ALASKA NATIVE COMMISSION REPORT 

JOINT OVERSIGHT HEARING 

BEFORE THE 

COMMITTEE ON RESOURCES 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

AND 

COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND NATURAL 

RESOURCES 

AND 

COMMITTEE ON INDIAN AFFAIRS 

UNITED STA1.,ES SENATE 

ONE HUNDRED FOURTH CONGRESS 

FIRST SESSION 

ON 

THE FINAL REPORT OF THE FEDERAL-STATE ALASKA 

NATIVES COMMISSION DATED 1994, TO EXAMINE 

THE RECOMMENDATIONS PROPOSED, AND HOW THE 

PROBLEMS OF NATIVE ALASKANS CAN BE IMPROVED THROUGH BETTER FEDERAL AND STATE 

PROGRAMS 

NOVEMBER 16, 1995---WASHINGTON, DC 

Serial No. 104-52 

Printed for the use of the Committee on Resources, Committee on Energy and 

Natural Resources, and Committee on Indian Affairs 

21-794cc 

U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 

WASHINGTON : 1996 

For sale by the U.S. Govenunent Printing Office 

Superintendent of Documents, Congressional Sales Office, Washington, DC 20402 

ISBN 0-16-052429-6 
COMMITTEE ON RESOURCES 

DON YOUNG, Alasl•a, Chairman 

W.J. (BILLY) TAUZIN, Louisiana 

JAMES V. HANSEN, Utah 

JIM SAXTON, New Jersey 

ELTON GALLEGLY, California 

JOHN J. DUNCAN, JR., Tennessee 

JOEL HEFLEY, Colorado 

JOHN T. DOOLITTLE, California 

WAYNE ALLARD, Colorado 

WAYNE T. GILCHREST, Maryland 

KEN CALVERT, California 

RICHARD W. POMBO, California 

PETER G. TORKILDSEN, Massachusetts 

J.D . .HAYWORTH, Arizona 

FRANK A. CREMEANS, Ohio 

BARBARA CUBIN, Wyoming 

WES COOLEY, Oregon 

HELEN CHENOWETH, Idaho 

LINDA SMITH, Washington 

GEORGE P. RADANOVICH, California 

WALTER B. JONES, JR., North Carolina 

WILLIAM M. (MAC) THORNBERRY, Texas 

RICHARD (DOC) HASTINGS, Washington 

JACK METCALF, Washington 

JAMES B. LONGLEY, JR., Maine 

JOHN B. SHADEGG, Arizona 

JOHN E. ENSIGN, Nevada 

GE!ORGE MILLER, California 

EDWARD J. MARKEY, Massachusetts 

NICK J. RAHALL II, West Virginia 

BF:UCE F. VENTO, Minnesota 

DPLE E. KILDEE, Michigan 

PAT WILLIAMS, Montana 

SAM GEJDENSON, Connecticut 

BLL RICHARDSON, New Mexico 

PETER A. DEFAZIO, Oregon 

E:r-:1 F.H. FALEOMAVAEGA, American 

Samoa 

TIM JOHNSON, South Dakota 

l'>:J!;IL ABERCROMBIE, Hawaii 

GERRY E. STUDDS, Massachusetts 

SOLOMON P. ORTIZ, Texas 

OWEN B. PICKETT, Virginia 

FRANK PALLONE, JR., New Jersey 

CALVIN M. DOOLEY, California 

CARLOS A. ROMERO-BARCELO, Puerto 

Hi co 

Mi.URICE D. HINCHEY, New York 

ROBERT A. UNDERWOOD, Guam 

SAM FARR, California 

PATRICK J. KENNEDY, Rhode Island 

DANIEL VAL K!SH, Ch~f of Staff 

DAVID DYE, Chier Counsel 

CHRISTINE KENNEDY, Chief Clerk/ Administrator JOHN LAWRENCE, Democmtic Staff Director 

SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES 

FRANK H.· MURKOWSKI, Alaska, Chairman 

MARK 0. HATFIELD, Oregon J. BENNETT JOHNSTON, Louisiana 

PETE V. DOMENICI, New Mexico DALE BUMPERS, Arkansas 

DON NICKLES, Oklahoma WENDELL H. FORD, Kentucky 

LARRY E. CRAIG, Idaho BILL BRADLEY, New Jersey 

BEN NIGHTHORSE CAMPBELL, Colorado JEI~F BINGAMAN, New Mexico 

CRAIG THOMAS, Wyoming DANIEL K. AKAKA, Hawaii 

JON KYL, Arizona PAUL WELLSTONE, Minnesota 

ROD GRAMS, Minnesota HOWELL HEFLIN, Alabama 

JAMES M. JEFFORDS, Vermont BYRON L. DORGAN, North Dakota 

CONRAD BURNS, Montana 

GREGG D. HENKES, 8taff Director 

BEN S. COOPER, Minori1y Staff Director 

(II) 
SENATE COMMITTEE ON INDIAN AFFAIRS 

JOHN McCAIN, Arizona, Chairman 

DANIEL K. INOUYE, Hawaii, Vice Chairman 

FRANK H. MURKOWSKI, Alaska KENT CONRAD, North Dakota 

SLADE GORTON, Washington HARRY REID, Nevada 

PETE V. DOMENICI, New Mexico PAUL SIMON, Illinois 

NANCY LANDON KASSEBAUM, Kansas DANIEL K. AKAKA, Hawaii 

DON NICKLES, Oklahoma PAUL WELLSTONE, Minnesota 

BEN NIGHTHORSE CAMPBELL, Colorado BYRON L. DORGAN, North Dakota 

CRAIG THOMAS, Wyoming 

ORRIN HATCH, Utah 

STEVEN H EELEY, Majority Staff Director/Chief Counsel 

PATRICIA ZELL, Minority Staff Director/Chief Counsel 

(III) 

CONTENTS 

Page 

Hearing held November 16, 1995 ................ : ......................................................... . 1 

Statement of Members: 

Abercrombie, Hon. Neil, a U.S. Representative from Hawaii ...................... . Campbell, Hon. Ben Nighthorse, a U.S. Senator from Colorado ................. . Faleomavaega, Hon. Eni, a U.S. Delegate from American Samoa .............. . Inouye, Hon. Daniel, a U.S. Senator from Hawaii ...................................... .. McCain, Hon. John, a U.S. Senator from Arizona ........................................ . Murkowski, Hon. Frank, a U.S. Senator from Alaska ................................. . Romero-Barcelo, Hon. Carlos, a U.S. Resident Commissioner from Puerto 

15 

11 

13 

4 

2 

5 

Rico ................................................................................................................ . 14 

Stevens, Hon. Ted, a U.S. Senator from Alaska .......................................... .. Young, Hon. Don, a U.S. Representative from Alaska, and Chairman, 

Co1nmittee on Resources ............................................................................. . 

1 

1, 15 

Statement of Witnesses: 

Berns, Melissa, Chair, Alaska Federation of Natives Youth Council ......... . 44 

Craig, Rachael, AFN Elder, NANA Region ................................................... . Calista Corporation (Jlrepared statement) ..................................................... . Fate, Mary Jane, Co-Chair, Alaska Natives Commission ............................ . Prepared statement .................................................................................. . Gorsuch, Chancellor Edward Lee, University of Alaska Anchorage (prepared statement) .......................................................................................... . Kitka, Julia, President, Alaska Federation of Natives ................................ .. Addendum to testimony .......................................................................... .. Prepared statement .................................................................................. . Knowles, Hon. Tony, Governor, State of Alaska ........................................... . Prepared statement .................................................................................. . Napoleon, Harold, Special Assistant to the President, Alaska Federation 

ofNatives ...................................................................................................... . 

42 

255 

21 

76 

79 

36 

123 

95 

16 

71 

36 

Prepared statement .................................................................................. . Northstine, Greg, Coordinator, AFN Sobriety Movement (prepared state89 

ment) ............................................................................................................. . 190 

Scanlan, Sarah, Vice President, Human Resources, NANA Regional Corpo~~~~d·~~~~~;;,t·:: :::::: :::::::: :::::: :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ::: :::::::::::: :: :: Sc~aeffer, Joh.n, ~qj. General (Retired), Commission member, Alaska Natives Co=sslon ......................................................................................... . 

53 

159 

21 

Soboleff, Dr. Walter, Distinguished Elder, Alaska Federation of Natives .. . Upicksoun, Alma, of Van Ness, Feldman & Curtis (testifying on behalf 

of Chancellor Gorsuch) ................................................................................ . 

