SUBSISTENCE AND THE NORTH SLOPE INUPIA T: The Effects of Energy Development

MAN IN THE ARCTIC · PROGRAl\tl

INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC RESEARCH

UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA

THE MAN-IN-THE-ARCTIC PROGRAM

The Man-in-the-Arctic Program, funded by the National Science Foundation, is a long-range research effort intended to develop a basic understanding of the forces of change in Alaska and to apply this understanding in dealing with critical problems of social arid economic development. The overall objectives to the program are to:

• Measure and analyze basic changes in the economy, the social conditions, and the population of Alaska.

• Identify significant interactions between outside economic and social forces and Alaska conditions and institutions.

• Analyze specific public problems associated with these inter­actions and policy alternatives for dealing with them.

• Assist planners and decisionmakers in solving critical prob­lems of concern to both the state and the nation.

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MAN IN THE ARCTIC PR()GRAM

Monograph No/ , 4 I

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Subsistence and the North Slope lnupiat:

The Effects of Energy Development

John A. Kruse

INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC RESEARCH UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA

Anchorage • Fairbanks • Juneau ·

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John A. Kruse is an Associate Professor of Survey Researr:h with the Institute of-Social and Economic Research, University of Alaska.

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International Standard Book Ni.JmQ.er: ' 0-8~;353-034-1

ISER Report Series: Number 56

Published by

Institute of Social and Economic Research University of Alaska Lee Gorsuch, Director 707 "A" Street, Suite 206 Anchorage, Alaska 99501 July 1982

Printed in the U.S.A.

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ACKNOVVLEDGMEf\lTS

We could not have made our North Slope survey, on which this report is based, with­out the cooperation of the North Slope Borough, which provided us staff time, office space, and supplies. We particularly acknowledge the support and advice of the late Eben Hopson, first mayor of the borough; Lloyd Ahvakana, the borough's director of Administration and Finance; and Herb Bartel, the borough's planning director.

Special appreciation must be given to Rosita Worl, who conducted the preliminary fieldwork. Rosita Worl and Edna MacLean helped us design the survey, and several North Slope leaders reviewed early versions of the questionnaire. Our thanks also go to Evelyn Tuzroyluk, who headed the survey field team; to all the interviewers, particularly Loretta Kenton and Lucille Aiken; and to the hundreds of North Slope residents who answered our questions.

Finally, we thank the policymakers and researchers who gave us valuable comments on earlier drafts of this report, particularly Ralph Anderson of the North Slope Borough; Matt Conover and Greg Moore of Mauneluk Association; Cynthia Wentworth of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; Bill Schneider and Gerald McBeath of the University of Alaska; Sverre Pederson of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game; and Judith Kleinfeld, Tom More­house, Bill McDiarmid, Robert Travis, Scott Goldsmith, and Lee Gorsuch of the Institute of Social and Economic Research.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

Chapter 1. Introduction .... .. . . .. . .... : : .' . ; ...... · .. : . . ; : . : .... . ...... . . ·.'. . ;l

Why Study Subsistence? ........ ~ ................. · .. .. · ....... : . ·,1 Summary of Findings ........... . .. · ..... · ... · ................. . .. 2 Methods ..... . . . ........................ . .... . ... . ........ . . 3

Chapter 2. Historical Background .................... · ..... · .. ; : .. ; ·. . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Environmental Setting . . .......... . . ,_ .... . .. ·_- . ...... · .... : ... . .... 9 Population and Traditional Economic Base .......................... 9 Social Organization ... . ........ . ................... . ........... 9 Outside For.ces of Change · ... ;- ......... , .... · .. : ................ : .9 Effects of Early Forces of Change on Economic Activities ............. 11

.- Effects of Early Forces of Change ori. Social Organization .......... ·: ... 12 The Prudhoe Bay Discovery and Formation of the North Slope Borough .. 12

: ....

Chapter·3 . . Continued Economic Role of Subsistence .... . ,.: .. -: ; . : ................ 15

; • Income Changes ·, .. , ~ ; : .. ·. , ........ ·. ·. · .......... · ... · ... , . ·.-' ..... ··.·· .15 Economic Importance of Subsistence Products .................. . ... 17

Chapter 4. lnupiat Interest in Subsistence ........ .- . : ......................... 23 ''

Measures of Interest in Subsistence .... . .......................... 25 Current Levels Of Subsistence Activity . ... " .... . . . , ........... .' .... 25 Are Young Inupiat Less Interested in Subsistence? ... .. ......... . : . ... 27 Personal Characteristics and Subsistence Activity .. . ... . ..... . .... . .. 29

" · Household lhcorrie and Men's Subsistence Activities .. -. ........... . ... 31

Chapter 5 . Is the Time Spent in Wage Employment Reducing the Time Available for Subsistence? .. . . . . .. ........................ . .. .. ........ 35

Subsistence Time Patterns ...... . ................... . ....... . ... 35 ), · Relationships Between Subsistence and Wage Erhployinent Activity

Among Men . . ........ . ... .. . . . . ... ; . ' ..... . ............... . . 37 Relationships Between Subsistence and Wage Employment Activities

ArriongWorrien: . . .. : . . .... i •••••• : • •• • ••••• • •.••••••• • •.•• 39

Chapter 6. Are Subsistence Activities Still Tied to lnupiat Social Well-Being? . .. . .. .. .43

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LIST OF TABLES

Page

Table 1. Per Capita Income by Region and Size of Place .......................... 17

Table 2. Proportion of Food Obtained from Subsistence Activities: Barrow versus Other Village Households ............................. 18

Table 3. Proportion of Food Obtained from Subsistence Activities, by Region ....................................... : .. ,· ........... 19

Table 4. Measures of North Slope Subsistence Activity: Barrow versus Other Villages ............ , .... · ..................... · ................ 27

Table 5.. Measures of Subsistence Activity, by Region .. ; · ......................... 28

Table. 6. Average Number'. of Male Subsistence Activities, by Age and Region .......... 28

Table 7. Average Number of Months That Men Spent Partly on Subsistence, by Age and Region ............ ........................... ...•. ; .. 28

Table 8. Average Measures of Subsistence Interest Among North Slope Women, by Age ........................................................ 28

Table 9. Measures of Subsistence Interest Among North Slope Men, by Background Characteristics ....................................... 30

Table 10. Measures of Subsistence Interest Among North Slope Women, by Background Characteristics .................................... 31

Table 11. Average Number of Male Subsistence Activities and Average Nµmber of Months During Which Men Spent Some Time on Subsistence, by Household Inca.me and Region ...... ; ............................. 32

Table 12. Time Spent on Subsistence Activities ............................. . ... 36

Table 13. Average Number of Months That Men Spent Partly or Mostly on Subsistence, by Months Worked and Region .................................... 39

Table 14. Average Number of Months That North Slope Women Spent Partly or Mostly on Subsistence, by Months Worked .......................... .41

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LIST OF FIGURES

Page

Figure 1. The North Slope and its Neighboring Regions, NANA and Yukon-Porcupine ... .4

Figure 2. North Slope Borough ............................................. 10

Figure 3. Mean Native Family Income: 1960-1977 .............................. 16

Figure 4. Graph of Subsistence Participation ................................... 26

Figure 5. Pattern of Time Expenditure While Engaged in Subsistence Activities ........ 36

Figure 6. Men's Employment and Subsistence Status, by Month .................... 37

Figure 7. Women's Employment and Subsistence Status, by Month ................. .40

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CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

One hundred and fifty years ago, a subsistence lifestyle based on the caribou, seal, bowhead whale, and other prey formed the social, economic, and spiritual center of the North Slope Inupiat culture. From that time until the 1960s, successive developments have brought commercial whalers, missionaries, traders, military personnel, oil exploration crews, and government administrators to the North Slope, and all have contributed to rapid change in Inupiat life. New economic activities resulting from these developments have increasingly brought western goods and services, new institutions, and different religious beliefs.

Then, in the 1970s, oil became a force of change on the North Slope for the second time in recent history. Its discovery at Prudhoe Bay and subsequent development resulted in sweeping changes in the social and economic life of the North Slope Inupiat. To determine the extent of these changes, this report examines current patterns of subsistence activity on the North Slope and compares these to observed patterns in nearby regions which have not experienced such intense exposure to outside influences. The central question guiding m.ir discussion here is whether the rapid increases in wage employment opportunities, personal incomes, and lifestyle options resulting from energy development have reduced the eco­nomic and social roles played by the subsistence activities of the North Slope Inupiat. *

Why Study Subsistence? Current Inupiat subsistence activities have for some years been a subject of consider­

able debate at state, national, and international levels. The present round of debate began in 1975 when the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) estimated that the size of the Western Arctic caribou herd, the primary source of caribou meat for the Inupiat, had dropped from 242,000 in 1970 to 75,000. As a result, ADF&G for the first time attempted to regulate the Inupiat harvest of the Western Arctic herd. Inupiat leaders, however, argued that ~he state's population estimates for the herd were too low and decreases stemmed from increased industrial activity. State biologists, on the other hand, claimed that annual Inupiat harvests exceeding 20,000 caribou had caused the population decline.

The next year, 1976, the Scientific Committee of the International Whaling Commis­sion (IWC), fearing the bowhead whale population to be dangerously low, urged the com­mission to begin regulating subsistence bowhead whale hunting. U.S . environmental groups split over the issue, depending on whether they saw it primarily as one of Inupiat cultural survival or primarily as one of protecting the bowhead whale. The Scientific Committee rec­ommended a ban on Inupiat bowhead whaling in 1977. The debate which ensued at the IWC Tokyo meeting in December resulted in a 1978 quota of either twelve whales struck and landed or eighteen struck and lost.

A newly formed association of Inupiat whaling captains, the Alaska Eskimo Whaling

*Throughout this report we use the word "subsistence" to mean any or all of the following activities re­gardless of methods used or disposition of products: working on spring or fall whaling crew; helping whal­ing crews by cooking, giving money or supplies; cutting meat; sewing skins, parkas, and boots; making sleds, or boats ; hunting moose , sheep, seal, walrus, waterfowl; gathering eggs; fishing, trapping ; making masks or baskets; carving; gathering berries.1

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Commission (AEWC), accepted the 1978 quota but encountered renewed controversy at the IWC meeting in London 6 months later. After walking out of the London meeting in pro­test, the AEWC adopted a harvest quota higher than that of the IWC. While bad weather and poor ice conditions prevented a confrontation in 1979, the Inupiat in 1980 exceeded the new IWC quota of 26 whales struck. The U.S. Attorney General's office responded by con­vening a grand jury to investigate the alleged violation.

Both the caribou and bowhead controversies involve a perceived tradeoff between Inupiat subsistence activities and the protection of wildlife populations. Underlying these

' debates is the question of just how hecessary subsistence activities are to contemporary Inupiat society. The same question is relevant to other policy debates as well . Planned oil exploration activities in the Beaufort Sea and in the National Petroleum Reserve Alaska will introduce new risks of reducing or dislocating wildlife resources. In view of these planned activities, how much weight should the U.S. Department of the Interior attach to Inupiat subsistence interests? Similarly, how much weight should the Bureau of Land Management give to urban pressures to use the utility corridor connecting Prudhoe Bay with Alaska's central road system on the one hand and to rural residents wishing to retain their locational advantage in harvesting wildlife resources on the other?

Debates over Inupiat subsistence activities are not new. Concern about the effects of. oil exploration in the 1940s prompted the Smithsonian Institution to fund Robert Spencer's study of the ecology ahd society of the North Slope Eskimo. Fifteen years later, Don Foote studied Eskimo hunting · activities at Point Hope to assess the potential impact of Project Chariot, a ·federal proposal to use miclear power to create a harbor for submarines.

Forty years of interest in Inupiat subsistence has generated a substantial literature on contemporary patterns of subsistence activities and their roles in the economy and society of the Inupiat. Nevertheless, with each new incursion by outside interests into the region, researchers · have wondered about the resulting impacts on Inupiat subsistence. The cumu­lative effects of these impacts are difficult to measure and cannot be traced without quanti­tative data. Thus, our purpose here is to examine those impacts resulting from the develop­ment of the Prudhoe Bay oil field and to establish a quantit'ative data base that can be used to help answer questions raised by future studies. We also attempt to step beyond a descrip­tion of the current need for and interest in pursuing subsistence activities in order to ad­vance our understanding of how and why subsistence patterns are changing in the face 'of a continuous contact with western society.

Summary of Findings · We organized this report. around four research questions. These are:

1. What is the economic importance of subsistence? 2. Aside from economic importance, are the Inupiat interested in pursuing subsistence

activities? . · . . . . . 3. Is the time spent on wage .employment reducing the time available for subsistence'?. 4. Are subsistence activities still tied to Inupiat social well-being?

