Alaska Natives eye buffalo as subsistence food source
Published Sunday, August 24, 2008
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FAIRBANKS — Salmon runs in the upper Yukon are weak and moose numbers are dwindling, adding days and dollars to increasingly unsuccessful hunting trips.
Caribou, over time, have established new migration routes farther from Interior villages.
And the cost of flying food into Bush villages from Fairbanks is at least $1 a pound.
But people living in Alaska’s remote villages still have to eat, and many would like to return to a diet of food that comes from the land.
Randy Mayo, First Chief of Stevens Village, thinks he may have a solution that would enable Alaska Natives to feed themselves traditional foods in the traditional way.
He wants to expand a young buffalo reserve as a cooperative venture between the villages of the Tanana Chiefs Conference Yukon-Tanana subregion.
Mayo introduced the co-op concept to representatives of Interior villages on Aug. 20 during a meeting at the Stevens Village Buffalo Ranch near Delta, testing support before bringing the idea formally before TCC leadership later this fall. Response was cautiously optimistic.
“We have to find alternatives,” said Julie Roberts-Hyslop of Tanana, a member of the village tribal council member and the sub-region executive board. “Native people have always provided. In the last 40 to 50 years, though, we taught our children differently. Now, with the cost of everything, they can’t afford it. You have to change the way we look at food — the way it used to be isn’t the way it is anymore.”
She sees potential in a buffalo co-op, and hopes the endeavor can teach young people respect for animals, to avoid waste and how to share as they learn some old ways.
TCC President and CEO Jerry Isaac said buffalo could accomplish all that and offer a solution to the serious problems villages face in high energy, food and transportation costs.
“We’re facing hard times, and by all indications it’s going to get even harder,” Isaac said. “We are sitting ducks.”
He reflected on days past when moose and caribou were abundant, and said he anticipates even greater pressure on game animals in the future. The leader also pointed out that Alaska’s food sources are highly vulnerable to natural and other disasters. It’s time, he urged, for villages to start looking out for themselves and prepare for the unexpected — a traditional Native practice.
“Our people, we’ve always been the consumptive part of society,” he said. “We have to start thinking about production. We also need to see the spirituality, and we shouldn’t be afraid to try new things.”
Buffalo is new, at least to current generations, but is old in other ways.
“At one time, our people lived off woodland buffalo,” Mayo said.
That was, however, long ago. The late Chief David Salmon was the last to share direct oral histories of buffalo in Alaska’s Interior, and the thin traces of words relating to buffalo are buried deep in the dialect, he said.
In 2002, the tribal membership voted to seek a 40-year loan to purchase the 2,000 acres a dozen miles south of Delta. Mayo and ranch resource manager Dewey Schwalenberg spent nine months convincing government agencies that Stevens Village was, in fact, a tribe and therefore eligible for a loan under the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Indian Tribal Land Acquisition Program. The first of the tribe’s buffalo were released in May 2004.
Under Mayo’s leadership, Stevens Village became a member of the InterTribal Bison Cooperative, a national organization with a mandate to return buffalo to Native people for cultural and ceremonial uses.
“This was never meant to be a meat-on-the-hoof, money-making thing. It’s got to be right, from the ground up,” Mayo said. “These animals were put here for us and kept our ancestors alive. There’s that kinship and respect. In our way, when you don’t respect something, it’s going to go away.”
The infant herd has grown since 2004, with only a few young bulls harvested for meat each year. A crop of 16 calves born in mid-April brought the herd total to 65, although the 2,000-acre ranch could support up to 300 head, Mayo said. The food has supplied Stevens Village residents and was distributed last year to elders through Native nutritional programs. The meat isn’t sold, but contributions back to the ranch are the norm.
Univeristy of Alaska Fairbanks Interior-Aleutians Campus nutritionist Madeline Patterson O’Dell enthusiastically embraced the co-op concept as a return to a healthy, traditional food source for Interior Natives. Bison, moose or caribou, underneath the surface, are all alike, she said. Grass-fed animals are low in bad fats yet rich in the nutrients people need. The closer food is to the land, the more integrity it contains nutritionally, she said.
Health is an increasing concern among Native people, who suffer rising rates of diabetes and other nutrition-related illnesses. Buffalo is generally considered a healthy meat, and the ranch makes it more so by raising organic, grass-fed animals.
