Beginning Credits

Simon Paneak talks about having land, and filing releases with the state of Alaska. There are many animals in the Killik Valley and Chandler Lake that the people of Anaktuvuk Pass hunt. There is good hunting all over the mountain area, and the valley. During the winter, snowmachines are out in the area, and are used to hunt with.

Riley Sikvayugak talks about Anaktuvuk people and sport hunters not currently having many problems, but many years ago there was conflict. Men used to fly in and hunt wolves, and the villages didn't get hardly any. The aerial hunting has since ended.

Raymond Paneak talks about Outside men hunting in the Killik valley, but they waste the meat. They kill many animals, and leave the meat to rot. This makes is very rough for Anaktuvuk hunters. Raymond and Riley also talk about wolves, and their prevalence in the area.

Zaccharias Hugo has lived in Anaktuvuk Pass since 1949, coming over from Killik in 1949. They also used to live on the Colville River, near the coast. His family left in 1942, and went over to Chandler Lake, that fall they also hunted in the Chandler Lake area. In the spring, around March he moved to the Killik Valley. They were used to traveling back and forth, and did so until settling in Anaktuvuk Pass in 1949. In 1949 most people moved to the Anaktuvuk Pass area. He recently went to the Killik Valley area, and he observed that there seem to be more animals there than in previous years. This has been very good for hunting. Zaccharias wants to keep the lands open for future generations to hunt and use.

Marie Paneak thinks that where they hunt and fish should be opened to the Native people anytime, especially the Killik River. They get their fuel from the wood they find and have to go other places away from Anaktuvuk Pass to get wood. Even though she is a woman, she likes to hunt, too. She wants their way of life to be understood. The people can't live without hunting and they want to be free to hunt. There are no jobs in Anaktuvuk Pass so they need to depend on the use of the land. When she went to Killik River she grew up there and wanted to see it again.

Jack Ahgook talks about how in the past, the people were nomadic, and then in 1948 most of the people started settling down because they didn't have to go a long ways for trading anymore. Men still have to travel all over to find food and trap for their families. They often look for wolf pups and travel beyond Killik. Some Native allotments are considered D-2 lands, one is on the North fork and is 160 acres. There are places everywhere to hunt and trap, their ancestors used the land and the Native people now use it too for hunting and fishing. They need the land because they don't have jobs to provide for the family. They need the meat of caribou and moose, but they don't eat the meat of the wolf. The caribou seems to be going too far south. They use snowshoes all winter because they don't have snow machines and if they did they can't afford to buy gas. The Native people were a lot healthier back than too, because they were always working to take care of the family and traveled long distances to hunt and fish.

Olive Morry is afraid to speak about the Killik River and the land because it is very important to her. The game is what they can use. She would like everyone to know that they want the land open for the youth. She was born on the Coleen River and was brought to the Killik country.

Roosevelt Paneak talks about being born in 1945, and how he is caught in between the two generations of the nomadic way of life ending and entering the cash economy and subsistence way of life. It's hard for them to go through those changes. Only 25 years earlier from 1973 they settled in Anaktuvuk Pass. To have a Post Office they had to be stationary, so they settled in Anaktuvuk Pass. His people traveled to Aklavik, which is in the Northwest Territory (NWT) of Canada, and south of there. They traveled in all directions. In living a nomadic life, you would have to follow all the animals until the meat was low and then move to another place. He opposes any restrictions on the land. The idea of the park was not known until recently. There is no preliminary research being done on it. Putting a National Park in the Brooks Range is going to change the way of life of the people. They would not be able to use the land anymore if it's a park. They have about five ice cellers that keep the meat frozen all year. The amount of meat varies from family to family. There is not a place in Anaktuvuk Pass where you can buy any other meat and the people have no jobs. It's a hardship going through cultural changes and it is also difficult. The sense of pride is great, but not as great as it was long ago. Social structures between elders and the younger generations are changing, too. The establishment of the park is going to change the life systems of the people. It will be restricted to the Native people; they won't be able to utilize it for their way of life. The men hunt the caribou when they migrate through Anaktuvuk Pass. It is difficult to keep and retain the culture and adopt a new one.

End Credits