Justin R. Hunter | University of Arkansas (original) (raw)
Dissertation by Justin R. Hunter
For over two hundred years, the Ainu of Japan have been colonized in their ancestral lands and fa... more For over two hundred years, the Ainu of Japan have been colonized in their ancestral lands and faced deep discrimination in the purported mono-ethnic, homogenous Japanese society. Despite the Japanese government’s official recognition of the Ainu as the Indigenous people of Japan in 2008, the Ainu continue to fight for their rights and to maintain their identity. In this dissertation, I examine the various ways Ainu use expressive culture to highlight their cultural differences in order to reaffirm their identity against assimilationist policies. Taking advantage of the growing awareness of global Indigenous rights, the Ainu participate in the global discourse of Indigeneity by making connections with Indigenous peoples around the world. Through these efforts, the Ainu draw attention to their struggle and demonstrate that they are a living, breathing, and vital people, despite being forgotten and rendered invisible in the colonial history and memory of Japan.
This dissertation focuses on the “staging” of Ainu identity by Ainu people in various physical and metaphysical spaces in Japan and beyond. These grassroots efforts place the Ainu in charge of their own representation. By focusing on music and dance performances, and the overall representation of Ainu on various stages, I view these performances as dynamic, active, and productive “vitalizing traditions,” rather than the popular perception of tourist performances as only negative and inauthentic. These performances provide a glimpse into the ways in which the Ainu use expressive culture to perform, understand, and create new avenues to express and construct a sense of Ainuness through propelling activities rather than rebuilding ones.
The ethnographic settings presented in this dissertation collectively probe themes of traditionality, authenticity, performativity, Indigeneity, and agency. I argue that a rigid application of these terms tends to cast Indigenous expression, presentation, and performance as inauthentic or as constructed tradition and in the process ignore Indigenous peoples’ active and nuanced roles in asserting their ethnicity on their own terms. Re-framing descriptions of Indigenous peoples’ artistic output as intentional and dynamic not only gives voice to Indigenous people but levels the playing field by viewing Indigenous creativity as deserving of support rather than needing rescue and resuscitation.
Conference Presentations by Justin R. Hunter
Looking at a map, most would not notice the town of Mountain View, Arkansas. Tucked away in the s... more Looking at a map, most would not notice the town of Mountain View, Arkansas. Tucked away in the southern reaches of the Ozark Mountains, this small town—population circa three thousand—draws tens of thousands of tourists and musicians annually to participate in one of the United States’ most vibrant folk music scenes. Each April, the self-proclaimed “Folk Music Capital of the World” hosts the Arkansas Folk Festival which has become a thriving space for community engagement since the 1960s. This celebration of Ozark traditional culture bonds participants to create a sense of belonging while enriching a community of engaged insiders and outsiders. For non-local audience members, the festival harkens back to another time and place; creating a sense of nostalgia for remembered pasts. For locals and musician participants, the festival is a space for both the preservation of Ozark culture and the cultivation of traditions. This paper highlights the shifting views and expectations of participants with consideration of historical understanding and contemporary realities. While audience members tend to seek nostalgic pasts, musicians and organizers seek continued tradition, seemingly unafraid of change. Through a shared community built around Mountain View and the Arkansas Folk Festival, locals and non-locals, musicians and audience members share a sense of belonging, despite different needs and expectations of communal bonding. The festival serves to foster Ozark cultural practice and communal meaning while bolstering belonging through musical engagement, seemingly indifferent to the sometimes contradictory desires of the individuals that make up the community.
At the center of many Indigenous lives is a connection to place: that is, to both the land and to... more At the center of many Indigenous lives is a connection to place: that is, to both the land and to Native space. The Indigenous Ainu of northern Japan espouse this connection and use expressive culture to pass on these ideals to new generations. While on a nature walk in Hokkaido, an Ainu interlocutor demonstrated a practice of “following the tracks” of wildlife left in the woods as a means to follow nature’s lead and to not disturb the delicate balance between humans (ainu), the land (mosir), and the gods (kamuy), who are found in all things. This metaphor is referenced in Ainu song and dance, with many depicting sacred animals and gods represented in nature. Using ethnographic research, I discuss this expressive culture, as used in Ainu ethnic tourism and local festivals at Lake Akan in Eastern Hokkaido, as a means for cultural and economic sustainability. On a larger scale, I explore the dynamics between place and space—seeing space as practiced place (de Certeau 1984)—and draw connections between metaphor and lived Ainu realities. In doing so, I work to understand how these individuals come together as a community to traverse liminal spaces of being in contemporary times. With nature as their guide, the Ainu at Lake Akan express their Ainuness through vitalizing traditions in cultural display with a reverence to Ainu Native spaces despite continual pressures from an ever modernizing world.
