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Location: land of quail, bunnies, and red tail hawks
1,513 posts, read 3,387,912 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RayinAK
Tanana, for example, is surrounded by villages. How about Rampart, or maybe Minto? A village is not just a town where there are roads, electricity, domestic water pipes, police station, a clinic, and so on. Some do have a small clinic, but a lot of these villages are just a few houses in close proximity to each other along the Yukon and other Rivers.
From the site of the Tanana Chief Conference, in 2012 Tanana had a population of 233, Minto had a population of 223, and Rampart had a population of 29. Tanana and Minto are only a little smaller in size to the village Keyman51 mentioned. They're about the size of my village, depending on the ebb and flow. I'm having a hard time believing they don't have a clinic, because I know of villages with only 40 and 90 people with a clinic and school. It might not be much, but it is infrastructure.
Minto is on the road system (correct me if I'm wrong), so it has lots of potential. The Wikipedia site has a photo of a pretty nice post office, which is a far cry from a counter in the back of the village store, which some villages have. When I lived on the road system, I loved exploring the small places. It could easily become similar to Talkeetna, with lots of boutique businesses that cater to the tourists. Talkeetna also has its infamous Moose Dropping Festival that draws in lots of people. By advertising heavily with the cruise lines, it could become a stop on one of the land tours.
Tanana is only about 20 miles from Manley, which is on the road system. When I lived on the road system, my family spent a night in Manley and enjoyed the hot springs. With a little ingenuity, someone could make Manley a jumping off point for Tanana. I don't know if the building that once housed the hospital is still there; if so, it might be able to be refurbished and given new life. There used to be a tour company that provided small bus/van trips to the Arctic Circle; I don't know if it still exists. If so, Manley and Tanana are just a hop, skip, and jump away.
Rampart is a bit tougher because it currently has so few people. In the height of the Gold Rush, it had 10,000 people. If you think about the Gold Rush, the government wasn't the entity that made things happen. Rampart has been used for farming and test crops in the past. Someone could do organic farming and perhaps replace Full Circle Farm (an out of state company) as the provider of produce boxes shipped to locations through Alaska. Perhaps a seed company could be established.
Both Tanana and Rampart are on major rivers. I'm really only familiar with river travel on the Kuskokwim, and I'm not sure if they're similar in nature. I do know that people who travel the rivers appreciate a place to take a break and get gas so they don't have to haul so much. A small cafe, trading post, and gas station would be a big help to river travelers. Start with things like that, and build on it. Then, the more inviting the town becomes, the more people might want to invest. If there are mines in the area, cater to their needs and the workers flying back and forth. Sitka and Galena both have thriving boarding schools. Education is a huge need in the villages as people get fed up with the local education. From what I hear, another school could probably thrive.
In 1880, Bethel was an AC trading post and had a population of 41. Today, there are over 6,000 people and multiple business and tourism opportunities. Once upon a time, it had visionaries that saw potential. They took risks, they started small, and then they grew. Some businesses boomed; some failed. Tenacious men adapted and branched out. The town grew. Then grew some more.
Don't tell me it can't be done. Don't tell me government is the only answer. The government can be handy, though, by way of small business loans. Green energy seems to be popular with this administration--take advantage of it. The only things holding these places back are visionaries and people willing to put in some effort. There's always a way to get money--lots of rich people out there looking for good investments or philanthropic projects that will let them feel good about themselves.
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ETA - Huslia wasn't mentioned when I created this post. I don't think I need to do research because my gist should be clear.
Last edited by Blueberry; 05-30-2015 at 03:16 PM..
From the site of the Tanana Chief Conference, in 2012 Tanana had a population of 233, Minto had a population of 223, and Rampart had a population of 29. Tanana and Minto are only a little smaller in size to the village Keyman51 mentioned. They're about the size of my village, depending on the ebb and flow. I'm having a hard time believing they don't have a clinic, because I know of villages with only 40 and 90 people with a clinic and school. It might not be much, but it is infrastructure.
Minto is on the road system (correct me if I'm wrong), so it has lots of potential. The Wikipedia site has a photo of a pretty nice post office, which is a far cry from a counter in the back of the village store, which some villages have. When I lived on the road system, I loved exploring the small places. It could easily become similar to Talkeetna, with lots of boutique businesses that cater to the tourists. Talkeetna also has its infamous Moose Dropping Festival that draws in lots of people. By advertising heavily with the cruise lines, it could become a stop on one of the land tours.
