82 Alaskan Science Conference 



2. Social and Political Relationships. Among the Aleuts the old 

 political system of control by a "strong man" was transformed by 

 the Russians into a chain-of-command government with first chief, 

 second chief, third chief, which the Aleuts now employ alongside 

 the "tribal council" called for by American law, with 4 elected 

 officers and a member at large. In Nikolski the Aleuts keep the two 

 structures separate and distinct but in Atka Village they tend to 

 merge with the first chief being also president of the council. The 

 failure of the latest system in operation can be traced to conflicting 

 systems of authority which must be clarified before any smooth 

 functioning can be expected. All members of Aleut villages, and 

 this applies to most other villages, are bound together by various 

 social patterns involving reciprocity. These relationships often pre- 

 vent individuals from giving information to law enforcement officers 

 or school teachers. Other attitudes govern their relationships with 

 outsiders as distinguished from established village members. Con- 

 sequently members of different villages can often not be expected 

 to live together in one village until these attitudes have been altered. 

 A thorough investigation of the village organization and patterned 

 behavior between all its members will be most fruitful in imple- 

 menting any program of social or economic rehabilitation. 



3. Food Supply. With diets running from 800 to 1400 calories per 

 day for long periods of time, it appears desirable to augment the 

 food supply. One of the many ways in which this can be done is to 

 encourage rather than to permit ridicule of the use of native foods, 

 particularly those foods such as cod livers, blubber, and a large 

 number of plant foods. Certain industries, such as those connected 

 with sheep raising which is eminently successful in the Aleutian 

 Islands, can be introduced and will serve to raise the cash income of 

 the people to the point where they can purchase foods not otherwise 

 obtainable. The Russian Aleuts of the Commander Islands and the 

 American Aleuts of the Pribilof Islands present a remarkable con- 

 trast with the Aleutian Aleuts in this respect. They also demon- 

 strate the efficacy of attention to the problem of food supply in 

 stimulating population growth and increasing resistance to disease. 



In conclusion it can be pointed out that researches into the 

 anthropological problems of the peoples of southern Alaska 

 will provide much information of scientific value and also data 



