Fort Yukon, Ak, above the Arctic Circle

Big day today.  We flew in a ten passenger twin prop airplane to a Native village eight miles north of the Arctic Circle.
pic 2 here

Chilly Willi it wasn't.  This was day three of a relative heat wave.  85 degrees doesn't sound bad. Till you stand in the intense summer arctic sun. 

Still not so bad compared to 100+ in the East.  Till you spend 90 minutes in the sun baked wood smoke filled airplane.  Smoke from fires like these.

We finally reached Fort Yukon, a Native village of about 500 souls.  Most of them are related by blood or marriage.  Just seven square miles.  While only 145 air miles from Fairbanks, no roads reach Fort Yukon.  Travel by boat along the Yukon River, or via commuter plane like the one we used.  Permafrost surrounds the village, making for hard going during the warm weather.  The villagers use snow machines much of the rest of the year.

What to think of this village?  80% unemployment.  Milk costs $23/gallon.  35 cents/kilowatt for electricity. (In California we pay about nine cents/kilowatt.)  Natives hunt and fish for their food.  Tho salmon runs and moose populations are declining due to climate change and overfishing and overhunting.  Eskimo tribes likewise worry about declining whale

Most of the houses were rundown, tho our guide said that they contained microwaves, TVs, and computers.  Thus the outer world intrudes, likely raising expectations.  The village has lost half their population in the last few years, due to economic conditions.

On the other hand, a few days later, we attended a Native dance demonstration, which included people from Fort Yukon.  They warmly described their village life, with closeknit families and dancing celebrations.

I certainly couldn't judge their lives.  They seem to lack the conveniences of modern living, but value their subsistence way of life, which means "to face the world on one's own terms, not on terms defined by outside cultures."  More on this link  http://www.pbs.org/harriman/1899/subsistence.html

They have lived this way for thousands of years, far longer than western societies.  Time will tell whether they can maintain this life in the face of environmental, political, and cultural pressures.

Bruce