Tanana is only about 20 miles from Manley, which is on the road system. When I lived on the road system, my family spent a night in Manley and enjoyed the hot springs. With a little ingenuity, someone could make Manley a jumping off point for Tanana. I don't know if the building that once housed the hospital is still there; if so, it might be able to be refurbished and given new life. There used to be a tour company that provided small bus/van trips to the Arctic Circle; I don't know if it still exists. If so, Manley and Tanana are just a hop, skip, and jump away.
Rampart is a bit tougher because it currently has so few people. In the height of the Gold Rush, it had 10,000 people. If you think about the Gold Rush, the government wasn't the entity that made things happen. Rampart has been used for farming and test crops in the past. Someone could do organic farming and perhaps replace Full Circle Farm (an out of state company) as the provider of produce boxes shipped to locations through Alaska. Perhaps a seed company could be established.
Both Tanana and Rampart are on major rivers. I'm really only familiar with river travel on the Kuskokwim, and I'm not sure if they're similar in nature. I do know that people who travel the rivers appreciate a place to take a break and get gas so they don't have to haul so much. A small cafe, trading post, and gas station would be a big help to river travelers. Start with things like that, and build on it. Then, the more inviting the town becomes, the more people might want to invest. If there are mines in the area, cater to their needs and the workers flying back and forth. Sitka and Galena both have thriving boarding schools. Education is a huge need in the villages as people get fed up with the local education. From what I hear, another school could probably thrive.
In 1880, Bethel was an AC trading post and had a population of 41. Today, there are over 6,000 people and multiple business and tourism opportunities. Once upon a time, it had visionaries that saw potential. They took risks, they started small, and then they grew. Some businesses boomed; some failed. Tenacious men adapted and branched out. The town grew. Then grew some more.
Don't tell me it can't be done. Don't tell me government is the only answer. The government can be handy, though, by way of small business loans. Green energy seems to be popular with this administration--take advantage of it. The only things holding these places back are visionaries and people willing to put in some effort. There's always a way to get money--lots of rich people out there looking for good investments or philanthropic projects that will let them feel good about themselves.
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ETA - Huslia wasn't mentioned when I created this post. I don't think I need to do research because my gist should be clear.
My point is that in such small villages there aren't enough jobs to employ the villagers plus outsiders. If you look at the link of the unemployment figures by region, you will see that the ones shown in a light blue color have the highest unemployment rates in Alaska. These areas are the ones where a lot of families fall under the poverty line, and the ones who depend the most on State/Federal aid, plus subsistence, to make it from day to day. These are the people moving out to the nearest place where there are jobs, hospitals, and so forth.
The light blue color areas are entire regions, and only the larger villages are shown. What is not shown are a myriad of very small Native villages without road access, and it is here where the highest unemployment rates exist. The figures you see are averages for the whole region, not just an individual unemployment rate for each little village.
Of course I understand the concept of "outsiders bringing money to the community and investing in the community." But a few pages back, you admit yourself that:
Quote:
Unfortunately, the need for these services isn't enough to provide full-time employment in the smaller villages, so such people would need to pick up other work.
And I've seen the same thing myself. That's not "investing in a community," that's barely hanging on by a thread. I happen to know a little something about making a business work in a remote location, btw. It's easy to sit and yap about what people should do and a little more difficult to make that into reality. Try starting a restaurant or a hair salon in an interior village and then get back to me on that economic growth thing caused by visionaries...
What happened in Bethel was that it became a hub. Not all villages can be a hub, obviously.
As I said before, outsiders brought major money and jobs into Skagway, but still, the population continues to decline. The whole situation is a little more complex than what you're thinking.
You realize, don't you, that a lot of those trips to Anchorage and Fairbanks are paid for by the government?
I also detect a little of the old "if only these Natives would act like white people they'd be better off" in your comments. Also, you're completely dreaming if you believe for a minute that there aren't people of all races living in the cities who have less than stellar work ethics. People take care of their own in the cities as well.
Anyway, I'd rather not continue this conversation if you're going to get upset when anyone disagrees with you. I have a feeling you've got no real business experience anyway, and something tells me that you've never been an employer.