Traditionally, subsistence hunting and fishing activities formed the core of the North Slope Inupiat economy. Since the first European contact, however; wage employment has created a new source of sustenance. Given the major oil development at Prudhoe Bay, the formation of the Arctic Slope Regional Corporation, the North Slope Borough and its capi­tal construction activities, our first research question takes on particular importance. The motivations for engaging in subsistence activities are not necessarily all economic. Our sec-

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and research question focuses on subsistence as a matter of interest rather than strict eco­nomic value. We then turn to the potential time conflict between wage employment and subsistence activities which is a critical factor associated with future resource use and wage employment behavior. Rapid change on the North Slope has placed a severe stress on Inupiat society as evidenced by above-average rates of alcohol abuse and violent deaths. Our final research question is whether subsistence activities appear to act as a balancing force by maintaining social relationships.

In summary, we found that expanding wage opportunities have resulted in real income growth on the North Slope. Despite this growth, however, a large proportion of Inupiat households receive incomes too low to support a moderate standard of living by American standards. Thus, subsistence activities still play an important economic role on the North Slope.

Incomes have grown enough to allow some Inupiat the opportunity to reduce the num­ber of subsistence activities they engage in should they be so inclined. While increased in­comes are apparently associated with reduced time spent on subsistence activities, our data suggests that the interest in pursuing a wide variety of subsistence activities throughout the year has remained high, particularly among Inupiat men.

Continuing economic value of subsistence products and personal interest in subsistence do not necessarily mean that North Slope adults are able to engage in subsistence activities to the extent they would like. However, our results suggest that local part-time employ­ment, the current pattern among most Inupiat men, does not conflict with subsistence pur­suits. Based on the experience of Inupiat men who pursued year-round work, it appears that Inupiat men would continue to find the time to engage in subsistence activities even if a year-round pattern of local wage work becomes predominant.

We are able to bring only a limited amount of data to bear on the question of whether there is a link between Inupiat social well-being and subsistence. The information we do have suggests that subsistence activities play an important role in maintaining social ties among the Inupiat at a time when rapid social change appears to be causing high levels of stress among individuals on the North Slope.

Methods Our overall interest in exploring the effects of energy development on Alaska Natives

led us to focus on the North Slope since it is the principal location of energy development in Alaska and is the region which has experienced the greatest change in income and employ­ment due to the formation of the North Slope Borough and the implementation of an ex­tensive village construction program involving local labor.

Although our research questions all involved assessments of change, rapid change had already begun in 1977, and we had no quantitative baseline data. Project resources permit­ted only a single wave of data collection during the peak of activity on the North Slope. We therefore decided to assess change first by looking at differences between the North Slope and two rural regions which have experienced slower rates of change. The choice of compar­ison regions had to be limited to those for which we could obtain comparable data. Fortun­ately, one of the two regions for which data was available, the NANA region, is culturally similar to the North Slope (see Figure 1). The other region, defined by the upper Yukon and Porcupine Rivers, lies directly to the south of the North Slope and provides data for an Athabascan region.

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We chose as our primary method of data collection a household survey. While previ­ous ethnographic studies on the North Slope have provided a rich source of descriptive materials, many of the changes experienced on the North Slope have been quantitative rather than qualitative. The ethnographic studies have not assessed the degree of change; their strength lies in describing qualitative change, such as the switch to snow mobiles from dogteams. The survey method on the other hand offered the opportunity to collect the quantitative information needed to make comparisons among the three regions mentioned above and to perform the second type of assessment of change used in this report, the cross­sectional analysis.

A cross-sectional analysis relies on variations present in the population at a single point in time to infer processes of change. For example, we can look at variations in subsistence activity among different age groups to identify potential changes among generations. Like­wise, we can compare the subsistence activities of individuals differing in income, wage em­ployment activity, or background experiences. While this approach does not replace the need for time-series data, it does minimize measurement problems. We know our measures of subsistence activity are subject to error and do not precisely fix the amount of activity, but we also expect that the errors randomly occur among all persons interviewed. Thus, we are able to make group comparisons since the measures should be acceptably reliable in relative terms.

The responses of 290 Inupiat adults to an hour-long personal interview provided the data for this paper. Before the structured sample survey was administered, Rosita Worl, an anthropologist then working on the North Slope, completed thirty in-depth interviews de­signed to refine our research hypotheses. In addition, we benefited from a previous survey we had conducted in another rural region in Alaska.2 Inupiat leaders reviewed the draft in­terview forms, structured interview questions, and Inupiat residents pretested the interview schedule. Edna MacLean of the Alaska Native Language Center prepared an Inupiaq transla­tion of a revised interview schedule. We hired and trained Inupiat residents as interviewers.

We selected all households in the communities of Point Hope, Wainwright, Nuiqsut, Kaktovik, and Anaktuvuk Pass and half of those in Barrow through a 50-percent random sample of all noninstitutional households there. We did not survey two small North Slope communities, Point Lay and Atkasook, since they were being resettled. Within selected households, we randomly designated the adult member of the household (18 years or older) to be interviewed.

All respondents were interviewed between October 1977 and February 1978, and each received $10 for their assistance. Our final sample consisted of 75 percent of the 385 se­lected respondents. Twenty-four percent of our respondents chose to take the interview in Inupiaq, and the rest took it in English. Non-Native interviewers conducted a small propor­tion of the Barrow interviews, and the Inupiaq version could not be used in these house­holds.

In presenting survey results, we have weighted the Barrow interviews to reflect the pro­portion of Barrow adults in the total North Slope Native population. Sampling errors for responses involving the entire sample are approximately+/- 4 percent. For example, 33 per­cent of our respondents reported spending at least some time on subsistence activities during five or more months of the year. We can be 90 percent sure that the true percentage for the population is no less than 29 percent and no more than 37 percent. The interview schedule itself covered four major areas: wage employment, subsistence, community living condi­tions, and personal characteristics. Factual self-reports of current and past behavior form the

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core of the first two sections while perceptions concerning fourteen community character­istics and seven institutions form the third section. The final section of the interview sched­ule contains questions concerning living experiences outside of the region and childhood exposure to wage and subsistence activities as well as a complement of questions concerning income, expenditures, and education. A comprehensive statistical presentation of the results is available as are separate monographs on employment and institutional development. 3

This report also includes data from two surveys conducted in the NANA and upper Yukon-Porcupine regions. The NANA survey of adult residents was conducted in late 1978 as a cooperative effort of the Alaska Public Forum (part of the program of the State Growth Policy Council), the Native regional profit corporation (NANA), and the Mauneluk Associ­ation (the nonprofit Native regional corporation in the NANA region) . Villages included in the survey and the number of completed interviews in sampled lnupiat villages were: Kot­zebue (130), Selawik (31), Noorvik (29), Kiana (24), Noatak (21), Kivalina (18), Buckland (18), Ambler (17), Deering (14), Shungnak (9), and Kobuk (7), for a total of 311 inter­views. Mauneluk hired and N orthrim Associates trained local interviewers who asked survey questions in either English or lnupiaq. The Alaska Public Forum supervised the survey which included questions on subsistence, employment, community facilities, transportation, housing and education.

The specific questions asked in the NANA survey were not precisely the same as those asked on the North Slope. However, we have made every effort to recode the NANA data to conform as closely as possible to the North Slope data, and we believe the results are gener­ally comparable. One major difficulty, however, was that the question format in the NANA survey did not permit us to clearly separate the respondents' subsistence and employment information from that applicable to other household members. In addition, we could not determine exactly how respondents were selected. We tried to minimize these problems by only reporting results for male respondents who appeared to account for most of the re­ported subsistence and wage employment activity. Nevertheless, some of the differences between the NANA and North Slope results may stem from difficulties associated with the ~ormat and administration of the NANA survey.

The Upper Yukon-Porcupine Survey was conducted by the Institute of Social and E.conomic Research in 1977 as a part of a contract with the U.S. Forest Service. The pur­pose of the survey was to determine how the resident population would be affected by new developments in the region and to ascertain residents' preferences for alternative types of development. Respondents, primarily the male head of each sample household, provided information on their education, subsistence, and wage employment activities, household characteristics, and attitudes toward growth and development. The survey sample of Atha­bascan (and a few Inupiat) adults was quite small (129), consisting of 58 respondents in Fort Yukon and a total of 71 respondents from Arctic Village, Beaver, Birch Creek, Chalky­itsik, Rampart, Venetie, and Stevens Village.

Questions included in the Upper Yukon-Porcupine survey were considerably less de­tailed than those used on the North Slope. As with the NAN A results, we have recoded the data to allow meaningful comparisons. The primary difficulty associated with using the Upper Yukon-Porcupine data is that the sample is not large enough to tell us whether some apparent differences in subsistence activities among selected residents actually reflect differ­ences among all Athabascan adults living in the region.

We believe both the NANA and the Upper Yukon-Porcupine survey results are suffi-

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ciently reliable to provide useful comparisons. However, the primary focus of this study is on the North Slope. We therefore encourage readers to use the results reported for the North Slope and caution them that the data from the other two regions should be treated only as preliminary results that require further analysis before being used as the primary basis for analysis in either region.

ENDNOTES

Chapter One

1Human activities related to the use of wild resources form the basis of all definitions of subsistence in societies living in primarily non-arable regions. Beyond this concensus, however, lies great controversy over what qualifies as a "subsistence use" of wild resources. At one extreme, Webster's dictionary limits subsist­ence to the means of obtaining the minimum food and shelter necessary to support life. By implication, death by starvation or exposure would result if "subsistence uses" were stopped. Under this restrictive definition, most, if not all, Alaskans would not qualify as subsistence users of wild resources.

Thomas Lonner, in reviewing the relevant research literature, observed that subsistence includes economic activities " ... self-contained within a community or region, which are not conducted primarily for profit-maximization, which aim primarily for present consumption, and which are governed by tradi­tional patterns rather than market conditions or immediate needs." This definition introduces the ideas that (1) subsistence uses are in part justified by historic precedent rather than just current need, and (2) depend­ing on the current situation, subsistence activities may provide more than the basic necessities of life.

Alaska law centers its definition of subsistence on the concepts of customary and traditional use and on a wide spectrum of activities, including the trade of handicraft articles for cash. The question of econ­omic necessity is only addressed in the sections of the act permitting the Boards of Fisheries and Game to regulate subsistence uses in part by assessing the "customary and direct dependence upon resources as the mainstay of one's livelihood." Thus, both traditional and current economic dependence are legally recog. nized as components of subsistence.

Our definition of subsistence as a set of activities implicitly recognizes the traditional element of subsistence since we have limited our analysis to Inupiat residents, each of whom is presumably still a member of a culture with a long history of pursuing the set of activities listed on page one of this report. The concept of current economic dependence, rather than included in our definition of subsistence, is treated as a central topic in our analysis. We attempt to answer the question of whether activities which have been economically important are still economically important.

We also address the situation in which individuals pursue traditional activities for reasons other than economic necessity. By using a strictly behavioral definition of subsistence activities as the basis of our analysis, we can search for empirical evidence that these activities have some value beyond pro­viding food . When the policymaker must decide if traditional activities that are no longer economic­ally required are still to be favored as subsistence activities, we hope to contribute to the information forming the basis of his decision. 2Anthony F. Gasbarro, et al., Yukon-Porcupine Regional Planning Study (Fairbanks: University of Alaska, Agricultural Experiment Station and Institute of Social and Economic Research, 1978). 3John Kruse, Judith Kleinfeld, and Robert Travis, Energy Development and the North Slope lnupiat: Quantitative Analysis of Social and Economic Change (Fairbanks: University of Alaska, Institute of Social and Economic Research, 1980); Judith Kleinfeld, John Kruse, and Robert Travis, Different Paths of Eskimo Men and Women in the Wage Economy: The North Slope Experience (Fairbanks: University of Alaska, Institute of Social and Economic Research, 1980); Gerald McBeath, North Slope Borough Govern­ment and Policymaking (Fairbanks: University of Alaska, Institute of Social and Economic Research, 1981).

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CHAPTER 2 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

Given the magnitude and dynamic nature of recent developments on the North Slope, it is easy to forget that the North Slope lnupiat have actually been exposed to major forces of change since the mid-nineteenth century. Thus, before presenting our research results, we want to emphasize that the recent developments represent more of a continuation of forces of change rather than a unique experience in the history of the North Slope.

In the following paragraphs we describe the traditional Inupiat economy and social organization, the major outside forces of change on the North Slope, and some of the significant social and economic changes that have taken place.

Environmental Setting Alaska's Brooks Range forms the southern boundary of an 88,000-square-mile area

referred to as the North Slope (Figure 2). The arctic foothills of the Brooks Range give way to a flat coastal plain containing thousands of small lakes and both wet and dry tundra. Despite low average levels of biological productivity in the region and its surrounding waters, local resources are greatly augmented by the seasonally migratory bowhead whale, walrus, seal, caribou, Canadian geese, eider ducks, sandpipers, and numerous other shore­birds and waterfowl. However, access to these resources is limited by the severe arctic winter where the chances of wind chill temperatures of -20°F are 50 percent or greater for 6 months of the year.

