ANIAKCHAK NATIONAL MONUMENT AND PRESERVE TRADITIONAL USE AND USER GROUPS STUDY July 2007 Compiled by: Douglas Deur, Ph.D. Protected Area Social Research Unit NPS PNW Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit University of Washington On the basis of fieldnotes and other materials compiled by: Michele Morseth with the assistance of Una Goggin and Ronald Lind Submitted to: Lake Clark and Katmai National Park Preserve National Park Service Anchorage, Alaska This report is in partial fulfillment of PNW CESU Task Agreement UW-01-10 and PNW CESU Task Agreement J9088020020, between the National Park Service and the University of Washington. Aniakchak TUUGS, Draft Report i Disclaimer The Protected Areas Social Research Unit (PASRU) is associated with the National Park Service Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (NPS PNW CESU) coordinated from the University of Washington (UW) College of Forest Resources. The NPS PNW CESU is part of a larger virtual partnership involving nine federal agencies, 16 universities and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. The PNW CESU was created in October of 2000 to provide, research, technical assistance, and education to enhance management of natural and cultural resources on public lands in the Pacific Northwest. PASRU, the applied social science program associated with the NPS PNW CESU evolved from the social science program component of the Cooperative Park Studies Unit that operated from the UW College of Forest Resources from 1970 to 2000. The mission of PASRU is to provide social scientific understanding needed to support the sound management and conservation of our national parks and other federally protected areas. PASRU social research projects are intended to provide the appropriate depth and breadth of objective science and scholarly study to meet the information needs of cultural and natural resource managers who encounter complex problems driven by myriad biological, physical, social, cultural and economic forces. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute endorsement or recommendation for use by the NPS, the UW, or any other agency or organization associated with this research project. The contents of this report do not necessarily reflect the view and policies of the NPS, the UW, or any other agencies associated with this report. Printed copies of this report are housed at the NPS Pacific West Regional Library and can be requested contacting the following address. Pacific West Regional Library National Park Service 168 South Jackson Street Seattle, WA 98104 Digital copies can be requested through the PNW CESU, located in the College of Forest Resources at the University of Washington, and can be requested by contacting the following address. PNW CESU University of Washington Box 352100 Seattle, WA 98195 Aniakchak TUUGS, Draft Report ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Executive Summary 1 Methods 3 Placing Aniakchak in Context 10 Russian Influences on the Alaska Peninsula 16 The American Period to World War II 19 Alutiiq Identity and Cultural Persistence 25 Settlements and Other Significant Places 29 Aniakchak Bay 30 Aniakchak Calera 32 Kujulik Bay and Vicinity 32 Meshik Lake and Vicinity 34 Changing Modes of Access 36 Modern Resource Use Traditions on the Alaska Peninsula 40 Caribou and Moose Hunting 41 Beach and Bay Hunting 44 Interior Hunting 48 Hunters from Kodiak 49 Charter Hunting and Other Hunters from Elsewhere 50 The Cultural Position of the Hunt and Modern Challenges 54 Traditional Hunting Ethics 57 Outside Hunters, New Technologies, Changing Values 58 All-Terrain Vehicles and the Hunt 61 Hunting Other Species 67 Bears and Bear Hunting 68 Bird Hunting 70 Trapping 72 Fish and Fishing 75 Shellfish 81 Berry Picking and Other Plant Uses 83 Other Forms of Visitation 85 Conclusions 89 Recommendations for Further Research 92 Sources 97 Interviewees 97 Interviewee Codes 98 Bibliography 99 Appendix A: Interview Guide for Aniakchak Traditional Use Study 117 Appendix B: Potentially Knowledgeable Individuals not Interviewed 124 Appendix C: Communities Associated with Aniakchak Natl. Mon. and Pres. 125 Appendix D: Place Names in and near Aniakchak National Mon. and Pres. 127 Appendix E: Resources used in the Vicinity of Aniakchak Natl. Mon. and Pres. 137 Appendix F: Maps 141 Notes 148 Aniakchak TUUGS, Draft Report iii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This report represents a summary of findings from the Aniakchak Traditional Use and User Groups Identification Study. This research effort centered on the identification and documentation of natural and cultural resources associated with traditional uses of Aniakchak National Monument and Preserve (hereafter “Aniakchak”) by Alaska Native communities