Talkeetna also has its infamous Moose Dropping Festival that draws in lots of people
That festival no longer exists.
As far as other small areas because cutesy little tourist draws with little boutiques and so on and getting in good with the cruise companies...lol. I'll type more when I stop laughing.
As far as cafes on any of Alaska's rivers...you're kidding, right? These types of businesses have to be busy virtually every waking minute in order to even stay above water. What type of private riverfront land is available? Not much, from what I understand, and no one can deny anymore that the north is melting. Today's riverfront land is tomorrow's river.
Some places really are meant to be wilderness areas, by the way. I don't know why more and more people "flocking" to the villages is a necessarily attractive goal.
Quote:
By advertising heavily with the cruise lines, it could become a stop on one of the land tours.
The big cruise companies won't go for that. You can't just "advertise heavily" with them. They barely tolerate Glitter Gulch, and Princess Cruises has coordinated their pickup times from the Talkeetna rail depot to make sure that passengers get as little time in Talkeetna proper itself. These cruise companies also operate resorts on land, and that's where they want tourism dollars to go -- not to boutique shops and restaurants.
Talkeetna, by the way, was a viable town before the cruise companies came along, and it'll be there after they're gone. It hasn't changed all that much in the past 31 years, actually.
Last edited by Metlakatla; 05-30-2015 at 04:52 PM..
From the site of the Tanana Chief Conference, in 2012 Tanana had a population of 233, Minto had a population of 223, and Rampart had a population of 29. Tanana and Minto are only a little smaller in size to the village Keyman51 mentioned. They're about the size of my village, depending on the ebb and flow. I'm having a hard time believing they don't have a clinic, because I know of villages with only 40 and 90 people with a clinic and school. It might not be much, but it is infrastructure.
Would that '"nfrastructure" provide jobs to keep the unemployment rate around 7% or so?
Minto is on the road system (coirrect me if I'm wrong), so it has lots of potential. The Wikipedia site has a photo of a pretty nice post office, which is a far cry from a counter in the back of the village store, which some villages have. When I lived on the road system, I loved exploring the small places. It could easily become similar to Talkeetna, with lots of boutique businesses that cater to the tourists. Talkeetna also has its infamous Moose Dropping Festival that draws in lots of people. By advertising heavily with the cruise lines, it could become a stop on one of the land tours. You won't see tour buses on the Dalton anytime soon. You are comparing Minto to Talkeetna
Tanana is only about 20 miles from Manley, which is on the road system. When I lived on the road system, my family spent a night in Manley and enjoyed the hot springs. With a little ingenuity, someone could make Manley a jumping off point for Tanana. I don't know if the building that once housed the hospital is still there; if so, it might be able to be refurbished and given new life. There used to be a tour company that provided small bus/van trips to the Arctic Circle; I don't know if it still exists. If so, Manley and Tanana are just a hop, skip, and jump away.
Rampart is a bit tougher because it currently has so few people. In the height of the Gold Rush, it had 10,000 people. If you think about the Gold Rush, the government wasn't the entity that made things happen. Rampart has been used for farming and test crops in the past. Someone could do organic farming and perhaps replace Full Circle Farm (an out of state company) as the provider of produce boxes shipped to locations through Alaska. Perhaps a seed company could be established.
Both Tanana and Rampart are on major rivers. I'm really only familiar with river travel on the Kuskokwim, and I'm not sure if they're similar in nature. I do know that people who travel the rivers appreciate a place to take a break and get gas so they don't have to haul so much. A small cafe, trading post, and gas station would be a big help to river travelers. Start with things like that, and build on it. Then, the more inviting the town becomes, the more people might want to invest. If there are mines in the area, cater to their needs and the workers flying back and forth. Sitka and Galena both have thriving boarding schools. Education is a huge need in the villages as people get fed up with the local education. From what I hear, another school could probably thrive.
In 1880, Bethel was an AC trading post and had a population of 41. Today, there are over 6,000 people and multiple business and tourism opportunities. Once upon a time, it had visionaries that saw potential. They took risks, they started small, and then they grew. Some businesses boomed; some failed. Tenacious men adapted and branched out. The town grew. Then grew some more.
