I just received notice my friend and guide, Dr. Lydia T. Black, an anthropologist whose research restored to Alaskan peoples important features of their history and culture, has died early this morning in Kodiak, AK, with family, friends, and Orthodox services present. She was 81.
from the family (to be continued)–
Dr. Black’s research of the Russian period in Alaska revealed aspects of Alaska Native culture and history which had been lost or forgotten. Her book Aleut Art is representative of her career in this respect as it provides a comprehensive look at both the techniques used to create and the symbolic meaning of a variety of pre- and early contact Aleut arts and crafts.
Dr. Black was born in Kiev, USSR, on December 16, 1925. She completed her B.A., M.A. (Brandeis University, 1971) and Ph.D. (University of Massachusetts – Amherst) by 1973, when she accepted her first academic post at Providence College. While teaching at Providence College, she also served as part of the staff of Brown University’s Arctic Institute. She moved to Alaska in 1984 in order to be closer to her research interests, accepting a position at University of Alaska-Fairbanks, whence she retired in 1998 in order to contribute her skills to St. Herman’s Theological Seminary in Kodiak, AK.
From 2001, she devoted her time to writing and lending her expertise to a variety of individual and collective projects and volunteered as a teacher of Russian history at Saint Innocent’s Academy.
Dr. Black is survived by her four daughters, Anna Treiber of Appleton, WI; Maria McEvoy of Houston, TX; Elena Black of Dennis, MA; Zoë Pierson of Kodiak, AK and by six grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
A funeral service of Orthodox rite will take place at Saint Paul Lutheran Church, Kodiak, Alaska at 12:00 p.m., Saturday, March 17 2007. Burial, will take place at the City of Kodiak cemetery and will be followed by a repast at the Kodiak Senior Center at 4:00 p.m. In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting that memorial contributions be made to | Saint Innocent’s Academy |, P.O. Box 1517, Kodiak, AK 99615. 
( | St Innocent’s Academy | older website)
See | St Innocent of Alaska Bicentennial (Ioann Veniaminov) |
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Stable carbon isotopes do not date but nevertheless lead full lives. mpb
6 responses so far ↓
Lydia T. Black 1925 to 2007 « Grassroots Science // 2007 March 12 at 12:01 pm |
[...] Dr Lydia T. Black 1925-2007/ [...]
Dr Lydia Black documents « Biocultural Science & Management // 2007 March 12 at 6:01 pm |
[...] Dr Lydia Black documents 12 03 2007 Additional information about | Lydia T. Black 1925 to 2007 | [...]
St Innocent of Alaska Bicentennial (Ioann Veniaminov) « Biocultural Science & Management // 2007 March 12 at 9:53 pm |
[...] St Innocent of Alaska Bicentennial (Ioann Veniaminov) 1 08 2006 I had a chance to help Prof. Lydia Black with her organizing of the Veniaminov Bicentennial, by acting as a digital translator. 2007-03-13 | Lydia T. Black 1925 to 2007 | [...]
mpb // 2007 March 19 at 2:15 pm |
from a neighbor and friend
“… She was a grandmother figure to myself and would give me tips on babies, colic, teething, etc… She translated Russian accounts and taught Patrick and locals a great deal about the Russian colonization of Kodiak. ” [...]
http://saltonstall.blogspot.com/2007/03/weekend-memorial-service.html
Pam // 2007 July 29 at 3:08 pm |
Whalebone mask may rewrite Aleut history
Anchorage Daily News – Anchorage, AK, USA, July 28, 2007
Cultural anthropologist Lydia Black, who died earlier this year, wrote that
members of ancient Aleut burial parties wore and shattered tiny masks
during …
http://www.adn.com/front/picture_inset/story/9171022p-9086365c.html
James Read // 2007 November 23 at 3:08 pm |
Anthropology and Orthodoxy have suffered a sad loss in the death of Professor Lydia Black, as he beloved Russians say, May her memory be eternal.