If I live off the road system two things happen, basic goods must be flown or barged in and jobs are scarce so you must live off the land and water. Moose, Fish berries etc. This is called a subsistence lifestyle. Many of these communities are traditional native villages where a tribal council is the form of government and is not quite "Indian Country" thanx to the rat bastard USSC and Clarence Thomas in particular but they did leave their Soverign Status. Sovreign to the State treated as equal to the Feds. Many whites dont understand the concept that although part of the US they are equal to the states surrounding them. In Alaska there is 235 villages that treat with the feds on an equal basis as the state government.
The federal owns 4/5ths of Alaska Land the state owns almost all the rest with the natives owning about 1/5 of the states portion.
Under the treaty that allowed the alaska pipeline to be built, natives were given title to their land, gave up hunting rights on federal land but not subsistance rights. Hunting being sport and subsistance being nescesary to stay alive. This is written into the treaty.
The state of alaska has a constitution that states that fish and game must be managed as a resource to be shared by all equally and this is a good thing. Regulations were set up that said
1st use subsistence
2nd use after subsistence is satisfied sport hunting
3rd use after sport is commercial harvest (in the case of salmon)
very reasonable except in 1988 a rich white hunter from the city sued under the constitution because he couldnt hunt caribou on a private reservation because the caribou was reserved for subsistence. He claimed he needed that caribou and under the state constitution he had the same right to fly his own plane hunt a caribou and fly home with the meat and just keep the antlers as some poor bastard who's average yearly inconme is under 8k with 6 kids who needs that meat to survive.
Well equal is equal so the Alaska Court said subsistance regs had to be struck down and people from everywhere in the state had a right to fly anywhere else to hunt on an equal footing.
Ak natives of course didnt think much of this and wanted to put a "rural" priority on the ballot as a constitutional change, the repo's blocked it since 1988 until today. The Natives asked the feds to honor the treaty so the feds took away Alaskan rights to manage fish in navigable streams, federal land (where almost all the hunting takes place) and Native land. It is now managed by the Federal BLM.
Now the case of Katy John was where an old woman had always fished her creek since 1916. In 1988 after the court case in AK the state told her that wasnt allowed anymore as they had to give her fish to a lot of people in Anchorage. Federal Court said no, read the treaty let her fish.
Govenor Knowles said ok guys I will appeal this decision but the repo's have to put the ammendment on the ballot or I let this case expire. The repo's are howling because if the ballot is put to the people it will pass by about 80% of the electorate. Native people vote in the 90% + range on regular, on this vote 100% and the repos only have a stronghold in the cities and a 40% max turnout. So this Gov is smart. My gov wanted a eat it where you kill it rule but his own repos said no.
thanx,
bill