“What Randy is doing out here is a huge gift,” she told the village representatives.
A ready supply of buffalo would also provide secure food raised and harvested in ways compatible with Native traditions, Mayo said.
“The reason our village got into buffalo was to provide food,” he explained. “Now, it makes all the sense in the world for communities to come together. People need food out here, and there is no moose. These times have caught up with us. This might offer something of a solution.”
In the past, moose and salmon accounted for 80 percent of the Native diet, he estimated. Now, processed food purchased in stores accounts for the 80 percent, possibly driving high rates of diabetes and other nutritional concerns.
“In the Native community, like everywhere else, times are changing,” Mayo said. “People just don’t have the money to keep importing food.”
Hunting for meat isn’t what it once was. Natives are subject to state wildlife and fish rules, with set seasons and areas. Mayo said those regulations are affecting the way Natives feed their families.
“We learned a long time ago the subsistence debate doesn’t reflect the village way of life,” Mayo said. “It should have always been elevated to a cultural and spiritual level. It is not only eating.”
Minto Chief Darrell Frank looks favorably at the use of buffalo, and said the Delta ranch is an ideal place to raise such animals to replace traditional sources.
Moose still roam in Minto, he said, but Natives don’t always agree with Alaska Fish and Game management.
“When you kill a cow moose, you wipe out four generations, right there,” he said. Being subject to state hunting rules and failing to fill the freezer “attacks a man’s pride,” he added.
Mayo concurred. Some hunters around Stevens Village are in the field for the whole state season, two or three weeks, and return without game.
He pointed out other benefits to the Stevens Village ranch. Set in the heart of Delta farm country, the ranch buys supplies and services locally, offering some economic benefit to the area. The ranch itself was built by a young Native workforce, which learned new vocational skills along the way. Eventually the ranch could offer education in traditional culture related to buffalo and the animal’s uses, and could even offer spiritual resources for juvenile prevention programs.
Community Discussion
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Good idea.
I wonder how much that will cost the working taxpayer in the final analysis ... They already got the land for nothing and now it looks like we will get to pay for their eats in addition ... it never ends.
Good idea.
I am happy for forward thinking such as this. Well done.
The people of Stevens Village should be commended for coming up with a workable solution to a significant problem and for taking the bull by the horns to make it happen. I'll be very interested in following the progress of this project.
Well done!!!
Swanny
About time someone began thinking outside the box. Hopefully they will make a success of this. Maybe up north they will rethink reindeer herding, just look at the Sumi people in Finland. With the price of meat expected to jump 20 to 25 percent next year, it would be a welcome change to have Alaskan grown meat on the local shelves of the market.
James, did you not read the article? "In 2002, the tribal membership voted to seek a 40-year loan to purchase the 2,000 acres a dozen miles south of Delta. Mayo and ranch resource manager Dewey Schwalenberg spent nine months convincing government agencies that Stevens Village was, in fact, a tribe and therefore eligible for a loan under the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Indian Tribal Land Acquisition Program. The first of the tribe’s buffalo were released in May 2004."
Besides, I do believe Natives were on Alaskan land first. "They already got the land for nothing and now it looks like we will get to pay for their eats in addition ...", ya' know, that same sentence would be more valid coming from a Native.
Good for Stevens Village!
What would the Alaska natives do if the buffalo werent here,theyre not native to alaska they transplanted here,maybe if the Alaska Natives stopped slaughtering the caribou just for the fun of it
there would be enough for them to eat,doesnt look like they taught
there youg very well,are we going to have to babby sit them the rest of there lives, get a job and work for a living.
overamped48~With your horrendous spelling skills, what job do YOU have for a living?
That's really good! I wonder why we can't do the same thing with moose. I don't see what is the difference.
overamped48 and james, you are both racist idiots. The wood bison WAS here, but disappeared. The ADFG is working on re-introducing them into the Yukon Flats in the near future - they've been working on this for over 10 years.
I am so impressed with Chief Randy Mayo and Stevens Village for thinking outside of the box and working on a proactive, long-term solution to feed their people and their spiritual needs. These people are doing what they can to help themselves. BRAVO, Chief Mayo! Most urban Alaskans I read in these pages are always asking for handouts from the government (fuel rebate) and wanting to keep on with their wasteful ways (drill for oil, drill for oil, drill for oil).
