But we are all somewhat guilty. Urban Alaskans are guilty when we proclaim unkind, uninformed generalities about rural Alaskans' demands for better schools, infrastructure, economic opportunity and social services or about their requests for help. Well-meaning people out of state and in Alaska alike are guilty when we put Alaska Natives in a box defining them, naively, as noble aboriginals living off the land in perfect balance with nature in perpetuity. Politicians are guilty when we make rural programs expendable fodder in broader political battles. And rural Alaskan people are guilty when we don't take an honest look at our failings and blame our frustrations solely on others.

Victoria Briggs of Ugashik and Ann Strongheart of Nunam Iqua, in their essay "A Future with Dignity," write eloquently about specific things their two communities could do to develop their economies and empower residents. In his article "We Need to Live Without Handouts," Alvin F. Oweletuk Sr. honestly confronts the personal responsibility rural residents have for their own future and well being.

Rural Alaska issues are complicated and challenging. The future development of our rural communities and of the people who live there will be one of the greatest challenges to whoever is Alaska's next governor.

Rural Alaska is about people first, mostly Alaska Native people, but not entirely.  Rural communities vary tremendously in size, population, geographic location, climate, infrastructure, economic opportunity, resources, history, tribal make up and personality. Our communities are spread over an area twice the size of Texas and are often difficult to reach. Solutions which work in one community may not bring success in other villages.

Rural and urban living in Alaska is part birthright and part choice. Villages today are often centered around sites where the first missionaries built their churches, early traders built their stores, or the BIA built schools.  Alaska Native people traditionally moved with the fish and wildlife resource and the change in seasons. Today, fixed infrastructure holds them to a particular location. Small rural communities often struggle to provide the necessary operational support to their power plants, water and sewer systems, bulk fuel facilities, schools and other public facilities. Since economies in villages are small, the support for these facilities must generally be subsidized by the state or federal governments.

Shouldn't all Alaskans have the advantage of modern conveniences? Ask any elder who really did live a subsistence life, with few store-bought goods, and they'll tell you life is much easier today. On the other hand, the innate creativity and intelligence Native people brought to the challenge of subsistence, along with their unique cultures developed over thousands of years, can often be lost or neglected with the onset of the modern world. This is often where the misunderstandings begin. Whether we are Alaska Native, European, Russian, Hispanic, African, Islamic, or Kiwi, we all want to embrace our family and ethnic heritage. At the same time none of us want our choices limited by where we are born or what ethnic heritage is wrapped within our individual genomes.

Alaska Natives are people, not museum images of Eskimo, Indian, or Aleut. Often, when urban Alaskans speak about rural Alaskans or Alaska Natives, they refer to "those" people, and the reference stings. "Those people" are us. Rural migration to Alaska's urban centers is fueled by this desire to advance in education, employment opportunities, proximity to needed medical and social services, etc.  Like all people, rural Alaskans seek to better their lives in whatever ways available to them.