Greenpeace

Alaska’s First Peoples are facing many challenges. Resources, both for economic and subsistence needs, are reaching critical mass. More and more people want a similar lifestyle we have cherished for thousands of years in our homeland. Businesses, charter boats, commercial fishers and others dependent upon those ventures are demanding rights to resources. Families are struggling to find enough fish to not only feed themselves, but to also make ends meet economically. Sadly, both the Gulf of Alaska and the Bering Sea are forced into a system not ever experienced by their calm. Global competition, climate changes and food competitions are damaging what we all consider "ecosystems in beauty." For our people, this must mean we take a very close look at our needs. This must mean we become critical of how these finite resources are being divided by foreign powers, economic powers, challenging our traditional knowledge and ways. This means we must assert our beliefs and inalienable rights to what has proven to be our lifeline for generations: we must demand marine cultural heritage zones!