Module 7-American Period:Society

Essential: How have settlement patterns been a reflection of  natural landscape, distance, resources, and the economy?

 Most of Alaska is very sparsely populated, less than one person for every square mile (see Alaska's Census Profile) In 2010, the entire state had only about three quarters of a million people in it.  The population is centered around Fairbanks in central Alaska, Anchorage and the Kenai Penninsula in the southcentral, Juneau and other towns in southeast  and some other small concentrations of population are in Nome, Bethel, Dillingham, Bristol Bay area and some parts of the Aleutian Islands in the north and northwest part of the state.

Natural resources and landscape dictated where the first Alaskans settled. They presumably came across the Bering Strait from Asia and fished and hunted as they traveled and settled along the coast of Alaska.
  

Dip-netting in the Kenai

Fishing in the Kenai, Southeast and  Southwest Alaska helped to settle and populate these areas. The timber industry in Southeast Alaska also brought many people to the area. Gold, copper and coal mining started many towns all over Alaska, some of which were only short-lived, once the resources were gone, they moved on. 

Trapping for furs replaced some of the mining in the interior of Alaska, although the industry had its ups and downs in the market.

Oil, of course, had a huge impact on the population by bringing people to work in the oil fields and on the pipeline. The discovery of oil in the Kenai and Prudhoe Bay led to doubling of the population during the 1970's. Many people came to Alaska seeing it as the land of opportunity. Goods and services, including schools, developed in relation to the population growth.

In this way the economy also brought more population.  Where there was work, people came, which in turn brought more work.

 Anchorage began as  a construction camp for the railroad.    It grew in population as a center where jobs and goods and services were available.

Many areas in Alaska have a seasonal population.  For example Dillingham almost doubles in size when the fishing season starts.  It has not only commercial, but subsistence and sport fishing.

Skagway in the Summer

Many towns in Southeast Alaska during the summer also are much larger in population because of the tourist trade as well as fishing .  My husband spent some winters in Skagway which he described as living in a ghost town, in contrast to the summer when the town came alive and was bustling with activity, much as in the days of the Gold Rush.


Distance and proximity to transportation routes helped populate areas of Alaska.

The Russians and later the Americans settled along the coasts of Alaska as well as some interior communities accessible by rivers, for greater access to transportation and trade.  Sitka  became the Russian center for trade and commerce, and was where many Americans were initially sent by the government.   

Later when the Gold Rush and mining activities began, railroads and roads were built so that communities sprang up en-route.

There were towns such as Cordova and Seward which started because of their location as port towns.  Copper was transported by rail to Cordova and from there to southern ports.  

Airports and air travel helped communities to grow in population because more remote places suddenly became accessible.


World War II brought the military to places such as Kodiak, Sitka, Unalaska, Fairbanks and Anchorage which helped these areas to grow. (from Alaska history course,)(Alaska's Heritage)

At first, landscape was the main contributor to settlement patterns in Alaska.  Natural resources and the economy that grew from these resources were strongly tied to the landscape.  Distance to ports where goods could be delivered and shipped also contributed to settlement patterns.


 

Examine: What are the reasons for Alaska population trends?(identify reasons for increases and decreases)

According to J. Gregory Williams in Alaska Population Trends the population is projected to grow modestly by 2018, with the greatest areas of growth in the Anchorage and Mat-Su region and some growth in northern and southwestern regions. However, there is  decline in population expected in some Southeast Alaska towns.  There is also an expected increase in school age children and in older adults as the population stabilizes and is not as subject to boom and bust cycles.

Boom and bust cycles in the exploitation of natural resources contributed greatly to the increase and decrease of population in Alaska.   Oil is probably the greatest contributor to an unstable economy.  Many people, including the military, came here for temporary jobs and then left.  Although some who came in the 1970's and 1980's stayed and made their homes here. Slower oil production is having an affect on population growth.


