All his life, Bobby Andrew has been a subsistence hunter and fisherman. He lives in Dillingham and is a member and spokesman for Nunamta Aulukestai, an association of nine Alaska Native village corporations in Bristol Bay. In Yupik, Nunamta Aulukestai means “Caretakers of our Lands.” Nunamta Aulukestai is opposing the proposed Pebble Mine because of the risks to the Bristol Bay wild salmon fishery, which is the lifeblood of the region.
Bobby Takes a Stand
The Alaska native communities in the region rely on the fishery as their primary source of food. Bobby wrote an opinion piece for The Guardian about Bristol Bay’s people during the 2010 Anglo American shareholder meeting, when he travelled to London to meet with the CEO Cynthia Carroll and the Board Chairman Sir John Parker to express the opposition of local people.
In his work advocating on behalf of subsistence hunting and fishing rights for Alaska Native villages and people, he serves on the Nushagak Mulchatna Watershed Council and the Nushagak-Mulchatna Wood-Tikchik Land Trust. Previously he sat on the Aleknagik Tribal Council.
“For generations Alaska Natives have hunted, fished, thrived and survived on the lands and water surrounding Bristol Bay,” Bobby said. “I look forward to passing on this way of life to my sons and grandchildren and the future generations.”
About Bobby
Bobby was born in Aleknagik, Alaska, and attended Aleknagik Territorial School and Dillingham High School before receiving a degree in accounting from Dyke Specerian Business College (now known as Chancellor University) in Cleveland, Ohio.
“I find myself fighting for the future of our renewable fish and wildlife resources. They are the central part of my culture,” he said. “We need to let the rest of the world know so we can all work together to protect the environment, air, water and lands that produce subsistence resources on which we depend.”
