The Yukon River Ingalik: Subsistence, the Fur Trade, and a Changing Resource Base

Abstract

Throughout the period of historic contact, the Ingalik Indians, salmon fishermen of the lower-middle Yukon River in west-central Alaska, displayed a strong secondary dependence on large and small game animals. Patterns of fluctuating wildlife populations are examined and related to habitat changes, particularly those brought about by forest fires. Excessive trapping combined with ecological variations and a changing economic environment are shown to have been responsible for the decline in the fur trade apparent in the last two decades of the 19th century.