Population and Traditional Economic Base The harsh climate and often limited availability of resources may have been the pri­

mary factors which held the aboriginal population of the North Slope to roughly 3,000.1 These people comprised five societies, the two largest of which primarily exploited the coastal environments near the present-day settlements of Point Hope and Barrow. A third group occupied the Colville River watershed, basing their economy primarily on caribou. The remaining two societies exploited other geographical areas and somewhat different mixes of resources. Men were the primary hunters in all societies.

Social Organization As in most traditional societies, material insecurity provided a strong incentive for the

North Slope Inupiat to engage in group activities which minimized individual risk.2 Group activities were probably also more efficient than the efforts of individuals. Food sharing among related households was widespread . Social status depended not only on wealth but also upon generosity . Group bonds were strengthened by the collective need to hunt caribou and the large marine mammals as well as by the instruction of the young men in hunting techniques given in village ceremonial houses. Traditional religious beliefs primarily con­cerned relationships between man and his environment as perceived critical to hunting success.

Outside Forces of Change Apart from contact with other Native groups (which resulted in the introduction of

fore ign trade goods) and numerous arctic explorers in the eighteenth and nineteenth cen-

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turies, the first major outside contact of any duration occurred during the period of com­mercial whaling in the arctic (circa 1854-1906). Following soon after the first whalers came the missionaries and the establishment of shore stations. After whaling declined in the early 1900s, there was little new contact until the 1930s and 40s when the U.S. Government ex­tended social programs to Alaska, thereby providing new sources of cash.

The next major outside influence came with the search for national oil reserves during and after World War II (1946-1953). Also, during World War II, lnupiat men participated in a territorial scout organization which provided both training and travel opportunities. Oil exploration activity was closely followed by the construction of DEW line facilities in the 1950s. Then, during the 1960s, North Slope residents felt the impact of national and state poverty programs aimed at upgrading the quality of health, education, transportation, and other community services. Then, following discovery of oil at Prudhoe Bay in 1968, oil again increased interest in the North Slope.

Effects of Early Forces of Change on Economic Activities The whaler's need for meat gave a commercial value to subsistence resources. Inupiat

men began to seek caribou meat to use in exchange for western foods and trade goods (or cash) as well as for food. The commercial whalers also competed with Native whaling cap­tains for labor, thus introducing wage employment to the North Slope. 3 However, even when the drop in price of baleen in the early 1900s resulted in the subsequent collapse of commercial whaling in the Bering Sea, the lnupiat did not completely return to their tradi­tional hunting patterns. Prompted by traders, missionaries, and the federal government, lnupiat men not only continued to seek wild furbearers of commercial value, but for a time also attempted to raise the newly introduced domestic reindeer.

Following the decline of commercial whaling, trapping and federal social programs sus­tained a minimal flow of cash through the local economy. When oil exploration and military employment again caused male wage employment opportunities to increase in the 1940s, the village of Barrow attracted residents from throughout the region. Although the new wage employment opportunities did not seriously conflict with hunting, the per capita consumption of traditional lnupiat foods significantly dropped as residents consumed more Western foods.4 Subsistence whaling, however, increased. The number of whaling crews had traditionally been limited by the wealth present in the community. Wage employ­ment provided a new means of obtaining wealth, particularly because the whaling equip­ment could now largely be purchased rather than slowly amassed through past successful hunting efforts. 5

Interest in whaling probably remained high for several reasons. First, the prospect of more secure food supplies increased the relative attractiveness of whaling over the tradi­tional mainstays of the subsistence economy-seal and caribou-both of which provided little meat per kill. Second, active whaling consumed only a few weeks a year and could be fitted among other activities. Third, whaling captains were accorded high social status. Finally, and perhaps most important, whaling continued to involve a large segment of the community and remained the most visible tie to traditional Inupiat activities.6

Later intrusions into traditional Inupiat life, including the DEW line and government poverty programs, sustained lnupiat wage employment opportunities in construction. Al­though these jobs continued to be taken primarily by men, women started to enter the labor force as new jobs opened in education, health, and other government services.

11

I ''

Effects of Early Forces of Change on Social Organization By the tum of the century, as traditional subsistence resources took on a commercial

value, the Inupiat faced a conflict between his traditional sharing obligations and his desire for western foods, housing, and clothes. 7 This conflict was further complicated by intro­duction of western technology. For example, introduction of the rifle enabled an individual to take advantage of the new commercial hunting opportunities alone, instead of relying on group effort. 8 Instead of· using traditional weapons and linking hunting success to observ­ance of certain religious practices, the Inupiat increasingly came to depend on the new tech­nology. Thus, economic opportunity, combined with a new technology and Christian missionary pressures, led the Inupiat to abandon overt practices which had affirmed his traditional religious beliefs. The Barrow community dismantled their ceremonial houses and no longer publically recognized the shaman, the traditional religious leader. The Presbyter­ian Church became the predominant social organization, thus introducing residents ·to a prototypical form of western political organization.

However, along with the new technology and new religion, westerners introduced dis­eases and alcohol. First, flu, measles, pneumonia, and tuberculosis epidemics decimated the population, dramatically reducing the ability of the individual household to function as an important social and economic unit. In addition, alcohol misuse led to accidents and violent deaths and undermined the will of many residents to engage in productive activities.9

When health conditions finally improved in the 1950s as a result of federal programs, resulting higher birth rates and lower death rates dramatically increased the number of household dependents. The children from the baby boom of the late 1950s and early 1960s reached working age during the mid-1970s, the period of central interest to this study.

The Prudhoe Bay Discovery and Formation of the North Slope Borough The discovery of oil on state-leased lands at Prudhoe Bay in 1968 spurred massive in­

vestments in oil production and transportation facilities. Employment at Prudhoe Bay ex­ceeded 6,000 during the peak construction period in 1975 and has averaged over 3,000 since then. Thus, the employment generated by Prudhoe Bay oil development has been compar­able to the size of the entire North Slope Inupiat poi:.ulation. However, despite the tremen­dous employment potential at Prudhoe Bay, direct employment and income effects of the Prudhoe development on the North Slope Inupiat have not been large. In contrast to the Navajo experience, however, the Inupiat have been able to capture and exploit substantial slims of energy-related wealth.10 Accounting for much of this difference was the formation of an Inupiat-controlled regional government, the North Slope Borough, that is empowered to tax property and to provide a wide spectrum of facilities and services.

Even before the discovery of oil at Prudhoe Bay, several young Barrow Inupiat formed the Arctic Slope Native Association (ASNA) in 1966 in order to counter the state's move to claim potentially oil-rich lands on the North Slope.11 ASNA laid claim to all 58 million acres of land on the North Slope. Then, the discovery of oil and gas at Prudhoe Bay in 1968 made the disputed lands even more valuable. As the land claims movement gained momen­tum, ASNA broadened its functions, calling for jobs, housing, and schools for the North Slope Inupiat. By the time of the land settlement in 1971, ASNA had become a multi­purpose political organization, a quasi-government, that laid the foundation for formation of the new North Slope Borough in the following year.12

The state, viewing Prudhoe Bay oil as a statewide tax resource, opposed formation of the North Slope Borough. In addition, the oil companies, who wanted to limit and stabilize their tax liability, fought formation of the Borough in the courts.13 Despite such opposi-

12

tion, however, the Native leaders succeeded in establishing the Borough in 1972 and im­posed a tax on Prudhoe Bay property. With this rich revenue potential in hand, borough leaders soon began planning a multimillion dollar capital improvements program (CIP), designed . to provide local employment and construct village facilities. They planne9 that property taxes paid by the North Slope producers would virtually pay the cost of.the total program .

. The Aiaska Nativ~ Claims Settlement Act (enacted by the U.S. Congress in December 1971) established a third major development force, the Arctic Slope Regional Corporation (ASRC); which was designated to receive almost 4 million acres of land and about $52 mil­liOn. Eventually, the regional impact of ASRC investment activities could exceed the impact of Borough tax revenues, if major oil discoveries are made on ASRC lands. However, from _ 1972 through 1981 the Borough had received revenues equal to three times ASRC's share of the 1971 settlement act. Of the two Native-controlled development forces, the North Slope Borough has clearly had the greater impact to date.

The establishment of the North Slope Borough and the Arctic Slope Regional Corpora­tion, marked the end of a colonial era that lasted 120 years~ While regional resources are still sought by state and national interests, the two Native organizations now have the power to influence outside forces of change and to institute changes themselves.

The effects on North Slope wage employment patterns of oil development, the Arctic Slope Regional Corporation, and the North Slope Borough are discussed in a companion report, Different Paths of Eskimo Men and Women in the Wage Economy: The North Slope Experience.14 That report documents the success with which the Borough has transformed tax revenues into local jobs. Most Barrow Inupiat men have been employed as construction workers on the borough's capital improvements program while women have largely taken white-collar jobs with the local schools or with various Borough government operations. Thus, establishment of the borough has had far more effect on the Inupiat than new em­ployment opportunities at Prudhoe Bay, which is some 60 miles from the nearest village.

Clearly the Prudhoe Bay oil discovery, the North Slope Borough, and the Arctic Slope Regional Corporation have been major forces of change on the North Slope largely because they have been responsible for a rapid expansion in employment opportunities. We have also seen that earlier developments on the North Slope triggered both economic and social changes, many of which have involved subsistence activities. We now turn to look at the changes in subsistence brought about by the most recent wave of activity on the North Slope.

ENDNOTES

Chapter Two

1Ernest S. Burch, Jr., Eskimo Kinsmen: Changing Family Relationships in Northwest Alaska (New York: West Publishing Co., 1975). 2George Dalton (ed.), Studies in Economic Anthropology (Washington, D.C.: American Anthropology Association, Anthropological Studies No. 7, 1971), pp. 11-12. 3Joseph Sonnenfeld, Changes in Subsistence Among the Barrow Eskimo (Baltimore: Ph.D. dissertation at Johns Hopkins University, 1957), p. 235. 4[bid., p. 544. 5James Van Stone, Point Hope: An Eskimo Village in Transition (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1962), p. 42.

13

6Jbid., p. 165. 7sonnenfeld, Changes in Subsistence ... , p. 253. 8Jbid., p. 239. 9charles Brower, P.J. Farrelly, and Lyman Anson, Fifty Years Below Zero (New York: Dodd, Mead, and Co., 1942), p. 162. 10aary C. Anders, "Indians, Energy, and Economic Development," Journal of Contemporary Business, 1980, 9:57-74; Harris Arthur, preface, Native Americans and Energy Development (Cambridge: Anthro­pology Resource Center, 1978), pp: 1, 2; Joseph G. Jorgensen, "Energy, Agriculture, and Social Science in the American West," Native Americans and Energy Development (Cambridge: Anthropology Resource Center, 1978), pp. 3-16; Nancy J. Owens, "Can Tribes Control Energy Development," Native Americans and Energy Development (Cambridge: Anthropology Resource Center, 1978, pp. 49-62; Nancy J. Owens, "The .Effects of Reservation Bordertown and Energy Exploitation on American Indian Economic Develop­ment," Research in Anthropology, 1979, 2:303-337; Lynn A. Robbins, "Energy Developments and the Navajo Nation;'' Native Americans and Energy Development (Cambridge: Anthropology Resource Center, 1978), pp. 35-48; Lorraine Ruffing, "Navajo Mineral Development," American Indian Journal, 1978, pp. 2-16. llMcBeath, North Slope Borough Government . . . 1981, p. 12. 12/bid., p. 4, 5. 13Thomas A. Morehouse and Linda Leask, "Alaska's North Slope Borough: Oil, Money, and Eskimo Self­Govemment," Polar Record, 20:124 (January 1980): 12-29. 14Judith Kleinfeld, et al., Different Paths of Eskimo Men and Women . .. , 1981.

14

CHAPTER 3 CONTINUED ECONOMIC ROLE OF SUBSISTENCE

" . . . with sudden wealth, subsistence hunting has begun to give way to hunting and fishing for profit."

Barry Lopez Harper's Magazinel

Today native Alaskans are U.S. citizens who have chosen to enter the 20th Century.

Regina Frankenburg Committee for Humane Legislation2

Traditional Eskimo whale hunting is already gone .... It's done now more for sport and money than for food.

