Module VI - American Period: Transportation and Communication

Essential Question: What are issues facing Alaskans today related to transportation and communication?

When I first moved to Alaska, I was dumbfounded at the high prices of groceries.  It amazed me at the differences in cost for items I normally would purchase when I lived in Washington compared to here in Anchorage.  And I didn’t get it at first – were prices higher here because everyone got the “oil money”?  Then I realized that the majority of what I was buying (fresh fruits and vegetables, dairy) was coming from out of state; in Alaska, out of state means far away.

According to the Explore Alaska! blog, over 80% of all cargo arrives in state via marine transport. This makes sense, since ships were the first major mode of transport to Alaska.  Over the last 30 years, shipping has been the major link between moving items from the lower 48 to Alaska.  This is crucial, since Alaskans depend on shipping for the delivery of food, building materials, and petroleum products.   According to the Alaska History and Cultural Studies website, the cost of living in Alaska would be much higher without the highly developed systems of ocean and river transportation now in place.

I think another issue that Alaskans face today in respect to transportation is the cost of transportation itself.  Because of the limited number of major roads in the state, traveling to and from towns that are not located along the highway can be costly.  Leaving the state is another story entirely.  While over 30 air carriers operate out of Ted Stevens Airport (Explore Alaska!), the average cost of a domestic flight from Anchorage to Seattle is $545 (Bing).  Both driving and taking the ferry are other options, but those both take time.  I’ve personally driven from Washington state to Anchorage, and without stopping except to get food, fuel, and sleep for a few hours, it still took 3 days.  While Alaska is an awesome place, the amount of time and cost it takes to travel can be a challenge.

The Russian tanker Renda
CNN

 The weather can also have an impact on both transportation and communication in Alaska.  While residents have adapted to and learned to love the environment around them, the unpredictable nature of our weather can create interruptions.  Even building roads and railroads can be challenging with the changing weather conditions (Explore Alaska!).  In December 2011, a Russian tanker had been tasked with taking fuel to Nome, which hadn’t had any delivered since November due to a massive storm.  The tanker experienced a slow journey, however, and had to have an icebreaking ship carve a route in the ocean for it to travel.  It wasn’t until January 16, 2012, that the tanker was able to get near enough to Nome to transfer the fuel via hose (USA Today).

Examine Question: What were the factors that prompted the growth of ocean and river transportation in Alaska?

The need for more transportation routes and vehicles escalated in the late 1800’s.  When the Klondike Gold Rush set off in 1897, thousands of people flooded to Alaska in search of the ultimate discovery.  Before the gold rush, only a limited number of companies provided passage from Seattle, Portland, or San Francisco to Alaska, and only offered them a limited number of times.  According to the Alaska History and Cultural Studies site, when “68 miners from the Canadian Klondike reached Seattle…they brought with them $964,000 in gold dust and nuggets.  People immediately swarmed north by ship.”  With that news, companies sent over 170 ships to Alaska, carrying freight and passengers.

Once they reached Alaska, those in search of gold still had to travel via rivers to get near the action. Before the gold rush, two steamboats operated on the upper part of the Yukon River.  Once the news got out about the gold, the number of steamboats soared.  In order to transport the passengers and freight upriver, the 30+ steamboat companies competing for service had to build 60 new boats to send on the Yukon.  However, once the gold rush panned out (pardon the pun), so did the need for steamboats.  According to the Alaska History and Cultural Studies site, “The gold rush era steamboats accounted for most of the nearly 300 steamboats known to have been used on the Yukon River.”

The Inside Passage
National Geographic Expeditions

The vast coastal region of Alaska remained a mystery to many travelers until the early 1900’s.  During the Klondike Gold Rush, over 300 ships wrecked on their way through the Inside Passage due to poor charting and submerged hazards.  Two lighthouses were erected in 1901 on Sentinel Island and Five Fingers Island in Southeast Alaska (Lighthouse Friends).  It wasn't until 1914 that surveying of the coastal areas began.  Even with these advancements, according to the Alaska History and Cultural Studies site, “losses averaged about 24 ships a year until World War II.”

Extend Question: How dependent is your community on air transportation?

