FOREWARD

This report is presented by Yupiktak Bista as a statement on subsistence issues in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Region.

Subsistence is often thought of as a certain kind of hunting and fishing where people go out not for the sport of it but to get something to eat. But subsistence is really much more. It is not an isolated thing that can be set out and looked at by itself. It is interwoven into every aspect of our lives.

Subsistence is directly related to and affected by everything that is happening within this region in the way of education, land use, economic development, wildlife management and other areas of public policy. Subsistence is really an entire way of life.

As changes and problems come to our subsistence way of living, they are dispersed through all areas of public planning, throughout the fabric of our lives and our region. So there is no one place that one can look and say, "Ah, this is where the problem lies. This is it. And here is a plan, a program to solve this problem."

Because this process of change in our subsistence way of life is everywhere, it sometimes seems to be nowhere at all. This report seeks to see where changes are taking place, what some of the problems are, what solutions there might be. To focus on the various aspects of subsistence and the public policy issues that relate to them, this report is presented in various areas of policy planning which are all important parts of a comprehensive planning process.

Within each chapter there is discussion of the problems and recommendations on specific public policy issues. The discussion and recommendations have been drawn from the comments, interviews, testimony, resolutions, and proposals of people living in the villages of this region. This report has been prepared by the Yupiktak Bista staff with the editing assistance of Art Davidson. Preparation and publication of this report have been supported by the State of Alaska, Department of Community and Regional Affairs and the Friends of the Earth Foundation.

Many people have made helpful comments and suggestions during the preparation and review of this report. Among those we wish to thank for their assistance are: The Village Council Presidents of this region, David Friday, Nelson Angapak, Susan Murphy, Peter Atchak, Andrew Chikoyak, Lewis Lively, Robert Schenkar, Harold Sparks, Roger Lang, John Shively, Esther Wunnicke, Dr. Lydia Selkregg, Dr. Charles Evans, Dr. Bradford Tuck, Dr. Victor Fischer, Jack Hessian, George Irvin, Richard Hensel, Cynthia Wentworth, Dr. Calvin Lensink, and Malcolm Roberts.

Harold Napoleon
Director, Yupiktak Bista
December, 1974

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