The people who live on the land realize that we have to adapt if we want to survive in our changing ecosystem rather than keeping on with the same ol' stupid bad habits. Excellent work, Stevens village.
GOOD IDEA !!!
Moose do not survive well in a captivity. In addition moose are not herd animals. They only get to get together when females may form a harem in breeding season. Otherwise they like to be left alone.
Good thinking!! And yes "James" get an education, perhaps some English and writing courses!!!
Bravo for Stevens Village!! They have been working on this for many years and they should be commended for their efforts to feed themselves and others. Their generosity in donating meat to elder nutrion programs clearly shows their intent is not a money making venture, but rather an effort to become self sufficent and help other area tribes do the same. Store bought food is killing people, natural organic raised food can help stem that tide. Several years of hard work have gone into this and the usual racist bigots that think this is their land as oppossed to native land should move to Los Anchorage or back to the lower 48.
I think it's a great idea.
Great job Stevens Village. I had been following this project for sometime since I have friends from Stevens.
It could be a good idea as long as the bison won't introduce diseases to moose and other wild animals in Alaska. Hopefully these animals won't be fed with the fattening junk fed to herds in the lower-48, since free-range bison taste much better and can be considered "organically grown." This would make these bison herds much more valuable.
There are plans to reintroduce wild herds of wood bison to Alaska, which is another good idea.
Buffalo as food – YES. As "subsistence" - NO. Since this raised buffalo is not a "traditional" source of food, the villages should adhere to the rules that everyone else does. Farm it or hunt it according to the state regulations, but don't call it subsistance.
Per this article, the villages have chosen to not abide the hunting regulations and now the moose population near the villages is dwindling. I guess the Fish and Game rules are worth following. Since the traditional moose harvest is gone, the caribou are migrating farther from the villages, then this would traditionally mean the village was also moved to follow the food source.
There are two options: Move or abandon the villages (not on the taxpayer dime), or start farming so the villages do not move. This is exactly what people have always done, all around the world.
Incredible how they'll express their ignorance, publicly. Dumber than a hundred head of sheep and don't know it.
There used to be buffalo up here guys. Not that long ago either.
Only the bison in the lower 48 are diseased, thanks to the cattle that took over their ancient grazing lands.
Keep cattle behind fences and leave the "free ranging" to animals that can handle it.
lol "james" said- "They already got the land for nothing"
Thats almost as funny as when I heard a bunch of drunken rednecks shouting at Natives that were just granted the right to spear fish (regulated just like any other hunting/fishing right), they were shouting-
"go back to where you came from you f***in indians!"
yep "james" and "overcramped48" are perfect examples of the uneducated, ignorant, narrow-minded people still infecting our country today, I forgot cowardly as well.
(of course they will not respond back)
Great idea. Pay no attention to the naysayers.
Aren't all our ancesters hunters and gathers.I've lived in Alaska for 30 years but I can't get a subistance permit to hunt the Nelchina caribou.I'd like to be able to hunt and fish in the old way's ,but the law's don't allow it.Look's to me like some people like to play the race card to get extra previliges,and maybe my spelling isn't as good as it should be ,but don't give rights to some and not to all.I'm sick of people claming to be special and deserving extra.Unless they are sick or disable they should have the same right's as the next guy no more no less.Native Amercian's, African American's , Mexican American's............HOW ABOUT JUST BEING AN............ AMERICAN an our country would be alot better off.
mntman- do you live in the bush?
If so you could hunt caribou just like back in the old days, I'VE DONE IT, legally (I'm not even Alaska Native), you just can't justify "subsistence" living when you have a safeway down the road.
I would like to see a group start a buffalo and elk ranching. This meat is low in cholesterol and makes a great alternative to beef.
I agree with the natives the more naturally an animal eats the better
the meat is. Store bought meat has too many additives and preservatives, along with other store products.
I found out that the buffalo at Fred Meyers actually comes from the lower 48. Why can't we raise it here. No matter what nationality we are we all need to get back to the natural way and grow and raise the food ourselves in Alaska.
Wow, James, you just really don't like native people, huh?
