5 year old boy shot and killed by 11 year old child in Alaska. This one hits a little close to home.

Kokhanok, Alaska

Courtesy of Alaska Dispatch: 

Alaska State Troopers say another child is believed to have fatally shot a 5-year-old boy in the village of Kokhanok last weekend in what troopers had described as an accident. 

Troopers said in a Monday dispatch that the boy, who was wounded Saturday, "was playing video games in the living room of his residence when another child (age 11) in the residence obtained a firearm and subsequently shot" the boy. 
Medics flew the boy to an Anchorage hospital, where he died Sunday.

The Dispatch says that family members were home at the time, but apparently did not have the presence of mind to keep guns out of the hands of their children. 

You might be surprised to learn that in this case I am not advocating for no guns in the home, as these people living out there in rural Alaska exist largely on a subsistence lifestyle and it is likely that this eleven year old has gone hunting with his family numerous times in order to learn how to survive.

What I am advocating is that since firearms are a necessary way of life, that gun safety should be also be job one for these parents.

Of course it could be that this was an intentional use of a weapon by this eleven year old, and safety was not the issue. In which case this family has a very serious problem on their hands indeed.

Take a moment to watch what a REAL Alaskan subsistence livestyle is all about.

How to prepare a king salmon for the smokehouse from Dennis Zaki on Vimeo.

This is from a documentary being put together by my friend Dennis Zaki.

This is how he describes it on the website:

"The Salmon People" is a documentary about the struggles of Alaska Natives to survive without king salmon while corporations catch their fish and dump them overboard as bycatch in the quest for McDonald's filet-o-fish sandwich.

Did you listen to how proud that Lenora Hootch was as she described learning how to cut up the salmon to be dried and smoked with her father as a young girl?  Did you hear how humble she was, and how thankful she felt to have fish to feed her family? Quite a contrast from that OTHER program which claims to show people the real Alaska now isn't it?

Unlike Sarah Palin these people live the TRUE Alaskan subsistence lifestyle.

They could not imagine the luxury of spending $42,400 for a freezer full of Caribou meat. That is something that rich people, with choices, get to do if they have millions of dollars at their disposal and want to play pretend hunter or fisherman. 

For these people it is about feeding their families, NOT feeding their egos.

Moore Up North for February 27, 2010.

Part One


For those of you who have been following the Alaska blogs for awhile this may be the first time that you will get a chance to see and hear Ann Strongheart who was a co-founder of the Anonymous Bloggers site over to the left on my blogroll.

She gave many people their first glimpse into what life in rural Alaska is all about. And as many Mudpuppies know all too well she also provided information about how the villages that were so terribly affected by the cold snap and lack of fuel last year responded to the donations that many of you sent.

Part Two

This panel of Alaska's first people helps those of us living in cities and outside of Alaska a real understanding of what it means to live a "subsistence" lifestyle.



Part Three



Part Four



Part Five

Palin tweets lies about Emmonak, with a little help from her new rural administrator John Moller. UPDATED!

So here is what Sarah Palin tweeted about the current situation in Emmonak:

According to Gov. Sarah Palin's posts on Twitter, half of the people in Emmonak have met subsistence needs and the other half believe they can do the same.

Palin says her rural advisor, John Moller, recently returned from Emmonak and those were his findings.

However THIS is our friend Martin Moore's take on the situation:

Emmonak's city manager, Martin Moore, says he's skeptical that as many people are doing as well as the Palin administration indicates.

With depleted king salmon runs and resulting cuts to subsistence and commercial fishing, he's not convinced food and financial opportunities are plentiful.

Not sure who to believe? Well don't you worry because the Alaska bloggers have their very own man, Dennis Zaki, right there in Emmonak to give us the straight poop.

Last week Palin Tweeted that Emmonak had 50% of their subsistance quota. I've heard all around town that that was false. So this morning I took a poll around town and John Moller is bullshitting everybody. Out 64 people polled, 5 said they have met their quota. 51 said they have less then 50% of their quota. The limited time of the openings are making it hard to fish. "the hell with Sarah Palin" is the best quote I got. These people get pissed when I tell them what Moller said about 50% having their quota.

Three people told me they can't fish because they don't have money to retrieve boat parts at the Post Office. They can't make money because they are commercial fishermen and with the fishery closed to commercial fishing, can't get a loan until it opens.

Story Two: Homeland Security hasn't paid the workers out here for flood work. They were supposed to be paid last Friday but were told the money was late getting deposited then and would be available Monday. I just ran into the pissed off workers outside the city office here and they were just told the money never was actually deposited. Those guys need the money to buy fuel tonight for the opening so they can go fishing. Lots of frustration here. They are getting BS from government all around. Natives getting lied to by government - sound familiar?

And THAT my friends is why we raised money to send Dennis back out to Emmonak and get the real story.

I just hope that our local newspapers and television stations are smart enough to contact Dennis and get the TRUTH from him instead of relying on the bullshit falling out of Palin's mouth again.

Update: ADN now has this story as well. (Scroll to the bottom to see the quote from Dennis.)

Video explains how Alaska Predator control programs have favored urban and out of state hunters at the expense of subsistence hunters over the years.

This of course supports what I was saying in yesterdays post and in previous posts on this matter.

These "predator control programs" hide behind the fallacy of keeping a predator/prey balance to help the subsistence hunter, who is trying to feed his family the way his people have done for thousands of years, but then either severely restrict the subsistence hunters access or forbid him to hunt altogether in favor of rich trophy hunters.

They have turned what was a breathtakingly beautiful wilderness into a virtual slaughter house.

And I am beginning to understand that the reason we have had so many bears here in Anchorage last summer is because this is where the prey that has escaped the hunters is coming to hide. We are right next to Chugach State park where moose and other prey animals can live and raise their young unmolested. It just makes sense that the bears would follow them into our back yard when the prey in other parts of the state is becoming so hard to find. After all how can a bear possibly compete with helicopters, ATV's, and high powered rifles?

Here is a link to a website where YOU can take action to help stop this senseless slaughter.

(I need to give a much deserved hat tip to NalinPalinNow for the video. They have done a very comprehensive write up on this subject that I urge you to read.)