Sage Patton

Sage Patton was interviewed on October 24, 1991 by Dan O'Neill in the audio studio at Elmer E. Rasmuson Library on the campus of the University of Alaska Fairbanks in Fairbanks, Alaska. The interview concentrated on details of life in the Alaska bush, and most particularly on a "woman's perspective," which might be distinct from a man's. Accordingly, interview questions dealt with such topics as the division of labor between the sexes in a subsistence lifestyle. When Sage lived on the Yukon and Nation Rivers in what became Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve, she had been married to Dave Evans, and after the interview, she said she had been reluctant to dwell on details of their relationship in such a way as to appear to be "bashing the ex." In this interview, Sage talks about living a subsistence-based lifestyle in a remote cabin, including building a cabin, their seasonal round of activities including winter trapping and summer fishing, the use of dog teams, the reasons for choosing this lifestyle, and the roles of men and women in maintaining the lifestyle. She also discusses the local attitudes towards the "river people," and issues they faced once the National Park Service arrived to manage the area.