James if you don't like the natives go back where you came from. I'm a white woman and me and my white husband respect and care about our native neighbors. You can learn alot about survival and our history from them.
They will also give the shirt off their backs to help others. That's more than I can say for people like you. So please go back and next time you want to see a selfish person look in the mirror and talk to yourself.
What James is saying is that, because Stevens Village was able to convince the gov that it is a tribe, (as opposed to just a village), it was eligible for for a (probably low/no interest) gov loan that is unavailable to the rest of us because of our race.
What strikes me, however, is the refreshing honesty of the movers-and-shakers involved.
They acknowledge that they have not been living and teaching the traditional and subsistence ways.
"In the last 40 to 50 years, though, we taught our children differently...the way it used to be isn’t the way it is anymore."-Julie Roberts-Hyslop.
"It’s time, he urged, for villages to start looking out for themselves and prepare for the unexpected — a traditional Native practice."-TCC President and CEO Jerry Isaac.
"In the past, moose and salmon accounted for 80 percent of the Native diet, he estimated. Now, processed food purchased in stores accounts for the 80 percent, possibly driving high rates of diabetes and other nutritional concerns."-Randy Mayo, First Chief of Stevens Village.
“We learned a long time ago the subsistence debate doesn’t reflect the village way of life,” Mayo said.
This is not what has been being told and dished out. Indeed, it is the absolute reverse.
Thanks for finally being honest about it. I really mean that. Perhaps the winds of change really are blowing.
It's a good thing. And at least these people are actually acting on it.
I wish I could participate and enjoy some of that good, healthy meat.
But I can't, I guess, because I am white.
And because of that, we are not qualified to get in on those preferential status gov loans.
corine- do you have a crush on james? you two certainly seem made for each other, or maybe you're the same person? Either way quit whining because you're just as jealous as he is because YOU (and him) would need a free handout to make a decent living for yourselves.
Your families were not forced into a way of life as alien as it would be to you if you were forced to live in a village eating raw meat and beaten every time you speak english, obviously neither of you understand ANYTHING about native people other than what you make up in your heads, you're not fooling anybody here.
corine said- "Stevens Village was able to convince the gov that it is a tribe, (as opposed to just a village)"
james said- "They already got the land for nothing and now it looks like we will get to pay for their eats in addition"
overlamped48 said *snicker(I changed the words-"youg" and "babby" for the comfort of educated people)- "maybe if the Alaska Natives stopped slaughtering the caribou just for the fun of it
there would be enough for them to eat,doesnt look like they taught
there young very well,are we going to have to baby sit them the rest of there lives, get a job and work for a living."
lol, You people give way more credit to Natives than you should, you act like the government "worships" Native people and give in to EVERY whim, lol, I wish it were true then you MIGHT have something to complain about.
Keep trying kids, you'll see where your 50's midwest mentalities will get you, or maybe you've already seen it and are just bitter, TOO BAD- get over YOUR shortcomings before you try to make yourselves feel better by attacking (what YOU see) as somebody else's.
Lost Alaskan you have your opinion I have mine.That's why we have freedom to express it; makes no difference if I live in the bush,but to answer your question yes I have.
Then you had the same right as I did , mtnman, to live off the land as an American citizen.
My being native had NOTHING to do with my right to hunt out of season because I lived in a cabin about a two hour plane ride from civilization and had approval from the state (in a five year period I came into town exactly five times for Christmas only) I'm not Alaska native yet I had the right, why didn't you?
(I am a member of a lower48 tribe born in Alaska so my native blood means NOTHING here, legally)
SSSoooooooooooooo, native Americans can partake in this "right given, your round, harvesting of a non-Alaskan native, big game.......???
This "native" push for everything just because, is getting out of hand and politicians won't stand up to the state or native associations because of the wealth that gives the associations the power...............
If we the general public know subsistance hunters, how is that??? If they are subsistance, how do we meet and know them? Down town Fairbanks?????????????????????????
The FEDERAL GOVERNMENT gave Natives their "power".
It's funny when you "squeelers" whine about Natives and all these "rights" and "fear" they generate, the more you badmouth and make things up about Natives the more you justify the rights granted to them because your ramblings are nothing more than jealous whinings about something you poor folks don't even understand.
Find a REAL argument against native rights if you want to be seen as something other than some jealous whiner.
