**REPORT TITLE:** A Case Study of Copper Center, Alaska.

**STUDY TITLE:** A Case Study of Copper Center, Alaska (TR-07).

CONTRACT NUMBER(S): BLM: CT6-61; MMS: 14-12-0001-29002

SPONSORING OCS REGION: Alaska.

APPLICABLE PLANNING AREA(S): Gulf of Alaska; Kodiak; Cook Inlet;
Shumagin; Aleutian Arc; North Aleutian Basin; St. George Basin; St.
Matthew Hall; Bowers Basin; Aleutian Basin; Navarin Basin; Norton Basin;
Hope Basin; Chukchi Sea; Beaufort Sea.

FISCAL YEAR(S) OF PROJECT FUNDING: 1978.

COMPLETION DATE OF REPORT: January 1979.

COST(S): FY 1978: \$39,507; CUMULATIVE PROJECT COST: \$39,507.

PROJECT MANAGER(S): H. Reckord.

AFFILIATION: Not applicable.

ADDRESS: 5124 44th Street N.W., Washington, D.C. 20016.

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR(S)\*: H. Reckord.

KEY WORDS: Gulf of Alaska; Kodiak; Cook Inlet; Shumagin; Aleutian Arc;
North Aleutian Basin; St. George Basin; St. Matthew Hall; Bowers Basin;
Aleutian Basin; Navarin Basin; Norton Basin; Hope Basin; Chukchi Sea;
Beaufort Sea; Alaska; socioeconomics; historical review; pipeline;
impacts; socioeconomic characterization; literature review; Copper
Center; Alaska Region.

ACCESS NUMBER: 29002

**BACKGROUND:** The economic history of the Copper River Valley, located
in south central Alaska, has been characterized by a series of economic
booms since the Yukon Gold Rush in 1898. The focus of this study was
placed upon the most recent boom period (1973 through 1978) during which
the Trans‑Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) was built. This study effort,
one in a series of studies conducted through the Alaska Outer
Continental Shelf (OCS) Socioeconomic Studies Program, was implemented
to provide a comprehensive description of social changes brought about
by pipeline construction (i.e., from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez, traversing
the Copper River Valley) and the ways Copper Center\'s society and
institutions shaped change and dealt with the distressing pressures
placed on the community.

**OBJECTIVES:** (1) To describe the social history and present community
of Copper Center, Alaska; and (2) To discuss the effects of TAPS upon
Copper Center, including community stress during the pipeline period and
identifying those variables important in predicting the nature of
pipeline impact on the society.

**DESCRIPTION:** An anthropologist\'s view of change in Copper Center
was sought in hopes of discovering some of the processes of culture
change during the period. Conclusions reached in the report were based
on a combination of observations done in the field during 1971 through
1978, coupled with a study of the literature existing on the Ahtna,
other Alaska Natives, and related topics. Information was gathered
almost exclusively from interviews with Copper Center residents, as
written documentation was found to be virtually non-existent. The
researcher lived within the village of Copper Center for extended
periods in order to conduct interviews and to record everyday
experiences and many of the basics of Ahtna culture. Literature
pertaining to Copper Center consists of government reports, a limited
number of Russian documents, and an increasing number of publications
sponsored by the Native Corporation, Ahtna, Inc.

**SIGNIFICANT CONCLUSIONS:** During the last two centuries, the Ahtna
people have evolved from a self-supporting subsistence economy to a
wage-dependent economy. Most of the recent changes within the village
society seem traceable to the influx of young and middle-aged people
into the village during construction of the pipeline. Return migrants
showed a permanent shift in orientation of lifestyle, which will be the
source of some bitterness in the future if the opportunity level of the
pipeline period is not sustained, and people feel they are unable to
support their newly defined needs. In this case, it is highly likely
that the Natives will be forced again to follow the strategy of labor
migration. Permanent changes that will result in the village of Copper
Center from pipeline construction remain unclear.

**STUDY RESULTS:** The aboriginal territory of the Ahtna extended
throughout the Copper River Valley and its drainages, which is
surrounded by the Alaska, Talkeetna, Chugach, and Wrangell mountain
ranges. Villages, fish camps, and houses were located at virtually every
major confluence of the Copper River, which provided food and a means of
transportation for the people of the region. The aboriginal village was
often quite small. Typical structures were constructed of upright logs,
moss, and spruce bark, with small compartments lining the walls around a
central fire pit. Various outbuildings (e.g., underground caches,
menstrual huts, \"honeymoon\" houses, racks for drying and preparing
meat and skins) stood in the yard. Fish camps usually were located
within walking distance of the village, and hunting territories were
often several days walk in the higher elevations of the surrounding
mountains. The Ahtna harvested locally abundant mammals and fish,
predictably following an annual routine that was based on a
sophisticated knowledge of local animal behavior. Many of the
traditional Ahtna social structures organized people into task groupings
for harvesting of resources. Household, clan, and village were the basic
units of Ahtna society. Political position in Ahtna society was defined
by a combination of factors, including ability, matrilineal ties, and
sex. The sexual division of labor was a prevalent organizational
principle in the society.