Dr. Roger Payne N.Y Zoological Society3

These comments, like many others, suggest that the North Slope Inupiat have dis­carded their traditional means of support and have joined the mainstream of American life. A visitor to the North Slope would see much to confirm this point of view. Barrow residents now shop in a large department store that carries a wide variety of food, clothing, and furniture. A walk around town reveals new single-family homes and apartment buildings along with numerous snow machines, three-wheeled all-terrain vehicles, and four-wheel-drive trucks. It is also easy to see why observers assume that the North Slope Inupiat family incomes are high enough to support their needs and desires. The Borough currently receives almost $55 million annually in property taxes from the oil industry, and much of this money has been spent on village construction projects employing local labor.

Income Changes Family incomes have indeed increased since the onset of petroleum development

and the formation of the North Slope Borough (Figure 3). Assuming a rate of inflation equal to that of Anchorage, 4 real incomes increased at a rate of over 6 percent between 1970 and 1977. On a per capita basis, the 1976 median income on the North Slope was over 50 percent higher than the median incomes of the NANA region to the west or the Upper Yukon-Porcupine Region to the south (Table 1). Barrow, the seat of the borough govern­ment and site of most construction activities, had the highest median income. The median per capita income in the remaining North Slope villages was sharply higher than that in the smaller communities in the NAN A region and greater than the median per capita incomes in both Fort Yukon and the smaller communities in the Upper Yukon-Porcupine region.

Thus, North Slope Inupiat incomes are generally higher than those in our two compar­ison regions, disregarding differences in the cost of living. However, the median per capita income on the North Slope in 1976 of $3,745 was still only one-third of the $11,291 median per capita income received in Fairbanks (Table 1). Less than one~quarter of the residents of Fairbanks received under $5,500 yearly in income, as compared to over half of the Inupiat residents of the North Slope.

15

I· ! !r

I·

UJ

:2: 0 (.)

z _J

<( :::i z z <(

z <( UJ :2:

$20,000

$15,000

$10,000

$5,000

$1,000

Unadjusted for inflation

Ad justed for inflat ion

1960 1970 1977

Sources: U.S. Census, 1960, 1970, and ISER North Slope Survey, 1977.

Figure 3. Mean Native Family Income: 1960-1977.

Since 1976, CIP activities have probably continued to increase North Slope incomes at a faster rate than Fairbanks income. Median per capita incomes in Fairbanks increased by 28 percent between 1976 and 1978.5 Assuming that the annual rate of increase has quickly declined to 7 percent since 1977, we estimate the 1980 median per capita income in Fair­banks t o be approximately $17,000. The North Slope median income increased by only 8 percent between 1976 and 1977, according to our survey respondents. Assuming that the annual rate of increase grew to 15 percent by 1978, we estimate the 1980 median per capita income on the North Slope to be about $6,000. Based on the above assumptions, North Slope per capita incomes have only slightly improved relative to Fairbanks per capita incomes, averaging 67 percent lower in 1976 and 65 percent lower in 1980.

The difference in buying power between Fairbanks and North Slope incomes is actual­ly much greater than the above figures suggest. Taking into account differences in the costs of living, the $6,000 estimated 1980 per capita income on the North Slope has the equiv­alent purchasing power of only $4,085 in Fairbanks.6 Even when we adjust for the free medical care and the subsidized housing that North Slope residents receive, as well as the potential distortions associated with per capita income figures, we find that a family of four on the North Slope earns an average of 41 percent less than what it costs a family of four in Anchorage to live on the federally-calculated intermediate budget of $22,450. 7 A similar computation comparing North Slope and the United States median per capita incomes in 1976 (adjusted for the cost of living) yields $1,608 per North Slope Resident versus $6,396 per U.S. resident, respectively. Mississippi had the lowest median per capita income of any state in the nation in 1976, but each resident received on the average $4,538 as opposed to $1,608 for North Slope residents. Clearly then, North Slope incomes have not begun to be large enough to support a "mainstream American lifestyle."

16

Economic Importance of Subsistence Products According to our respondents, subsistence foods constitute a large proportion of

all food consumed on the North Slope (Table 2). Their responses show that 45 percent of North Slope households obtain half or more of their food from subsistence activities. The question, as asked, provides only a crude indication of subsistence food consumption. Our experience with response patterns suggests that the perceptions of those interviewed may more accurately reflect the proportion of meat which is provided by subsistence activities instead of the proportion of all food. One should keep in mind that the Inupiat diet con­tains a high percentage of animal proteins. 8 Therefore, the North Slope Inupiat diet is likely to contain a substantially larger proportion of meat than the diet of most other Americans.

Eighty-seven percent of the Inupiat households consume subsistence foods obtained by one or more household members. An additional 11 percent of the households, mostly including the elderly, were given subsistence foods. In sum, 98 percent of the Native house­holds on the North Slope consume subsistence foods and can be said to participate in the subsistence economy at least minimally.

As we have seen, the incomes of Barrow residents tend to be higher than the incomes of residents of the other North Slope villages. In proportional terms, at least, the data reported in Table 2 suggest that the economic importance of subsistence foods is signifi­cantly less in Barrow than it is in the other North Slope villages. This does not mean, how­ever, that fewer households in Barrow (in comparison with the other villages) consume large

Table 1

Per Capita Income by Region and Size of Place (percentages)

Cumulative North S lo~ea NANAa U~~er Yukon-Porcu~inea Per Capita Income Other All Other All Fort Other A ll

in 1976 Barrow Villages Villages Kotzebue V il lages V illages Yukon Villages Villages Fairbanksb

Under$ 500 4% 6% 5% 8% 11% 10% 4% 9% 7% 6% Under $1,500 8 24 16 23 40 33 27 33 31 8 Under $2,500 21 42 32 40 60 52 41 39 40 11 Under $3,500 35 59 47 47 76 64 . 59 67 64 17 Under $4,500 46 72 59 56 84 72 67 80 75 19 Under $5,500 51 82 67 69 87 80 72 85 80 23 Under $9,500 75 94 85 83 95 90 94 94 94 46 $9,500 + 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%

Median Per Capita Income in 1976 $5,004 $2,998 $3,745 $4,000 $1,947 $2,249 $2,507 $2,503 $2,504 $11,291

Households (152) (136) (288) (130) (184) (314) (49) (69) (118) (408)

aNative households only.

bResident population excluding military living on-base and persons living in instituhons such as prisons, hosp itals, .homes for the elderly and college dormitories.

Sources: ISER North Slope Survey, 1977; NANA Survey, 1978; ISER Upper Yukon-Porcupine Survey, 1977; ISER Fairbanks ·survey, 1976.

17

1' I

. ,

Table 2

Proportion of Food Obtained from Subsistence Activities: Barrow versus Other Village Households

Food Obtained from Other All Subsistence Activitiesa Barrow Villages Villages

Most 23% 37% 30% Half 18 12 15 Some 48 35 42 None 11 16 13

Total 100% 100% 100%

Respondentsb (154) (136) (290)

aThe question read, "How much of your own food would you say you and your family hunted, fished, or gathered for yourselves this year-all of it, most of it, about half of it, some of it, or not any of it?" The "all" and "most" categories were combined because we believe that most respondents who said "all" were not referring to their entire food consumption.

bunless otherwise noted, all tables in this report refer to Native resi­dents only.

Source: ISER North Slope Survey, 1977.

amounts of subsistence products. Indeed, interview results show that 41 percent of the households iri Barrow derive half or more of their food from subsistence. This percentage comprises approximately half of all households on the slope that get half or more of their foods from subsistence.

Turning now to our two comparison regions, NANA and Yukon-Porcupine, we find that the proportion of households obtaining "most" (see Table 3) of their food from subsistence activities does not vary greatly among the three regions. The proportion of households obtaining half or more of their food from subsistence is, however, significantly lower oh the North Slope: 45 percent versus 59 percent in the NANA region and 55 percent in the Upper Yukon-Porcupine region.

To summarize our discussion thus far: the incomes of most Inupiat households have increased since 1970, and they tend to be higher than personal incomes in the two rural regions, NANA and Yukon-Porcupine, which have experienced slower rates of economic growth. In addition, the incomes of Barrow residents are generally higher than those of other Native village residents on the North Slope. Comparisons of the reported proportions of food derived from subsistence in the three study regions and between Barrow and the other North Slope villages show that higher average incomes coincide with somewhat lower levels of consumption of subsistence products. It is important to bear in mind, however, that this is a relative comparison. Inupiat incomes are still among the lowest in the nation. Inupiat household incomes would have to quadruple before they could in themselves support the way of life followed by most Americans.

18

Why are Inupiat household incomes still so low? One possible explanation is that incomes are low by choice. That is, the Inupiat may prefer subsistence products to commer­cial products and therefore choose to limit their wage employment activities and to spend more time on subsistence. If true, this explanation suggests that subsistence is economically important to the Inupiat out of choice, not due to a lack of alternative sources of susten­ance. Our analysis of labor force participation rates in a comparison monograph does show that Inupiat men spent significantly less time working for wages than men nationally.9 Providing that jobs were available, most men could choose to spend more time working for wages and thus increase their incomes.

While the North Slope Borough and Native corporations have showed marked success in expanding local employment opportunities, there are several reasons why Inupiat men could not collectively increase their wage employment activity enough to provide incomes capable of supporting a moderate standard of living. First, 70 percent of all working men held jobs related to construction activities. Most of these jobs involved outdoor work, so employment opportunities were limited in the winter months. Second, construction projects were not smoothly paced, particularly outside of Barrow. As a result, there were employ­ment bonanzas followed by fallow periods.

The most important constraint on the level of wage-employment activity, however, was the fact that the dramatic growth in employment opportunities was matched by a growth in the number of people looking for jobs. During the 1950s the birth rate on the North Slope grew as health conditions improved. By 1960, more than 40 percent of the North Slope Inupiat were under 11 years old. By the 1970s, these children were reaching working age. The Borough averted an economic disaster by successfully converting tax revenues into jobs;

Table 3

Proportion of Food Obtained from Subsistence Activities, by Region

Proportion of Upper Food Obtained from North Yukon-Subsistence Activities3 Slope NANA Porcupine Fairbanksb

Most 30% 35% 27% 2% Half 15 24 28 5 Some 42 35 24 40 None 13 6 21 53

Tota l 100% 100% 100% 100%

Respondentsb (290) (316) (129) (408)

aouestion wording appears on Tab le 2.

b1ncluding both Native and non-Native residents.

Sources: ISER North Slope Survey, 1977; NANA Survey, 1978; ISER Upper Yukon-Porcupine Survey, 1977; ISER Fairbanks Sur­vey, 1976.

19

I

it did not, however, produce employment opportunities on a scale that could both absorb new workers and permit a substantial rise in the average time spent working for wages. 10

Our survey respondents clearly documented the existing economic importance of subsistence products. Compared to Fairbanks residents, who themselves are among the most active consumers of wildlife in the nation, the North Slope Inupiat show a far greater consumption of subsistence products.

We do not suggest that the economic importance of subsistence products on the North Slope is the same as it was 100 or even 10 years ago. To the contrary, one researcher reported a decrease in the early 1950s, and our own comparisons with data collected in 1973 suggest that the decline has continued.11 However, we can conclude that subsistence activities are still a significant element of the North Slope economy. Wage employment opportunities are still not great enough to provide the sole economic base on the North Slope. The economic value of subsistence products, added to median household income, would appear to enable most North Slope households to lead a moderate lifestyle. Without these subsistence products, the average living standard of the North Slope Inupiat would drop far below that of the vast majority of Americans. 12

ENDNOTES

Chapter Three

lBarry Lopez, Harper's Magazine, September 1977, p. 31. , 2Regina Frankenberg, New York Times, 21October,1977, p. 30. 3Dr. Roger Payne, New York Times, 29 September, 1977, section IV, p. 15. 4In general, the rate of inflation in rural Alaska is probably somewhat lower than that of Anchorage due to improvements in transportation and other structural changes in the rural economy. During this intense period of economic activity on the North Slope, however, we believe high demands for goods and services accelerated the rate of inflation. On balance, we think the Anchorage rate of inflation is reasonably close to the actual rate of inflation on the North Slope between 1970 and 1977. 5John A. Kruse, Fairbanks Community Survey (Fairbanks: University of Alaska, Institute of Social and Economic Research, MAP Working Paper, 1977); John A. Kruse, Fairbanks Petrochemical Study (Fairbanks North Star Borough, Information Center, Special Report No. 1, 1978). 6Michael Scott and Linda Leask, "Prices and Incomes- Alaska and the U.S.," Alaska Review of Social and Economic Conditions 15,3 (December 1978). 7we have used per capita income figures in our comparisons because North Slope households generally support more members than Fairbanks households (4.7 versus 2.9, respectively). However, the per capita cost of supporting a larger household may be less than that for a smaller household, since some costs are fixed regardless of household size and since additional members are likely to be small children who may not consume as much as other household members. Two further potential complications in comparing North Slope incomes with Fairbanks incomes are that medical care on the North Slope is provided free to Native residents and housing costs are subsidized.

