Aleut Kayak

Paddling has played a major role in human history for at least 6,000-8000 years (Kerr, 2014). Early kayaks were used for transportation, survival (hunting and fishing) and trade. The kayaks were created by Natives Alaskans, the Aleuts. These early kayaks were made of driftwood or whalebone frame covered with animal skin (Sauer,2013). The most common woods used were fir, pine, spruce and willow, while the animals skins were either seal or walrus. These early kayaks lacked many of the safety precautions now on most kayaks, such as rudder, hatchet and bulkheads. The kayaks were mainly used to hunt animals that lived in rivers, lakes or in the oceans. The lighght weight kayaks were designed to travel quickly over long distances and handle tough …show more content…
The indigenous North America technology and the labor of the people who designed and built it contributed to the events to happen the way it did. The Russian extracted a large number of otter pelts only because of the kayak. This in return attracted more Russians to come and invade the Aleutians. The vast fleets of Aleut kayak made large sea otter hunts possible which resulted in large profits for the Russians and near extermination of the sea otter. The wealth of furs in the North Pacific then attracted the United States and provided a justification for the purchase of Alaska. All these events can be viewed as a bitter irony for the Aleut as their technological triumph was also instrumental in attracting foreign power, that caused great harm for both them and the animals their culture depend on. The mistreatment of the Native American by the Russians isn't new in history as their story has always marked beyertral and sorrow. There has been a trend of white men from across the ocean setting foot on their land and this causes the Native Americans to lose almost everything- their ancestral land, dignity and their culture. Thus said, it's interesting how it is always the people who came this land first are always the ones who have been

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