"An excellent addition for collections on environmental and Native American history."-B. E. Johansen, Choice

"They Came but Could Not Conquer contributes a synthesis of existing interdisciplinary scholarship on Alaska and Alaskan history in service of a better understanding of environmental conflicts Alaskan Natives have faced since the late 1800s. Readers-whether trained in Alaskan history or not-will find in the case studies much to discuss about the natures of environmental injustice."-Andrew Stuhl, H-Environment

"Here, in 12 head-shaking chapters, is ample evidence of the unrelenting struggle of Alaska Natives to preserve and protect their natural resources, their communities and their way of life from government overreach, extractionist industries and climate change."-Tom Carpenter, Roundup Magazine

“A testament to the resilience of Alaska Native individuals and their communities in the face of governmental, commercial, and private intrusions into their homelands. Diane Purvis illustrates how Indigenous peoples have defended their rights and lands, as powerful myths and assumptions about the frontier, progress, and the infallibility of Western science have devalued their traditional lifeways and threatened their very survival. When outright victory has not been possible, the persistence and ingenuity of Indigenous peoples have led to collaborative and creative solutions.”-Mary Ehrlander, author of Walter Harper, Alaska Native Son

“A badly needed perspective on the intersection of Native rights and environmental regulations. Alaska Natives’ status and pressures for Alaskan resource development and resource management come together here to provide an on-the-ground perspective from Alaska Native villages.”-Steven M. Fountain, coauthor of History of American Indians: Exploring Diverse Roots

As the environmental justice movement slowly builds momentum, Diane J. Purvis highlights the work of Indigenous peoples in Alaska’s small rural villages, who have faced incredible odds throughout history yet have built political clout fueled by vigorous common cause in defense of their homes and livelihood. Starting with the transition from Russian to American occupation of Alaska, Alaska Natives have battled with oil and gas corporations; fought against U.S. plans to explode thermonuclear bombs on the edge of Native villages; litigated against political plans to flood Native homes; sought recompense for the Exxon Valdez oil spill disaster; and struggled against the federal government’s fishing restrictions that altered Native paths for subsistence.

In They Came but Could Not Conquer Purvis presents twelve environmental crises that occurred when isolated villages were threatened by a governmental monolith or big business. In each, Native peoples rallied together to protect their land, waters, resources, and a way of life against the bulldozer of unwanted, often dangerous alterations labeled as progress. In this gripping narrative Purvis shares the inspiring stories of those who possessed little influence over big business and regulations yet were able to protect their traditional lands and waterways anyway.
 

List of Illustrations
Introduction
1. Fish Camp to Picnic Bench in &
Aacute
ak’
w Land
2. Aleutian Shores to Scorched Earth
3. Sealers to Slaves on the Pribilof Islands
4. Hunters to Reindeer Herders
5. Baleen to Bombs, Project Chariot
6. Boreal Forest to Floodplain, Rampart Dam
7. Etok versus Big Oil
8. A Whaling Captain and the World
9. When the Raven Flies with the Dove
10. The Day the Waters Died
11. Grandmother to Water Guardian
12. Fishing for Fines on the Kuskokwim River
Epilogue: The Aftermath
Notes
Bibliography
Index