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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: LindyBill who wrote (202540)	4/14/2007 6:07:05 AM
From: Snowshoe	Read Replies (4) \| Respond to of 793801

Alaska is somewhat different because many of the natives and their villages are still on their ancestral lands. This contrasts greatly with the lower 48, where many tribes were "penned up" on reservations which were often at a great distance from their ancestral lands. Many Alaskan native families have title to their traditional summer fish camp sites. Their village and regional corporations own land and other assets. They pull in lots of outside funding, and natives get free medical care. Employment opportunities are limited, but there is seasonal employment in fishing and forest fire fighting. But it's not enough. Costs are high, and the native population remains on the lower end of the economic scale. The remote villages in Alaska, Canada, and Russia are some of the most isolated communities on the planet. It's tough to be fully integrated into society when you grow up in such circumstances. The only way to fully "mainstream" them would be to forcibley move them to cities. It ain't gonna happen. I should mention there are plenty of "dry" native villages where alcohol is not allowed. When these rules are enforced the villages are better off. There are also plenty of whites who drink excessively, use meth or other drugs, etc. But these folks are more likely to be in larger communities. Alaska in general has a huge problem with substance abuse. It's all kind of a mystery to me, because I'm not susceptible to such things.