A Gunshot Marriage; Antiquities and Residents
Saturday, January 26th, 2008
“Protest During Winter” original ink/watercolor/acrylic painting by Gail Niebrugge, collection of the North Star Borough School District, Fairbanks, Alaska.
Returning to my series of living and painting in Wrangell-St. Elias, Alaska. Most of the people who chose life in this wilderness did so because they loved the freedom from government rules and regulations, the freedom to live a subsistence lifestyle, to hunt, fish, trap fur, and gold mine in the rich abundance of the region. They lived quietly, worked hard, are independent almost to a fault, their skills and ingenuity keep them alive in the harshest conditions, they built and maintained trails and airstrips in the wilderness to remote sites to trap, hunt, fish and mine. They were the last people on earth to want their wilderness turned into a national park, albeit the largest national park in the nation.
The people’s response to the acceptance of the Antiquities Act in 1989 creating the largest national park in the nation was; shock and disbelief, anger, fear, and outrage! They banded together as never before, a group of no more than 4,000-5,000 strong, and tried to stop the Federal Government of the United States. They marched in protest, signed petitions, met with officials, and when nothing worked and the park rangers began to arrive, they did the only thing they knew how to do; refuse to give information, service, and support. History shows it did not work. But they tried, and how colorful the times were way back then. And how I loved painting these times.
More tomorrow,
Gail Niebrugge, Alaska Art