For over 140 years, the Ainu of Japan have faced colonization, assimilation, discrimination, and ... more For over 140 years, the Ainu of Japan have faced colonization, assimilation, discrimination, and loss of ancestral homelands. Indigenous people around the world have seen the same fate and the issues are far from settled. The Ainu were shocked in 2008 when the Japanese government abruptly reversed a centuries-old policy and proclaimed the Ainu as the Indigenous people of Japan. Though seemingly positive, the motives remain suspect. Native to northern Japan, the Ainu refer to their ancestral lands as ainu mosir, “quiet place where humans dwell.” Much of Ainu song centers on ainu mosir with descriptions of animals, land, and spirits, but some view ainu mosir as a space in which all Indigenous people live in harmony with the land. Considering these songs as “texts” (Hanks 1989), I examine how a subtext of Indigenous rights could expand these localized songs to speak to a global scale. In this paper I explore the contexts, meaning, and usage of Ainu song to speak out for global Indigenous empowerment both in ainu mosir and beyond. The Ainu have participated in global Indigenous movements since the 1980s and often use music as a way to express respect and share experience. Though the Ainu songs speak of the local (ainu mosir), broader themes develop when presented in global (international) spaces (i.e. Indigenous summits, cultural exchange programs, etc.). Silent no more, the Ainu use the power of music to connect to others and to fight for Indigenous rights for all who dwell in quiet places.
Responding to decades of discrimination, the Indigenous Ainu of Japan seek new ways in which to c... more Responding to decades of discrimination, the Indigenous Ainu of Japan seek new ways in which to claim Indigenous rights and to express their Ainu identity in modern Japan. For several decades the Ainu at Lake Akan (Akanko) have used ethnic tourism as a space to both express Indigenous identity and to educate others about Ainu customs and history. In addition to the use of traditional music and dance on the tourist stage, this paper looks at a recently developed full stage puppet-play unlike anything attempted before. Though tourism often evokes ideas of essentialism or stagnation through preservation, the Akanko Ainu use tourism as a space to create new expressions employing an Indigenous creativity that has produced innovative traditions for both insider and outsider audiences housed in a state-of-the-art theatre called “Ikor” (treasure in the Ainu language). These plays portray the epic narratives of the Ainu people. I see Ikor as a transformative space in which the Ainu are able to embody these epic narratives into a new context that is open to a wider audience. Though Indigenous people are often portrayed as stagnant and moribund, the Akanko Ainu represent a growing number of groups wanting to cast aside preexisting assumptions of “indigenous” by developing new generative expressions that can continue Indigenous heritage. While embracing their traditional life, the Akanko Ainu choose to explore new realms of creativity to express the desires and needs of an Indigenous society.
In the discussion of “Japaneseness,” the Ainu, the Indigenous people of Japan, are often viewed a... more In the discussion of “Japaneseness,” the Ainu, the Indigenous people of Japan, are often viewed as invisible or forgotten. After wide spread assimilation and discrimination since the 1870s, many Ainu have fought to claim Indigenous rights and have attempted to reassert their Ainu identity separate from their Japanese citizenry. In searching for venues to express their Ainuness—tourist stages, concert halls, recording studios—a shift in performance practice has occurred. Following Turino’s ideas on the politics of performance, I discuss the issue of participatory (traditional) versus presentational (modernized) performance practice, which has resulted in a distancing of new generations from their heritage’s traditional values. Perceiving this issue, some Ainu have sought out new musical mediums to express indigeneity while connecting multiple generations through music. In ethnomusicology, it has been common to label non-traditional expressions by Indigenous people as “inauthentic” or mere products of globalization. Contrary to this assumption, I argue that the Ainu assert agency and creativity by using non-traditional musical forms to express Ainu identity. The Sapporo-based Ainu rock band, the Ainu Art Project (AAP), uses traditional Indigenous art, music, and dance within a non-traditional mode—a rock concert. In this venue AAP incorporates Ainu imagery, musical instruments, and inclusive dances into their rock-beat backdrop to shift the dynamic back to a participatory social event. By rocking out Ainu, new and old generations alike can express themselves in progressive and exciting ways, while claiming their Indigenous identity in new authentic expressions.
