By Raven Cunningham
On May 15, Alaska Native and rural families launched a peaceful protest on the waters of Eyak River and Orca Inlet to defend their subsistence rights. Organized by the Native Village of Eyak and titled “Death by 1,000 Cuts,” the demonstration called attention to the ongoing erosion of subsistence fishing access in the Copper River District.
Participants gathered in boats, not to fish, but to send a message. For generations, these waters have sustained their families, culture, and way of life. But recent state regulations have silenced their nets and ignored their rights. Elders, youth, and families held signs reading “Subsistence is Survival” and “Protect My Rights,” demanding recognition that subsistence is not a favor, it is a legal right.
This protest is more than symbolic. It is a stand for food security, Tribal sovereignty, and the future of rural and Alaska Native lifeways.
The immediate trigger was a recent Emergency Order issued by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game that limited the Copper River District subsistence salmon fishery to a single day on May 17. Under normal regulations, families should have been allowed to fish from May 15 through 48 hours before the commercial opener on May 22. Instead, nearly a week of critical access was erased. The closure was more than an inconvenience for households that rely on these harvests to fill freezers and feed families; it was another cut at their food security.
This fishery is already catch-limited by law. Households are permitted a modest number of sockeye (red) salmon based on size: 15 for one person, 30 for two, and an additional 10 per added member. These harvests are planned, regulated, and vital to food security. But for Cordova, this is not just about a lost opportunity. It is about a larger pattern. The Emergency Order was the latest in a string of decisions that have reduced fishing time, shrunk harvest areas, and ignored the voices of those most affected. Every closure, delay, or reallocation is another cut to a traditional food system and to the cultural identity it sustains.
The protest underscored a growing consensus in the community. The current management system is broken. State policy continues to conflate subsistence and commercial fisheries, binding them together in regulation despite their distinct purposes. Subsistence fishing feeds local families, sustains our culture, and supports rural survival by keeping our freezers full through the long winters. Commercial fishing drives economic livelihoods, fuels our economy, and provides wild Alaska salmon to dinner tables nationwide. Both matter. However, they are not the same, and they must be managed accordingly.
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s calculation of the Amount Necessary for Subsistence, or ANS, offers a clear example of this systemic failure. When the commercial fishery is open, Cordova’s ANS is set between 3,000 and 5,000 salmon. In years without commercial fishing, that number jumps to as much as 32,000. This flawed assumption, that commercial homepack can substitute for true subsistence harvests, fails to account for the many Tribal and rural families who do not hold commercial permits or have access to that system.
Commercial homepack is not a right. It is a byproduct of a permit system that already excludes many of the people most reliant on subsistence. Treating it as equivalent violates the legal requirement under Alaska Statute 16.05.258 and the State Constitution to prioritize subsistence above all other uses when restrictions are necessary.
The Native Village of Eyak has long been a dedicated steward of the Copper River and its resources, leading efforts in both scientific research and the revitalization of traditional lifeways. For over 20 years, Native Village of Eyak biologists have gathered critical data on escapement, run timing, and habitat conditions, and information consistently shared with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game to support sustainable, science-based management of the fishery.
In addition to this scientific expertise, the Tribe carries lifelong, historical, and traditional knowledge of the Copper River ecosystem. This collective understanding, spanning generations of observation, harvest, and relationship with the land and water, is an invaluable resource for fisheries management.
To further strengthen this body of knowledge, the Tribe is preparing a new community household subsistence use survey in partnership with the Chugach Regional Resources Commission, the U.S. Forest Service, and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. It has been over a decade since such a survey was last conducted, leaving a critical gap in up-to-date, community-driven data. While this research will provide important documentation, the truth is already clear: Salmon is essential to the health, identity, and resilience of the Native Village of Eyak.
To ensure this deep regional expertise is heard in decision-making forums, the Tribe in January of 2019 established a Natural Resource Advisory Council (formerly known as the Alaska Native Fishermen’s Alliance). This council was created to bring the voices of local harvesters, Elders, and Tribal leaders into state and federal regulatory arenas. Through this body, the Tribe actively contributes to the processes of the Alaska Board of Fisheries (BOF), Board of Game (BOG), and the Federal Subsistence Board, advocating for policies that reflect both the ecological realities and the lived experiences of the community.
The Tribe’s commitment to stewardship also extends through its Cultural Department, which has grown a robust Subsistence Program to promote food sovereignty and cultural continuity. This program is designed to reconnect Tribal members with traditional harvesting practices, ensuring that the knowledge and values tied to subsistence living are passed on to future generations. As part of this initiative, the Tribe purchased a bowpicker and hired a retired Tribal fisherman and lifelong subsistence harvester. He now leads trips for elders, youth, and families to traditional harvesting grounds throughout the Cordova area, including the Copper River, to gather salmon and other culturally important foods. This investment is more than just a boat, it is a vessel of resilience, sovereignty, and identity.
Yet despite these longstanding contributions, the Tribe’s knowledge and experience are too often dismissed or excluded from regulatory decision-making. The May 15 protest, “Death by 1,000 Cuts,” called for that to change. It was a demand for recognition, not just of legal rights, but of the deep and enduring expertise the Native Village of Eyak brings to the protection and management of the Copper River and its fisheries.
Cordova is a fishing town, and most families rely on both commercial and subsistence fisheries in some form, through income, access to boats, or community distribution. Many vessels used for subsistence are registered commercially but serve as essential tools for hunting, gathering, and accessing remote camps. They are not luxuries. They are lifelines. The protest made clear that supporting one fishery should not come at the expense of the other.
This movement is not anti-commercial. It is focused on subsistence justice. Protesters emphasized that what they seek is not less opportunity for commercial harvesters, but equitable and lawful recognition of subsistence rights. They want policies that reflect lived reality and legal mandates, not assumptions and administrative convenience.
Cordova is done being sidelined. “Death by 1,000 Cuts,” first spoken at the December Board of Fisheries meeting, has become a powerful rallying cry. It captures the cumulative impact of years of policies that have eroded subsistence rights and put food security at risk. What’s needed now is more than reform, it’s a fundamental shift in policy that draws a clear line between subsistence and commercial use, ensures equitable access, and elevates Indigenous leadership in managing these vital fisheries.
This protest is not the end. It is the beginning of a louder, stronger demand for change. The latest cut may have gone deep. But this community is still here. Still resilient. And not backing down.
Raven Cunningham is the vice chair of the Native Village of Eyak Tribal Council.
