Kaitlin Armstrong is the host of The Alaska Myth, a podcast that deconstructs the stories created during the Russian settlement and European colonization of Alaska that began in the mid-1700s. Utopian settler stories, stories of the rugged outdoors, ones of monetary opportunity and ones of lawlessness. These stories — often embellished or completely fabricated — have informed the Alaskan identity and sense of place for generations. Meanwhile, overlooking or ignoring the history and the lifeways of the many Alaska Native cultures. Kaitlin says that she’s been thinking about all of this for years, about how the idea of The Last Frontier is subtle and insidious because of what it hides. On the surface, these stories are ones of can-do spirit and gritty individualism, stories that reinforce our idea of Alaskan pride. But underneath all of that, there’s violence, resource extraction and the erasure of Native peoples and their cultures.
Kaitlin grew up in Homer, Alaska. She says she had an idyllic upbringing in the small, tight-knit community. But her understanding of what goes into creating this idyllic place changed over the years. That the land had to be conquered first and then it could be made into the place she grew up in. That knowledge and curiosity extended to her own Honduran heritage, of which she knew little about as a kid. Because, for so long, it was just too difficult for her mom to talk about. But every summer, Kaitlin’s grandma would visit and she would connect with her heritage through her. But, Kaitlin says, she always felt more Alaskan than anything else.
EP 85 Furniture, basketball and family with Buddy Bailey
EP 84 Human trafficking in Alaska and decolonizing data with Josie Heyano
EP 83 Moving home, revitalizing a language and the magic of radio with Shyanne Beatty
EP 82 A chip on my shoulder with Mario Chalmers
EP 81 Life lessons from fish camp with Angela Gonzalez
EP 80 Searching for understanding and forgiveness with Robert Stark
EP 79 There is no excuse with Andrew Kurka
EP 77 The history of slime with Christopher Michlig
EP 76 What we’ve been through is not who we are now with Travante Williams
EP 75 From middle school teacher to pro wrestler with Freya the Slaya
EP 74 Embracing the variance of poker with Adam Hendrix
Museums in a Climate of Change: EP 73 Futures thinking, perseverance and climate change with Kristin Alford of the Museum of Discovery at the University of South Australia
Museums in a Climate of Change: EP 72 Creating sustainable exhibitions with Lizzy Bakker of NEMO Science Museum in Amsterdam
Museums in a Climate of Change: EP 71 How climate change is affecting the traditional Sámi way of life with Anne May Olii of the Sámi Museum in Norway
Museums in a Climate of Change: EP 70 The myth of climate indifference with Miranda Massie of the Climate Museum
Museums in a Climate of Change: EP 69 Imagining the future with Lath Carlson of the Museum of the Future in Dubai
EP 68 Frances changed my life with John Gourley
Ep 67 Culture comes from our environment with Cordelia Qiġñaaq Kellie
EP 66 Inuit soul music with Qacung
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