After the Meiji Restoration of 1868, the Japanese government enacted several assimilation strateg... more After the Meiji Restoration of 1868, the Japanese government enacted several assimilation strategies to unify the nation through education reform, militarization, and modernization. As a result, Japan’s minority populations were forcibly integrated into the mainstream society and were ostensibly transformed into dutiful, loyal Japanese citizens. This assimilation saw the decline of cultural difference and the rise of discrimination for those who resisted. The Ainu, Japan’s indigenous people, witnessed wide spread decline in cultural rights and traditional life. In response, the Ainu began in the 1950s to reclaim traditional lands in Hokkaidô to create learning centers that simultaneously functioned as tourist sites for domestic and foreign travelers as well as teaching spaces for Ainu people to reconnect with their indigenous identity. Today these sites offer tourists “off center” alternatives to Japanese domestic attractions, and are intentionally set apart from mainstream Japan by the Ainu. These places create space for Ainu to construct a separate identity from their daily Japanese life. From an interview in 2010, one Ainu artist asserts that though he lives a “dualistic life”, both Japanese and Ainu, when he performs Ainu music, he “becomes” Ainu again. In this paper I explore the music being used to construct the Ainu identity in these tourists sites as both artistic expressions and intentional identity markers. In these performative spaces Ainu reclaim their indigenous heritage and demonstrate their Ainuness in modern Japan while mixing traditional and contemporary musical forms to construct modern Ainu identities.
In 2009, the Japanese government applied to UNESCO to have the traditional dance of its indigenou... more In 2009, the Japanese government applied to UNESCO to have the traditional dance of its indigenous people, the Ainu, be recognized as an “Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity” (ICH). The application was approved and this honor has since been advertised at Ainu tourist villages throughout Hokkaido Prefecture in northern Japan, home to the majority of Ainu today. On the surface, receiving the ICH label seems to have elevated Ainu’s status nationally and internationally. However, I argue that this distinction is a double-edged sword that comes with a cost. After being rendered invisible in Japan homogeneous society discourse for centuries, the Ainu, with its new found recognition, is now firmly entrenched as the nation’s minority and on the global stage. The ICH only recognizes traditional dance in Hokkaido, consequently endorsing the art form of a selected Ainu group over the rest of the Ainu population outside this prefecture. The recognition also inadvertently codified various dance, music, and customs that disregarded historical and regional variations of other Ainu groups in the region and outside Hokkaido. In this paper, I detail the conditions that surround the changing status of the Ainu from being a marginalized minority, to Japan’s indigenous people, to a marginalized indigenous group viewed through the lens of ICH recognition. Even though the label of ICH may currently fuel Ainu cultural tourism, the implications of this new marginalization and standardization of Ainu traditional dance and music may have future cultural impact on the Ainu people as a whole.
Book Reviews by Justin R. Hunter
Ethnomusicology Foreum 21 (1): 112–114, 2012
SEM Student News by Justin R. Hunter
![Research paper thumbnail of SEM Student News, Vol. 12 (Spring/Summer 2016) [Justin R. Hunter, Editor]](https://attachments.academia-assets.com/50776133/thumbnails/1.jpg)
](SEM Student News
In this column, we call attention to exciting ways for you, as a student and scholar, to get invo... more In this column, we call attention to exciting ways for you, as a student and scholar, to get involved in SEM and beyond. From conference announcements to publication news, this column is your go-to place for updates and information on becoming more active as an ethnomusicologist. If you have announcements, calls for participation, or new programs that should be included in an upcoming volume, contact us at semstudentnews@gmail.com.
