Present Status of Alaskan Eskimos— Lantis 43 



Prince William Sound and other localities. Around Bristol Bay, 

 men of Eskimo or mixed-Eskimo ancestry but not now living 

 an Eskimo way of life are commercial fishermen. On the whole, 

 the economy is haphazard and poorly balanced. At present, 

 Alaskan Eskimos can get real stability and security only from 

 their hunting and fishing and, in many places, trapping. 



For this reason, some people in the States say Eskimos must 

 have land reservations, However, 1) much of their food comes 

 from the sea, which cannot be reserved, 2) the large sustaining 

 caribou herds cannot be held on reservations, 3) it does no good 

 to have a piece of territory if the food or revenue-producing 

 animals are dying out, as they are in some localities. The long- 

 range probabilities of Alaskan development should be con- 

 sidered, and these do not seem to include reservations. Although 

 there are a few small reservations in the Eskimo country (Una- 

 lakleet, Wales, Little Diomede Island, Noorvik, Elim, White 

 Mountain, and Mountain Village) and a few reindeer and 

 fishing reserves, the whole U. S. system of treaties, reservations, 

 and allotments was not introduced to Alaska. Eskimos must be 

 considered part of the general population. Where they are 

 treated as a curiosity for tourists, for example at Nome and 

 Kotzebue, they are not helped but are hindered in adjustment 

 to the present condition of Alaska. 



If we understand the principal changes occurring in Eskimo 

 culture and the needs that these changes engender, we can see 

 which aspects of Eskimo life need to be studied and in what ways 

 Cultural Anthropology can be useful. 



Now that the Eskimos have entered a money economy, they 

 need what all Alaska needs: a stable year-round livelihood. 

 Agriculture, especially the growing of field crops, is not the 

 future hope of the west and north coasts of Alaska. Garden 

 produce grows well in some localities, and range livestock, es- 

 pecially reindeer, might be developed, but these show no pros- 

 pect of becoming the basis of a whole economy. Reindeer, for 

 example, can be, under present conditions, the chief support of 

 only a few families in each of twenty to twenty-five villages. At 

 one time or another, sheep have been important in Greenland 



