Subsistence Uses in Chignik Bay, Chignik Lagoon, Chignik Lake, Ivanof Bay, and Perryville

By

James A. Fall, Lisa B. Hutchinson - Scarbrough, and Philippa A. Coiley

Excerpted from Alaska Department of Fish & Game Technical Paper No. 202, May 1995

SUBSISTENCE HARVESTS AND USES

RESOURCES USED AND LEVELS OF PARTICIPATION, 1989

The species and categories of wild resources which were used in the five Alaska Peninsula study communities in 1989 includes 83 types of resources, exclusive of plants. By larger category, there were 25 types of fish, 19 types of marine invertebrates, 13 kinds of land mammals, 5 species of marine mammals, and 21 kinds of birds and eggs used for subsistence purposes by the sampled households. Of the total, four types (rainbow smelt, deer, gray whale, and bowhead whale) were not harvested locally, but were received from households living in other regions of the state.

Participation in the use and harvest of wild resources was virtually universal among the sampled Alaska Peninsula households in 1989. For example, every household in Chignik Lagoon, Chignik Lake, Ivanof Bay, and Perryville, and all but one (97.1 percent) in Chignik Bay used wild resources during the study year. Every household in Chignik Bay, Chignik Lake, Perryville, and Ivanof Bay attempted to harvest wild foods, as did 86.7 percent of the Chignik Lagoon sample. Successful harvesters could be found in 100 percent of the households at Chignik Lake, Ivanof Bay, and Perryville, as well as in 94.3 percent of the Chignik Bay households and 80.0 percent of those living at Chignik Lagoon.

RESOURCE DISTRIBUTION AND EXCHANGE, 1989

Levels of Sharing and Resources Shared

Virtually every household in the five study communities was involved in the noncommercial distribution and exchange of wild foods during the study year. 100 percent of households in Ivanof Bay received wild foods from other households, as did about 95.0 percent in Chignik Lake, 94.3 percent in Chignik Bay, 93.3 percent in Chignik Lagoon, and 92.6 percent in Perryville. Also, every household in Ivanof Bay gave away portions of their harvests, as did 85.2 percent in Perryville, 81.0 percent in Chignik Lake, 74.3 percent in Chignik Bay, and 73.3 percent in Chignik Lagoon.

Although most households were involved in resource exchanges as givers and receivers, the elderly, especially, were the recipients of gifts of subsistence foods. As an elder in Perryville observed:

I found out how much sharing there is here when I got older. Someone's always giving me something to eat. My freezer is full.

Similarly, the general practice about sharing with elders was expressed by an older woman in Perryville, who remarked that almost everyone who goes out hunting, fishing, or gathering gives her portions of their harvests.

A diversity of resources was shared in the five villages in 1989. For example, 60 percent or more of the households in each community reported that they received salmon, other fish, game, and marine invertebrates during the study year. More than a quarter of the households in all the villages received birds and plants. In Chignik Lake, Ivanof Bay, and Perryville, more than half the households received marine mammal oil or meat. Forty percent or more of the households in all five communities reported giving away salmon, other fish, and marine invertebrates. Also, twenty percent or more gave away game and birds. Thirty percent or more of the households in Chignik Lake, Ivanof Bay, and Perryville gave away marine mammals.

Resource Sharing Between Communities

Interviewed households identified communities with which they were involved in resource exchanges in 1989. Households in Chignik Bay exchanged subsistence resources with at least 15 other communities plus households living outside the state. Other than from people in Chignik Bay itself (80 percent), respondents most often mentioned Chignik Lagoon (31 percent), Ivanof Bay (26 percent), Kodiak City (20 percent), Perryville (17 percent), and Chignik Lake (17 percent) as sources of subsistence foods. Chignik Bay households most often gave away portions of their subsistence harvests to people living in their own community (54 percent), followed by Anchorage (14 percent), outside the state (11 percent), Chignik Lake (9 percent), and Kodiak (9 percent).

In 1989, households in Chignik Lagoon shared with at least nine other communities plus "the lower 48." After Chignik Lagoon itself (93 percent), Perryville (33 percent) was the most frequently named community which sent resources to Chignik Lagoon households, followed by Chignik Lake (27 percent). It was most common for Chignik Lagoon households to give resources to others living in their village (60 percent), followed by people living outside the state (40 percent), in Chignik Bay (13 percent), and in Kodiak (13 percent).

For Chignik Lake, households exchanged resources with at least 16 other places as well as with people living outside Alaska. The most households received resources from and gave resources to other households in Chignik Lake, 81 percent and 76 percent, respectively. Next, Perryville was involved in the most exchanges, with 62 percent of the Chignik Lake households receiving resources from Perryville and 29 percent giving resources to people living in Perryville. Quite a few households in Chignik Lake received resources from Chignik Bay (29 percent), Pilot Point (29 percent), and Ivanof Bay (24 percent). Pilot Point is a source of rainbow smelt. In addition to Perryville, a notable percentage of Chignik Lake households gave away wild foods to people living in Anchorage (29 percent) and outside the state (19 percent).

Of the 12 communities with which Ivanof Bay households exchanged subsistence foods in 1989, the most households received such resources from Perryville (86 percent) and Chignik Bay (57 percent). All the households received wild foods from other Ivanof Bay families. They gave resources most often to households in Ivanof Bay (100 percent), followed by Anchorage (43 percent), Chignik Bay (29 percent), Perryville (29 percent), and outside the state (29 percent).

Perryville households exchanged wild foods with at least nine other communities in 1989. Most frequently, they received subsistence foods from other Perryville households (89 percent), followed by Ivanof Bay (59 percent) and Chignik Lake (26 percent). Most often, they gave away subsistence foods to others living in Perryville (78 percent) and to people living in Anchorage (30 percent) and Chignik Lake (11 percent).