What do Alaskans in remote villages eat?

[thepenartist]

Originally Posted by warptman

I just came back from "foraging" a turkey and ham sub from the pizza place. It was a tough hunt, I'm exhausted!

(giggling...)

[Glitch]

Originally Posted by Woof

My thanks to all who gave information.

Including you, Glitch .... you seem to be worried that I'm a McCandless wannabe, but that's not the case at all. I wouldn't WANT to live in the Alaskan bush ..... the mosquitoes alone in summer would probably kill me once I ran out of DEET

You are welcome. I am not trying to be mean, I am just trying to express how extremely difficult it is to try to live off the land. Since the fictional Hollywood movie "Into the Wild" came out, Alaska may seem like a romantic place to escape the burdens of overcrowding and civilization. I just don't want anyone to try and follow McCandless foolish mistakes.

Most of Alaska truly is wild, and nature is very unforgiving. Often you don't get the opportunity to learn from your mistakes, you die from them.

Originally Posted by Woof

I know how hard it would be to survive even in the comparatively moderate climate of California. Nor would I go traipsing into the wilderness with a light load even if I did want to survive for the sake of the challenge .... I'd carry sufficient gear to last a year, and that would probably involve carrying several heavy loads into a camp, including an adequate rifle and case of ammunition, food, clothes, gear .... sheesh, just thinking of it all gives me a headache.

Long before McCandless came to Alaska, I came intending to live just 365 days in the bush. I spent more than $10,000 on food and equipment, and hauled more than a ton of supplies to the spot where I intended to live. After only a couple weeks I came to realize that I did not have the skill set necessary to meet the strict schedule I had set. So I ended up moving everything to Anchorage and got a job.

Originally Posted by Woof

I'd like to know how to supplement my diet if things get tough.

That is a much more reasonable idea. Like I said, I had to re-learn all my hunting and fishing skills after I moved to Alaska. There are no corn-fields where I traditionally hunted pheasant, duck, and geese. There are no bass, crapie, bluegill, or sunfish in Alaskan lakes. The forests in Alaska (particularly this far north) are much less dense than the forests in the lower-48, but there is a lot more ground cover and more places for game to hide. Then there are the muskeg and wetlands that you have to contend with.

Originally Posted by Woof

Now it's my understanding that Southeast Alaska has such abundant runs of salmon that it would be difficult to starve there .... don't know if I could handle the rainy climate though.

I suppose some other area, near river and ocean, would have the most abundant meat, fish, and whatever plant foods there might be in Alaska. Our remote prehistorical ancestors were mostly nomads from the evidence I've seen, generally roaming up and down rivers, or seminomadic (having a summer camp and a winter camp).

True, the Alaskan panhandle has a lot of salmon. So does Bristol Bay near Bethel. There is also no shortage of salmon around Kodiak Island or anywhere around the Kenai Peninsula. However, salmon runs are seasonal. Which means that after September you will need to find another food source, and you will have to wait until May before the salmon return.

Taking a moose might seem like a practical solution, until you realize just how big they are. They aren't like deer or elk that you can hang from a nearby tree to field-dress. You have to clean and quarter your moose where it drops. If you shoot that moose while it is feeding in some muskeg or wetland, then you are in real trouble. Also, if you aren't quick enough getting your meat away, bears will move in an take it away from you. Hunting in Alaska is unlike hunting anywhere in the lower-48, and there are certain things you need to know to be successful.

[Deadman]

It is funny how one movie creates a hunger. Actually, all this movie does is excite primal instincts that have always being hidden do to modern life.

Though I started my infatuation with Alaska long before I even knew of the book. As a teen I felt it all a impossible thought to leave the "grid" and live in mostly wild Alaskan country. Then, after reading numberous self written articles from Countryside Journal, Mother Earth News, etc...the practicality of it came to fruitian.

I always thought, "how the hell can you survive in such a winter hell-hole?". But, people are doing it all over the state. In most case not a 100%, more like 70% off the grid and off the land. Granted you'll have to be a very successful hunter, gather, and most important(IMO) macro farmer or gardner.

I don't kid myself into thinking I can jump into the wilds of Alaska terra, all "balls out." No, rather, walking slowly with a predetermined plan of strategy and preconcluded tactics. Added with several back up plans.

Though I inclined that hunting in Alaska is better odds, I'm not so ignorant to believe that it's the BEST state of survive off the land. However, for sure it's not the worst.

[rotorhead]

If you're looking for a rough estimate of the "carrying capacity" of the land, just consider the population distribution of Alaska prior to the gold rush years. Outside of the SE coastal areas and the salmon-rich rivers of the YK delta and interior, there just isn't enough of a sustainable food source to support year round living in most of the rest of the state.

If anything, its even lower now considering how degraded some of the richer natural resources have become. There are areas in SE that supported huge canneries in the late 1800s that STILL don't have decent salmon runs today. Much of Prince William Sound still suffers ill effects from the Exon Valdez fiasco and will for decades or centuries to come. The traditional whaling along the far north will become a thing of the past if the sea ice continues to thin and pull further from shore.

Also consider that people living the subsistance lifestyle have largely abandoned many traditional gathering methods and even some types of foods either due to changes in hunting regulations or changing tastes. Ask around as to how many people include seal blubber in their diet these days, or euchalon (hooligan) grease. Both of these used to be a major source of calories back when but are rarely used today outside of some very remote and traditional communities. In the old days they hunted loons, owls, even seagulls whenever possible...birds that are either protected or considered unpalatable today. The berry books are full of notations along the lines of "technically edible, but rarely gathered or used in modern times."

Another factor is that to be frank, a lot of the stuff that people used to eat out of necessity tasted like crap, either gamey as hell or just plain nasty. Outside of a few of the elders in small villiages that grew up eating the stuff, nobody eats it anymore, and a lot of the time it's by choice.

I know that when they get hungry enough people can and do revert back to eating pretty much anything they can catch and cook, but a lot of the essential knowledge for truely living off the land is already gone. It's going to take a lot of unpleasant and potentially fatal experimenting to gain that back if push ever does come to shove.

[Reener45]

Originally Posted by warptman

We're paying 4.50 a gallon now. There is no way we can stop buying gas no matter how high it gets. They can raise it as high as they want to, it still will be bought. We "gather" fish and moose and caribou just your so called "eskimos" from the north. We do the same thing down here in Southwest. I eat the same foods as you do, ribeyes, tbones, chicken, and pork. We don't rely only on subsistence foods. We are a diverse culture. Where do you "forage" for food at? Or are you one of the farmers who rely on the government loans?...crap, he got me started.

Not like there are many places to drive to in Bethel however, living a life of subsistance growing up, I never went hungy

[Reener45]

Originally Posted by warptman

Alaska Native Heritage Center

Is that a pic of you on the Visitors Center page ??

[Reener45]

Originally Posted by Woof

My thanks to all who gave information.

Including you, Glitch .... you seem to be worried that I'm a McCandless wannabe, but that's not the case at all. I wouldn't WANT to live in the Alaskan bush ..... the mosquitoes alone in summer would probably kill me once I ran out of DEET .

enough skeeters make a GREAT stir-fry

[rose.pal]

Originally Posted by Metlakatla

Every now and then I take a break from the berries and moose stew and dine on nicely broiled lower 48 touron steak, usually with a nice glass of Chianti and a bit of fava beans.

have to give you points for that!