![Research paper thumbnail of SEM Student News, Vol. 11 (Fall/Winter 2015) [Justin R. Hunter, Editor]](https://attachments.academia-assets.com/40501809/thumbnails/1.jpg)
](![Research paper thumbnail of SEM Student News, Vol. 10 (Spring/Summer 2015) [Justin R. Hunter, Editor]](https://attachments.academia-assets.com/37799451/thumbnails/1.jpg)
](![Research paper thumbnail of SEM Student News, Vol. 9 (Fall/Winter 2014) [Justin R. Hunter, Editor]](https://attachments.academia-assets.com/36253835/thumbnails/1.jpg)
](![Research paper thumbnail of SEM Student News, Vol. 8 (Spring/Summer 2014) [Justin R. Hunter, Editor]](https://attachments.academia-assets.com/36253709/thumbnails/1.jpg)
](![Research paper thumbnail of SEM Student News, Vol. 7 (Fall/Winter 2013) [Justin R. Hunter, Co-Editor]](https://attachments.academia-assets.com/36253467/thumbnails/1.jpg)
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For over two hundred years, the Ainu of Japan have been colonized in their ancestral lands and fa... more For over two hundred years, the Ainu of Japan have been colonized in their ancestral lands and faced deep discrimination in the purported mono-ethnic, homogenous Japanese society. Despite the Japanese government’s official recognition of the Ainu as the Indigenous people of Japan in 2008, the Ainu continue to fight for their rights and to maintain their identity. In this dissertation, I examine the various ways Ainu use expressive culture to highlight their cultural differences in order to reaffirm their identity against assimilationist policies. Taking advantage of the growing awareness of global Indigenous rights, the Ainu participate in the global discourse of Indigeneity by making connections with Indigenous peoples around the world. Through these efforts, the Ainu draw attention to their struggle and demonstrate that they are a living, breathing, and vital people, despite being forgotten and rendered invisible in the colonial history and memory of Japan.
This dissertation focuses on the “staging” of Ainu identity by Ainu people in various physical and metaphysical spaces in Japan and beyond. These grassroots efforts place the Ainu in charge of their own representation. By focusing on music and dance performances, and the overall representation of Ainu on various stages, I view these performances as dynamic, active, and productive “vitalizing traditions,” rather than the popular perception of tourist performances as only negative and inauthentic. These performances provide a glimpse into the ways in which the Ainu use expressive culture to perform, understand, and create new avenues to express and construct a sense of Ainuness through propelling activities rather than rebuilding ones.
The ethnographic settings presented in this dissertation collectively probe themes of traditionality, authenticity, performativity, Indigeneity, and agency. I argue that a rigid application of these terms tends to cast Indigenous expression, presentation, and performance as inauthentic or as constructed tradition and in the process ignore Indigenous peoples’ active and nuanced roles in asserting their ethnicity on their own terms. Re-framing descriptions of Indigenous peoples’ artistic output as intentional and dynamic not only gives voice to Indigenous people but levels the playing field by viewing Indigenous creativity as deserving of support rather than needing rescue and resuscitation.
Looking at a map, most would not notice the town of Mountain View, Arkansas. Tucked away in the s... more Looking at a map, most would not notice the town of Mountain View, Arkansas. Tucked away in the southern reaches of the Ozark Mountains, this small town—population circa three thousand—draws tens of thousands of tourists and musicians annually to participate in one of the United States’ most vibrant folk music scenes. Each April, the self-proclaimed “Folk Music Capital of the World” hosts the Arkansas Folk Festival which has become a thriving space for community engagement since the 1960s. This celebration of Ozark traditional culture bonds participants to create a sense of belonging while enriching a community of engaged insiders and outsiders. For non-local audience members, the festival harkens back to another time and place; creating a sense of nostalgia for remembered pasts. For locals and musician participants, the festival is a space for both the preservation of Ozark culture and the cultivation of traditions. This paper highlights the shifting views and expectations of participants with consideration of historical understanding and contemporary realities. While audience members tend to seek nostalgic pasts, musicians and organizers seek continued tradition, seemingly unafraid of change. Through a shared community built around Mountain View and the Arkansas Folk Festival, locals and non-locals, musicians and audience members share a sense of belonging, despite different needs and expectations of communal bonding. The festival serves to foster Ozark cultural practice and communal meaning while bolstering belonging through musical engagement, seemingly indifferent to the sometimes contradictory desires of the individuals that make up the community.
