ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the relationships among people, wildlife, and the land in the Upper Kuskokiwm region of Interior Alaska as “domus-sharing.” Domus-sharing is a conscious act of minimally intervening on behalf of other species in need and with their domus in order to care for them without neglecting their autonomy. I aim to complicate the narrative of northern “domestication” through ethnography of the Upper Kuskokwim Athabascans, a northern hunter-fisher group, revisiting the famous designation of trust and domination put forth by Tim Ingold. In so doing, I refer to examples of taking care of stranded migratory birds and opening up a space in beaver dams to help spawning salmon to continue their travel. What the two cases have share is careful consideration of the survival and mobility of other species. In the harsh environment of Interior Alaska, in which mobility is key to survival, those who can not reach an intended destination faces death. While it is allowed to intervene those in need, situations in which relationships are fixed and the autonomy of other species would be impaired are consistently avoided.