I think we should have an open season on racist, seems to be quite a few out there. Time to thin the herd. Don't need them to pass on their genes and weaken the herd of humanity. Maybe castration and neutering would be a good way to go also.
LostAlaskan99712, KenW0ods, alaskastoryteller, and others,
First you are truly wasting your time trying to get people to understand how ignorant they are, and how stupid they sound. It is appearant that you have chosen to educate yourselves where certain realities are concerned. No, I am not just talking about race either, fact is every Alaskan could subsistence hunt if they lived in an area where that was allowed. Per AK F&G: (http://www.subsistence.adfg.state.ak.us/...)
Both Alaska Natives and non-Natives may hunt and fish for
subsistence if they live in rural areas. Currently, more than
half of the people who qualify for subsistence are non-Natives.
In 1985, about 110,075 Alaskans lived in rural areas. Of these
about 50,084 (45.5 percent) were Alaska Native and 59,991 (54.5
percent) were non-Natives.
However, this always seems to come up as a race issue- and that is where people truly show ignorance. Subsistence in and of itself is not a race issue, it is a living issue.
Second, the native people of this land have every right to live in a manner that they choose, and to live in a manner that is "close to the land". This does not mean they should have to use bows and arrows either.
Third, most people have absolutely no idea how much native peoples lives were changed by the intrusion of European ideals. I hope they never have to understand- because that would probably mean that US would be invaded by another country.
I am glad that the Alaskan Natives and Alaskan Indians did not make treaties with the U.S., because the Natives in the states did not fare very well by those treaties in the end. However, I still believe that for the most part Alaskan Natives and Alaskan Indians were shafted by the governement anyway.
Good Job Stevens Village- you are headed in the right direction! You may not have "sovereignty" like the lower 48 tribes- but you have the power to change your future! Continue to fight the good fight for yourselves! You may never be able to live 100% traditional again, but you keep fighting to live as close to the land as you can!
1978: Alaska Adopts First Subsistence Law. Watching and anticipating Congressional action on Alaska subsistence, the Alaska Legislature passes the state's first subsistence law. It defines subsistence as "customary and traditional" uses and establishes subsistence as the highest priority use of fish and wildlife. It directs the Boards of Fisheries and Game to develop regulations to allow for subsistence harvests whenever a biological surplus is available. It also creates the Division of Subsistence within Alaska Department of Fish and Game. The law does not define subsistence users.
1986: Alaska Adopts New Subsistence Law. The Alaska Legislature adopts a new law limiting subsistence to rural residents. The new law defines rural as areas where "non-commercial, customary and traditional use of fish and game is a principal characteristic of the economy." The law also requires state Boards of Fish and Game to identify resources that are "customary and traditional" for subsistence.
1990: All Alaskans Become Eligible for Subsistence. At a joint meeting of the Boards of Fish and Game, the state Department of Law confirms that all Alaskans must be considered potential subsistence users in areas under state jurisdiction.
1992: State Adopts New Subsistence Law. Gov. Walter Hickel calls a special legislative session to address subsistence. The Legislature approves changes to state management of subsistence, including extension of eligibility to all Alaskans, a definition of customary trade, and authorization of non-subsistence areas on state land where no subsistence activities would be sanctioned. Areas are defined as places where subsistence "is not part of the economy, culture or way of life."
2001: Summit Group Endorses Rural Criteria. Following two days of meetings, Gov. Knowles’ Subsistence Leadership summit adjourns, calling for a state constitutional amendment guaranteeing a rural subsistence priority, co-management of fish and game by Native and rural residents, and possible improvements to ANILCA. Two of the 42 summit participants appointed by Gov. Knowles issue a dissenting statement, calling for a needs-based system for governing subsistence.
And the debate on subsistence goes on. Native and Non-Native alike have a right to subsistence in my opinion.
woodman LOL! Wow! That is sure to incite racist commentary!
aksunshine-as is the state's opinion.
"Alaskan Indians"- technically these would be people descended from INDIA, living in Alaska.
Columbus thought he was in India so the dark skinned savages must be "Indians".
It's MY time to waste grover.
May be so. But if my family (non-native) has used the land and its resources for the past 50 years right along side the native families, than I believe, we both have the right to subsist in the same manner. I also think it is great in what Mayo and others are attempting to do in finding solutions to survive.
