Dip nets, fish wheels, and motor homes: The Atna', traditional ecological knowledge, and resource management in the Copper River fishery, Alaska

Political ecology is a holistic mode of inquiry that applies political analysis to resource use and access by actors and organizations interacting in defined social and cultural contexts. This thesis uses a political ecology perspective to reveal how the Atna' Athabaskan people of South central Alaska use their knowledge of their environment to articulate a specific claim to Copper River salmon. Three case studies of Atna' public activism are presented demonstrating Atna' practice in governmental regulatory process. The position of the Atna' in the Copper River salmon fishery is contrasted with three other north Pacific Native American salmon regimes in order to demonstrate the special features of the Atna' context.