Research Plan

For our research project our group desided on the Aleuts which are distant relatives of the coastal Eskimos.  We have broke our project into four different sections culture, art, traditions, dance, and clothing.  I picked clothing, because I am amazed at the materials they use to make these garmets.  My question is what can I learn about the overall culture of the Aleuts.  So far in my research I have found that they make alot of different clothes from fur-seal, so it seems that nothing is wasted because that is also one of the meats they eat also.  My questions as I go into my research further are:

1. What tools and materials were used to make the clothing?
2. How did they make their dyes?
3. Who was in charge of making clothes?
4. Why they rarely wore pants?

I envision my audience as being college students researching new information on this subject and possibly people searching sites looking for false documentation.  My question is important to me because I think it is interesting to learn about the cultures of different people.  I think that everyone should know who their ancestors are and learn past and present values and customs so we can pass it down to the next generation. 
I think that the question will be important to anyone reading our site for the same reasons.

As I said my job to the group is to find as much information that I can on the clothing that was worn then and now by the Aleute's.  My responsiblity to the group wike is to write my part of the essay to be incorporated into the final paper.

I have started Googling and searching the web for information.  My next step is to go to the library and look for books on Alaska history, Aleute.  I am also going to search the Alaska digital archives, and maybe find some videos.

Our group is going to meet this Sunday so we can work on the research prospectus.  We will also discuss a time schedule, and set a timetable so we are all on the same page so to speak.

I feel more confident about this as I just dive into it.  I am concerned about not being able to find the information that I need, but I will cross that bridge when I come to it.

I am part Cherokee, and for years I have been wanting to research my ancestors but have just put it off.  This assignment has inspired me to do it, because I am the only one that can pass this information on to my son.

"The Cove"

I wasn't sure what to expect when I started watching "The Cove", because it starts out with Richard O'Barry wearing a surgical mask talking really fast, talking about people following him, driving crazy!  I was thinking, this is the guy that trained "Flipper"?   The style of the film reminded me of "Mission Impossible." After watching the heart wrenching documentary, I was stunned as to how this needless slaughter of dolphins could be taking place in a small, isolated cove in Taiji, Japan.

The filmmakers took a one sided approach to try and expose what is happening and say that it is a cruel slaughter of an intelligent mammal.  They said that the dolphins meat has such a high concentration of mercury that it is unfit to eat, so they are labeling it whale meat to make a profit. 

Japan says that what they are doing is legal, so why the big cover-up if they feel that what they are doing is moral and ethical.  Louie Psihoyos had to use night vision cameras and sneak past the tight security.  If they are caught they said they could go to prison.

The style of the film was described by a reviewer at the New York Times as "Trojan horse."  I think that what they meant is all around you can see pictures of dolphins, sculptures, cute dolphin boat rides, dolphin shows, etc. portraying the cute smiling dolphin; and little do the Japanese know that in a hidden cove this beloved mammal is being slaughtered by the thousands, right under their noses.  Just like the Trojan's they only see the horse.

I thought it was ironic that Richard O'Barry spent part of his life capturing dolphins and training them, and now the other half trying to save them from that.  I feel that after the Japanese watch this film some will probably think why are these people trying to change what has been going on for years and others will have the same reaction that I did having had grew up with "Flipper."

I think that this film plays on a noble cause, and the question I keep asking myself is, should dolphins and other animals have rights?  I think so.