Knowledge of the Russian Period (1790-1865) is sketchy. In general, the
Russians and the Alaskan Natives who worked for them had little direct
contact with most Ahtna people. It is doubtful that the central Copper
River area was greatly changed as a result of the fur trade established
during the Russian Period. Technological changes accompanying Western
contact (i.e., with the introduction of iron and firearms) were of
consequence to Ahtna society. The most obvious change in the value
system of the aboriginal Ahtna during the Russian Period was the
introduction of Christianity (i.e., Russian Orthodox religion). The
American Period began in 1867. The Gold Rush of 1898 brought significant
change to the Ahtna with the arrival of non-Natives in the Valley.
Copper Center, a good half-way point to the gold fields, was the central
focus of the 1898 stampede to the Klondike. The establishment of trading
posts within the Valley heralded a major change in the subsistence
lifestyle and Ahtna society. Of central importance was the undermining
of sharing and interdependence within the Native community. One of the
most significant changes in the social system involved the family, as
the large house was abandoned in favor of smaller nuclear or extended
family units. Villages became larger and were oriented to the trading
post. Fur trading attained universal importance during the 1920s,
tightly connecting the Natives to the Western economic system. The Great
Depression deeply affected the Ahtna because they were fully
incorporated into a cash economy. During World War II, and with
subsequent completion of the Alaska Highway System linking Copper Center
to Anchorage, prosperity returned to the area. Increased emphasis on
formal schooling during the late 1940s and 1950s substantially changed
Native life. In 1973, many features of the Copper Center Village (i.e.,
the redistributional network, establishment of services, funneling of
money into the village through the elderly, continuing importance of
subsistence resource use) were a positive adaptive response to economic
variables in the wider society which gave little opportunity to Ahtna
Natives. Economic statistics for 1970 show that the Native people of the
Region had a lower per capita standard of living than did the non-Native
population. A lack of skills is responsible for the poor earning
potential in the Native community, with many of the young people who had
grown up in the village of Copper Center emigrating to Anchorage in the
hopes of finding employment. Thus, a large contingent of elderly form
the backbone of the community. One factor allowing Copper Center Natives
to remain in their village with so small a reliance on cash income has
been their continued reliance on subsistence resources. Kinship
continues to be an important determinant of behavior in Copper Center
society. Despite the many changes of recent years, the village
composition is still largely determined by kinship. Clan affiliation
continues to determine many modes of behavior and patterns of
interaction. In 1973, Ahtna household composition was highly
predictable, with 55% of individuals living in independent nuclear
family households, and the remaining 45% living in either single person
households, conjugal pair households, or joint family households. During
the pipeline period (1974-1977), the Copper Center village and the
entire Copper River region witnessed drastic change. The influx of
pipeliners, job-seekers, and hangers-on doubled the region\'s
population. Some community services were greatly improved during the
pipeline period, while others could not keep pace with the new demands
(e.g., telephone service, electrical service, banking facilities).
Prices for food, clothing, sundries, lumber, and hardware decreased
during 1974-1977 as quality and availability increased. A large
percentage of businesses in Copper Center changed hands immediately
preceding the pipeline and during the beginning of the construction
period. Almost every business was either for sale or lease between
1974‑1977. Housing in both the Native and non-Native zones was severely
strained (i.e., via precipitous rises in rent and land prices) by
pipeline development. Population increases put stress on local schools
as the changing racial picture caused by the flood of new students
created unrest. Transportation services expanded during building of the
pipeline. Introduction of scheduled airline service was particularly
important. Increases in highway traffic during the pipeline construction
was a major inconvenience to residents. Health services were also
affected by population increases. One major impact on the village was
caused by the influx of money. Money management in Copper Center is not
only the concern of individuals and families but also applies to the
entire village. Potlatching is probably still the most dramatic form of
village sharing and redistribution found in Copper Center, while more
informal modes of redistribution include sharing subsistence resources
and commensalism. The standard of living improved significantly in the
village during 1974-1977. The change of individual perceptions of rising
living standards varied according to one\'s ability to take advantage of
pipeline employment. Many Natives felt that they did not personally
profit from the general rise in the standard of living. Village
residents did not agree in their perceptions of recent social changes
because the money flowing into the village rearranged status positions
and traditional roles within the community. Attitudinal shifts toward a
dependence on wage labor and accompanying amenities will be the source
of some bitterness in the future if the opportunity level of the
pipeline period is not sustained, and people feel they are unable to
support their newly defined needs. It is highly likely that the Ahtna
will be forced again to follow the strategy of labor migration. It
remains uncertain what will be the nature of the village after this
migration and what long-term changes pipeline construction will have
brought. Variables important in predicting the nature of pipeline impact
on Copper Center society fell into several categories, including income
and income distribution, health and safety characteristics, educational
and cultural characteristics, amenities, community cohesion, and values.

**STUDY PRODUCT(S):** Reckord, H. 1979. A Case Study of Copper Center,
Alaska. A final report for the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau
of Land Management Alaska OCS Office, Anchorage, AK. NTIS No.
PB‑296961/AS. Social and Economic Studies Program Technical Report No.
7. Contract No. 14-12-0001-29002. viii + 237 pp.

\*P.I.\'s affiliation may be different than that listed for Project
Manager(s).