Subsistence in a Fragmented Landscape and the Promise of Co-Governance
Open Access DepositedThe right to subsistence is a fundamental component of the survival and dignity of Alaskan Native peoples. However, the ability to exercise this right has been structurally constrained through processes of land fragmentation. In this fragmented landscape, access to land for subsistence is bound by regulations based on land ownership (public or private), users’ residency status (rural or urban designations), conservation status of species (endangered or of least concern), and users’ cultural identity (Native or non-Native). The patterns of differentially regulated access that now checkerboard this landscape are a result of past and ongoing negotiations between Indigenous and settler-colonial governments. This paper assesses how these negotiations are experienced by Alaskan Native peoples, and how agreements over land control, use, and access are being renegotiated through formal means or reworked through everyday practices. This paper relies on
(a) 20 interviews conducted in Galena and Fairbanks, Alaska in Summer 2025, and (b) a content analysis of existing regulations governing subsistence (e.g. Alaska Native Settlement Claims Act and the Alaska National Interest Land Conservation Act) and emerging co-governance agreements (e.g. Alaskan Migratory Bird Co-management Council and the Gravel-to-Gravel Partnership). The analysis explores how individuals and tribal organizations are navigating and contesting the colonial present and demonstrates the promise of co-governance in building decolonial futures.
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