ANILCA: Helping to Preserve Alaska Native Culture

For thousands of years, Alaska Native people have lived with and on the land, relying on fish, wildlife and plant resources for their sustenance and basic needs. In 1980, when Congress passed the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA), it recognized the importance of protecting Alaska’s splendid natural ecosystems and landscapes, while preserving the opportunity for traditional ways of living on the land to continue. Congress acknowledged the exceptional and unique conditions of life in Alaska's rural areas in Title VIII of the Act, noting that:

“The Congress finds and declares that the continuation of the opportunity for subsistence uses by rural residents of Alaska, including both Natives and non-Natives, on the public lands and by Alaska Natives on Native lands is essential to Native physical, economic, traditional, and cultural existence …”

Federal law does not define the term “subsistence” directly, using only the phrase `subsistence uses,' and states:

Customary and traditional uses by rural Alaska residents of wild, renewable resources for direct personal or family consumption as food, shelter, fuel, clothing, tools or transportation; for the making and selling of handicraft articles out of non-edible by-products of fish and wildlife resources taken for personal or family consumption; for barter, or sharing for personal or family consumption; and for customary trade.

In this way, the landmark law that created many of Alaska's national park units confirms the strong connection between local residents and the land. However, the word, "subsistence," means more than just putting food on the table. It includes the identity, culture, customs, traditions, values and beliefs that define Alaska Native peoples. This subsistence lifeway is strongly rooted in a sense of place that endures over time through the passing of traditional knowledge from one generation to the next. It also involves the social and economic ties that bind families and communities together.

Subsistence, as codified in ANILCA, helps to sustain not only the physical, but the spiritual culture of Alaska Native peoples. Recognizing that this is an important tradition for many non-Natives as well, Congress established that local rural residents be given precedence for using fish or wildlife resources. This "rural preference" prioritizes subsistence uses over other uses, such as sport hunting and fishing.

Alaska Native culture is about much more than subsistence and ANILCA plays an important role in helping to affirm and perpetuate those cultural values. Today, traditional Native customs and ways of living still thrive in park areas throughout Alaska from the rainforests of Southeast to the tundra of the Arctic.

Learn more about the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA):

Showing results 1-10 of 10

    • Type: Article
    • Locations: Bering Land Bridge National Preserve, Gates Of The Arctic National Park & Preserve, Yukon - Charley Rivers National Preserve
    A pile of frozen northern pike from ice fishing.

    Customary and traditional harvests of wild resources provide for the nutritional, economic, spiritual, and cultural well-being of communities throughout Alaska. The National Park Service has the authority and responsibility to manage these uses on parklands. Comprehensive surveys reveal harvest and use patterns, providing information to maintain these critical resources and manage for the continuation of subsistence required under ANILCA. Alaska Park Science 21(1), 2022

    • Type: Article
    Spawning sockeye salmon.

    Subsistence harvest of salmon is vital to the way of life for many Alaska Native people. The monitoring and management of salmon is of utmost importance to ensure continued availability of this critical resource. A decline in salmon populations can create food insecurity in rural Alaska communities. Alaska Park Science 21(1), 2022.

    • Type: Article
    A fishwheel.

    ANILCA provides for subsistence use of Alaska’s wild resources. But the law is ambiguous and complex in its interpretation and implementation. Alaska Native subsistence rights and Alaska resident subsistence rights are sometimes at odds. This perspective explains the provisions and the shortcomings of subsistence management. Alaska Park Science 21(1), 2022.

    • Type: Article
    A blue river running through a forested valley.

    ANILCA is the defining conservation law of Alaska. With a stroke of a pen, President Carter doubled the size of the National Park System. Alaskans experience the consequences of ANILCA as both a blessing and a burden. In this issue, we explore many of the facets and perspectives of ANILCA and what it means to Alaskans and to the National Park Service. Alaska Park Science 21(1), 2022.

    • Type: Article
    • Locations: Alagnak Wild River, Aniakchak National Monument & Preserve, Bering Land Bridge National Preserve, Cape Krusenstern National Monument, Denali National Park & Preserve,
    Winter hunting is an important subsistence activity in many Alaska communities and park areas.

    The study of subsistence resources in parks has been a mix of long-term work and projects instigated by issues facing the Federal Subsistence Board.

    • Type: Article
    • Locations: Bering Land Bridge National Preserve, Cape Krusenstern National Monument, Gates Of The Arctic National Park & Preserve, Kobuk Valley National Park, Noatak National Preserve, Yukon - Charley Rivers National Preserve
    Dave Spirtes holds an award presented to him by Ron Arnberger, Alaska Regional Director (retired).

    A tribute to a lost colleague and friend, Dave Spirtes.

    • Type: Article
    • Locations: Lake Clark National Park & Preserve
    A black and white image of subsistence drying rack. A solitary bird sits perched atop a log.

    The village of Nondalton lies along the shores of Sixmile Lake, which flows out of the southwest tip of Lake Clark in South­central Alaska. Most residents of Nondalton are Dena'ina Athabascans and they depend on the vital subsistence fish resources found in the area.

    • Type: Article
    • Locations: Alagnak Wild River, Aniakchak National Monument & Preserve, Bering Land Bridge National Preserve, Cape Krusenstern National Monument, Denali National Park & Preserve,
    Two men drag a harvest seal from icy blue waters across frozen ice.

    The Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act impacts the National Park Service in many ways. ANILCA stipulates the designation of wilderness, subsistence management, transportation in and across parklands, use of cabins, mining, archaeological sites, scientific research studies and more.

    • Type: Article
    • Locations: Bering Land Bridge National Preserve, Cape Krusenstern National Monument, Kobuk Valley National Park, Noatak National Preserve, Yukon - Charley Rivers National Preserve
    Lush green tundra cut by thousands of caribou tracks.

    The Western Arctic Caribou Herd at 450,000 animals is only one of about 32 herds in Alaska but is by far the largest, comprising about half of the caribou in the state (and about 10% of the world total of 5 million animals).

    • Type: Article

Last updated: August 22, 2023