Political Change in Inupiat Society: Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971

Perhaps the most significant political change the Inupiat have recently experienced is the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) of 1971. Essentially, Congress enacted ANCSA in light of two far-reaching developments: Alaskan Natives’ growing desire to obtain land rights and the discovery of oil on Alaska’s North Slope in 1968. Naturally, there are concerns about ANCSA, such as what the provisions of ANCSA are and how they have affected the Inupiat people.

In practice, ANCSA divvied up “aboriginal” land (about 12% of Alaskan territory) and designated “Alaska Native corporations”, or ANCs, to administer this land. To be a qualified member of these ANCs, one had to be born before 1971 and at least ¼ Native blood. Within the land administered by the regional corporation, about 200 tribal groups were organized into village corporations. Village corporations were given surface title to lands, and the regional corporations were given subsurface title to lands – an essential detail when considering any potential oil reserves under the surface were, now, directly owned by the state government, which oversaw the regional corporation. 

So, overall, ANCSA: good or bad for the Inupiat?  Well, a bit of both. Many scholars argue for mostly bad, though the good is well worth noting.

The bad: a corporate, capitalist political system was imposed on a cooperative yet heterogeneous culture. The corporation system fails to account for cultural differences between the 12 representative groups – what benefits one corporation may come at the detriment of another. Furthermore, the corporation system’s legislative skeleton lent itself to many instances of influence from oil-company and state-government lobbyists. 

With the passing of time, we have seen  Congress and the state government take advantage of the bill by leasing oil-rich lands to oil companies in order to jumpstart Alaska’s economy and injecting domestic oil into American economy. All the while, Inupiat land rights were, for the most part, disregarded. Not only was Inupiat political culture radically changed due to ANCSA, but the economic return to the natives has been remarkably insubstantial compared to the oil companies’ profits.

The good: the Inupiat went from having no say in the legal workings of their land, as of 1958, to having administrative and direct influence over their land as of 1971. Obviously, as addressed above, this system was, and still is, riddled with imperfections, but progress was still made – progress that the Inupiat took part in crafting themselves. It is, also, worth noting that no other administrative system like the Inupiat’s exists for any other American native population.

In so many words, the Inupiat went from being completely powerless with problems to having problems. With ANCSA came an entirely new array of challenges for the Inupiat as well as a new political muscle to address such challenges. The transition to such administrative authority was in itself flawed, but at the very least, the Inupiat have a say in their future.

Kentch Gavin

2012 A Corporate Culture? The Environmental Justice Challenges of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. Mississippi Law Journal 81(4):813-837.

Climate Change Among the Inupiat of Artic Alaska:

The Inupiat people of northern Alaska live in the Artic circle, the region that is seeing the most devastating affects of climate change. With a constantly changing environment the Inupiat are struggling to maintain their traditional way of life. The climate change has caused sea ice to melt, literally flooding parts where Inupiat used to live. The ever-changing landscape has also had major affects on migration patterns of the animals the Inupiat hunt, making old hunting knowledge obsolete. Climate change is affecting where and how the Inupiat live, forcing them to abandon traditional practices and lose part of their culture.

There is no better example of the impact that climate change has had on the Inupiat people than the way they hunt the bowhead whale. Traditionally the Inupiat would make a journey far out on the sea ice and camp there for several days on the whale hunt. Thinning sea ice is making this journey more and more dangerous every year, even causing fatalities. The changing environment is causing a change in migration patterns of the bowhead whale, making this hunt even more difficult. The thinning ice is also affecting what whales they can hunt. Due to fear of breaking the ice the Inupiat hunt for smaller whales than they used to. This is not only affecting what the Inupiat are able to capture but it also has its affects on the whale population. The bowhead whale is such an important part Inupiat life and culture and due to climate change and melting sea ice we are seeing a change in the way Inupiat hunt this animal and a change in Inupiat way of life.

The Inupiat have a special relationship with the bowhead whale. For them it is much more than just a source of food or materials.  This relationship is being jeopardized by the changing climate. Inupiat whalers are having to abandon the traditional method of camping on sea ice to hunt the whales and are moving on to the more modern method of using large outboard motor boats. Though this method may be more practical and efficient it is not traditional to the Inupiat way of life. With continued climate change the Inupiat people will have to constantly keep changing to the melting environment until the sea ice that they live on is all gone. 

Sakakibara, Chie
2010 Kiavallakkikput Agviq (Into the Whaling Cycle): Cetaceousness and Climate Change Among Inupiat of Arctic Alaska. 1003-1012. Annals of the Association of Americans Geographers

Seasonal Change Rather Than Generational Change

     Change in season cause for caribou, the Inupiats main source of subsistence hunting, to migrate. Migrations for caribou happen twice a year, in the Spring and the Fall. According to historic customs, the Inupiats allow the first herd of caribou to migrate through the pass with no disturbance, so they do not frighten the ladder herds. After the first herd passes they begin their hunt. This hunt is crucial because the Inupiats survive off the food that is hunted. A bad hunt can be disastrous for an entire village.