Today the population is getting older and becoming more stable according to the Institute of Social and Economic Research, University of Alaska Anchorage.  Most people are concentrated in Juneau, Anchorage and Fairbanks where there are more jobs and access to goods and services.  Alaska has a growing Native population, the most of any state, probably in part because of better access to health care.

Government projects also contribute to fluctuations in population.  In Dillingham there are road and bridge building projects which bring many temporary workers in the summer. These workers and the influx of fisherman makes  housing scarce.  It is questionable whether or not this will last.


The main reasons for decreases and increases in population in Alaska have to do with the availability of jobs.  Salaries in Alaska used to be quite a bit higher than the national average, however now they seem to be leveling out,  particularly in education.  The economic downturn in the lower 48 has brought a lot of people to Alaska seeking work. Better transportation systems have made living in Alaska easier, prices aren't quite as high(except in Dillingham!) and most goods are available.  The Internet and satellite TV have also made living in Alaska almost like living anywhere in the United States.


Extend:  What is the history of your school district?

Old School Snag Point, Dillingham

A woman told me that when she was a little girl and lived near Wood River in Dillingham, her mother would bundle her up and sit her on a dogsled which would take her the three miles to school in Snag Point(now Dillingham)  The dogs would wait outside all day and then take her home, even during blinding snow storms.  Most students today in Dillingham go to school by car or bus like most other American school children.  Unlike other schools though, Dillingham students are predominately Native and there are a number of Native teachers and staff.

There isn't  much information on the history of the Dillingham School District. I found one book in the library which was written by the Dillingham high school class of 1972/73 from stories told by elders.(The Last of Yesterday...)  They said the school began in 1910, but I couldn't find anything about who started it.  The Moravian Church came to Nushagak (a few miles up river from Snag Point, now considered part of Dillingham) in 1884 to start a school, but they found that there was already an active Russian Orthodox mission school so the Moravians went further north.  The school in Nushagak was later closed because of erosion and the students were sent to the school in Snag Point.

  The school continued to grow and its name was changed to Dillingham Schools.  The town applied to the government to establish a post office and a visiting Judge decided to name the town Dillingham after another visiting official a U.S. Senator from Vermont. (Alaska History Course) (I wonder if the Natives had any say in the name chosen for their town.)


In 1949 the first senior class graduated from Snag Point, before that high school students had to go to the city to finish high school.

It was interesting that the school received its power from a wind generator which was later abandoned when diesel generators took over.  Today there are a number of wind generators around town because the Dillingham branch of the University of Alaska is testing their efficacy.


Today not many students come to school by dog sled, however there are a number of students who come by "snow-go".  The school has grown to about 450 students with a separate high/middle school and elementary school.  There is a bilingual class offered once a week to all students to teach students about their culture.

Reference:
The Last of Yesterday:  The History of Dillingham and Nushagak Bay, John Parker,editor.  Dillingham City Schools, 1974

Evaluation:
This was a fun module for me because I enjoyed getting information and speaking to some of my Native colleagues.  That took me in lots of directions, but I am still enjoying reading stories from the area.
Also population trends are very interesting, however there is so much information its difficult to narrow it down.  I envy those people who have their blogs done by Thursday.  I can't seem to get it all together before Sunday.  I do appreciate the deadlines, otherwise I would be moving much more slowly.

Please note:  my pictures are linked to their sources, it seemed the easiest way to get all the information in.
 
Blogs I have visited:

Peter's Alaska Blog tells of personal experiences when better communication systems came to Alaska, like night and day!  He also talks about river and ocean transportation and how the original pipeline was designed to go through the Northwest Passage.
Dancing Light Blog says that oil is the center of the Alaska economy.  She also talks about the positive aspects of the proposed Donlin Gold Mine in  the lower Kuskokwim valley, namely jobs and vocational/technical training.
Heather talks about the boom/bust cycle of mining.  Is there such a thing as sustainable mining?