ANTHROPOLOGY AND PUBLIC POLICY IN ALASKA: RECENT POLICY RELATED TO LEGAL SYSTEMS NATIVE SUBSISTENCE AND COMMERCIAL FISHERIES |
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| Authors: | Kerry D Feldman |
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| Institution: | KERRY D. FELDMAN received his Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of Colorado in 1973, completing a dissertation on squatter settlements in Davao City, Philippines. Presently he is a research associate at the University of California, Berkeley, on sabbatical leave from the University of Alaska, Anchorage where he is professor of anthropology. His research since 1973 includes work on behalf of the Alaska State Commission for Human Rights, sociocultural impact analysis for proposed oil exploration in the outer continental shelf of the Gulf of Alaska, expert witness testimony on behalf of a southwestern Eskimo village in water rights litigation, elderly Alaskan Native adaptation to an urban environment, the displaced Native Alaskan youth phenomenon and the role of beluga whale hunting in current Alaskan Eskimo subsistence strategy. |
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| Abstract: | The past and potential contributions of anthropology to public policy have been described andlor argued for by numerous writers in the past decade, but the primary application and concern have been at the national and international levels. The present paper continues this discussion, but focuses on state-level policy in Alaska. The work of three Alaskan anthropologists is presented; they have made significant contributions to policy in the areas of law, Native Alaskan subsistence rights and fisheries management. Their work is evaluated in the context of a five-step model for conducting policy analysis which begins with the assessment of policy-making environments and ends with an evaluation of policy alternatives. The primary policy concerns of the anthropologists discussed involved the traditional research focus of anthropology, Native Alaskans; however, the tools they employ and background they bring to their work, the specific kinds of policy issues and problems confronted, are not as traditional. One of the anthropologists discussed is atlingit Indian completing doctoral studies at Harvard University, another is a lawyer-anthropologist, and the third is highly trained in biological and economic theory as well as computer technology. It is argued that the "hyphenated" anthropologist, at least as exemplified in the cases discussed, is most readily equipped to make policy relevant contributions. |
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