Module V

What have been the major components of the Alaska economy during the American period of 1867-present?

The Alaska Commercial Company Cir 1880s UAA photo

The Alaskan economy has gone thorough many changes and I think the best way to describe it is boom and bust.  Very little restraint has been shown when a resource has been discovered and like the tragedy of commons, people will do what they can to only benefit themselves. From the start when the Americans took over fur was on the decline.  Over hunted by the Russians  and finished by the Americans most fur baring animals was getting harder and harder to find. This was also happening to the whales, hunted for oil among other things.  For both industries they brought a lot of people into the state and money but were unsustainable.

Skagway, Alaska 1899

Prior to oil gold was the largest boom to the Alaskan economy.  Discovered several years after the American purchase of Alaska it brought thousands of people the area to try their luck.  Creating boomtowns out of Valdez, Nome, Seward, and Fairbanks to name a few. While most people would not strike it rich they did provide a large population boost.  These gold rushes were just the start of the extraction of minerals in Alaska.  As the booms ended large companies moved in and started commercial mining operations on a large scale all over Alaska.  From the copper mines around Cordova to the possible Pebble Mine.  Mining still is an important part of the economy even today.

Alaska Commercial Fishing photo: Alaska Fish and game

Alaska has been gifted by some of the best fishing waters in the entire world. This past week I was in Seward for a school field trip to the AVTEC facility.  During our trip we had a chance to visit the Alaska Sealife Center and. I was just astounded on how much fish is pulled from the Bering Sea every year.  Even today as the number of fish have drastically declined in some areas over 1.84 million metric tons of fish were harvested in 2011.  All of this brought in 1.3 billion dollars to the Alaskan economy in one year alone. On a much smaller scale, fishing is very important to my village it has sustained them for thousands of years. In addition to this fact commercial fishing is the only job outside of the council office.  This way of life has transitioned from a subsistence harvest to a commercial one. But the fishing here is a shadow of what it used to be due to another part of the Alaskan economy affecting the harvest. 

Exxon Valdez, Apr. 13 1989

On March 24, 1989 the Exxon Valdez collided with Bligh Reef 7 miles from my village.  1500 miles of devastated coastline later the fishing industry around the area was gone.  By why was a large tanker heading through such a pristine country? Oil, since Russians discovered it in had not played a major part of the Alaskan economy.  The costs are high to collect and process it, not to mention the very high transportation costs. By the 1950s large enough deposits were causing people to take notice and put the needed capital into recovering it.  But it was not until the massive discoveries on the North Slope that Alaska was changed forever into an oil producing state.  With roughly 13 billion barrels of oil Alaska now was on the map of major oil producers. This made the State of Alaska dependent on oil for most of its budget, roughly 80% at times.  Boom and bust cycles in the price of oil has forced the state to try and diversify is economy.  This has happened a little but it will be many years before black gold does not drive the state.

What were the primary motivations for Americans moving to Alaska in the late 1800's?

I can relate a lot to the early American settlers to Alaska.  I have a bumper sticker on my truck that reads “Alaska, North to the future.” People moved to Alaska to make money pure and simple. If you look at what people had to go through to make it to the gold fields, or the conditions they lived in at the whaling stations you can’t tell me it was for the view.  The lure of life changing amount of money for some discomfort was all it took for many. 

Packing the trailer to move to Alaska, Summer 2011

There was another factor that also drove people to Alaska besides money.  The lure of adventure, the unknown.  At this time America was settled from the east to the west.  The blank spaces in the map had been filled in and a person could take the train across the country in comfort.  For many it may have been that they felt fenced in.  But in Alaska you could be what you wanted to be. 

I put myself in the latter category (obviously as a teacher money was not going to be the determining factor).  I packed my entire family up in a used truck, built a trailer and drove north. Other than myself no one in my family had been to Alaska let alone the small remote village that we were moving to. But what made us do it was the thrill of adventure.  Something that most people would never do it their lives.

Extend: Describe the economic base for your area of Alaska and share any current issues confronting the local residents.

Tatitlek Alaska in the summer

The small village of Tatitlek has been around for a long time.  It was one of the villages listed by the Russians when they arrived.  Predominately a subsistence village up until the start of the 20^th Century it had a modern economy forced upon it.  The village was moved 2 miles when copper was discovered and a mine was built.  When that closed a cannery was built and also closed a few years later 1950s.  Since that time no major jobs have been located in our community.  A few commercial fishing boats operated out of the village but that ended with the Exxon Valdez oil spill. Currently the town has no real economy to speak of.  We have no stores, or any real jobs other than make work ones by the tribal office.  The lack of the economy has contributed greatly to the dramatic shrinkage of the village now down to 60 people.  The local corporations have been trying to develop a long term economic plan but nothing has been presented.

Other Blogs

Investigate Alaska was very clear and easy to read I attempted to emulate that this week with my blog. Also her use of hyperlinks in the text was very useful.

Heather’s Alaskan Exploration was very well done.  Besides the insightful responses to the questions the blending of the pictures into the text was very well done.  I also related a lot to the economy of her town.

Explore AK was well done and the response was very complete.  The articles he posted helped explain and increase the usefulness of his blog.

Response

This weeks blog was a wealth of information (maybe a bit overwhelming at times) that helped me get a much better grasp on what goes on in Alaska.  I think the most surprising thing that I saw was the graph of how much of the Alaskan economy was dominated by 2 main areas: federal government and petroleum.  I have seen how massive the government is here in Alaska just by drilling with my army unit.  The resources available are crazy and the land set aside is immense. 

I am looking forward to the next module about transportation. After driving the Alaska/Canadian Highway last summer I am very impressed on what it took for them to complete it so fast.