Don't tell me it can't be done. Don't tell me government is the only answer. The government can be handy, though, by way of small business loans. Green energy seems to be popular with this administration--take advantage of it. The only things holding these places back are visionaries and people willing to put in some effort. There's always a way to get money--lots of rich people out there looking for good investments or philanthropic projects that will let them feel good about themselves.
-------
ETA - Huslia wasn't mentioned when I created this post. I don't think I need to do research because my gist should be clear.
a. Maybe Bill gates can create some kind of business built on Native lands?
b. Hmmm... Maybe a poor Native guy in Rampart can farm a golden-egg goose, or maybe Buffet can donate an organic and everlasting money tree to Rampart?
c. I can only wonder why businesses haven't jumped on such golden opportunities. We must promptly inform the hosts of the TV show "Shark Tank" about it, or they will miss this out of the world opportunity to make lots of money.
d. That was then, this is now. The Alaska's economy is not that good at the moment.
e. I haven't said that government is the answer, but I can tell that you are talking about Utopia, not some Alaska village. Besides that, the worst that has happened for a lot of Americans, not just Alaska Natives, is to depend on governments to survive. And don't forget that the money so many Americans depend for survival comes not from governments, but from the private sector (taxes).
Almost forgot: those who can truly live a subsistence lifestyle, regardless of being Native or not, have a better chance than anybody who depends on governments to survive.
Location: land of quail, bunnies, and red tail hawks
1,513 posts, read 3,387,912 times
Reputation: 3539
Yes, I know your point, Ray. I still maintain that a village of 250 can absorb outsiders. I saw it happen for nine years.
If things are as dire as you say, which I seriously doubt (based on experience), then the villagers need to get a plan or pray that outsiders don't hold your viewpoint.
Now, for my politically incorrect view--If the villagers can't make it where they are, they need to leave. The taxpayers shouldn't have to fork over hundreds of thousands of dollars a year just so they can stay put. Don't try telling me they don't have the money to leave. I've seen people relocate with very little expense. It might mean sacrifice, but that is better than wilting on the vine where they are. If they leave, perhaps they'll find a place where they can thrive.
When I was a child, my single-parent, low wage earner mother uprooted her kids from a dead-end location and moved 3,000 miles in search of greener pastures. It took guts. She left most of her family support behind. It was tough. She didn't have any savings to speak of. Yet, she landed on her feet and managed to purchase her first house. It was small, but it was a roof over our heads. And, we were in a better place with much better opportunities. The risk paid off.
People relocate from the bush all the time, Blueberry. You can see them all over the streets of Anchorage.
If you don't want to end up homeless, relocating actually does take money these days.
I really don't know what all the finger wagging's about. Go start a business yourself and then come back and post; you've got a lot of misconceptions here. There are certainly ways to stimulate local economies, but most of what you've suggested are sure failures. And investment capital isn't nearly as easy to get as you seem to think it is for projects that are poorly planned out. I'm sorry, I doubt that you could raise a dime to start a cafe on the banks of an interior river even if you could get the land.
I don't think the state of Alaska just hands out welfare checks to able-bodied adults, does it? Maybe mothers with kids.
LOL, Ray; I had the same thought about the TV show Shark Tank.
Last edited by Metlakatla; 05-30-2015 at 05:31 PM..
People relocate from the bush all the time, Blueberry. You can see them all over the streets of Anchorage.
If you don't want to end up homeless, relocating actually does take money these days.
I really don't know what all the finger wagging's about. Go start a business yourself and then come back and post; you've got a lot of misconceptions here. There are certainly ways to stimulate local economies, but most of what you've suggested are sure failures. And investment capital isn't nearly as easy to get as you seem to think it is for projects that are poorly planned out. I'm sorry, I doubt that you could raise a dime to start a cafe on the banks of an interior river even if you could get the land.
I don't think the state of Alaska just hands out welfare checks to able-bodied adults, does it? Maybe mothers with kids.
LOL, Ray; I had the same thought about the TV show Shark Tank.
I forgot to mention that maybe if some of the Native friends I know would be allowed to build a casino on their lands, that would help some of the villages. It should work for Nenana, I imagine, and maybe Minto? But only men could gamble at the one in Manley. (just kidding, of course)
I think they should get Bill Gates to build floating casinos instead.
How 'bout if I pull anchor on the floathouse and start a brothel?
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