Patti Phillips knows subsistence.
She grew up in Sitka, learning how to harvest deer from her father. When she moved to Pelican, she raised her family on that same subsistence way of life.
“My husband and I got married in 1982 and had a family. We spent the winters trapping and getting deer. It was important that we got the deer meat. It wasn’t just about building traditions with our kids, it was a means of survival.”
For more than 30 years, Patti has served on the Southeast Regional Advisory Council, bringing both a deep understanding of subsistence policy under ANILCA and a lifetime of lived experience on the land and water.