I think that any community in Alaska is fairly dependent on air transportation, regardless of size or location.  Obviously location would change the degree of dependence, but since the majority of our goods are coming from out of state, air transportation is much needed.  Villages in the bush rely on passenger, mail, and cargo air traffic (Explore Alaska!). 

I live right outside of Anchorage, and I personally find myself depending air transportation for a number of reasons.  One, I know that I can rely on air transportation to bring goods to the stores in my area year-round, especially in the winter when there is less marine transport.  Two, I can also count on receiving goods via mail from out of state.  Maybe it’s because I’m fairly new to Alaska, but I still find myself wanting to purchase those old standby items that I was easily able to buy when I lived in the lower 48.  Third, I definitely depend on air transportation to help me travel to and from the state.  My family is from Washington state, and I like to visit them when I can.  Other than summer, though, I usually only have a few days at most for a trip.  Flying is a saving grace because it cuts down on time.  As opposed to when I lived in the lower 48, and could drive to several different states from my home, flying is the one verifiable option for me to use while traveling.

Evaluation

I really enjoyed reading about the growth of transportation in Alaska.  I sometimes fail to realize how much of the state's development stems from military intervention, and I'm starting to appreciate the role that the military has played not only in the development but the continuing advancement of Alaska's transportation.

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Betty talked about how even though Alaska is rich in oil and gas deposits, there is an expensive and extensive process for these products to come back to the state for our use.

Lane described how his past experience of growing up in a suburb was totally different from living in a village of the road system.  I found it interesting that even though they are 30 miles from Valdez (by sea), it is still challenging to get to.

Tina expressed her awe in the Alaska Highway, and how significant it is to connecting Alaska to the lower 48.

Module V - American Period: Alaska's Economy

Examine Question: What were the primary motivations for Americans moving to Alaska in the late 1800’s?

 According to the Alaska History and Cultural Studies site, while the United States had four main reasons for purchasing Alaska from Russia, individual Americans moved to the “Last Frontier” for three different reasons.  Three of the four reasons for the Alaskan purchase specifically involved government attachment: maintaining a good relationship with Russia, acquire British Columbia, and utilize the Asian markets.  Many employed by the government were sent to Alaska, such as soldiers, sailors, customs officials, and other representatives, to help further the country’s goals.  The Army was employed to diminish any problems with the Native populations; taking over lands inhabited by other Native societies before had resulted in hostility, and the Army was in charge of keeping any problems to a minimum.  The Navy also sent ships to Alaska to help govern the coastal waters and enforce the laws against smuggling.  Not to miss out on any possible revenue, the Treasury Department also sent officials to collect taxes.   As with any newly-acquired land, the United States government made sure to send enough employees to create a lawful, organized, and hospitable society.

With its close proximity to Asia, and lack of regular retail business, Alaska became a goldmine for enthusiastic merchants and traders.  Sitka specifically became home to many who wanted to earn livelihoods in trade and commerce.  After Russia sold the land to the United States, the Russian-American trading company cleared out but left many of their goods behind in warehouses.  According to the Alaska History and Cultural Studies site, ships sailed to San Francisco carrying items such as cloth, trousers, sheepskin coats, kettles, iron pots, copper wire, sheet lead, tools, liquor, and exotic items such as pomade, leather-bound books, and silks.  These items went not only to San Francisco, but to Hawaiian, Asian, and Russian ports as well for trade.

Sluicing for gold during the Klondike Gold Rush

The third reason Americans wanted to move to Alaska was because of the natural resources that the new state provided.  This brought fishermen, hunters, and miners to Alaska.  At least two salmon salteries operated near Sitka, one of which produced between 1,000 to 1,500 barrels of salted salmon every year (Alaska History and Cultural Studies).  Hunters came in hopes of getting into the fur trade.  Seal, bear, fox, wildcat, and sable were among the many types of furs that were traded up and down the western coast of the United States.  After the California gold rush in the mid-1800’s, many prospectors set their sights on Alaska.  Rabbit Creek was the site of the first major discovery in 1896.  The Klondike Gold Rush started in 1898, and with that, an estimated 100,000 people set out to strike it rich; only about 30,000 to 50,000 actually reached the Klondike Valley (Alaska Gold Traveler’s Guide).  