To address all of the above points, we compared the median 1977 North Slope family income with the income estimated by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) to be required to support an intermed­iate budget for a family of four. We subtracted $1,568 from the Anchorage budget amount reflecting BLS's estimate for average annual costs of medical care. We also estimated shelter costs at 10 cents per square foot per month in the North Slope and 27 cents per square foot per month in Anchorage although Anchorage housing units were, on average, twice as large as North Slope housing units. Assuming shelter costs to consume 25 percent of a total family budget, we adjusted the inter-regional cost of living comparisons used in the per capita income comparisons and conservatively assumed that the cost of living on the North Slope is only 26 percent higher than in Anchorage.

20

The North Slope median family income of $16,651 in 1977 expressed as an Anchorage equivalent under the above assumptions is $13,215. This can be compared to the BLS intermediate budget figure, minus medical costs, of $22,450. Thus, North Slope family incomes average at least 41 percent Jess than the estimated income required to support a family of four on an intermediate budget, and the North Slope figure is based on an average household size of 4. 7, not 4. 8Fred Milan, "A Broad View of Health and Nutrition as They Relate to Subsistence and Changing Life­styles: An Example from Arctic Coastal Alaska," presented in proceedings of the seminar series, The Subsistence Lifestyle in Alaska Now and in the Future, University of Alaska, School of Agriculture and Land Resources Management, March 1979. 9Judith Kleinfeld, et al, Different Paths of Eskimo Men and Women . . . , 1981. lOJohn Kruse , et al., Energy Development and the North Slope Inupiat: .. . , 1980, pp. 33-35. llu.s. Department of Interior, 2(c) Report: Federal Programs and Alaska Natives, Task III, Part B, Section 1, Table 2A-6, 1974. 12The average North Slope family income, adjusted for cost-of-living differences, is somewhat Jess than that estimated by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics to be required to support a family of four on the lowest of three budget categories. If adjusted for the larger average household size on the North Slope, the average household income would be substantially lower than the low BLS budget category. Seventy-five percent of the U.S. urban households receive incomes above the BLS budget figure. Sources: U.S. Bureau of the Census, Current Population Reports, Consumer Income Series P-60, No. 118, March 1979 and U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics cited in Fairbanks North Star Borough Community Information Center Quarterly, Vol III, No. 2, (Summer 1980).

21

CHAPTER 4 INUPIAT INTEREST IN SUBSISTENCE

Our second research question concerns noneconomic motivations for engaging in subsistence activities-"interest" as opposed to the economic need . · Interest, however, is difficult to measure because we have already seen that subsistence activities continue to have an important economic value. However, we have also presented data that suggests increased wage employment opportunities on the North Slope have reduced the aggregate amount of subsistence activity in the region. In addition, some Inupiat households have incomes that are moderately high. There is thus some latitude for choice concerning the variety of activities pursued and the number of months during the year in which some subsistence activity occurs. In this chapter, we present measures which we believe reflect the amount of interest in subsistence, and we use these to make comparisons among groups thought more likely to be less interested in subsistence, ahd groups for whom subsistence activities are more of a choice than a necessity.

Many people assume that the foupiat would prefer the cash wages from regular em­ployment to the products of subsistence. Such cash wages could undeniably be used to expand the individual's range of choice among the possible types of food, clothing, shelter, and transportation that, taken together, define his or her lifestyle. Thus, over the long term, most researchers expect to observe a decline in interest for traditional values in which subsistence .plays a basic part. David Damas observed that the Central Eskimo in Canada since 1950 have appeared to follow this trend :

In general the youth embraces the exciting new quasi-urban existence and dissociates itself from traditional culture including traditional alliance mechanisms and probably to some extent traditional kinship obligations, though this possible trend needs more careful study in the centralized commun­ities of today.1

James Van Stone, writing about Point Hope in the mid-1950s, noted a similar trend:

Older men do not seem to understand younger ones nor is there any common ground for under­standing. Today, the values and standards of young men are at least partly based on their exper­iences outside the village while other people are oriented toward traditional village activities. No longer are men growing up to carry out the same activities and live the same kind of lives as their fathers. This is also true to a lesser extent of young women. 2

Ten years later, five researchers in Point Hope repeated the view that young men were either unsure about or uninterested in the traditional way of life. 3 Richard Nelson, writing about hunting patterns in Wainwright in · the late 1960s, pointed fa particular to the influence of attending high school outside the village. A male student attending an outside high school would "never [acquire] a system of values which would make him want or need to hunt, nor the intricate behavior that would enable him to hunt effect­ively. "4 Nelson's comments echo Van Stone's:

It therefore seems likely that as. more young people leave the village to complete their education and become more oriented toward a money economy, they will become correspondingly disoriented from village subsistence activities and will seek economic opportunities away from the village. 5

The recently released Beaufort Sea Federal/State Oil and Gas Lease Sale Environ­mental Impact Statement projected that,

23

The expected lifestyle impact from the proposal will be the acceleration of the present changes toward western values and reduction, in an unknown degree, of subsistence food gathering related life-style values. 6

Not ?-ll of the research on Eskimo adaptatious suggests that interest in subsistence is declining, however. In her work with the Baffin Island Inuit, Ann McElroy noted that, "young men spend a great deal of time hunting and fishing, while young women are less involved in subsistence activities. ,,7 Overall, the lack of firm, consistent documentation led Roy Bowles to conclude in his review of the literature on social impact assessment in small Canadian communities that,

Longer-term effects of the ecological impacts of development and increased population pressure and the possible loss of skills and interest by the next generation of potential hunters must await further research documentation. 8

Fortunately, we do not have to wait for the next generation of North Slope Inu­piat to reach adulthood to test the hypothesis that interest in subsistence will decline as residents are exposed to western products and activities. Today over 60 percent of all lnupiat men who are under 55 years old currently living on the North Slope have lived for at least 3 months outside the North Slope. One out of every five men in the 35-to-44-year age bracket attended an outside high school. The proportion rose to one out of every three men in the 25-to-34-year age bracket. A growing proportion of Inupiat women have lived and studied outside of the North Slope as well. Over 80 percent of lnupiat women have lived at least 3 months outside the North Slope. Women's outside educational exper­iences parallel those of men.

Men between 25 and 54 each averaged over 6 months in wage work between October 1976 and September 1977. Comparisons of the 1976-77 data with 1960 and 1970 census data suggest that men have actively participated in the wage employment sector for at least , 20 years. Furthermore, we noted above that wage work opportunities came as early as the late nineteenth century and included a period of intense activity associated with oil explor­ation in the 1940s. Clearly, wage employment is not new to lnupiat men.

Women have entered the labor force more recently than m~n. The average months worked between October 1976 and September 1977 ranges from 3.9 for women 45-54 to 5.7 for women 25-34 years old. Again, however, although they have recently entered the work force, a substantial proportion have experienced wage work alternatives to subsistence activities.

Living experiences outside the North Slope and wage employment activities may change Inupiat values and raise expectations, but the North Slope Inupiat will require a permanent increase in income if they are to decrease dependence on subsistence activ­ities. The question is, however, do they want to reduce these activities? A growing number of North Slope households are receiving enough income to potentially reduce their subsist­ence effort. For example, twenty-two percent of Inupiat households received $30,000 or more in 1976, and 12 percent received at least $40,000. While the region's population as a whole is still poor, there are now enough households with moderately high incomes to tell us if the Inupiat tend to maintain an interest in subsistence activities despite their exposure to western values, expectations, and · resources. The remaining portion of this section docu­ments the current level of interest in subsistence activities and correlates this data with personal characteristics that are changing as a result of western influence. It does this by :

24

• Examining overall participation rates in subsistence activities. (If western values and goods do in fact tend to reduce interest in subsistence, we would expect to see a moderate portion of the population now engaging in little or no subsist­ence activities by substituting purchased goods for subsistence products or by letting other household members pursue subsistence activities.)

• Examining differences in subsistence activities across age groups. (Because young people have been exposed to more western influences than their elders, we would expect to find lower levels of subsistence activities among them.)

• Examining relationships between subsistence activity patterns and several per­sonal characteristics thought by some to reduce interest in subsistence activities.

• Analyzing whether Inupiat households receiving moderately high incomes tend to participate less in subsistence activities.

Measures of Interest in Subsistence In Chapter Two we discussed the economic value of subsistence in terms of house­

holds. Since we now want to focus on interest in subsistence activities, we turn to the individual. Our measures of interest in subsistence are based on the assumption that while the economic value of subsistence products is high in most Inupiat households, a significant number of individuals within these households could choose to reduce their subsistence activity. That is, if subsistence activity is strictly a result of its economic value, then those not interested in subsistence would tend to depend on other adults in the household for subsistence products and reduce their own subsistence activities.

An individual's overall participation rate in subsistence is one measure we believe reflects interest. Another measure of interest is the variety of subsistence activities an individual engages in; in other words, the larger the variety, the more the interest. Our final measure of interest in subsistence is the number of months during which some time was spent on subsistence activities. Our measure does not include a count of months spent mostly on subsistence since we believe that would be more a measure of economic value.

We recognize that interest and economic value are closely intertwined and doubt­less are reflected in some degree in each of our measures of subsistence activity. The mea­sures we use in this chapter to analyze Inupiat interest in subsistence activities are in no way intended to be absolute; rather, they are useful only insofar as they indicate relative interest . among the groups that we compare in our analysis. If we find that (1) a large proportion of Inupiat engage in subsistence activities and that (2) the groups thought to be less interested in subsistence or less economically dependent on subsistence products nevertheless pursue as wide a variety of subsistence activities and engage in subsistence activities during as many months of the year as other groups, then we would conclude that there are noneconomic benefits generating continuing interest in subsistence. We now turn to our research findings.

Current Levels of Subsist~nce Activity About 70 percent of all Inupiat adults on the North Slope engaged in one or more

subsistence activities during the twelve-month period, from September 1976 to Octo­ber 1977. If we were to include many activities that are related to subsistence-such as cl,ltting, preparing and storing foods, and repairing equipment-the overall rate of participa­tion in subsistence would undoubtedly be higher. We have seen that many Inupiat house-

25

. 'I

i I I,

1

j,

holds, because of low incomes, rely heavily on subsistence foods. We have also noted, however, that the North Slope economy is a mixture of subsistence and income-producing activities. If individual interest in subsistence activities has substantially declined, we would expect to observe a proportionate decrease in the numbers of lnupiat engaging in such activities. Other household or extended family members could provide the required subsist­ence foods while the person less interested in subsistence focussed his or her efforts on wage employment opportunities. Instead, we find a larger segment of the adult population pursuing one or more subsistence activities (70 percent) than worked for wages during the same period (64 percent). Four subsistence activities involved a third or more of the adult population (see Figure 4).

SUBSISTENCE ACTIV IT IES SUBSISTENCE PARTICIPATION

Caribou huntinga

Fishing

Helping Whaling Crewsb

Spring Whaling Crewb Hunting Waterfowl,

Gathering Eggsb

Hunting Seal or Ugrukb

Sewing Skins, Parkas, Kamiks

Hunting WalrusC

Hunting Moose or Sheepd

Picking Berries

Making Sleds or Boats

Trapping Making Masks or Baskets,

Carving

Fall Whaling Crewe .. .l _l_

10 20

a Applies only before caribou regulations were enacted .

J_

30 Percent

bAnaktuvuk excluded in calculation of regional percentages.

CAnaktuvuk, Kaktovik excluded in ca lculation of regiona l percentages.

dBarrow, Wainwr.ight excluded in calculation of regional percentages.

...l

40

RESPONDENTS

...l 50 .

(287)

(287)

(259)

(259)

(260)

(259)

(285)

(238)

(126)

(287)

(287)

(287)

(287)

(125)

eAnaktuvuk, Nuiqsut, Wainwright, Point Hope excluded in calculation of regional percentages.

Source: ISER North Slope Survey, Os 13, 17.

Figure 4. Graph of Subsistence Participation.

Thus, the comparisons of Barrow with smaller villages (Table 4) and the North Slope to the NANA region (Table 5) both suggest that interest in subsistence continues to be high even in areas with relatively greater wage employment opportunities.

26

Table 4

Measures of North Slope Subsistence Ac~i vity: Barrow versus Other Villages

Barrow Other V illages All V illages

No. of Montlls Some Time Spent on Subsistence 0 1,2 3,4 . 5·8' 9-12

28% 18% 23% 34 12 18 31 15 21

Number of Subsistence Activit ies

14% 24 19

17% 12 14

Tota l

100% 100% 100%

0 1,2 3,4 5+ Total Meanb

Barrow Other Vi llages A ll V illages

28% 34 31

Mean (excluding residents spending no time on subsistence)

Barrow 5.4 Other V il lages 5.5 A ll Vi llages 5.4

31% 17 25

22% 17 20

19% 32 25

100% 100% 100%

aANOV A, F=0.42, p(ns).

bANOVA, F=3.90, p < .05.

