Native people live in Bristol Bay, and they subsist off the land.
Native people live in Bristol Bay. They have lived off the abundance of the land for as long as the stories go back. Hunting, fishing, and berry picking are a way of life, providing not just food, but also powerful attachments to ancient practices and traditions. Children are taught to respect the animals that they are hunting and to use every portion of them. People eat beluga, caribou, moose, salmon, pike, smelts, salmon berries, black berries, cranberries, halibut, and on and on. In some villages, people still speak Yup'ik as their first language. There are no roads connecting Bristol Bay to the rest of the state. There are no McDonalds. No malls. No Starbucks. The Native people that live in Bristol Bay have done so forever...as far back as anyone can remember. They have been careful stewards of the land. They have taken what is needed to survive and left the rest. In order to continue their way of life, they need to have a good clean, protected environment. It would be cultural genocide to pollute this region and make people relocate to cities.
