January 3rd: Entered the union (49th state), because discovery of oil in 1957 (Alaska: 25 % of the oil deposit in America)

4) Alaska's Flag and song: Alaska Flag: Ø 1926 contest for Alaska's students in grades seven through twelve: winning design by 13-year-old Indian student Benny Benson (prize: 1000 Dollar scholarship and a clock); the eight gold stars on a field of blue (symbol for heaven and the Forget-Me-Not) represent the Big Dipper (symbol for the strength and force of Alaska) and the North Star (symbol for the future of Alaska, which is the most northern state of U.S.A) Ø 1927 adoption of the design as the official flag for the Territory of Alaska by the Alaskan legislature Alaska’s song: Ø 1935 the words to the song "Alaska's Flag" appeared as a poem by Marie Drake Ø 1933-1936 Elinor Dusenbury composed the music to the poem Ø 1955 The Territorial Legislature adopted the song as Alaska's official song

"Alaska's Flag" Verse 1 Eight stars of gold on a field of blue -Alaska's flag. May it mean to you The blue of the sea, the evening sky, The mountain lakes, and the flow'rs nearby; The gold of the early sourdough dreams, The precious gold of the hills and streams; The brilliant stars in the northern sky, The Bear--the Dipper-- and, shining high, the great North Star with its steady light, Over land and sea a beacon bright. Alaska's fla g--to Alaskans dear, The simple flag of a last frontier.

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Verse 2 A Native lad chose the Dipper's stars For Alaska's flag that there be no bars Among our culture. Let it be known Through years the Native's past has grown To share life's treasures, hand in hand, to keep Alaska our Great-Land; We love the northern midnight sky, the mountains, lakes and streams nearby. The great North Star with its steady light will guide all cultures, clear and bright, with nature's flag to Alaskan's dear, the simple flag of the last frontier.

5) State sport: Dog mushing (since 1972) Dog mushing: in the past means of transport, today in some regions Ø important commands (sounds from the Inuit language): "Gee!" (right), "Haw!"(left), "Whoo!"(stop), "Go!" Ø Lead dogs: run at the head of the team, responsibility for the correct translation of the musher’s orders Ø Point Dogs: after the Lead dogs Ø Swing dogs: after the Point dogs Ø Wheel dogs: before the sledge; to hold the sledge in extreme bends

Breeds: Ø Alaskan husky: very fast, powerful, staying power, strong ‘desire to go’ Ø Siberian husky: playful, strong, similar to cat, distinct pack animal Ø Greenlander: relentless selection: uncouth dog, but also sensitive, need strong musher Ø Malamute : name from an Indian tribe in Northwest of Alaska, similar to wolf, affectionate, intelligent and playful, not so fast than the smaller breeds Ø Samojede : staying power, not very fast, friendly, affectionate and pleasant (=> Samojeden smile and affection to humans); fixation on humans, because nomads tribe took Samojede in their tent for sleeping

Iditarod trail : Ø More than 1100 miles (1760 km) from Anchorage to Nome (near to the Polar circle) Ø In the past it was a trail to get post and food and to bring the gold to the coast with dogs Ø 1925: diphtheria epidemic in Nome: out of serum against it and planes were made winter-proof so that they choose the fastest dogs, who got there in 8 days and saved the people of the city Ø 1967: 56 miles race for memory of the historic Iditarod trail, organized by musher Joe Redington Ø 1973: expansion of the race route with prize of 50000 Dollar Ø Today every year on the first Saturday in March the mushers come to the Iditarod trail

- 4Important things to know: - 12 - 16 dogs for one sledge - at the checkpoints the time is stopped and the dogs are examined (ill and lame dogs have to stay there) => if the musher has less than 5 dogs, he is not allowed to continue - very hard trail: the musher has to fight against the weather and very big crevices in the ice, which can swallow the whole sledge even if they don't sleep for 40 hours sometimes => nevertheless 1987 Susan Butcher won the race through the wilderness of Alaska in 11 days, 2 hours, 5 minutes and 13 seconds

6) Animals: Ø Grizzly: up to 400 kg; Coast Grizzlies: up to 3 metres high, the YukonGrizzlies are only 2/3 of the size (bear in Europe: up to 2m; up to 250 kg); speed: 60 km/h; strong swimmers; don't climb on trees; good nose; bad eyes; endangered species; omnivore: 3/4 of their food are berries, fruits and herbs, but also salmon Ø Polar Bear: up to 500 kg; tallest bear, up to 3m; male animals twice as high as female bears; their colour: (white to ivory - coloured) helps them to hide from their prey; thick layer of fat, because of the arctic temperature; they use their gigantic paws covered with fur for walking like snow - shoes and for swimming like paddles; food (only bear who eats exclusively meat): seal, Beluga whale, dangerous for humans; live on the ice, only sometimes in caves in polar coast regions in North Alaska, Yukon, Northwest territories and Nunavut Ø Elk: up to 800 kg; up to 2,25 m (elks in Europe: 1,80 - 2,10 m; 320 - 450 kg), nevertheless fast animals; size of the antlers: 1,80m!, every year new antlers; live in the forest except in the summer and in the rutting season; aggressive, when think their babies are in danger