At the center of many Indigenous lives is a connection to place: that is, to both the land and to... more At the center of many Indigenous lives is a connection to place: that is, to both the land and to Native space. The Indigenous Ainu of northern Japan espouse this connection and use expressive culture to pass on these ideals to new generations. While on a nature walk in Hokkaido, an Ainu interlocutor demonstrated a practice of “following the tracks” of wildlife left in the woods as a means to follow nature’s lead and to not disturb the delicate balance between humans (ainu), the land (mosir), and the gods (kamuy), who are found in all things. This metaphor is referenced in Ainu song and dance, with many depicting sacred animals and gods represented in nature. Using ethnographic research, I discuss this expressive culture, as used in Ainu ethnic tourism and local festivals at Lake Akan in Eastern Hokkaido, as a means for cultural and economic sustainability. On a larger scale, I explore the dynamics between place and space—seeing space as practiced place (de Certeau 1984)—and draw connections between metaphor and lived Ainu realities. In doing so, I work to understand how these individuals come together as a community to traverse liminal spaces of being in contemporary times. With nature as their guide, the Ainu at Lake Akan express their Ainuness through vitalizing traditions in cultural display with a reverence to Ainu Native spaces despite continual pressures from an ever modernizing world.
For over 140 years, the Ainu of Japan have faced colonization, assimilation, discrimination, and ... more For over 140 years, the Ainu of Japan have faced colonization, assimilation, discrimination, and loss of ancestral homelands. Indigenous people around the world have seen the same fate and the issues are far from settled. The Ainu were shocked in 2008 when the Japanese government abruptly reversed a centuries-old policy and proclaimed the Ainu as the Indigenous people of Japan. Though seemingly positive, the motives remain suspect. Native to northern Japan, the Ainu refer to their ancestral lands as ainu mosir, “quiet place where humans dwell.” Much of Ainu song centers on ainu mosir with descriptions of animals, land, and spirits, but some view ainu mosir as a space in which all Indigenous people live in harmony with the land. Considering these songs as “texts” (Hanks 1989), I examine how a subtext of Indigenous rights could expand these localized songs to speak to a global scale. In this paper I explore the contexts, meaning, and usage of Ainu song to speak out for global Indigenous empowerment both in ainu mosir and beyond. The Ainu have participated in global Indigenous movements since the 1980s and often use music as a way to express respect and share experience. Though the Ainu songs speak of the local (ainu mosir), broader themes develop when presented in global (international) spaces (i.e. Indigenous summits, cultural exchange programs, etc.). Silent no more, the Ainu use the power of music to connect to others and to fight for Indigenous rights for all who dwell in quiet places.
Responding to decades of discrimination, the Indigenous Ainu of Japan seek new ways in which to c... more Responding to decades of discrimination, the Indigenous Ainu of Japan seek new ways in which to claim Indigenous rights and to express their Ainu identity in modern Japan. For several decades the Ainu at Lake Akan (Akanko) have used ethnic tourism as a space to both express Indigenous identity and to educate others about Ainu customs and history. In addition to the use of traditional music and dance on the tourist stage, this paper looks at a recently developed full stage puppet-play unlike anything attempted before. Though tourism often evokes ideas of essentialism or stagnation through preservation, the Akanko Ainu use tourism as a space to create new expressions employing an Indigenous creativity that has produced innovative traditions for both insider and outsider audiences housed in a state-of-the-art theatre called “Ikor” (treasure in the Ainu language). These plays portray the epic narratives of the Ainu people. I see Ikor as a transformative space in which the Ainu are able to embody these epic narratives into a new context that is open to a wider audience. Though Indigenous people are often portrayed as stagnant and moribund, the Akanko Ainu represent a growing number of groups wanting to cast aside preexisting assumptions of “indigenous” by developing new generative expressions that can continue Indigenous heritage. While embracing their traditional life, the Akanko Ainu choose to explore new realms of creativity to express the desires and needs of an Indigenous society.
