Is subsistence disappearing?
A. Subsistence is constantly changing, but as a whole, there is little evidence that it is disappearing as a way of life in Alaska. In rural Alaska, subsistence activities are among the most highly valued parts of the culture. Subsistence harvests still are essential parts of the rural economy. In most rural places, children continue to learn how to capture wild foods and prepare them for use by the family and community. Nevertheless, some things do threaten subsistence. Roads into rural areas usually result in declines in the subsistence way of living. Roads bring about ecological change, increased competition for wild resources, and in-migration of groups that do not hunt and fish for subsistence. Unregulated commercial harvesting that depleted fish stocks and game populations resulted in declines in subsistence in certain areas in Alaska. Examples of this include commercial whaling and commercial walrus hunting in the Arctic, and large-scale commercial salmon traps in Southeast Alas
