In her address to the Alaska Federation of Natives (AFN) Convention on Oct. 17, Alaska Rep. Mary Peltola told delegates that the meeting was an opportunity.
“There is something so powerful in this group of disparate people who are coming together with one voice,” said Peltola, who pointed to a Latin motto that appears on the national seal and American coins. “It reminds me of Congress. ‘E Pluribus unum’ – out of many, one.”
Peltola shared a story about a recent trip she made to Fort Yukon. That’s where she received a letter from a 9 year old boy. She said that it was one of the most impactful experiences in the last two years – her first full term as a junior congressional member.
“His name was Ben and he had a letter for me, it had a fish on it. It says, ‘From Ben to Mary Peltola.’ And on the inside it’s got a picture of two fish and it says, ‘We have faith in you to save Alaska’s salmon,” Peltola said.
She paused for a moment at the podium. “It immediately made me emotional,” Peltola said. “There’s nothing more impactful to everyone in this room, everyone in this state, than our fishing returns.”
Peltola noted that the number of fish harvested in Alaska through subsistence is minuscule – only a small percentage of all the fish harvested annually statewide.
“Since the history of the state, the most it’s ever been is 3% of our natural resources were harvested for subsistence,” Pelotla said. “In the last decades [sic], it’s been less than 1%. We are here fighting for less than 1%.”
In the last three years, no one living along the Yukon River has been allowed to exercise their subsistence rights to harvest salmon. Salmon harvests on the Kuskokwim River have also been limited in recent years.
“We want to go back to a time when we were able to harvest less than 1% of Alaska’s fish and game resources,” said Peltola. “We are being told that we should be happy with 0%. So that is what motivates me. And yes, I cannot do this alone.”
In 2023, Peltola promised AFN she’d “dig in” on Alaska's salmon crisis. This year, she said that returning to the abundance she’s calling for will take a united Alaska Native voice.
“No one is coming to save us, and this is another thing that I've learned from Elders. No one is coming to save us and we need to know our survival skills,” Peltola said.
Peltola isn’t the only leader focused on subsistence at AFN. Shortly after her speech, a nine-member panel convened for two hours to discuss the legal pathways to further strengthen Indigenous subsistence rights statewide.
Outside of the AFN convention itself, subsistence has also been at the forefront of several efforts on the federal level. This week, the United States Department of the Interior finalized a new rule that will add three new members to the federal subsistence board. Those seats will be filled by individuals nominated by Alaska tribes. The Interior Department also signed three additional subsistence focused agreements with tribal organizations in Alaska this week.
