The Legal Protection of Subsistence: A Prerequisite of Food Security for the Inuit of Alaska

Abstract

For the last twenty-five years, the legal protection of subsistence in Alaska has given rise to legal and political controversies. Subsistence is closely related to the concept of “food security,” as defined by the World Food Summit. The purpose of this Article is to highlight the need to recognize and critically examine the link between food security and the efficient legal protection of the traditional hunting, fishing, and gathering activities of the Inuit people of Alaska. The Article first describes the genesis and evolution of the subsistence debate in Alaska. It then attempts to demonstrate that the legal protection of subsistence is a prerequisite to Inuit food security for nutritional, cultural, and economic reasons. Finally, the Article identifies specific features of the Alaskan legal regime that threaten Inuit subsistence and food security.