"Subsistence uses" are defined in statue as the "noncommercial, customary, and traditional uses of wild, renewable resources by a resident domiciled in a rural area of the state for direct personal or family consumption as food, shelter, fuel, clothing, tools, or transportation, for the making and selling of handicraft articles out of nonedible by-products of fish and wildlife resources taken for personal or family consumption, and for the customary, trade, barter, or sharing for personal or family consumption." . . .
Nunamiut Inupiat queried on the subject of musk ox hunting by Ingstad in the late 1940s and by Gubser in the early 1960s readily recalled that musk ox were at one time numerous and highly valued for their meat and skin. Musk ox were always fat, they were told, the meat tasted like that of mountain sheep (considered highly desirable), and skins were used for clothing, bedding, and shelter. Informants reported musk ox being hunted often and described specific musk ox hunting methods and pertinent natural history information. Several common hunting locales on the mid- and lower-Colville River were pointed out to Gubser (1965). When conducting his fieldwork in the Anaktuvuk Pass area in 1951, Rausch found that the Nunamiut Inupiat had no problem identifying the skull of a musk ox (Rausch 1951).
According to Gubser's informants. musk ox numbers dwindled due to hunting pressure in northern Alaska during the early 1800s. This drove the animals to the east. where at least one informant recalled having hunted them again in the late 1800s.
Musk ox have been incorporated in the mythology of the Nunamiut Inupiat, and both Ingstad (1951) and Gubser (1965) recorded stories about musk ox hunting and taboos associated with musk ox hunting. This suggests that musk ox played more than a passing role in the Nunamiut economy and culture.
On the North Slope today, musk ox are still considered by many Native hunters to be part of the region's fauna, even though it has been absent from the area for nearly a hundred years. That is, musk ox is considered a subsistence species, alongside caribou and sheep. This is due in part to the endurance of the oral tradition pertaining to animals and hunting in Inupiat culture, and to a common Inupiat observation that species periodically fluctuate in abundance, disappear temporarily from an area and then reappear once again. According to Inupiat tradition, these disappearances are sometimes governed by changing natural factors and sometimes by spiritual factors. For instance misconduct by hunters (such as wasteful practices) can result in the disappearance of game from an area, but game can reappear once again if the hunters are penitent and reform their practices. These beliefs may also account for why many residents today consider musk ox to be a subsistence animal. . . .
The transplanted musk ox fall within the traditional hunting territory of the community ofKaktovik, and most local interest in hunting the herd comes from Kaktovik. . . .It [Kaktovik] is predominantly Inupiat (91 percent), with Inupiaq spoken by more than 80 percent of residents. Over three-fourths of the community residents (85 percent) were born and raised on the North Slope. . . .
Residents of the community refer to themselves as "Kaktovingmiut" ("people from the seiningplace") and trace their heritage to the eastern region of the North Slope. Many have relatives living in Aklavik, Inuvik and Tuktoyaktuk to the east in Canada and in Anaktuvuk Pass, Nuiqsut, Barrow and Wainwright to the west. Thus, even though the Kaktovingmiut occupy a relatively small part of the Alaskan arctic, they have sharing, trade and family ties and obligations over a far larger area much as did their' ancestors.
The community. has a mixed, subsistence-cash economy. Families participate in a complex pattern of fishing and hunting activities throughout the year, producing a substantial portion of the community's food supply. Most food is produced by the members of core households in the community. The subsistence products are then distributed to other households through lines of kinship and affiliation. Families earn income through a. variety of wage employment opportunities primarily funded by regional or state government revenues. . . .
Musk ox hunting has recently become reintegrated in the annual pattern of subsistence activities as the herd has grown to allow a harvestable surplus in 1983. The community has responded by incorporating musk ox into the local pattern of activities in five distinct ways:
1. direct participation in the harvest;
2. inclusion of musk ox as a desirable source of locally produced meat;
3. indirect participation in the hunt by providing transportation and outfitting services to nonlocal sport hunters for cash and a share in the harvest;
4. use of musk ox hides and horns in the local manufacture of arts and craft items for trade, barter and cash; and
5. gradual community acceptance of musk ox meat and skin donated from non-local hunters and the distribution of these among community households.
Kaktovik hunters actively regard musk ox as a source of meat for community consumption, limited self-employment, and as a source of cash. From the time of the transplant to 1983, local hunters did not harvest any musk ox, although they repeatedly asked the ADF&G and the USF&WS when hunting could commence.