Module IV - Russian America

Essential Question: What was the nature of cultural contact between the Europeans of Russian America and the Natives of Alaska?

One of Russia’s first areas of interest in Alaska was to make contact with the indigenous people who already lived on the land.  As with any two cultures that are meeting for the first time, there were many lessons to be learned and challenges to overcome.  The arrival of the Russians impacted many Native societies’ cultures in several ways, including resources and labor, spirituality, and social culture.

Alaska was bountiful to the Russians in resources.  Furs and pelts were used for profit by doing business with Chinese traders.  However, neither the Russian or Siberian traders hunted the animals.  According to the Alaska History and Cultural Studies website, the Natives were forced to hunt and “the Russians took Aleut [Native] women and children as hostages while the hungers gathered pelts.”  There was resistance from the Native societies’ part, but the traders who dealt with the hostile Natives responded cruelly.  The Russian trading companies in business knew that Native labor was vital to their success, and would at times abuse that knowledge for their own benefit.

Kodiak and Sitka saw its populations grow as trading companies established themselves along the coast.  In the late 1700’s, the first Russian-Orthodox priests began to arrive in Alaska.  The priests had a goal to assimilate the Native culture.  In the Alaska History and Cultural Studies website, “many of the Orthodox missionaries defended Alaska Native people.  The tsar in St. Petersburg had always prohibited the poor treatment of Natives, but many fur traders ignored his orders.”  One of the Russian Orthodox church’s most important missionaries, Bishop Innocent, became a student of Native culture and attempted to communicate openly with Native societies.

Bishop Innocent of Alaska

 Socially, the Russian culture impacted the Alaska Natives’ in many ways.  Russian women rarely made the journey to Alaska.  Therefore, many Russians married Native women.  These connections impacted the languages spoken in Alaska; many spoke the native language and Russian, and later English.  Also, as we’ve already read in Alaska’s earliest history, the contact between the Natives and outsiders (in this case, the Russians) brought about an epidemic of disease that killed many Alaska Natives.

Examine Question: Why were the Russians interested in Alaska? When did the Russians come to Alaska?

In the 15^th Century, many countries of power sent forth explorers in search of new lands.  During this Age of Exploration, many discoveries were made, by Christopher Columbus to Ferdinand Magellan.  Russia also sent forth expeditions in order to be competitive with the Western European powers.

There were several reasons for exploration: finding new trade routes and new people to trade with, discovering new inhabitable lands and sustainable goods, and a desire for geographic knowledge.  In the 1400’s, under the rule of Ivan III the Great, Russia was aggressively pushing to extend its empire in order to increase wealth and population.  Due to its relatively close proximity, the Alaskan lands sounded like a worthwhile investment of Russia’s time and resources to explore.  However, Russia’s “discovery” of Alaska wasn’t recorded until 1741 (Meeting of Frontiers).

The first recorded contact between Russians and Natives on Alaskan land was in 1732 by Mikhail Gvozdev.  While sailing north through the Bering Strait, he landed at Cape Prince of Wales and sailed by King Island.  Vitus Bering is credited with discovering Alaska (Alaska History and Cultural Studies), although in somewhat of a mysterious manner.  After sighting land, Bering sent two separate boats with crewmen to explore the land.  No one ever returned.  However, two Native boats paddled by Bering’s ship, but would not come aboard.  Bering did finally make contact with Alaska Natives while visiting the Shumagin Islands, and was able to exchange items with the people there.

One of the first maps of Alaska, drawn by Vitus Bering.

Evaluation

This module really clarified some parts of Alaska's history for me.  My assumption up to this point was that until America bought the Alaskan land, it was pretty much overrun with the indigenous peoples and Russians - everywhere!  It makes sense that Russia would be closely tied to Alaska, but I never gave it any thought that some inhabitants might also include Swedes, Finns, and Germans.  I was also surprised that the Russian tsar forbade the mistreatment of Alaska Natives.  Maybe it's my cynicism, but for a country that was wanting to expand its wealth and population, you'd think they would take every advantage possible.


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