2.3 2.9 2.6

Source: ISER North Slope Survey, 1977.

Are Young Inupiat Less Interested in Subsistence?

Meana

3.9 3.6 3.8

_As we observed at the beginning of this section, researchers have commented on · the apparent waning interest in subsistence activities among the young since 1950. As 32 years have now passed, some of these "young" Inupiat may now be 50 years old and older. Since the conditions expected to reduce interest in subsistence have been accumu­lating, we would expect to see a consistent decline in interest as we proceed from older to younger Inupiat residents. However, among North Slope Inupiat men, we find no significant differences in the average number of subsistence activities across our five age groups (Table 6). The only suggestion of change in activity patterns is that the physical aging process itself may interfere with some subsistence activities (and this has likely always been true). Neither the NANA results nor the Upper Yukon-Porcupine results reported in Table 6 suggest a decrease in interest among younger men.

Turning to our measure of the number of months in which some time is spent on ~ubsistence activities, again we see no evidence of declining interest in subsistence among North Slope men (Table 7). In the NANA region, however, the subsistence measure reported in Table 7 varies significantly by age. The months in which some time is spent on subsist­ence does not consistently increase or decrease with age; rather, men in the 25-to-34-year age group are relatively less active than either younger or older i:nen. Therefore, the NANA results do not confirm or reject the hypothesis that young men are less interested in subsist­ence. The results do serve to caution against accepting that no generational changes in interest have occurred.

While we have no evidence that young North Slope men are less interested in sub­sistence activities than their · elders, the comparable data· for Inupiat women suggest that their interest in subsistence may be declining · (Table 8) . The youngest age group, 18 to 24,

27

I' i· I

I

1;· i·

'I I'' Ii ., I 11!

''i 1:1;

I

'.j

J!

I ,I

:I .

Table 5

Measures of Subsistence Activity, by Region

Number of Months Upper Some Time Spent North Yukon· on Subsistence Slope NANA Porcupine

0 31% 27% 1,2 15 18 ~ "" J 3,4 21 20 5-8 19 23 vailable

9-12 14 12

Total 100% 100%

Mean 3.8 3.8

Respondents (290) (318)

Table 6

Average Number of Male Subsistence Activities, by Age and Region

Upper North Yukon·

Age Slope NANA Porcupina8

18-24 3.7 4.2 7.4 25-34 3.5 3.8 7.3 35-44 3.6 6.0 7.5 45.54 3.2 4.6 8.4 55+ 2.2 2.8 4.5

Overall Mean 3.3b 4.1c 7.1d

Respondents (156) (116) (123)

aThe age categories differ for the Upper Yukon-Porcupine sample only. They are : 20·29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59, 60 and over.1

bANOVA, F=1.50, p(ns), ETA=.201

CANOVA, F=3.18, p < .05, ETA=.32;

dANOVA, F=0.92, p(ns) , ETA=.19;

Sources: ISER North Slope Survey , 1977; NANA Survey , 1978; ISEfl Upper Yukon-Porcupine Survey, 1977.1

Table 7

Average Number of Months that Men Spent Partly on Subsistence, by Age and Region

North Slope NANA Some Some

Age Time Time

18-24 4.9 5.4 25-34 4.2 3.8 35-44 4.1 6.2 45.59 2.9 4.9 55+ 2.7 3.1

Overall Mean 4.1 8 4.3b

Respondents (156) (116)

8ANOVA, F=1.84, p(ns), ETA=.22

bANOVA, F=2.93, p ( .05, ETA=.31

Upper

Yukon· Porcupine

[NIA J

Sources: ISER North Slope Survey, 1977 ; NANA Survey , 1978.

Table 8

Average Measures of Subsistence Interest Among North Slope Women, by Age

Age

18-24 25-34 35.44 45.54 55+

Average No. of Subsistence Activities

1.4 2.0 1.9 2.2 1.3

Overall Mean 1.Ba

Respondents ( 131)

aANOVA, F=. 77, p(ns), ETA=.15

bANOVA, F=.39, p(ns), ETA=.11

Source: ISER North Slope Survey, 1977.

Average No. of Months Some Time Spent

2.6 3.3 4.0 3.7 3.3

3.3b

(131)

tends to engage in fewer subsistence activities during fewer months of the year than all other women except those over 54 years old. Unfortunately, neither the NANA or Upper Yukon­Porcupine surveys included a large enough sample of women to test for differences in subsistence activity across age groups.

It is clearly still too early to conclude whether women's interest in subsistence is waning. It may serve future research efforts, however, to speculate on why men and women's interests in subsistence may be diverging.

28

Most men appear to prefer the short-term construction jobs associated with village building projects. Although mostly unskilled labor, these jobs pay well and can easily be abandoned for other activities. The only rewards of such jobs would appear to be the pay and time flexibility . On the other hand, hunting and fishing activities traqitionally test a man's skills, perseverance, and tolerance of discomfort. Although such activities are becom­ing somewhat easier with western technology, they continue to offer one the chance to develop skills, be in charge, and to get out of the community. In sum, subsistence activities seem to offer to men personal benefits not found in wage employment.

In contrast to men, women have shown a greatly expanded interest in wage employ­ment. 9 In 1970, 23 percent of Inupiat women were counted by the U.S. Census Bureau as being in the labor force. By 1977, the proportion of women in the labor force had more than doubled to 53 percent. Women have also shifted occupations toward higher-skilled white-collar positions. New employment opportunities have been attracting Inupiat women. While new technology has increased hunting effectiveness and mobility for men, women's subsistence activities such as sewing skins and preparing subsistence food remain relatively difficult and unchanged. It may also be that young women are starting to focus on activities that lead to better jobs, rather than spending the time necessary to learn traditional subsist­ence skills. However, the fact that even young Inupiat women continue to show a significant interest in traditional subsistence activities may mean that the women will be slow to completely abandon such activities.

Personal Characteristics and Subsistence Activity We have already seen that young men are apparently no less interested in subsist­

ence than middle-aged or older men. Assuming that younger men have been exposed to relatively more western influe·nces, and this seem~ likely, the results suggest that such influences have not reduced interest in subsistence. We can also directly test the associ­ation between some sources of western influence and subsistence interest.

One of the specific factors expected to reduce interest in subsistence is outside school­ing. Our data suggests the reverse may be true for men who have attended schools in other regions and have returned to live on the North Slope (Table 9). Men with such outside schooling actually engage in more subsistence activities during more months of the year, on the average, than men who have not been educated outside the region. The same trend holds for outside living experiences in general and for years of education, although the trend is not significant for either of these personal characteristics. It appears, then, that men not only remain interested in subsistence activities despite an exposure to western influences, but they tend to be even more interested in subsistence than. those who remained at home.

This is a surprising and significant finding. Research on modernization suggests that years of education, in particular, is related to a shift in attitudes toward new productive activities and consumption patterns.10 Why do the North Slope results suggest the oppo- · site? First of all, our findings actually do not contradict the general pattern of change, since increased years of education is related to increased labor force participation. Men receiving more education are relatively more active in wage employment. 11

Men who chose to return to the North Slope following their education may differ from the men who continued to live outside the North Slope. Part of the motivation for returning may have been a wish to resume subsistence activities and thereby reaffirm a cultural identity challenged by education and outside living experiences. Since our data suggests that most men living for a time outside the North Slope have returned, this theory

29

, .. {

I,

t I i:. " /'ii '/ on the need to re-establish cultural ties through increased subsistence activities would have

to apply to the vast majority of men who have lived outside the North Slope.

While we have no reason to discount the idea that western influences strengthen rather than weaken motivations to pursue subsistence activities, we suspect that the ex­planation has more to do with the fact that the North Slope Inupiat currently need not choose between wage employment and subsistence activities. As we will show in the next section of the report, most Inupiat men actively pursue both types of activities. This brings us back to the positive relationships between subsistence activities and (1) wage-employ~

ment activities, and (2) education and outside living experiences. Attaining an education and living outside certainly expose one to western influences. But these actions also show evidence of personal initiative. Inupiat men choosing to attend school or live outside the North Slope must exert extra effort to do so; it makes sense that in general they would tend to be among the more active or aggressive Inupiat men. If outside experiences and education do not reduce interest in subsistence, and since it is possible to pursue both wage and subsistence activities, we would expect that men who are generally more aggressive would also tend to be relatively more active in subsistence. All or none of the above explanations may be true, but this is certainly an area that deserves further study.

Table 9

Measures of Subsistence Interest Among North Slope Men, by Background Characteristics

Background Characteristics

Outside Schooling Yes No

Living Experience Outside North Slope

Yes No

Respondent's Education

13+ years 12 years

9-12 years 0-8 years

Respondents

Avg. No. of Subsistence

Activities

3.8a 2.7

3.4t: 2.9

4.oe 3.8 3.0 2.8

(157)

Avg. No. of Mos. in Wh ich Some Time was Spent on Subsistence

4.7b 3.5

3.7d 4.2

5.ot 4.4 3.9 3.7

(157)

aANOVA, F=6.15, p < .05, ETA=.19

bANOVA, F=4.66, p < .05, ETA=.17

c:ANOVA, F=1.27, p(ns). ETA=.09

dANOVA, F=0.69, p(ns), ETA=.07

eANOVA, F=1.01, p(ns). ETA=.19

fANOVA, F=1.01, p(ns), ETA=.14

Source: ISER North Slope Survey, 1977.

30

Just as we found that the age-group comparisons' of subsistence interest for men and women differ, we also see that the association of specific western influences with subsistence interest differs by sex (Table 10). Women who have had outside schooling tend to engage in subsistence activities during fewer months of the year than women who have not had the outside schooling. Table 10 shows no further significant relationships between subsistence activities and outside schooling, outside living experiences, or years of educa­tion. The relationship between years of education and time spent on subsistence would be consistent with findings for outside schooling if we could ignore the subsistence activities of women who continued their education beyond high school. Perhaps college or professional training has a qualitatively different effect on women's interest in subsistence than does high school. In any case, the number of women reporting 13 or more years of schooling is too small (17) to warrant serious consideration. The important point is that while the combined western influences of education and living experiences outside the North Slope have not reduced men's interest in subsistence activities, the same influences may have reduced women's interest.

Table 10

Measures of Subsistence Interest Among North Slope Women, by Background Characteristics

Background Characteristics

Outside .Schooling Yes No

Living Experience Outside North Slope

Yes No

Respondent's Education

13+ years 12 years

9-11 years 0-8 years

Respondents

Avg. No. of Subsistence Activities

1.8c 1. 7

2.7e 1.6 1.6 1.7

(131)

Avg. No. of Mos. in Which Some Time was Spent on Subsistence

2.6b 4.1

3.od 3.8

4.ot 2.4 2.6 4.1

( 131)

aANOVA, F=0.08, p(ns), ETA=.02

bANOVA, F=4.45, p <.05, ETA=.18

CANOV A, F=0.03, p(ns), ETA=.01

dANOVA, F=1.19, p(ns), ETA=.10

eANOVA, F=1.33, p(ns), ETA=.17

fANO VA, F=1.46, p(ns), ETA=.18

Source : ISER North Slope Survey, 1977.

Household Income and Men's Subsistence Activities We have already shown that subsistence products are economically important to

31

l I I,

1,

------- -::--==~---!!!...~---·- ~· --::--::~~~~~---------------- =..=...,.,..._ -' · ~·-.. -- ----

most North Slope households. However, there is a small proportion of cases where the incomes received are high enough for the household members to reduce their use of subsist­

. ence products should they choose to.* Our question is whether men who live in house­holds with moderate incomes (by statewide standards) are less interested in subsistence than men who live in households which receive lower incomes.

Again we find evidence supporting the idea that interest in subsistence is not solely determined by economic conditions (Table 11). Men living on the North Slope and in the Upper Yukon-Porcupine region are actually likely to engage in a wider range of subsistence activities if they live in households receiving moderate incomes. The North Slope data also show that these men are also likely to engage in subsistence activities during more months of the year. These results may suggest a preference for diversifying subsistence harvests and/or experiences when possible. Although the NANA results are inconclusive, they do not show the same trend as that observed for the other two regions. Perhaps the difference in NANA is related to the type of employment men may have to take to earn a moderate income; if men have to take full-time employment or leave their village to find work, they simply may not be able to pursue subsistence activities. The NAN A results may also indicate that interest in subsistence does not remain high in every region as incomes increase.

