oosik
Epic Contributor
I lived in Ak from 1960 to 1982. I got to see how a lot of these people who are living on homesteads make ends meet. Its not a life style I could learn to appreciate. Believe me, they do live off the land. All Alaskans over a certain age - I think its 18 - get annual oil royalties from the Ak government - not from the oil companies. It varies from $850 - $1600/per person dependent upon how much money the state received on its oil royalties. Many Ak natives receive oil trust monies - this is their share of the earnings from the oil revenues given to their tribe by the oil consortiums - in the very beginning - 1959 thru probably 1962.
Most of the homesteaders I knew were in their mid 30's to late 40's. Most lived in "something" one step up from a dirt floor two room cabin. None had electricity, running water, plumbing, central heating etc,etc. Here I'm going to make a statement that is fact and has no connotation of race or racial overtones. Most were white men who were married to Ak Native women and had many children. All lived a long way from the nearest maintained dirt road and even further from any paved road. My closest friend lived half way between Anchorage - Fairbanks, on the new highway and 56 miles west of the new highway. He was 37, his wife was AK Native and was 32. They had seven children - six boys and one girl. Each member of the family had chores each and every day, seven days a week. All the kids were home taught by his wife.
They were an extremely nice family but they had a very hard life. The only vegetables they raised were cabbage & potatoes. I would bring the family needed supplies each time I visited. We would communicate via the Muckluck Telegraph. Messages sent every evening at a specific time over commercial radio. Because of where they had their homestead - it was only possible to "drive" there after freeze up. I would make one trip in the early winter - late moose hunting season and again in the spring - before breakup. Otherwise, only some type of high flotation tracked vehicle could have made the 56 mile trip.
Believe me, those Ak Reality shows - - are of homesteaders who are very well off and must be getting a lot of funding from the show itself.
Most of the homesteaders I knew were in their mid 30's to late 40's. Most lived in "something" one step up from a dirt floor two room cabin. None had electricity, running water, plumbing, central heating etc,etc. Here I'm going to make a statement that is fact and has no connotation of race or racial overtones. Most were white men who were married to Ak Native women and had many children. All lived a long way from the nearest maintained dirt road and even further from any paved road. My closest friend lived half way between Anchorage - Fairbanks, on the new highway and 56 miles west of the new highway. He was 37, his wife was AK Native and was 32. They had seven children - six boys and one girl. Each member of the family had chores each and every day, seven days a week. All the kids were home taught by his wife.
They were an extremely nice family but they had a very hard life. The only vegetables they raised were cabbage & potatoes. I would bring the family needed supplies each time I visited. We would communicate via the Muckluck Telegraph. Messages sent every evening at a specific time over commercial radio. Because of where they had their homestead - it was only possible to "drive" there after freeze up. I would make one trip in the early winter - late moose hunting season and again in the spring - before breakup. Otherwise, only some type of high flotation tracked vehicle could have made the 56 mile trip.
Believe me, those Ak Reality shows - - are of homesteaders who are very well off and must be getting a lot of funding from the show itself.
not to mention I hate sticking to the seat in mid winter 