in the region. Specifically, this research sought to illuminate three broad themes: 1) Historic uses of park land and resources by Alaska Native groups within and around the modern-day boundaries of Aniakchak, 2) Present-day use of park land and resources by Alaska Native groups within the boundaries of ANIA, and 3) Uses of land and resources near or related to Aniakchak that may affect, or be affected by, NPS management actions. To conduct this research, the National Park Service (NPS) entered into a cooperative task agreement with the Pacific Northwest Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU). Housed within the College of Forest Resources at the University of Washington, the PNW CESU is itself the home of the Protected Area Social Research Unit, which took principal responsibility for the current project. Ms. Michele Morseth was hired by the PNW CESU to direct this project, and Morseth served as Project Manager during the interview and archival phases of the research. Although the major emphasis of this research has been on Aniakchak, it was necessary to collect data covering areas outside the park unit in order to provide a meaningful cultural context for analysis. Moreover, general data collection focusing on the historic and contemporary lifeways of Aniakchak-area Native peoples was deemed necessary to document the use and importance of culturally significant resources occurring within Aniakchak. The study identified specific uses of park resources by Native Alaskan communities, while also attempting to identify some of the effects of such use on natural resources, as well as any effects of NPS operations at Aniakchak on Native Alaskan uses of lands and resources. An important component of the study was to identify traditional access methods and routes, as changing transportation routes and technologies appeared to have facilitated changing patterns of resource use within ANIA, and motorized access to Aniakchak continues to be a point of debate today. Aniakchak TUUGS, Draft Report 1 As a National Park Service “Traditional Use Study,” this study has emphasized the collection of original ethnographic data, rather than prioritizing the gathering and synthesis of published materials.1 An earlier Ethnographic Overview and Assessment involved literature review; this literature review also informed and guided the current project (Morseth 2003). While the current research did not seek to identify “ethnographic resources,” it did aim to identify culturally significant resources, including those designated by other terms and cross-listed in other NPS inventories.2 Sites categorized as archeological for preservation purposes, for example, are associated with ethnographic information if Native peoples consider them to be appropriate places for historical memorialization, the teaching of young people, or ceremonial activities. Members of traditionally associated groups may also ascribe meaning to objects in park collections perceived as sacred or as items associated with Native Alaskan cultural identity and heritage. They may also assign meanings to localities and landscapes, where reference points are based on collective notions of past or present use. The current research effort was conducted to achieve multiple complimentary goals. The ethnographic information resulting from this research effort shall augments a database of cultural resource data that is used by NPS staff to better understand and consider impacts to culturally significant resources which result from proposed actions and to identify traditionally associated Native groups for purposes of consultation under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and other cultural resource laws. Ethnographic information collected during this study can also assist NPS natural resource management, cultural resource management (especially the management of archeological sites), and interpretation. Among other applications, the information shall help managers evaluate requests for access to resources, as well as identify park resources that may require special treatment or protection. Aniakchak TUUGS, Draft Report 2 METHODS In consultation with the National Park Service (NPS), the Protected Area Social Research Unit in the College of Forest Resources at the University of Washington employed Michele Morseth, an applied cultural anthropologist, as Project Manager, to plan and execute this research. Working directly with NPS staff and the NPS CESU Coordinator, the project manager prepared a research plan to guide all project phases; this plan included an overview of the types of interview questions to be asked of knowledgeable individuals (see Appendix A). Concurrently, NPS staff assisted the project manager in communicating with village representatives