Project Jukebox Survey

Help us redesign the Project Jukebox website by taking a very short survey!

Polly Hyslop

Polly Hyslop is of Upper Tanana River Athabascan Dene and Scottish ancestry. She is a member of the Neesüü clan. She was born at a fish camp near the village of Northway in Interior Alaska. She spent her childhood in Northway, Galena and Tanana, Alaska. She grew up surrounded by lakes, creeks, and rivers. She earned her undergraduate degree in journalism, a master’s degree in justice administration, and her doctorate in Indigenous Studies at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Currently, Dr. Hyslop is a Research Professor of Indigenous Studies at Alaska Pacific University in Anchorage, Alaska. Her interest focuses on community-based design in creating dispute resolution practices such as peacemaking within Native communities. She has taught Indigenous Research Methodology and courses related to Indigenous dispute resolution and design. Along with teaching, she is a life-long language learner. She also works to document Indigenous language and knowledge. Her research focuses on community safety and well-being using language, connection to land and ceremonies. In 2009, she helped conduct, translate and transcribe interviews for the Alaska Highway Project Jukebox.

Polly Hyslop appears in the following new Jukebox projects:

Alaska Highway

Polly Hyslop's Slideshow

Interview Title	Abstract	Archive #: Oral History	Project	Date of Interview
Polly Hyslop	Polly Hyslop was interviewed on October 10, 2008 by Stacey Carkhuff Baldridge in Northway, Alaska. In this interview, Polly talks about growing up in and near Northway and how the community and lifestyle has changed in her lifetime. She particularly reflects on the positive and negative impacts from construction of the Alaska Highway. Polly also talks about the importance of preserving her Native language and Native cultural traditions, how she feels like a voice for Indigenous people when speaking up about their rights, and having a spiritual connection to trails and the land.	2009-07-04	Alaska Highway	Oct 10, 2008

As Interviewer

Interview Title	Archive #: Oral History	Project	Abstract
Ada Gallen	2009-07-02	Alaska Highway	Ada Gallen was interviewed on October 10, 2008 by Stacey Carkhuff Baldridge and Polly Hyslop at Ada's house in Northway, Alaska. In this interview, Ada talks about the construction of the Alaska Highway and the airstrip at Northway and the changes these brought to her community and region. She talks about seeing black soldiers for the first time, the military men dating Native women, and the jobs and economic opportunities the projects brought to the area. She also talks about living a traditional subsistence lifestyle before the coming of the highway. View a short video of Ada cutting up a whitefish.
Julius Sam	2009-07-06	Alaska Highway	Julius Sam was interviewed on October 10, 2008 by Stacey Carkhuff Baldridge and Polly Hysolp at his home in Northway, Alaska. In this interview, Julius talks about the construction of the Alaska Highway and the airstrip at Northway and the changes these brought to the community and region. He discusses the traditional subsistence lifestyle of moving around the country and how the highway changed this, attending school and learning English, interacting with the black soldiers working on the highway, and being hired to work on the airport and highway. He also talks about negative impacts upon the youth, as well as some positives that the highway has brought.
Cherie Marunde	2009-07-08	Alaska Highway	Cherie Marunde was interviewed on October 10, 2008 by Stacey Carkhuff Baldridge and Polly Hyslop at Cherie's home in Northway, Alaska. In this interview, Cherie talks about construction of the Alaska Highway, and reflects on positive and negative impacts the road has had on her community. She discusses changes to traditional hunting and gathering areas, the use of Native corporation lands, protecting traditional uses of land and water, the seasonal round of subsistence activities, and her family's trapping lifestyle. She also talks about preserving her Native language and the role that the highway played in loss of Native culture.
Oscar Albert	2009-07-10	Alaska Highway	Oscar Albert was interviewed on October 11, 2008 by Stacey Carkhuff Baldridge and Polly Hyslop at Oscar's home in Northway, Alaska. In this interview, Oscar talks about the construction of the Alaska Highway and the airstrip at Northway and the changes these brought to the community and region. He discusses their traditional hunting and trapping practices, interacting with the Army men who came to work on the road and airstrip, and getting a job on the airport project.
Laura Sanford	2009-07-13	Alaska Highway	Laura Sanford was interviewed on October 25, 2008 by Stacey Carkhuff Baldridge and Polly Hyslop at Laura's home in Tok, Alaska. In this interview, Laura talks about growing up living a seasonally based subsistence lifestyle and how things changed with the construction of the Alaska Highway. She discusses interacting with the African-American soldiers, the effect the highway had on village life and transportation, and the presence of non-Natives in the region.
Ellen Demit, Interview 3, Part 1	2009-07-15_PT.1	Alaska Highway	Ellen Demit was interviewed on October 25, 2008 by Stacey Carkhuff Baldridge and Polly Hyslop at Ellen's home in Tok, Alaska. In this first part of a two part interview, Ellen talks about the construction of the Alaska Highway and the changes the road brought to her community of Healy Lake and the region. She discusses living a traditional subsistence lifestyle, the epidemic that struck the village of Healy Lake, her travels around the region, and the challenges of raising her children and earning money to support them. She also talks about how things changed once the Alaska Highway was put in, interacting with the soldiers working on the road, and she tells a story about a bear.
Ellen Demit, Interview 3, Part 2	2009-07-15_PT.2	Alaska Highway	This is the continuation of an interview with Ellen Demit on October 25, 2008 by Stacey Carkhuff Baldridge and Polly Hyslop at Ellen's home in Tok, Alaska. In this second part of a two part interview, Ellen shares a traditional story about a bear and the boy in the woods who got married, talks about the importance of respecting animals, and sings the traditional Eagle Song in her Native Upper Tanana Athabascan language.
Lavell Wilson, Interview 1	2009-07-17	Alaska Highway	Lavell Wilson was interviewed on October 25, 2008 by Stacey Carkhuff Baldridge and Polly Hyslop at his home in Tok, Alaska. His wife Catherine was also present during the interview. In this interview, Lavell talks about the construction of the Alaska Highway and the Northway Airport and changes these brought to the communities and the region. He discusses growing up in the area and seeing how things changed during his lifetime, and how the road construction and influx of soldiers and non-Natives impacted the local Native population. He also talks about the jobs the construction projects brought, how animals and hunting were affected by the road, and how the presence of the road improved travel and transportation in the area.