Subsistence. This is a re-occurring theme you will see on this blog. In the Tlingit sense, it is the way we have lived off the land for thousands of years. Today, it is easy to go to the grocery store and load our pantries up. But most of us still enjoy living off the land as much as possible. It's important for us to keep that aspect of our past alive.
Sitka is on an island in Southeast Alaska. We are surrounded by the Pacific Ocean. Opportunities to live off the land are many. Tlingit people are well known for being fish lovers. However, there are many other foods we harvest throughout the year.
For instance, this time of the year, as we wait for the high-profile herring roe I talked about in my previous post, we might do some clam digging. We've noticed the trollers fishing in the channel, and that usually means there are king salmon to be caught. Deer season just ended. We can drop shrimp and crab pots nearby. And this is just the slow winter season.
Yet, as I said before, these things we've done for thousands of years are things we constantly have to defend. Recently we were in danger of losing our "rural" status for Sitka. The argument is that a town of almost 10,000 people with all the modern amenities a large city has shouldn't be considered rural. But there are barely 2,500 Natives in this town. The Federal Subsistence Board fortunately voted 3-3 to not review Sitka's status. Since a majority vote was needed, we are able to keep this status for another 10 years.
As part of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971, promises were made to Alaska Natives stating that the Alaska Constitution and US Department of Interior would protect our subsistence practices and subsistence lands. In 1980, ANILCA was passed by Congress to fulfill those promises. In a nutshell, ANILCA required the state to give preference to rural (there's that word again) residents on federal land. If this was not done, the feds would take over management of the lands.
Well, the State of Alaska contended it was against the state constitution to grant rural preference. Consequently, the federal government took control of management of federal lands in 1990. There have been attempts by the state to regain management, but those efforts have come up short. A court decision in 1995 by the US Court of Appeals helped extend the feds' control to freshwater bodies alongside federal public lands. This ruling led to their management of subsistence fisheries.
My uncle talks about our respect for the resources we use in this audio clip. This recording was taken a few days ago during his "All Things are Connected" presentation in my wife's high school class. Subsistence is important to us. It connects us with our past in ways nothing else in today's world can.
Sitka is on an island in Southeast Alaska. We are surrounded by the Pacific Ocean. Opportunities to live off the land are many. Tlingit people are well known for being fish lovers. However, there are many other foods we harvest throughout the year.
For instance, this time of the year, as we wait for the high-profile herring roe I talked about in my previous post, we might do some clam digging. We've noticed the trollers fishing in the channel, and that usually means there are king salmon to be caught. Deer season just ended. We can drop shrimp and crab pots nearby. And this is just the slow winter season.
Yet, as I said before, these things we've done for thousands of years are things we constantly have to defend. Recently we were in danger of losing our "rural" status for Sitka. The argument is that a town of almost 10,000 people with all the modern amenities a large city has shouldn't be considered rural. But there are barely 2,500 Natives in this town. The Federal Subsistence Board fortunately voted 3-3 to not review Sitka's status. Since a majority vote was needed, we are able to keep this status for another 10 years.
As part of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971, promises were made to Alaska Natives stating that the Alaska Constitution and US Department of Interior would protect our subsistence practices and subsistence lands. In 1980, ANILCA was passed by Congress to fulfill those promises. In a nutshell, ANILCA required the state to give preference to rural (there's that word again) residents on federal land. If this was not done, the feds would take over management of the lands.
Well, the State of Alaska contended it was against the state constitution to grant rural preference. Consequently, the federal government took control of management of federal lands in 1990. There have been attempts by the state to regain management, but those efforts have come up short. A court decision in 1995 by the US Court of Appeals helped extend the feds' control to freshwater bodies alongside federal public lands. This ruling led to their management of subsistence fisheries.
My uncle talks about our respect for the resources we use in this audio clip. This recording was taken a few days ago during his "All Things are Connected" presentation in my wife's high school class. Subsistence is important to us. It connects us with our past in ways nothing else in today's world can.
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