Wealth and Its Manifestations in the Traditional Culture of Alaska Natives Before and After the Onset of European Colonization

The subject addressed in this article has not yet received detailed scholarly attention, and the article aims to fill this gap. Conceptions of wealth and their embodiment in material objects and symbols were characteristic of all Alaska Native peoples—Aleuts, Indians, and Eskimos. The fundamental difference between Indigenous peoples' understanding of wealth and European conceptions of it was that a wealthy person was considered not someone who accumulated property but someone who distributed it at a ceremonial feast—a potlatch. A necessary economic condition for the emergence of wealth was the regular production of a surplus product, a significant share of which was then redistributed among other individuals, groups, or communities. Because the southern regions of Alaska offered the most favorable natural conditions and resources, wealth played a significant role among the Native peoples inhabiting these territories, especially among the Tlingit Indians, for whom it permeated all aspects of life: economic, social, administrative, and spiritual. Moreover, wealth also influenced demographic and genetic patterns among Alaska Natives. The arrival of the Russians in the Aleutian Islands in the mid-18th century and their subsequent expansion into South and Southeast Alaska, followed by the arrival of British and American fur traders toward the end of the century, significantly affected the quantity and range of objects symbolizing wealth. Moreover, the well-being of different Native groups during the initial period of European colonization varied considerably and depended directly on the extent of their subordination to the Russians and their freedom to maintain contact with American and British fur traders. The material presented in this article may contribute to further scholarly research on the history, ethnography, and economy of Russian America.