According to our records, expectations in Kaktovik were that once harvesting was deemed biologically justified, local residents would finally reap some benefits after all the years of musk ox being absent in the traditional dietary regime and abstinence from illegal harvest. Kaktovik hunters had participated actively in the transplant, in monitoring the status and distribution of the various herds which developed, in advising the ADF&G of the occurrence and location of dead and sick animals, and in collecting tag information from dead animals found in the field. Kaktovik hunters were interested in and enthused about the reappearance of a species which had historical roots in the area and in their culture and economy. . . .
. . . Kaktovik hunters have selected to hunt during the spring (March 1-31) season when access to the coastal plain and foothills is far easier and parallel hunting activities bring people to where the musk ox generally can be found. . . .
Kaktovik hunters typically employ the same equipment (snowmachine, sled and rifle) in a musk ox hunt as they use for caribou at this time of the year, and they often travel in small hunting groups of 2-3 snowmachines. The musk ox herd locations are well known to Kaktovik hunters. When weather conditions are sufficiently good they access either the Jago or Sadlerochit River group depending on how far they want to travel. Commonly a musk ox hunt is combined with searching for caribou and furbearers.
Musk ox groups typically stand their ground and form a defensive circle when approached by snowmachine, and it becomes a matter of waiting until a desired bull steps out of the group, and provides a clear target, before shooting. This can be quite challenging for the hunter in blowing snow conditions, as the herd is constantly moving around and the opportunity to fire a clean shot does not last long. Harvested musk ox are field dressed and then brought back to the community for final processing, division among hunting partners, and general distribution in the community. Generous sharing of any game, fish, or fowl is still regarded as a prerequisite for being a successful hunter.
Community subsistence harvest surveys in 1985-86, and again in 1986-87, found that Kaktovik hunters shared harvested musk ox widely in the community (Pedersen 1989). In 1985-86, when Kaktovik hunters harvested two musk ox, 42 percent of community households received a direct share. In 1986-87, Kaktovik hunters again harvested two musk oxen and the successful households shared their musk ox harvest with over 66 percent of local households. No quantitative information has been gathered on local distribution of musk ox in other years. but observations in the community indicate that the interest in, sharing of, and sociocultural importance of musk ox is increasing in the Kaktovik subsistence economy. This interest is indicated by the number of musk ox regulation change proposals the Board of Game received from the community.
Musk ox have been incorporated further into the Kaktovik economy through local provision of transportation and outfitting services to non-local musk ox hunters. The March season is demanding physically on hunter and equipment, for it takes place at a time in the eastern arctic when temperatures are still extremely low, winds are strong, and blinding snowstorms are commonplace. Non-local hunters often have found themselves unprepared for these conditions and have waited long periods for decent weather when a rented snowmachine or a local hunter could transport the hunter to the nearest herd of musk ox. Non-local hunters have by and large stayed in a non-locally owned and operated commercial facility while in Kaktovik, but relied heavily on local expertise and equipment to facilitate the hunt. Providing non-local musk ox hunters with gear and transportation has brought some households a welcome financial boost. On the whole, the general community has not embraced this new economic activity, as it is still seen as unnecessary competition for a resource that is not satisfying local demand.
Non-local musk ox hunters rarely utilize all the available meat from animals they harvest. In the case of Kaktovik-supported hunters, the meat is usually donated to the assisting household. This arrangement seems to have worked fairly well, and is now considered as an acceptable source of meat. Non-local hunters who have successfully hunted musk ox unsupported and who have tried to donate meat to Kaktovik households have met with mixed success. Because the meat and carcass are not always treated in ways acceptable to local households, some donations have been passed by. Donations of meat from accidentally killed musk ox also have been rejected at times, largely due to the way in which the processing was done or the donation was made. However, some meat enters the community food-sharing system from non-local sources and is selectively accepted.
Use of musk ox horn and hide in the local manufacturer of arts and crafts items is just beginning, and several households are making a small number of craft items for sale. Musk ox horn was formerly carved into a variety of culturally relevant artistic forms, including decorative ladles, and some carvers are now beginning to revitalize these lnupiat items. Skins and hair are used in the manufacture of skin masks and groundcover for camping. Some Kaktovik artists are experimenting with musk ox skulls and jawbones to create craft items.
Musk ox have been part of the Inupiat culture in northern Alaska for many years. Although musk ox disappeared from this part of their range in the mid- to late 19th century, and despite the gap in their active use of this resource, present day Inupiat have maintained their cultural connection to the resource and quickly closed the gap once the resource was deemed harvestable. The success story of the transplanted musk ox in northeast Alaska and the revitalized musk ox hunt in Kaktovik can be viewed as an example of what can be accomplished through scientific wildlife management and local Inupiat cooperation. . . .