Published October 5th, 2008 by Future Atlas
Alaskan independence?
The October issue of Alaska Magazine covers the Alaska independence movement in all its gradations.
In “The Country of Alaska,” Rebecca Luczycki’s portrait suggests that serious secessionists are rare, and that even many members of the Alaska Independence Party (the state’s third-largest) are really just libertarians. The founder of the party may have said, “I’m an Alaskan, not an American,” but many Alaskan “nationalists” seem to want more state-level control and less “interference” from the federal government.
Alaskan independence is very low-probability, not least because of the culture of dependence that has developed. Luczycki quotes Sara Chambers, a member of the Juneau city assembly: “Alaskans are not necessarily dedicated to freedom, but have become dedicated to free stuff.”