ABSTRACT
This conclusion presents some closing thoughts on the concepts covered in the preceding chapters of this book. The book describes contradictory processes of statis and change in rural Alaska. It illustrates what perhaps has been the greatest and most significant transformation in rural Alaska in—the proliferation of organizations and associations which have as their purpose the improvement of regional and local areas of the state. The book demonstrates, the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971 created change processes which will continue. It examines the uneven distribution of non-renewable and renewable resources in Alaska. The book discusses the values of the development process, questioning the traditional and contemporary premises that underlie the changes in rural Alaska since statehood in 1959. It explores economic growth conflicts with an interest in human resources and their development. Large-scale agricultural development has succeeded only in areas with access to the Alaska road and rail transportation system, and mining is dependent on the same conditions.