In the discussion of “Japaneseness,” the Ainu, the Indigenous people of Japan, are often viewed a... more In the discussion of “Japaneseness,” the Ainu, the Indigenous people of Japan, are often viewed as invisible or forgotten. After wide spread assimilation and discrimination since the 1870s, many Ainu have fought to claim Indigenous rights and have attempted to reassert their Ainu identity separate from their Japanese citizenry. In searching for venues to express their Ainuness—tourist stages, concert halls, recording studios—a shift in performance practice has occurred. Following Turino’s ideas on the politics of performance, I discuss the issue of participatory (traditional) versus presentational (modernized) performance practice, which has resulted in a distancing of new generations from their heritage’s traditional values. Perceiving this issue, some Ainu have sought out new musical mediums to express indigeneity while connecting multiple generations through music. In ethnomusicology, it has been common to label non-traditional expressions by Indigenous people as “inauthentic” or mere products of globalization. Contrary to this assumption, I argue that the Ainu assert agency and creativity by using non-traditional musical forms to express Ainu identity. The Sapporo-based Ainu rock band, the Ainu Art Project (AAP), uses traditional Indigenous art, music, and dance within a non-traditional mode—a rock concert. In this venue AAP incorporates Ainu imagery, musical instruments, and inclusive dances into their rock-beat backdrop to shift the dynamic back to a participatory social event. By rocking out Ainu, new and old generations alike can express themselves in progressive and exciting ways, while claiming their Indigenous identity in new authentic expressions.
After the Meiji Restoration of 1868, the Japanese government enacted several assimilation strateg... more After the Meiji Restoration of 1868, the Japanese government enacted several assimilation strategies to unify the nation through education reform, militarization, and modernization. As a result, Japan’s minority populations were forcibly integrated into the mainstream society and were ostensibly transformed into dutiful, loyal Japanese citizens. This assimilation saw the decline of cultural difference and the rise of discrimination for those who resisted. The Ainu, Japan’s indigenous people, witnessed wide spread decline in cultural rights and traditional life. In response, the Ainu began in the 1950s to reclaim traditional lands in Hokkaidô to create learning centers that simultaneously functioned as tourist sites for domestic and foreign travelers as well as teaching spaces for Ainu people to reconnect with their indigenous identity. Today these sites offer tourists “off center” alternatives to Japanese domestic attractions, and are intentionally set apart from mainstream Japan by the Ainu. These places create space for Ainu to construct a separate identity from their daily Japanese life. From an interview in 2010, one Ainu artist asserts that though he lives a “dualistic life”, both Japanese and Ainu, when he performs Ainu music, he “becomes” Ainu again. In this paper I explore the music being used to construct the Ainu identity in these tourists sites as both artistic expressions and intentional identity markers. In these performative spaces Ainu reclaim their indigenous heritage and demonstrate their Ainuness in modern Japan while mixing traditional and contemporary musical forms to construct modern Ainu identities.
In 2009, the Japanese government applied to UNESCO to have the traditional dance of its indigenou... more In 2009, the Japanese government applied to UNESCO to have the traditional dance of its indigenous people, the Ainu, be recognized as an “Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity” (ICH). The application was approved and this honor has since been advertised at Ainu tourist villages throughout Hokkaido Prefecture in northern Japan, home to the majority of Ainu today. On the surface, receiving the ICH label seems to have elevated Ainu’s status nationally and internationally. However, I argue that this distinction is a double-edged sword that comes with a cost. After being rendered invisible in Japan homogeneous society discourse for centuries, the Ainu, with its new found recognition, is now firmly entrenched as the nation’s minority and on the global stage. The ICH only recognizes traditional dance in Hokkaido, consequently endorsing the art form of a selected Ainu group over the rest of the Ainu population outside this prefecture. The recognition also inadvertently codified various dance, music, and customs that disregarded historical and regional variations of other Ainu groups in the region and outside Hokkaido. In this paper, I detail the conditions that surround the changing status of the Ainu from being a marginalized minority, to Japan’s indigenous people, to a marginalized indigenous group viewed through the lens of ICH recognition. Even though the label of ICH may currently fuel Ainu cultural tourism, the implications of this new marginalization and standardization of Ainu traditional dance and music may have future cultural impact on the Ainu people as a whole.
SEM Student News
In this column, we call attention to exciting ways for you, as a student and scholar, to get invo... more In this column, we call attention to exciting ways for you, as a student and scholar, to get involved in SEM and beyond. From conference announcements to publication news, this column is your go-to place for updates and information on becoming more active as an ethnomusicologist. If you have announcements, calls for participation, or new programs that should be included in an upcoming volume, contact us at semstudentnews@gmail.com.