We should by now all be equal. To use your race to gain an advantage on others should be over. No one should be given priority over the rest of us. Lands are conquered and people lose all over the world. In my opinion many of you folks are spoiled by special treatment. Try being a white male and see what discrimination really is.
Pat
KenW0ods, are you saying that you are heading back to your ancestral homelands? As if that can be determined since mandkind has been by tradition a conquering people.
corinne
Your post using what the President of TCC (Jerry Isaac), and Chief Randy Mayo have said, isn't proving anything. Your just using thier words against them. You also didn't use the whole quote which goes:
"We have to find alternatives,” said Julie Roberts-Hyslop of Tanana, a member of the village tribal council member and the sub-region executive board.“Native people have always provided. In the last 40 to 50 years, though, we taught our children differently. Now, with the cost of everything, they can’t afford it. You have to change the way we look at food — the way it used to be isn’t the way it is anymore.”
-Meaning instead of relying on bush orders they are telling their youth that they need to do something for their village if they expect to survive with rising food costs and rising energy and fuel costs.
Another fact the article is pointing out is the fact that Alaska Natives respect all animals in Alaska and instead of wiping out caribou and moose, that they will look to buffalo as an alternative.
Here is part of the article proving this:
[ Buffalo is new, at least to current generations, but is old in other ways.
“At one time, our people lived off woodland buffalo,” Mayo said.
That was, however, long ago. The late Chief David Salmon was the last to share direct oral histories of buffalo in Alaska’s Interior, and the thin traces of words relating to buffalo are buried deep in the dialect, he said.]
One thing that nobody seems to remember from fifth grade social studies is that the Alaska Natives and American Indians were nomadic, meaning they traveled in order to find food.
Now that times have changed Alaska Natives formed villages. Why do you think that different regions of the Interior have their own dialect of the Athabascan language? The answer is because they are different TRIBES.
So guess what, we dont have to convince the government..... they already know who is part of what tribe. They were just being stingy. That's why Stevens Village spent 9 months trying to get that land near Delta...... but guess what there's a 40 year loan, that's the catch to the whole deal. Did you read that part? The government is loaning the land. So I dont know where MzPlacedAlaskan gets off saying
["They already got the land for nothing and now it looks like we will get to pay for their eats in addition ...", ya' know, that same sentence would be more valid coming from a Native.
Good for Stevens Village!]
That same sentance would make as much sense coming from an Alaska Native as it would from somebody that is purple with yellow dots.
I think MzPlacedAlaskan didn't read the part where it is a LOAN!!!! Hello that means that your not paying for anything so shut your mouth!
And someone else said that Stevens Village convinced the government that they are a tribe..... I'm confused on that because Stevens Village is not a tribe.... The people of Stevens Village are a tribe.
Great idea. Yes, the wood buffalo is indigenous to Alaska. The herd here went extinct, but not that long ago - several hundred years not so long ago.
Returning them is a wonderful thing. I'm glad there will be a food source for our Native Alaskans and the rest of us as well. Great that we'll be bringing a native food source back to our region.
Pat McCaw, Please stop with your "Poor white male" mentality. White males can and will succeed, just as well as any other male or female in the United States of America.
overamped48
Dont even get me started....
If you knew anything about Alaska Natives you would know that we dont kill animals for the fun of it. So here's what you wrote:
[What would the Alaska natives do if the buffalo werent here,theyre not native to alaska they transplanted here,maybe if the Alaska Natives stopped slaughtering the caribou just for the fun of it
there would be enough for them to eat,doesnt look like they taught
there youg very well,are we going to have to babby sit them the rest of there lives, get a job and work for a living]
Oh and the nice remark about Natives getting a job.I am a young Alaska Native who has been working since I was 14. I have been buying my own clothes since I started working at 14. Your mommy was still packing your lunch for school at that age (if you were still in school, lol!) Didn't you learn when to use an apostrophe? Anways...
I moved out when I was 16 and got my own 3 bedroom apartment, worked and went to school, and bought a $15,000 Chevy truck which was paid off, not loaned, LOL!
I was able to do that because my father, who is Inupiaq Eskimo, taught me how to be smart with my money because he told me that "Nothing is given to you".
So stick that in your juice box & suck it. lol!