Table 11

Average Number of Male Subsistence Activities and Average Number of Months During Which Men Spent Some Time on Subsistence, by Household Income and Region

Average Number of Subsistence Activities

Household North Income: 1976 Slope NANA

Under $5,000 2.6a 4.3b $5,000- $14,999 2.2 4.1 $15,000- $24,999 3.3 4.5 $25,000 and over 4.5 3.3

Respondents (158) (114)

aANOVA, F=5.59, p <.01, ETA=.31

bANOVA, F=0.49, p(ns), ETA=.11

CANOVA, F=3.69, p < .05, ETA=.30

dANOVA, F=6.80, p <.01 , ETA=.34

eANOVA, F=1.42, p(ns), ETA=.19

Upper Yukon­Porcupine

6.8c 6.1

10.0 11.3

(119)

Average Number of Months Some Time Spent on Subsistence

North Slope

3_3d 3.1 3.6 6 .0

(158)

NANA

4.9e 4.3 4 .9 3.0

(114)

Upper Yukon­Porcupine

[ Not J

Availab le

Sources: ISER North Slope Survey, 1977; NANA Survey, 1978; ISER Upper Yukon-Porcupine Survey, 1977.

*We should note, however, that men in lower-income households may depend on men in households receiving higher incomes. For example, whaling captains require $6,500 to operate a whaling crew which, if successful, provides food for dozens of households in addition to that of the whaling captain. In addition, an important source of traditional social prestige derives from giving subsistence products to others.

32

Further research is required to test . the validity of the above hypotheses. The po­tential conflict between subsistence and wage employment activity is, however, the topic addressed in the next section of our report. Before leaving the topic of lnupiat interest in subsistence, however, we should point out that our data suggest that young men are just as interested in subsistence as their elders; it does not, however, address the issue of the devel­opment and retention of subsistence skills. Perhaps the reason why young men who have lived outside the North Slope for significant portions of their lives can be as active in subsist­ence as other Inupiat men is that changes in subsistence technology may have lessened the importance of traditional subsistence skills. To quote Nelson:

Money is the transportation equalizer of today. A youth with the necessary cash can purchase trans­portation equal or superior to any adult. This freedom and independence from relying on older village men discourages the transfer of traditional environmental knowledge, skills and attitudes.12

Thus, if current sources of money were to disappear, young men might actually be­come less rather than more active in subsistence. That is, they might not be able to substi­tute skill for the technology they could not longer afford. For the moment, however, subsistence equipment is expensive but affordable for most Inupiat households. Under these conditions, our results clearly indicate that subsistence activities continue to offer perceived benefits to the young, the educated, and those that have lived in settings markedly different than the North Slope.

ENDNOTES

Chapter Four

lDavid Damas, "Social Anthropology of the Central Eskimo," Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthro­pology, 12:3, pp. 252-266. 2van Stone, Point Hope . . . , p. 88. 3Mark Buckley, Jim Borghorst, Jim McDougall, Sverre Pederson, and David Clever, Point Hope Project . Report (Fairbanks: University of Alaska, 1971). 4Richard K. Nelson, Hunters of the Northern Ice (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1969), p. 386. 5van Stone, Point Hope . .. , p. 190.

6u.s. Department of Interior, "Final Environmental Impact Statement," Proposed Federal/State Oil and Gas Lease Sale-Beaufort Sea, 1979, p. 254. 7 Ann McElroy, Alternatives in Modernization: Styles and Strategies in the Acculturative Behavior of Baffin Island Inuit (New Haven, CN: HRA Flex Books, ND5-001 Ethnography Series, Human Relations Area Files, Inc., 1977), Vol. III, p. 361. 8Roy T. Bowles, Social Impact Assessment in Small Canadian Communities (Peterborough, Ontario: Trent University, Department of Sociology, 1979), p. 123. 9Judith Kleinfeld, "Different Paths of Inupiat Men and Women in the Wage Economy," 18:1 Alaska Review of Social and Economic Conditions (May 1981). 10 Alex Inkeles, "Making Men Modern: on the Causes and Consequences of Individual Change in Six Devel­oping Countries" 75, The American Journal of Sociology (September 1969): 208-225. llKleinfeld, Different Paths of Eskimo Men and Women . . . , p. 26. 12Nelson, Hunters . .. , p. 111.

33

ii l

CHAPTER 5 IS THE TIME SPENT IN WAGE EMPLOYMENT REDUCING

THE TIME AVAILABLE FOR SUBSISTENCE?

Our discussion thus far has established that subsistence products continue to have eco­nomic value for the North Slope Inupiat and most prefer to base part of their lifestyle on subsistence activities. The desire to mix wage employment with subsistence pursuits is not new on the North Slope nor is it unique to the Inupiat.1 Whether or not a compatible mix of activities is possible is another issue. According to one Canadian researcher,

Substantial evidence indicates that households in many northern communities depend on occu­pational pluralism or a diversity of income sources (e.g., subsistence production, trapping, wage labor, and transfer payments). This pattern can be disrupted by a variety of factors : ecological changes which disrupt game supply, increasing dependence on cash flow and subsequent diversion of time from subsistence and traditional activities, and diversion of manpower from subsistence to wage labor.2

Past experience on the North Slope has shown that the time spent on wage employ­ment has not seriously conflicted with subsistence activities. Sonnenfeld's review of the conflict between jobs and subsistence during the oil exploration period of the 1940s con­cluded that high job turnover rates and seasonal variations in employment permitted most individuals to continue their subsistence activities. 3 Van Stone observed that Point Hope men who left their village in the 1950s for summer employment in Fairbanks were able to pursue most primary subsistence activities (sealing, caribou hunting, whaling) since they did not coincide with the construction season.4

However, both researchers pointed out that a change in employment patterns could create a conflict with subsistence activities. Sonnenfeld went on to note, "since the days of the whalers, wage labor, when it was available, generally took precedence over subsistence activities when the two conflicted." 5 The conflict between subsistence and wage employ­ment activities has been postponed historically by such technological changes as the intro­duction of the rifle which improved the chances of a successful hunt and of the snow machine which increased individual mobility;6 While the time necessary for subsistence has declined, however, the need for cash to buy subsistence equipment and supplies has in­creased. For example, our survey revealed that 30 percent of Inupiat households purchased a snow machine between October 1976 and September 1977. A typical machine delivered to the North Slope costs more than $2,500. Few last more than 3 years. In addition, annual fuel and maintenance costs often exceed $1,000.

Subsistence Time Patterns Current subsistence activity patterns reflect the dependency on time-saving sub­

sistence technology and the presence of employment opportunities. Sixty percent of our Inupiat respondents reported that they engaged in subsistence activities mostly on weekends or after work (Figure 5). Vacation and leave time accounted for another 7 percent of subsistence activities. Time patterns do vary by activity, however, so that approximately half of our respondents reported that spring whaling and trapping consumed most of their time during the months they engaged in the activity (Table 12). Whether or not there is a

35

l

Most of the Time

Total Number of Activities : 752

* The question read, "During the time when you were (each activity mentioned) did it take most of your time, was it something you did sometimes or on weekends or after work, or was it something you went on vaca­tion or leave to do?"

Figure 5. Pattern of Time Expenditure While Engaged in Subsistence Activities*

Table 12

Time Spent on Subsistence Activities

Time Pattern Most of Weekends, Vacation, No. Engaging

Subsistence Activity the Time After Work Leave Time in Activity

Spring Whaling Crew 54% 39 % 7% = 100% ( 93) Trapping 50 48 2 = 100 ( 37) Helping Whaling Crews 49 51 = 100 ( 96) Hunting Moose or Sheep 35 48 17 = 100 ( 21) Fishing 34 46 20 = 100 (109) Making Masks or Baskets,

Carving 31 69 = 100 ( 28) Hunting Waterfowl , Gathering

Eggs 30 60 10 = 100 ( 87) Hunting Seal or Ugruk 29 67 4 = 100 ( 72) Sewing Skins, Parkas, Kamiks 21 79 = 100 ( 54) Hunting Walrus 20 74 6 = 100 ( 48) Making Sleds or Boats 10 85 5 = 100 ( 44) Picking Berries 10 83 7 = 100 ( 55) Fall Whaling Crew 8 75 17 = 100 ( 8)

* The question read, "During the time when you were (each activity that was mentioned) did it take most of your time, was it something you did sometimes or on weekends or after work, or was it something you went on vacation or leave to do?"

Source: ISER North Slope Survey, 1977 : Q 14.

36

conflict between subsistence and employment activities can depend on where the employ­ment and seasonally available subsistence opportunities are located and on the amount of time consumed by each activity.

Relationships Between Subsistence and Wage Employment Activity Among Men Figure 6 traces the complex interrelationships between subsistence and wage em­

ployment activities among lnupiat men. At the start of our reporting period (October 1976), over half of our respondents reported no subsistence or wage employment activ­ity. In part, this apparent lack of productive activity may simply reflect the fact that the Borough's CIP program was not in full swing, and we did not collect monthly data on the primary seasonal subsistence activity, caribou hunting, since the state had severely restricted the harvest. Some respondents may also have been unable to recall specific activities that took place a year before the survey. Two months later (December) trapping activity in­creased, not at the expense of wage employment activity but rather reflecting a small net increase in the proportion of men engaged in productive activities.

... c fl .... Ql

0..

60

50

40

30

20

10

'

/ Employment, No Subsistence

I ,· ,.,....... ,......... ~·\' ___ .,,,. ..... ·,,,. ',. --~ -·

'·..., ,. '\Employment and Subsistence ,.... ,. ' I I . ,.. ' . .

,'I '·,/ ',, __ --.... No Employment or Subsistence .,...,, I• '

',_ - - - -' / ' Subsistence, No Employment

/·-.-· --·-· --_ .....

Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May June July Aug. Sept. 76 77

Source: ISER North Slope Survey, 1977.

Figure 6. Men's Employment and Subsistence Status, by Month.

Activity patterns during January, February, and March appear to show a slight in­crease in the proportion of men engaged in both wage employment and subsistence activi­ties, perhaps reflecting shorter hunting and trapping expeditions in the mid-winter months and thus less conflict between wage work and subsistence activities.

Preparatory activities for spring whaling as well as seal and walrus hunting brought a substantial proportion (18 percent) of men into subsistence activities in April. Here we find both an increase in the number of men concentrating on subsistence activities and in the number of men adding subsistence activities to the time being spent on wage employment. Whereas 50 percent of lnupiat men reported that they were engaged in pro·

37

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:1

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I 'I I

- - · -·----

ductive activities in January, by May the proportion was 76 percent. The most common pattern was to mix wage employment and subsistence activities, as, for example, one could do by living near town, shooting waterfowl, and commuting to work.

Following the spring peak in subsistence activities, Borough employment contin­ued to expand through September 1977. Excluding unreported caribou hunting, the two major subsistence activities were fishing and berry picking. Figure 6 shows some evidence of interrupted wage employment in August, much of which was likely to be vacation or leave time. The basic summer pattern, however, shows a rapid growth in the proportion of men concentrating on wage employment activities. Most of this employment involved 60-hour work weeks and high wages.

It is difficult to project how the subsistence/wage employment pattern would have differed if the expansion of job opportunities had occurred earlier. Because 30 percent of Inupiat men were able to hold jobs and engage in subsistence activities in May, it appears that spring and summer subsistence activities near the village and loosely structured wage employment opportunities in the village are generally compatible. If employmen_t opportun­ities were located away from the village or were more tightly structured, however, the resulting activity pattern might show more of a split between employment and subsistence activities.

The period of highest employment among lnupiat men occurred in September and did not appear to present serious conflicts with subsistence activities. However, caribou hunting activities were already constrained by state regulations. Had they not been, village-based employment might have presented more of a conflict. Finally, if male wage employment opportunities were extended into the winter months under tolerable physical conditions, perhaps the proportion of men not reporting any productive activities between October and March would have been much smaller. In sum, then, village-based employment probably has not seriously conflicted with the types of subsistence activities which occur in the spring, summer, and winter months. Even if the number of employment opportunities were greater during these periods, as long as jobs were structured similarly, wage employment-subsistence conflicts would not be great. We can be less sure about subsistence activities during the early fall, since they are likely to occur away from the village.

The results shown .in Figure 6 thus suggest that, much as Sonnenfeld and Van Stone observed in the 1940s and 1950s, for most men the particular wage employment and subsistence opportunities available during the period of our research were compatible. Table 13 shows other data supporting this conclusion. Between October 1976 and September 1977, 25 percent of lnupiat men, mostly elderly, did not work for wages. These men reported that they engaged in some form of subsistence activity during an average of 3.5 months of the year and spent most of their time on subsistence activities during an average of 2.8 months of the year.

Twenty-nine percent of Inupiat men worked between 1 and 4 months during the period between October 1976 to September 1977. Their reported level of subsistence activity did not significantly differ from that of men who did not work at all. Similarly, men in wage employment between 5 and 8 months a year clearly were no less active in subsist­ence; indeed, the data suggest that they may be more active, perhaps reflecting the benefits of add.itional income. Finally, 31 percent of lnupiat men reported working 9 months or more. Reported levels of subsistence activity for this group are not significantly different but may be somewhat lower than men working 5 to 8 months a year.

