Resource: The Spirit of Subsistence Living

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The subsistence lifestyle of Alaska Native peoples keeps them intimately connected with the world around them. They live close to nature and harvest from the land and sea, which provide them with sustenance as well as resources for shelter, clothes, and handicrafts. They take part in the interdependent relationships of the natural world. The universe is honored and respected as a complex system in which everything—plants, animals, rivers, mountains, and even wind—is believed to possess spirit. This unifying life force provides a kinship among all aspects of nature. Resources are viewed as gifts and Alaska Native peoples honor nature through rituals, ceremonies, and art.

Science is a system of knowledge gained through study. Alaska Native science understands nature in the context of indigenous and subsistence lifestyles. Over thousands of years of observing, living, and interacting with nature, Alaska Native peoples have developed a strong understanding of their local environments. Practical knowledge about the natural world—its properties, patterns, and cycles—is a matter of survival. Using their traditional understanding about the environment, Alaska Native peoples are able to safely hunt, gather, travel, and manage their resources. Traditional ecological knowledge is a holistic approach to science that views the universe as a single interconnected system, incorporating observations of generations and Alaska Native culture and beliefs. Alaska Native science does not necessarily seek to explain nature, but rather gathers knowledge about how to coexist with nature.

The western approach to science is very different. Western scientists systematically isolate and study aspects of natural phenomenon, specializing in components of nature (such as in climatology, oceanography, or geology) and trying to understand the natural world objectively. They research testable explanations of natural phenomena by following an analytical process that includes asking questions, making observations, testing hypotheses, collecting and analyzing data, and drawing conclusions. The knowledge that has been gained through Western science is largely quantitative and objective; it is theoretically reproducible by other scientists. Western science explains nature using principles, laws, theories, and mathematics, but it does not include the supernatural component present in Alaska Native science.

Although the approaches are quite different, both Alaska Native and Western science practices have yielded a great storehouse of knowledge about the natural world. Both approaches are valid and can complement one another. For example, the visualization tools and satellite technologies of Western science provide detailed observations on a global scale, but such data has only been gathered for a relatively short time. Alternatively, traditional knowledge provides long-term, comprehensive observations focused on local environments and Arctic ecosystems. In an effort to better understand the current environmental changes in the Arctic, Alaska Native and Western scientists are combining forces. By integrating the strengths of both approaches, scientists can combine quantitative and qualitative expertise to gain valuable insight about climate change and its effect on the Arctic and the indigenous people that occupy it.

To learn more about Alaska Native traditions and lifestyles, check out People of the Arctic and Living from the Land and Sea.

To learn more about subsistence living, check out On the Yukon River and Iñupiaq Whale Hunt.

To learn more about how climate change affects subsistence lifestyles, check out A Subsistence Culture Impacted by Climate Change, An Unpredictable Environment, and Arctic Climate Perspectives.

To learn more about integrating Alaska Native and Western knowledge, check out Dolly Garza: A Tlingit and Haida Scientist , Taqulik Hepa: North Slope Natural Resources , and Alaska Native Pilots.

Print Questions for Discussion

• What do you think the visitors hope to gain from their visit with the Cup'ik people? Explain your reasoning.
• Why do many Alaska Native peoples live near water? List some of the natural things in the environment and describe how the Cup'ik people use them. Are these materials still available in abundance? What has changed?
• This video describes a world perspective in which "everything is connected." What is meant by that?
• How would you compare the way in which the Cup'ik people and Western scientists view the natural world? What are the similarities and differences?
• For millennia, Alaska Native peoples have been observing the changes in their environment. How can technology help Western science make use of such data?