The Atna’ and the Political Ecology of the Copper River Fishery, Alaska

Political ecology is a holistic mode of inquiry that applies political analysis to issues of resource use, specifically access by actors and organizations interacting in defined social and cultural contexts. This paper uses a political ecology perspective to reveal how the Atna’, an Athabaskan people of south-central Alaska who have no treaty rights to resources, 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’ participation in the governmental regulatory process.