So commercial enterprise and money have been part of traditional subsistence economies for a long time. Rural Alaska's economies do operate differently from urban economies, however. Monetary jobs tend to be few and unstable. Monetary incomes tend to be small and insecure. Economic activity tends to occur in family groups, rather than business firms.
Economic ventures tend to be small scale.
Economic goals tend to be for the benefit of family groups, rather than monetary profits for business firms. These are major differences. Rural communities depend on the land for subsistence. It is to their advantage to maintain undamaged land and ecosystems, so wildlife are abundant. Most subsistence communities have customary rules for treating the land and the ecosystem.