Logistics. There are 4 highways in Alaska that basically make one big circle with only one going in or out of the state. It’s very remote and there’s not fertile land for farming. There aren’t factories to pump out consumer goods and processes materials and raw materials that aren’t indigenous need trucked in. Olive oil can be $45.00 and up- in Anchorage, the “big city” a bottle can be had for “only” about $20.
Basically everything has to be transported LOOOONG distance to reach Alaska, there aren’t enough people to support bulk economics, and many areas aren’t accessible or safe for transport for periods each year.
If I had to wager a guess, it's probably because they have to fly it in on small planes and the price per pound of cargo is higher on smaller prop planes vs say a 737.
@guest_ I'm from around Anchorage. A bottle of olive oil averages around $11 ish dollars.
A good comparison off the top of my head is that in the lower 48 you can buy a rotisserie chicken for, like, $5? But in Anchorage it's around $9, and out in the bush/villages it's upwards of $20. For the same size chicken.
It's not so much that it's Alaska. Things are pretty easy to get to Juneau for most of the year, and are just getting easier. The problem comes when you are trying to move those goods inland. That's where you throw the clock against the wall, curse mother nature, and then petition for more roads.
Sorry. I was generalizing- and my pricing was a bit off on the olive oil. But yes- Alaska is a big place and I can’t speak for all of it- the post was long enough as is! (Lol.) the overall message intended was that many parts of Alaska are remote, have difficulties with transportation, and comparing to experience in a suburb or even in some small town in the lower 48- even comparing to Hawaii doesn’t work for much of the state. The larger cities aren’t going to be totally alien or anything like that to most people- but getting beyond the major cities and highways will likely be different for most. It’s the stuff people don’t think about unless they are face to face with it I guess is what I’m trying to say- and then the larger issues surrounding the whole thing.
Welllll.... this is that whole “equality isn’t tampons for men and women” thing. Alaska is remote. REMOTE remote in many places. Now- there are natives in the cities, Alaska has about 61 cities, most with less than 10,000 people. Alaskans get a stipend from a communal investment fund, indigenous or not. Small villages may be 1400 miles or more from a “city” of any type. Things you take for granted like stores or even police don’t work how they do elsewhere. Many of these villages can only be accessed by plane or boat- certain times of year or even if day it is considered unsafe to reach them even with modern transportation and navigation systems.
So in other words- if an Alaskan native from a remote village where winds might reach 70+ mpg and 50+ FEET of snow may fall a year- wanders into a Carr’s Safeway 500 miles away or whatever- they’ll pay the same price as a white Alaskan- but there will be a greater cost in attaining it so total paid to get the food back will be higher. If they happen to have a trading post closer by and that trading post happens to have fresh produce- it will likely cost more since it had to be transported across a great distance and supply is scarcer even than in a more major trade hub. Then they will pay more because of where they live- a side effect of their keeping their native culture and homes.
Here’s something to consider though- the average household income in a larger native village is about $20,000 less than in a city like anchorage. This is because well... everyone gets money from the investment fund but people also have jobs. So like... how much do you think “being a native” pays by the hour? Like before people showed up in America- how many dollars an hour do you think an Apache made for being Apache? If you said “$0” you guessed right.
Before foreigners showed up in Alaska natives did what? They survived. Trade and such exists sure. But many tribes are VERY remote. Most of the year these tribes are self sufficient. They would hunt and cultivate based on what was available off the land. Things like “raw” foods like liver give things like vitamin C in the diet to fight off scurvy and other forms of malnutrition. The native diet and lifestyle was one which allowed natives to survive in the harsh and remote woods of Alaska.
Many things like produce don’t keep or stay effective when you are sieges by nature. If you can’t get to a store for weeks or months and need to have food stored up to survive- natives had that covered thousands of years ago. They figured out how to live alone in the wild. Taking away the food sources they’ve relied on to survive firstly imposes an undue cost on them. The money to replace that same food source through goods is huge and one they didn’t have before and is being imposed on them.
Secondly- putting asides the remnants of their culture- forcing reliance destroys their culture at its core. Ignoring culture- in a place as unpredictable and remote as Alaska saying: “hey- know how you’ve been surviving fine for thousands of years on self reliance? Well... that’s illegal. But don’t worry. We promise we will always be there to take care of you.. and if we break that promise you don’t have to worry because you’ll be dead...” well... that’s not a deal I’d like.
But to your questions on race- who is the reason whales are endangered? Do you think the 86,000 Alaskan natives hunted the world wide whale population to near extinction? Or do you think they by and large have historically tried not to destroy their source of survival? Was it native Alaskans getting rich off whale products primarily in the global trade? Is it the pollution and over fishing and super tankers created by native Alaskans that have hurt whales world wide?
So look at it again. Ask why- people living somewhere thousands of years... should be asked to take on a burden of finances that endangers their survival and way of life... because people who might as well be on the moon to them decided money was a darn good reason to fuck the whole planet. “Excuse me sir- but a bunch of people who have nothing to do with you got rich and now I’m going to need you to stop feeding yourself the way you have for 1,000 years...”
Let alone the economics of it. You can’t grow lemons in Alaska. It isn’t practical to build mass industry and consumer base in Alaska. So no matter what, much of the money spent will find its way out of the community.
I think if it's to survive, like any indigenous culture that hunts their native animals it's okay because by custom they respect the entire animal and use all of its parts and thank it for it's life. They only hunt what they need, to allow the species to breed and live on. What I don't like is when a culture is exploited by others who just want to kill to kill, or kill to create products out of that animals body that actually don't need it, or kill because they believe it has magical healing powers regardless of how many times that has been debunked.
That dude could be hunting off Long Beach and I'd be impressed. Even with a firearm, that'd be a tough shot and an absolute bitch to haul in. Hell, give that entire team credit, because he didn't haul it solo.
A good comparison off the top of my head is that in the lower 48 you can buy a rotisserie chicken for, like, $5? But in Anchorage it's around $9, and out in the bush/villages it's upwards of $20. For the same size chicken.
Virtually everything that person said made sense apart from the oppression bit