38

Tab le 13

Average Number of Months That Men Spent Part ly or Mostly on Subsistence, by Months Worked and Reg ion

North Sloee Months Spent Some Most Working for Wages Time Time

0 3.5a 2.85 1-4 4.0 2.4 5-8 5.4 3.8

9-12 4.0 2.2

Respondents (158) (158)

aANOVA, F=1.45, p(ns), ETA=-17

bANOVA, F=2.28, p < .1, ETA=-21

CANOVA, F=0.44, p(ns), ETA=.15

NANA Upper Yukon-Porcueine Some Most Most Time Time Time

4.1c 1.4d 1.6e 4.3 0.6 3. 0 5.7 2.1 3.7 4.2 0.8 2.7

(114) (114) (124)

dANOVA, F=1 .00, p(ns), ETA=.19

eANOVA, F=3.51, p < .05, ETA=.27

Sources: ISER North Slope Survey, 1977; NANA Survey, 1978; ISER Upper Yukon­Porcupine Survey, 1977.

What can we conclude from these results? First, 59 percent of all men who worked at all during the 12-month reporting period worked for 1 to 8 months. Within this large group, those who worked tended to report more, not less, subsistence activity. Thus, the most common current pattern of male employment apparently does not conflict with most subsistence activity. Other than the possible conflict brought about by an easing of restric­tions on caribou hunting, a continuation of this employment pattern is unlikely to reduce subsistence activity.

Second, over a third of all men who worked reported wage employment activities during 9 or more months. Should this pattern of employment become more common in the future, as it might if employment opportunities change from construction to main­tenance and operation occupations, we may find some reduction in subsistence activity since this new mode of wage work will require more of the Inupiat males' time. Evt:;n in this case, however, most men should find the time to continue most of their subsistence activi­ties.

Turning now to our comparison regions, we find a similar pattern among men in the NANA region for the number of months in which some time was spent on subsist­ence and for our only measure of subsistence activity in the Upper Yukon-Porcupine region (Table 13). The second NANA subsistence measure deviates somewhat from the pattern but still does not suggest that increased wage employment activity is generally associated with reduced subsistence activity. The employment-subsistence pattern of behavior on the North Slope may thus not depend strictly on the favorable employment conditions created by the North Slope Borough but may more generally apply to the mix of employment and subsist­ence opportunities in rural Alaska today.

Relationships Between Subsistence and Wage Employment Activities Among Women lnupiat women appear to have no more of a conflict between their wage employ- .

39

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..... c Q) (.) .... Q)

Cl.

ment and subsistence activities than men. The reasons why no serious conflict exists, how­ever, are somewhat different. First, a larger proportion of lnupiat women, particularly among the elderly, reported no wage employment activity ( 46 percent among women versus 25 percent among men) . Second, women who do work for wages are more likely than working men to hold jobs for 9 months or more (59 versus 41 percent). Finally, women's subsistence activities were more likely to occur in or near the ho.me. Thus, the time neces­sary to travel to the location of the subsistence activity is frequently zero. The technology used in women's subsistence activities · has not changed greatly so the time necessary to prepare and sew skins or to cut whale meat has not been substantially reduced. Those lnupiat women who work for wages report that they pursue subsistence activities mostly on weekends or in the evenings.

Figure 7 shows similar but less extreme shifts in the combination of wage employ­ment and subsistenc() activities for women than Figure 6 showed for men. The number of employment opportunities for women remained relatively high and stable through­out the 12-month period. Women with a desire to work and with the necessary skills gener­ally found employment. During the peak subsistence period of spring and fall, a significant proportion of women reporting no wage employment pursued subsistence activities, and women already in wage employment added subsistence activities to their schedule. As many women worked for wages in the peak subsistence month, May, as in February, the month of least subsistence activity.

50

40

30

20

10

/ -·-· - ·-· -·

.... .... .... - -- ...... _,

-·--·

r · - ·- . / '

' I ' ..... . .... . ·" /

' /

' / ' /

I

I

I

I i

No Employment or Subsistence

Employment No Subsistence

Subsistence No Employment

Employment and Subsistence

Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan. 77

Feb. Mar. Apr. May June July Aug. Sept. 76

Source: ISER North Slope Survey, 1977.

Figure 7 . Women's Employment and Subsistence Status, by Month.

40

The lack of conflict between wage employment and at least some casual subsist­ence activity is also shown in Table 14. Women who worked more (for wages) also showed some evidence (not significant, however) of more sµbsistence activity. This pattern is not reflected in the comparison of average number of months spent mostly on subsistence. If we take both subsistence measures together, the results at least suggest that the time conflict between women's wage employment and subsistence activities is currently not great. As we mentioned in our discussion of interest in subsistence, however, the personal benefits associated with wage employment may be becoming relatively more attractive to women. Thus, there may be a long-term shift in favor of wage employment activities due to changing, interests rather than due to conflicts between wage employment and subsistence activities.

Table 14

Average Number of Months That North Slope Women Spent Partly or Mostly on Subsistence,

by Months Worked

Avg. No. of Months Worked Months Some

for Wages Time Spent

0 1.4a 1-4 3.0 5-8 3.7 9-12 3.8

Respondents (132 )

aANOVA, F=1.61, p(ns), ETA=.19

bANOVA, F: 0.87, p(ns), ETA=.14

Source : ISER North Slope Survey, 1977.

ENDNOTES

Chapter Five

Avg. No. of Months Most Time Spent

1.3 0.4 0.5 1.0

(132)

lvan Stone, Point Hope ... , p. 145; and Ignatius LaRusic as quoted in Bowles, Social Impact A ssess­ment . . . , p. 132, 133. 2Bowles, Social Impact Assessment . .. , p. 120. 3sonnenfeld, Changes in Subsistence . .. , p. 545. 4van Stone, Point Hope . .. , pp. 30-35. 5sonnenfeld, Changes in Subsistence . .. , p. 539. 6Nelson, Hunters . .. , pp. 131, 384.

41

I !

I , I I , I

CHAPTER 6 ARE SUBSISTENCE ACTIVITIES STILL TIED

TO INUPIAT SOCIAL WELL-BEING?

The traditional tie between subsistence activities and social relationships is well know!( and understood. George Dalton could have been referring specifically to traditional North Slope Inupiat society when he wrote,

Material insecurity in the sense of uncertain food supply, together with the absence of alterna­tive sources of livelihood-extreme dependence on one's local community for subsistence-char­acterize most traditional economies.1

Robert Spencer did write about the traditional links between economic needs and social relationships among the North Slope Inupiat. 2 He observed that the primary goal of the Inupiat social structure was to extend and ensure cooperation to reduce individual risk. Some of the specific social relationships and norms that fit this goal were hunting partner­ships, food sharing between households, community instruction of young men, and an association between personal generosity and social status. Whaling captains were not simply the most effective hunters, the best leaders, or the wealthiest members of the community. The respect accorded them also depended on their distributing significant amounts of food among both kin and non-kin. 3

Relationships between the subsistence economy and the structure of Inupiat society changed as the outside forces of change (discussed in our introduction) exerted their influ­ence. New technology reduced the risk of coming home empty-handed. The attachment of commercial values to subsistence products conflicted with traditional social incentives to share. A new religion visibly replaced the old one, and with the old religion went the cere­monial houses in which young men had learned such things as hunting techniques and ice conditions.4 According to Van Stone, .

Ceremonies celebrating the first killing of various types of animals have been reduced to the point where they no longer have meaning from the standpoint of the whole community . . .. Whether or not this ritual loss is significant, the fact remains that a force binding the commun­ity together and stressing the interdependence of its members has been weakened. 5

Such changes observed by Van Stone and other researchers are not unique to the North Slope. Steward noted that, "The transition from the traditional to the modern­ized has entailed conflict between the many earlier patterns of cooperation and sharing and the recent goals of maximizing individual profit." 6 Tom Garrett, former deputy commissioner to the International Whaling Commission, has argued that this transition has resulted in the "dissolution of Eskimo culture," and therefore it is no longer neces­sary to assume that subsistence activities should be protected. 7

As we have previously shown, Garrett is clearly wrong from an economic point of view. Subsistence activities continue to provide food that cannot be replaced with available cash resources. Our question here, however, is whether subsistence activities play a social role. We began this section by citing researchers' descriptions· of how the traditional Inupiat social structure supported the traditional economy and how the supporting roles of many ele­ments of the social structure were replaced or reduced in importance. However, some elements of the traditional structure have remained, in modified form, and continue to

43

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i·

support the subsistence economy. For example, a successful whale hunt still requires a crew and many additional people to land a whale and to cut and transport its meat back to the village. Most of this meat is distributed to the families of crew members and to the commun­ity at large, both immediately after the whale is caught and during Nulukutuk, the spring whaling festival.

The traditional functions of collective effort and of sharing subsistence products may also have assumed new roles as is often the case in societies influenced by western culture. 8 These elements of Inupiat society evolved to support its economy, but they may now also be the glue that keeps Inupiat society from fragmenting. Charles Browe.r, who came to Barrow in 1883 and spent most of the rest of his life there, found that spring whaling was often the only antidote to a severe community drinking problem. 9 More recently, five researchers in Point Hope observed,

As the Tigearaqmiut becomes more and more integrated into our western culture, subsistence hunting will take on less economic importance. However, as the need for participating in sub­sistence hunting activities for the sake of food diminishes, subsistence hunting activities will become more and more important as a social binding force.10

Do we have any indications that subsistence activities are a socially binding force? To be such a force, activities must generate social interactions which make people in­terdependent. Whaling, above all other subsistence activities on the North Slope appears to foster interdependence, and we find that 46 percent of Inupiat adults living in whaling communities either served as ·whaling crew members or as cooks, meat cutters, transporters, or as providers of equipment and supplies. Thus, almost half the adult population was involved in social interactions stemming from whaling activities.

Another indication that subsistence activities serve as a socially binding force are that 77 percent of Inupiat households receive subsistence food from other households, and 64 percent of Inupiat hou.seholds gave, sold, or traded subsistence foods. Almost half the households gave or lent either money or equipment for subsistence activities. Sharing patterns connect households within villages, connect villages within the North Slope region, and connect the region to families and individuals living outside the North Slope. Finally, 81 percent of Inupiat men believed that their hunting activities, in addition to meeting their family's needs, provided a chance to get food for their community.

Subsistence activities are clearly not a panacea for the social stresses associated with rapid change. The rate of suicide and accidental death on the North Slope is four times the · national average, and alcohol abuse continues to be a serious problem. Our research did not test whether subsistence activities are directly related to reduced alcohol abuse or antisocial behavior. However, the research results presented in this paper do establish that the Inupiat continue to be interested in subsistence despite a reduced economic need for subsistence products and despite an exposure to alternative lifestyles. This suggests that subsistence activities provide more than material benefits to Inupiat society today.

Sensational national press accounts as well as a recent controversial research report depict the Inupiat society as one nearing complete destruction. 11 Our research does not support this view, but evidence of extreme social stress is not difficult to find. Roy Bowles, in his review of literature relevant to social impact assessment in small Canadian commun­ities, related a community's ability to cope with change to the concept of "social vital­ity." 12 According to Bowles, residents in a socially vital community share participation in collective events, work together organizing collective events, spontaneously provide services

44

and assistance to each other, and share in each other's joys and sorrows.13 Current subsist­ence activities on the North Slope, particularly whaling, appear to provide most of the opportunities that today's Inupiat need to maintain a viable social fabric . This view, how­ever, is yet to be supported by research. Of the many facets of subsistence that require further study, perhaps its social role is most critical.

ENDNOTES

Chapter Six

lnalton, Studies . . . , p. 11. 2Robert F. Spencer, The North American Eskimo: A Study in Ecology and Society (Washington, D.C. : Smithsonian Institution, Bureau of American Ethnology, Bulletin 171, Smithsonian Institution Press, 1969). 3Jbid., p. 153. 4van Stone, Point Hope . . . , p. 87. 5Jbid., p. 166. 6Julian H. Steward (ed.), Contemporary Change in Traditional Societies (Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press, 1967), Vol 1, p. 9. 7Tom Garrett as quoted in the Arctic Coastal Zone Management Newsletter, September 1977. 8steward, Contemporary Change .. . , p. 20. 9 ' Brower, Fifty Years . .. , p. 162. lOBuckley, Point Hope Project Report, p. 33. 11samuel Klausner, Edward Foulks, and Mark Moore, Social Change and the Alcohol Problem on the Alaska North Slope (Philadelphia, PA: Center for Research on the Acts of Man, 1980). 12Bowles, Social Impact Assessment . . . , pp. 61-68. 13Jbid., p. 63.

45