i wonder what indigenous actic peoples notion of how they are viewed from the rest of the world is. mainly because i hope that they realize that there are many many people (at least down here balmy boston…, and so i assume everywhere else as well) who are awakening to the fact that they are on the front line of this, and feel trememdous support and concern.

Hello VM. I think it is a mixed bag in terms of what indigenous peoples think about people in the south. On one hand the Inuit circumpolar Council has filed a claim in the international arena against the U.S. government for being the largest contributor to the diminishing food security of arctic peoples, and yet most leaders believe that if and when they have an opportunity to tell their story of what is happening in the North, that people listen. But again, listening is not enough as loss of traditional foods is becoming an ever growing issue. In Alaska alone, Alaska Natives consume 420 pounds of wild foods per year per capita. It is not just a cultural choice, but a necessity in the far reaches of rural Alaska.

Larry

yes, i understand. “the road to hell is paved with good intentions.”

hmmm.

Larry,

Could you expand on your last statement — that eating 420 pounds of wild foods per year is a necessity and not a cultural choice in the villages? My wife is a pilot for Frontier Airlines, and her primary cargo to these same villages is pampers, coke and chips. It could just as easily be hamburger and strawberry jelly instead, but it’s not, and my impression is that this is out of choice, not necessity.
-Matt

Hello Matt. Thanks for your comment. It is widely understood by people who have lived in Alaska for some time that wild foods is a major staple in the diets of Alaska Native peoples who also import goods from the outside. But, given the low incomes of Alaska Natives compared to people who come to Alaska from the outside, there would be dire poverty without the wild foods in most areas of rural Alaska. Not to mention the fact that the cost of living in rural Alaska is much higher than in the Alaska cities. Cost of gasoline alone is now between 4 and 6 dollars a gallon. A half gallon of imported milk that may cost 2 dollars in Anchorage costs 6 dollars in rural Alaska. Hamburger in rural Alaska costs the same as a steak in the city. Like Americans everywhere else, Alaska Natives drink coke and eat chips That does not minimize nor negate the need for wild foods. I often find myself telling people that my people have eaten seal meat for ten thousand years. Should I stop because outsiders think I should eat hamburger? I don’t think you would if you were in my shoes. That would be considered the height of arrogance, ignorance, and ethnocentrism, but some people in the halls of Congress and elsewhere think that is exactly what we should do. For most people in Alaska, I believe, this is not an issue.

Larry