Sustaining Sanak Island, Alaska: A Cultural Land Trust
Sanak Island is the easternmost of the Aleutian Islands and was inhabited by the Aleut (Unangan) peoples for nearly 7000 years. The past few centuries of Sanak Island life for its Aleut residents can be summarized from ethnohistoric documents and extensive interviews with former residents as shiftin...
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ftrepec:oai:RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:5:y:2013:i:10:p:4406-4427:d:29624 2024-04-14T08:00:33+00:00 Sustaining Sanak Island, Alaska: A Cultural Land Trust Katherine L. Reedy-Maschner Herbert D. G. Maschner https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/5/10/4406/pdf https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/5/10/4406/ unknown https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/5/10/4406/pdf https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/5/10/4406/ article ftrepec 2024-03-19T10:30:53Z Sanak Island is the easternmost of the Aleutian Islands and was inhabited by the Aleut (Unangan) peoples for nearly 7000 years. The past few centuries of Sanak Island life for its Aleut residents can be summarized from ethnohistoric documents and extensive interviews with former residents as shifting local-global economic patterns beginning with the sea otter fur trade, followed by cod and salmon fishing, fox farming, and cattle ranching through waves of Russian, American, and Scandinavian authority and/or influence. As the industries changed and the island absorbed new peoples with new goals, Aleut identity and practices also changed as part of these shifting economic and social environments. Sanak Island was abandoned in the 1970s and although uninhabited today, Sanak Island is managed as an important land trust for the island’s descendants that serves local peoples as a marine-scape rich in resources for Aleut subsistence harvesting and as a local heritage site where people draw on the diverse historical influences and legacies. Further, this move from an industrial heritage to contemporary local subsistence economies facilitated by a commercial fishing industry is a unique reversal of development in the region with broad implications for community sustainability among indigenous communities. We find that by being place-focused, rather than place-based, community sustainability can be maintained even in the context of relocation and the loss of traditional villages. This will likely become more common as indigenous peoples adapt to globalization and the forces of global change. Aleut; Sanak Island; fisheries; sustainability; resilience; historical ecology; land trust Article in Journal/Newspaper aleut Unangan Alaska Aleutian Islands RePEc (Research Papers in Economics) |
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RePEc (Research Papers in Economics) |
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description |
Sanak Island is the easternmost of the Aleutian Islands and was inhabited by the Aleut (Unangan) peoples for nearly 7000 years. The past few centuries of Sanak Island life for its Aleut residents can be summarized from ethnohistoric documents and extensive interviews with former residents as shifting local-global economic patterns beginning with the sea otter fur trade, followed by cod and salmon fishing, fox farming, and cattle ranching through waves of Russian, American, and Scandinavian authority and/or influence. As the industries changed and the island absorbed new peoples with new goals, Aleut identity and practices also changed as part of these shifting economic and social environments. Sanak Island was abandoned in the 1970s and although uninhabited today, Sanak Island is managed as an important land trust for the island’s descendants that serves local peoples as a marine-scape rich in resources for Aleut subsistence harvesting and as a local heritage site where people draw on the diverse historical influences and legacies. Further, this move from an industrial heritage to contemporary local subsistence economies facilitated by a commercial fishing industry is a unique reversal of development in the region with broad implications for community sustainability among indigenous communities. We find that by being place-focused, rather than place-based, community sustainability can be maintained even in the context of relocation and the loss of traditional villages. This will likely become more common as indigenous peoples adapt to globalization and the forces of global change. Aleut; Sanak Island; fisheries; sustainability; resilience; historical ecology; land trust |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Katherine L. Reedy-Maschner Herbert D. G. Maschner |
spellingShingle |
Katherine L. Reedy-Maschner Herbert D. G. Maschner Sustaining Sanak Island, Alaska: A Cultural Land Trust |
author_facet |
Katherine L. Reedy-Maschner Herbert D. G. Maschner |
author_sort |
Katherine L. Reedy-Maschner |
title |
Sustaining Sanak Island, Alaska: A Cultural Land Trust |
title_short |
Sustaining Sanak Island, Alaska: A Cultural Land Trust |
title_full |
Sustaining Sanak Island, Alaska: A Cultural Land Trust |
title_fullStr |
Sustaining Sanak Island, Alaska: A Cultural Land Trust |
title_full_unstemmed |
Sustaining Sanak Island, Alaska: A Cultural Land Trust |
title_sort |
sustaining sanak island, alaska: a cultural land trust |
url |
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/5/10/4406/pdf https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/5/10/4406/ |
genre |
aleut Unangan Alaska Aleutian Islands |
genre_facet |
aleut Unangan Alaska Aleutian Islands |
op_relation |
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/5/10/4406/pdf https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/5/10/4406/ |
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1796301674101342208 |