Subsistance living

I’ve been giving a lot of thought to the “subsistence” lifestyle espoused by so many Alaskans. To most of us in the lower 48, and many dictionaries, subsistence is defined as “the minimum necessary to support life.” To Alaskan natives, early homesteaders/settlers, and to those who today chose to live in remote areas, it is more clearly defined as “the means by which one supports life.” These families subsist on what the land provides in concert with their own ingenuity. And such are the 15 full-time residents of Wiseman, a small community 12 miles north of our visitors center in Coldfoot, of whom half represent three-generations of one family.

Meeting and talking with several of them (and ourselves living for 3+ weeks in a cabin with no running water more than 500 miles round-trip from the nearest shopping for anything other than gasoline) I have come to think more about the infrastructure that supports us. In Wiseman, families are “off the grid” electrically and must create energy for lights, heat, refrigeration, cooking. Most use a combination of solar, wind, and back-up gas-powered generators. One innovative family also harnesses the spring/summer energy of a nearby stream with a paddle-wheel generator. All cut, haul and utilize wood stoves to heat their homes against the up-to 70 degree below winter temps. With gas at 5.60/gallon, this creative ingenuity is necessary for personal and economic survival. All have also had to consider how to deal with human and household waste making me think more deeply about where is the “away” when we discard our household waste; throw things away?

Families in Wiseman must also supplement expensive food stocks trucked in on trips to Fairbanks at 3-6 month intervals. Every family hunts and supplies meat for the table - caribou, moose, bear. They appear to practice good animal husbandry and I have come to support and admire this reliance on and co-existence with the land. I continue to have some difficulty with trapping lines (which many there run) for income. Everyone had berry-picking forays during our stay - berry ripening time. Erv and I also enjoyed fresh blueberries we picked every week and I even got enough cranberries to make sauce to enhance our canned-goods meals on occasion. Most also had gardens, carefully planned, tended and “put-up” during the very brief, intense growing period at these latitudes. Wiseman boasts the farthest north “truck gardens” in the US!

A minimum of 10 children are required for a State-appointed school teacher so the 4 local kids are home-schooled. All have placed well above average on standardized testing for age. Their “book” education is supplemented by the necessity for practical creativity - the ability to improvise solutions to basic engineering and “entertainment” challenges with only the materials at hand. I don’t mean to suggest there are no modern resources at all. There is a rudimentary telephone system and satellite radio/TV on a very small frequency. There are trucks, snow machines (snowmobiles) and vehicles/tools to assist. And, unsought-after by Wiseman residents, the 800 mile pipeline and haul road are within sight of their community.

To me, these folk represent what most Alaskan’s admire and identify with, no matter if they live in the relative urban comfort of Fairbanks or Anchorage, Homer or even smaller towns. Some of these Alaskans are “end-of-the-roaders” who have fled their problems and disgruntlements elsewhere and come north only to find new problems, etc. Other residents enjoy Alaska much of the year but return to more temperate southern climes for hard winter. Most all residents, however, benefit from “subsistence” waivers in hunting and fishing regulations. Perhaps this is warranted by Alaska’s significantly higher cost of living, perhaps not. With increased human population, it is having impact on animal/fish populations in some areas. Where does one draw the line? That remains a quandary for me.

This trip to the arctic north has made me more aware of and, hopefully, thoughtful about my own environmental footprint. Even if I do not chose to live so close to the land as the hearty souls of Wiseman, I have a more intimate knowledge of being an interactive, integral part of my local ecosystem and the whole planet Earth, and a deeper appreciation of how what each of us does impacts that balance. For one thing, monitoring and conserving our own energy usage can do far more to promote national energy independence than drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge would ever do. Think about it!