I remember when I was thinking of an online name to use on this website and the website suggested to use your real name so that your posts will seem more authentic, but the people that say stuff that are prejudice or racist or just messed up in general, dont use their real names?
Is this because you dont want anyone to know who you are?
Cuz I know if I saw your real names I'd be lookin you up on myspace!
LOL ;)
LostAlaskan99712, I was not pounding on you- man!
And believe me- you don't need to give me the "history of the word Indian"- I am Native- and I do not need your speil. I don't have a problem with the word Indian- even though I don't agree with where it came from. It is a commonly used word, just like Native is. There are bigger issues here than word choice. By the way I am ardently anti-Columbus, and Columbus day etc. and anyone who knows me is pretty well aware of that- but I need not waste my time defending myself to you either.
I suppose what I meant to say is that there are different people groups in Alaska- they are not all related, do not have the same language or belief systems. The Athabascan are very closely related to the Dine of the lower forty-eight. But you know what- I bet you know everything! So, I am not going to waste my time (my prerogative).
Still, I am glad that Stevens Village is taking a step forward to control their own destiny and life style...
pmcraw-
I don't "use" my race to gain anything, the government has granted my tribe (and many others) certain rights because we are INDIGENOUS PEOPLE, not because our skin is darker than yours.
Learn the history of this country and you might not sound so ignorant and uneducated when you post.
I fully agree with LostAlaskan99712's last statement.
yeah, sorry grover I shoulda pointed that out more gently.
I also agree with LostAlaskan99712
If people want to debate on something, they need facts to back it up, otherwise it just proves that they dont know what they're talking about, lol!
I agree with Mr. Jerry Isaac, a great man, and Randy Mayo, becoming a great leader, in their decision to look out for the AK Native people.
What I don't agree with is all the negative comments about AK Natives, i'm glad people are finally starting to push back against these type of comments. I'm glad to give another BIG FU to all the people who have negative comments about AK Natives.
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Wow! That does not sound at all like a positive comment! Not only that there should be no subsistence hunters in Fairbanks- so what are you trying to say JayT? Come on- don't beat around the bush and infer stuff, be a real man and say it!
JayT
Just like I told Crucible in a different thread.... "Wow, that was beautiful, you could be mayor!"
Maybe you, kelly, James, overamped48, and the lovely MzPlacedAlaskan can look under the Cushman Street Bridge because your moms live there!
See how cool it looks when you use uneducated remarks?
First of all it makes no sense for you to say that because if they were under the Cushman Street Bridge, then they wouldn't be hunting would they? They'd be fishing..... ;)
Rachellynn.......Natives don't waste animals.???? Then what happened at Point Hope to 120 caribou?.The elders don't want F&G or Troopers involved ,they want to handle it themselves........So the Law is only good for one group and not all people?
hhahaahhahha, I seen JayT's mom under the bridge.....................hahahahahhahahhaahhahahah
rachaellynn-
I just wrote a well written and rational response, but lost it in posting. I'm bummed because it took quite a while, and I know I can't do it as well again.
I have other things to do right now, so in the meantime...
I haven't taken any quotes out of context, nor were the meanings altered. I used nothing against anyone.
Why would I? I truly applauded and commended the honesty and the actions of those quoted.
I suggest you reread the article and my comment with an open and honest mind and heart. I dissed noone.
I'll consider responding to all the inaccuracies in your comment later.
Facts are not racism. I agree with pmcgraw (aka Pat), though, in that we should all receive equal treatment in all things all the time.
Equal treatment is the only thing that isn't racist.
The rest I'll get to later.
Way to go Stevens Village!!!
It's a shame that there are so many negative comments. Newsminer.com should remove the comment portion.
MntMan
I dont know the story about the caribou nor have I heard anything about it. I have family in Barrow and have heard nothing of what sounds like would be a big story. So until I know what you said was actaully true, I dont have any comments on that. I'm sure that the elders would not be able to keep the troopers and the F&G out of it. That sounds serious enough that at least one of them would be handling it. So I'm not sure what your source was but have you ever thought it might be a rumor?
Your statement
[So the Law is only good for one group and not all people?]
sickens me. Are you implying that the law is on the Alaska Natives' side compared to yours?
Then why wouldn't they hire an Alaska Native I know?
