Antler on the Sea: The Yup'ik and Chuckhi of the Russian Far East by Anna M. Kerttula

From the Publisher

"Life in Sireniki follows the seasons. Herders mark their work by the spring birthing of reindeer calves and the fall molting of antlers; hunters watch for spring walrus and winter ice. . . . And just as the seasonal cycle escapes the Soviet grip, so too does the life cycle of the people."
—:from Antler on the Sea

Anna M. Kerttula, an anthropologist, offers a vivid portrayal of life in Sireniki, a Siberian village on the Bering Sea. Once a traditional Yup'ik community, it was by the final years of the Soviet Empire home to three cultural groups: the Yup'ik, native hunters of sea mammals; the Chukchi, nomadic reindeer herders who had been required by the state to turn their animals over to cooperative farms; and Russians of European ancestry enticed to the region by incentive programs designed to colonize the Russian Far East.

Kerttula, who lived among the villagers for eighteen months, draws on her experiences to explore how each group's beliefs and customs have transformed those of the other two. Her book shows the endurance of the indigenous cultures of Far Eastern Russia despite years of intrusion by the Soviet state.

The author describes in rich detail how the Yup'ik, the Chukchi, and the Russian "newcomers" developed a sense of cultural difference because of their separate symbolic systems and yet cohered as a community. She explains that relations among the groups have become tenuous since the breakup of the Soviet Union and the subsequent collapse of the local economy. Kerttula's research provides a unique perspective on today's ethnic rivalries within the former USSR. She maintains that these conflicts, not always expressions of ancient animosities, may be efforts toward mutual understanding during times of economic and social change.

About the Author:
Anna M. Kerttula is Associate Director for the Governor of Alaska's office in Washington, D.C.

Library Journal

The rise of popular black gay fiction writers (James Earl Hardy and E. Lynn Harris, to name two) brings to the forefront the need for a serious examination of this subculture, which has long been made invisible by many in the straight black community. Constantine-Simms's collection of 28 scholarly essays, written primarily by academics, including bell hooks and M.R. Vendryes, covers a wide range of gay and lesbian topics, from homophobia in popular black music to the gay Harlem Renaissance and African American churches. Four essays on homosexuality in Africa are particularly welcome, considering the inaccessibility of some of this information. Equally welcome is the lack of socio-speak throughout; general readers will find most of these essays not just thought-provoking but perfectly understandable. A foreword by Henry Louis Gates Jr. is included. This important new work is an essential purchase for all academic and public library cultural studies collections, which should also include Keith Boykin's One More River To Cross: Black and Gay in America (LJ 10/15/96), Eric Brandt's Dangerous Liaisons: Blacks, Gays, and the Struggle for Equality (LJ 6/15/99), and Charles Michael Smith's Fighting Words: Personal Essays by Black Gay Men (Avon Bks., 1999).--Anthony J. Adam, Prairie View A&M Univ. Lib., TX Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.

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