      In addition to eating caribou, the Inupiats eat fish. The types of fish that they eat include Arctic cod, capelin, Arctic char, and sculpin. While hunting in the water they also eat seal and walrus when available. They kill and eat migrating birds as the seasons change.

     While hunting on land the Inupiats hunt polar bears and muskox. These are more rare than the caribou, which is the main source of food for the inupiats while hunting on land. Due to little change in the climate and landscape over multiple generations of Inupiat people the animals that the Inupiats eat has stayed consistent.

     When it comes to eating the bowhead whale, very little has changed. Inupiats have hunted this mammal for thousands of years. However, it is not a very easy task to do. As a result of Inupiats' hunting this animal for so long, they begin to teach their children about whale hunting at an early age. The children might be faced with the task of preparing the umiaq (traditional skin boat) Women also help with the creation of the boat by preparing bearded seal skins to be used to cover the boat’s wooden frame. This information is passed down to children to assure continuation and survival. The subsistence hunting of the bowhead whale by the Alaskan Natives is protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act and hunting is allowed for registered members of the AEWC. The AEWC allows a total of seventy-five strikes among the communities so each community must make the most of their opportunity.

     The Inupiats look to hunt the bowhead whale as they migrate from Canada looking for Krill. This usually happens in the Fall and Spring. To put the mammal into perspective and for one to realize how many people one whale can feed, a good sized whale is not only twenty seven feet long 

but also twenty seven feet in circumference. As a means of survival the Inupiats share their resources among different villages. Subsistence hunting is difficult and the people that live in these difficult conditions realize that it is better for every village to share food because it may benefit themselves when necessary. Sharing of food is considered one of the most important values of the inuit culture.

If time permits. A video of bowhead whale hunting
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWtA7Jqx_zc

Overview of Inupiat Culture video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-6E50Mgi4c 

Brower, Harry Jr.; Hepa, Taqulik 

1998

Subsistent Hunting Activities and the Inupiat Eskimo. Electronic Document.

http://www.culturalsurvival.org/publications/cultural-survival-quarterly/united-states/subsistence-hunting-activities-and-inupiat-es

DeMarban
2013
Whalers Find Good Fortune this Fall and Land Arctic Bowhead 'butterballs'. Electronic Document
http://www.adn.com/article/20131109/whalers-find-good-fortune-fall-and-land-arctic-bowhead-butterballs

A loss of culture from the past leads to suicide in the youth of the Inupiat Culture today :

In the past, the Inupiat Culture has always grew up on a tradition of working hard to reach the needs of their daily lives. The Inupiat Culture had to work on their own for things such as going out to collect fire logs, searching for water and ice, taking care of dog teams and even traveling far away to do their hunting and fishing activities. As youth their job has always been to help provide for the family in some manner. This gave the youth a place and purpose in their lives and a meaning to live. The young people have always been involved and at no point did have time to be negative or even think negatively. 


Now, the Inupiat people lives have become easier. Electricity, running water, snow-go's and many other things they have needed to go get on their own has now been handed to them. Most of the Inupiat people who attend school are not able to succeed and training is a hard task. Therefore, it is very hard for these people to even get a job. With out any daily responsibilities the Inupiat people have much free time on their hands now.
We would think that lives for the youth have gotten better since new technology is in, but surprisingly things got worse. Taking away the daily responsibilities that the youth grew up on also took away their independence. This made the Inupiat youth depressed and unstable. With nothing to keep the youth busy and sane, they would turn to drugs and alcohol to make them feel better or to even pass time. They would hear all the time from their parents how much they've got it good and how hard their parents have had to work. The youth were not even able to speak the Inupiat language at school. Their whole culture was being taken away from them and it was almost like they had been raised by someone else. The youth felt as though their was no control over their lives, so some felt as though there wasn't a reason to be living.Further actions have been taken to bring these youth together and letting them know that there is still purpose in their lives and more about their culture. Hard work has always been of the Inupiat culture and this is the difference between the past and now. The youth needed the knowledge that they can still do these things even though there is no technology out. Campaigns have been held to decrease the number of suicides amongst the youth who have felt as though there was no means to life because their culture has been taken from them. 

Wexler L.M

     2006 Inupiat youth suicide and culture loss: Changing community conversations for prevention. Electronic document, http://www.sciencedirect.com.ezproxy.lib.usf.edu/science/article/pii/S0277953606003868, accessed June 3, 2015