Because they're on his side?
They asked him in his interview
"Do you drink?" His response was "No"
But he still wasn't hired.
If I were him I would have said "Do you?"
I guess it didn't matter that he had experience being in law enforcement.
corinne
Then why did you only use half of Julie Roberts-Hyslop's quote?
Because you were trying to rationalize what you thought you knew?
You know in the biz that would be called "shady journalism"
I have to say thanks, these posts have gotten much better than the crap a few days ago. It seems Natives can't do it right, either we're living off the government, or damned for having a new idea. Whatever these nutrient/vitamin-deprived bashers have stated at first, I'm thankful for the others who are looking beyond the past and on toward the future. Hopefully we can all live together without hate. We all breathe, try hard to live right, and make the world a better place. Is a buffalo farm really so wrong??
Ok, so I'm going to jump in here with some thoughts, good, bad or indifferent. I grew up in Delta, a long, long time ago. I remember having to have someone bring us home from school cause the house was surrounded by buffalo, I remember one taking the window off the side of the house and one getting into the arctic entry and not being smart enough to back out, F&G came and tranqed him and drug him off the porch into the yard and let him wake up a few hours later. Those are not the woodland bison and I realize that but they do thrive and quite well I might add. So all this throwing around of native vs. non-native and subsistence vs. not - if you're so damn miffed that the natives get to do it - start a ranch just like the one in Delta, raise the damn animals yourself and cull them as necessary. Quit the day job, get a grant, work your arse off and quit your complaining. The folks in Stephens were looking ahead, it doesn't matter that their native, hell would you be bitching so hard if it had been a bunch or Germans or Swedes that had come up with the idea? For crying out loud, if you don't like how things are - change it! If you don't like store bought produce, what do you do? You grow a garden, if you don't like buying your beef from the store you either buy it on the hoof at the fair or go to Delta Meat, quit your bitching cause someone is looking out for their own. Maybe it was a bit easier for them than it might be for the rest of us because of their heritage but the grants are out there if you apply yourself, it's not rocket science, for pity sake, not only that but if the supply for beef isn't so great outside the greater Fairbanks area than who knows, maybe the cost will come down for the rest of us folks - geesh.
Equal treatment is the only thing that isn't racist.
That is true, corrine. I will agree with that. That is the best way to put it.
The people of Stevens Village are not getting that land for free. They have to buy it, they have to pay it for the next 40 years. Just like any other loan. It has to be paid.
mtnman- Euro-Americans don't waste animals? what happened to those wolf pups not too long ago eh?
Apparently the law only applies to BOTH sides.....I mean....it DOESN'T apply to either side!....or....errrr.....do the laws of nature even apply anymore?
As long as it's their land where they have the bison herd, they should be able to grow and eat as many as they want. In fact, it would be nice if they would allow me to buy and shoot one every now and then. Aren't there any privately owned bison ranches in Alaska (maybe Kodiak)?
Made_In_Alaska
I enjoyed your comment. It was well put.
Ray:there's a ranch in Delta were the guy will let you shoot an Elk or Buffalo for a fee.
Look bone heads, if you look at historic records you are just
a vegetarian-a lousy hunter and live yor legacy! keep the know
how to the Native American professionals.
racheallynn - I quoted James "They already got the land for nothing and now it looks like we will get to pay for their eats in addition ...",
I followed with the sentence "ya' know, that same sentence would be more valid coming from a Native." Implying that Natives saying that about non-Natives would make more sense than a non-Native saying that about Natives.
I was offended that you lumped me in the same group with James - until I realized that you took what I said out of context. Oh boy.
Trolls thrive in taking statements out of context...
Crucible - your a troll!!!
Is there ANYTHING Natives can do in this state without being labeled as "free loaders" or some other kind of derogatory remark?
Will you people not be happy till Natives are extinct along with every animal in Alaska?
These Natives here were hunting Alaskan animals and living off the land just fine when YOUR ancestors were riding disease infested boats to the "new world" now who do you think knows more about hunting/living in Alaska?
I for one, am glad to see thier community develop a project such as this. I only hope more villages could do similar projects, and after a decade or two work with Alaska F&G on re-introducing herds to the wild.
We need more ranching in AK
Made_In_Alaska - Amen.