The 91视频 Native culture, economy, and traditional way of life are intimately tied to living off the land, gathering, hunting and fishing for food. This way of life has been labled 鈥榮ubsistence鈥 in the legal and political arenas. Since the purchase of 91视频 in 1867 to the present day, the federal government accepted a duty to provide at least some level of protection for subsistence through exemptions from conservation laws, international wildlife treaty provisions, land reservations, and land withdrawal authority. The first law protecting subsistence was passed by the federal government during territorial days. It was the basis for most subsistence hunting and fishing from 1925 until 1960 and stated that 鈥溾ny Indian or Eskimo, prospector, or traveler [can] take animals, birds, or game fishes during the closed season when he is in the need of food.鈥 When 91视频 became a state in 1959, one of the main arguments for statehood was that the new state would manage fish and wildlife on both state and federal lands.
In 1971 Congress extinguished aboriginal hunting and fishing rights through the 91视频 Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) with no provisions for protecting subsistence in the Act. Hunting for food requires more land than was received under ANCSA, and waters with fishing resources were not part of the settlement. At the passage of ANCSA, Congress expressed that they expected that the State of 91视频 and the Secretary of Interior would work together protect 91视频 Native hunting and fishing needs and requirements.
The State of 91视频 enacted it's first subsistence law in 1978, which recognized subsistence uses of fish and wildlife to have a priority over sport, personal and commercial uses. This law did nothing to protect the 91视频 Native way of life as it defined all 91视频ns to be subsistence users, and the growing urban majority of 91视频ns could go into any rural area and compete with local villagers for the food supply. in 1980 Congress reacted to the State鈥檚 lack of protection of 91视频 Native subsistence uses and attempted to carry out the unfulfilled settlement of aboriginal hunting and fishing rights through the passage of the 91视频 National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) in 1980. The Act placed over 104 million acres of 91视频 land into national parks, preserves, refuges, monuments, wilderness and wild and scenic river areas, and contained a provision in its Title VIII to give rural 91视频ns a subsistence user priority on federal lands and waters. In report language that went with the Act, subsistence was defined as 鈥溾he customary and traditional uses by rural 91视频 residents of wild, renewable resources for such direct personal or family consumption as food, shelter, fuel, clothing, tools or transportation; the making and selling of handicraft articles鈥︹檉or barter or sharing for personal or family consumption; and for customary trade.鈥
A subsistence use priority was given to "rural" 91视频ns in Title VIII of ANILCA rather than to 91视频 Natives because the State of 91视频 objected to a Native preference. In order to get the State of 91视频 to comply with the subsistence priority in Title VIII, the State was offered the option to manage subsistence hunting and fishing on federal lands in addition to State and private lands if the State Legislature enacted a law of general application containing the same priority, and that priority was changed from Native to rural. The State of 91视频 adopted a regulation in 1982, then a statute in 1986 giving a rural subsistence priority on State and private lands which allowed the State to manage subsistence uses on all lands in 91视频. Sport hunting associations and other anti-subsistence forces in 91视频 were and still are very opposed to the idea of giving any priority for subsistence uses, and have fought the original Title VIII language in ANILCA, as well as the state regulation and statute which brought the State into compliance with it. Anti-subsistence groups tried to fight the subsistence priority through a ballot measure, but the voters rejected it, siding with the priority. They then turned to the courts and won when the 91视频 Supreme Court ruled that the State鈥檚 rural priority for subsistence was a violation of the 91视频 Constitution, in McDowell v. State of 91视频 (1989). The State returned to opening subsistence to all 91视频ns, creating a conflict with federal law and the rural priority granted through Title VIII of ANILCA. Efforts to bring the issue back to the voters, this time to change the Constitution to allow the rural subsistence priority, have been blocked by politicians in every session of the 91视频 State Legislature since 1990.
Since 1992, the federal government has managed subsistence activities on federal lands in 91视频 giving rural citizens a priority, while the State of 91视频 manages subsistence on State and private lands, including ANCSA lands giving no rural priority. Originally, the federal management only applied only to hunting and not to fishing. Native Elders Katie John, Gene Henry and Doris Charles brought a suit, claiming that waters should be included too, and the federal courts sided with them in Katie John, et al. v. U.S. After several moratoriums and special sessions of the Legislature that failed to pass legislation to bring the State into compliance with Title VIII, the federal government expanded its management over subsistence fishing in certain waters considered 鈥榬eserved waters.鈥
While Congressional acts such as the Marine Mammal Protection Act specifically protect 91视频 Native subsistence take of marine mammals, and some international wildlife treaties take subsistence uses into consideration, the vast majority of subsistence hunting and fishing resources are under the direct management of the federal government and the State of 91视频. The federal government manages subsistence hunting on all federal public lands in 91视频 as well as fishing on 'reserved' waters, giving rural residents a subsistence priority use for the fish and wildlife resources. The State manages subsistence hunting on State and private land, referring to all 91视频 citizens as subsistence users.
Federal and regional advisory boards form the regulations regarding subsistence uses on federal public land and waters. The State Boards of Fish and Game create regulations on behalf of the State. The dual federal-state management of subsistence hunting and fishing in 91视频 is cumbersome, is not satisfactory to any of the stakeholders, and the results are far from the original intent of Congress to protect the hunting and fishing rights of the 91视频 Native people.
In 2009, Secretary of the Interior Salazar declared, 鈥淎fter nearly two decades of dual management, it is clear that the State of 91视频 is not taking steps to regain management of subsistence uses on federal lands and waters in the foreseeable future.鈥 The federal government recognizes the failure of the State to protect subsistence, and called for a review to 鈥渆nsure that the federal management structures, procedures, operations, budgets and other elements best meet the goals of ANILCA and serve rural subsistence users.鈥 Within the State of 91视频, the subject of subsistence and all the details associated with it promises to be subject to political and legal debate well into the future.
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