To   Subsistence 2

From:      Larry Roberts:R10F02A

Postmark:  Aug 31,94 11:06 AM          Delivered: Sep 30,94 10:06 AM

Status:    Previously read

Subject: Subsistence News-9/30/94

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Message:

*Subsistence is mandated in ANILCA for all rural residents. The law does not specify that subsistence is for Alaska Natives only.

*Subsistence means more than hunting and fishing. It includes important components of clothing (wild furs and hides), fuel (wood for home heating, and in preserving and smoking food), transportation (fish and seal are used to feed dog teams), and construction (a wide variety of trees are used for home contruction, sleds, fish racks, etc)

*Big game animals are not the primary Alaska subsistence food items. The main food is fish. About 65 percent of the state’s subsistence harvest by weight is fish. Land mammals make up less than 20 percent of the state’s subsistence harvest.

*Subsistence does involve money and its exchange. Rural Alaskans use money to purchase basic goods and services. Money is invested in the tools and equipment used for subsistence hunting, fishing, and gathering.

*Use of bow and arrows for most subsistence users stopped over a century ago. Subsistence requires equipment that works, is safe, and is sustainable with ecological and economic conditions over the long term. Firearms have been incorporated since about the 1860’s.