Ø Wolf : only few wolfs left in the North, because of destruction; food: big animals: red deer, mountain goat and elks, but also birds and fishes; the wolfs of the North follow the traits of their food: the wasteland - Caribou, the others stay in their territory, which can be 1600 km2 large; wolfs are pack animals but when they have to swarm out by their food search you see them also alone or in pairs; wolfs in the south east of Alaska have darker, shorter and harsher fur; arctic Wolf is bigger and has a thicker and warmer fur (white to pale grey) Ø Glutton: up to 15 kg; more than 1 m; bad smell; has many force and is very wild; food: plants and smaller animals: lemmings, subversive and ground squirrels, but also Caribou or elks, when the snow is soft and deep; endangered species; loner except the mating season; humans only see their destroyed houses after a visit from the glutton, not the glutton himself

- 5Ø Polar Fox : in contrast to the foxes in the south he has shorter muzzle and tail, more round ears, thicker fur and the feet are covered with fur to bear the cold temperatures; colour of the fur is changed during the seasons (summer: red brown, winter: white); size of a domestic cat; loner except the mating season; main food: lemmings, to get good food cover more than 1000 km, hide food in the summer for the winter

Ø Arctic Polar Ground Squirrel: only arctic mammal which keep hibernation, torpid state; prey of many predators; live under the ground in colonies; hibernation caves are covered with moss, leafs and musk - ox hair

Ø Snow Hare: 3,2 - 5,4 kg ( Europe: 7 kg), biggest animal of the hare family; new born hares are completely covered with hair, open eyes and can move few seconds after their birth (in contrast: rabbit: blind, without hairs and helpless), thick fur and small ears to protect their body warmth; in the North white fur and sociable: graze with the others until there is danger, when they run away in all directions to frighten or confuse their attacker; in the South: change the colour of the fur to be protected from attackers and less sociable

Sources: Ø Ø Ø Ø Ø Ø Ø Ø Ø Ø Ø Ø Ø Ø Ø

http://sled.alaska.edu, 30.05.2003 http://www.alaskayukon.com, 01.06.2003 http://www.alaska -info.de, 11.06.2003 http://www.travel-alaska.de, 11.06.2003 http://www.ats.de/alaska/alaska.htm, 11.06.2003 http://www.erdkunde-online.de, 11.06.2003 http://www.alaska -wildlachs.ch/alaska.htm, 11.06.2003 http://www.alaska -dogmushing.de, 08.06.2003 http://www.akhistory.org , 30.05.2003 http://www.mypage.bluewin.ch, 30.05.2003 http://www.amerika -live.de/USA/Alaska/alaska.htm, 21.06.2003 http://www.pervan.de, 21.06.2003 http://www.tiermotive.de , 21.06.2003 http://www.wildnatureimages.com/forget_me_not.htm, 29.06.2003

Lexikon 2000 (Editor: Gerd Seibert, Erhard Wendelberger, 1983)

Handout Vocabulary: • • • •

animals : elk, snow hare, eagle, penguin, polar fox, polar wolf, polar bear, husky, seal, glutton colour: brown, white, black, grey, blue what animals have: coat, fur, feather, skin, tail, leg, nose, wing, paw, mouth, bill verbs: roaring, snorting, fluting, braying, hissing, snarling, yelping, bellowing

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Linguistic structures: • • • • • • • •

I like … I don´t like … I love … I´m afraid of … Here´s … Here are five … How many … do you see? I see …

Games: • If I were an animal, I were a … And you? • I pack a … in my suitcase. • One, two, three, little tiger come to me/ Changing places • What´s missing ( Show two pictures with animals, on the second some are missing) • Domino • Memory • Pantomime ( Which animal is it? ) • Please Mr. Polar bear. What time is it Mr. Wolf? • Language games Activities of pupils: You can handle the topic „ animals of Alaska” in nearly any other subject in school! • Religion: Noah´s ark • Art: making animals out of plastic modelling- material, making animal masks • German: reading animal fairytales and fables • Maths: reckon with animals • Music: listening to the sound of animals • A visit in the zoo • Collecting information about animals in Alaska

A little poem If you ever meet a Grizzly bear If you ever, ever, ever meet a grizzly bear, You must never, never, never ask him where he is going; for if you ever, ever dare to stop a g rizzly bear you will never meet another grizzly bear. (Mary Austin)

Sources:

www.Alaska-info.de 19.06.03 www.mirtschink.de 19.06.03 www.nibis.ni.schule.de 19.06.03 Waltraud Uhr. Say and play Frederieke Klippel. Lernspiele im Englischunterricht