41 

36 

Webb, Doug, Senior Vice President, Alyeska Pipeline Service Company .. .. Prepared statement .................................................................................. . 56 

167 

Additional material supplied: A Call To Action: Taking Community Responsibility ................................... . Alaska Federation of Natives Convention Special Resolutions .................. .. 136 

117 

Alaska Native Utilization Agreement ........................................................... .. Alaska Natives Dying From Injuries, Accidents, Suicide, or Homicide ...... . Executive Summary, Report of the Alaska Natives Commission ................ . Final Recommendations for Action, submitted to the Alaska Natives Com174 

249 

61 

mission January 12, 1993 ........................................................................... . 262 

Communications submitted: 

Anderson, Kristian N. (Association of Alaska Housinng Authorities): Letter of November 22, 1995, to Chris Kennedy ........................................... .. 310 

(V) 
VI 

Page 

171 
FEDERAL-STATE ALASKA NATIVES 

COMMISSION FINAL REPORT 

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 1995 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, COMMITTEE ON RESOURCES; AND U.S. SENATE, COMMITTEE ON ENERGY 

AND NATURAL RESOURCES, AND COMMITTEE ON INDIAN 

AFFAIRS, 

Washington, D.C. 

The joint hearing met, pursuant to call, at 10:30 a.m., in room 

1324, Longworth House Office Building, Hon. Don Young, Chairman, House Committee on Resources (presiding as Chairman of the 

Joint Hearing), and Hon. Frank Murkowski, Chairman, Senate 

Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. 

STATEMENT OF BON. DON YOUNG, A U.S. REPRESENTATIVE 

FROM ALASKA, AND CHAIRMAN, COMMITTEE ON RESOURCES 

CHAIRMAN YOUNG. This is a joint oversight hearing by the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, Senate Committee on Indian Affairs and House Committee on Resources on the 

Federal-State Alaska Natives Commission Final Report dated 1994. 

It is quite an honor for me today. Senator Murkowski will be here 

in a few moments, but I follow a tactic of always starting on time. 

We do have some esteemed colleagues here, my senior Senator, 

Senator Stevens, Senator McCain; of course, Senator Inouye, Senator Campbell, and they all have busy schedules. If I could, with 

the will of the committee at this time, I would like to recognize my 

senior Senator for an opening statement. And each Senator as they 

finish their statement if they have to leave, do it quietly pl~ase. 

Senator Stevens. 

STATEMENT OF HON. TED STEVENS, A U.S. SENATOR FROM 

ALASKA 

Mr. STEVENS. Well, I have no opening statement, Mr. Chairman. 

I am delighted that you are conducting this hearing, and I thank 

all of the separate committees that are meeting here with you. It 

is a very important hearing. I do think that you and Senator Murkowski are to be commended for having created this Natives Commission in the first instance with the help of some of our colleagues 

who are here, and you did a good job. It is nice to have an opportunity to explain that report here, and I look forward to working 

with you to implement it as soon as possible. Thank you very 

much. 

(1) 
2 

CHAIRMAN YOUNG. Thank you, Senator Stevens. Senator McCain, 

you have informed me that you have another appointment so you 

are recognized next. 

STATEMENT OF HON. JOHN MCCAIN, A U.S. SENATOR FROM 

ARIZONA 

Mr. McCAIN. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, and it is very 

nice to be back with you again. You and I were here more years 

ago than you would like to recollect, and I am pleased to participate in this joint hearing on the conditions of Alaska Natives and 

on the recommendations of the Alaska Natives Commission about 

what can be done. I join the other members in extending a warm, 

Washington, D.C., welcome to the witnesses, many of whom I know 

have come a very long way to testify. 

Last month, along with my friend and colleague Senator Stevens, 

I was delighted to be able to visit a small Alaska Native village 

called Tyonek. On that trip, I saw firsthand some of the conditions 

that confront many Alaska Natives throughout rural Alaska. The 

young and old leaders of that Native village impressed me with the 

dogged determination they bring to the task of improving the conditions challenging their people. I was inspired by their endurance 

as a people and a culture that have )mown great adversity. 

The Alaska Natives Commission report, released in May of 1994, 

has given the Congress and our committees an ample record of the 

conditions affecting Alaska Natives We now know from its compilation of facts and figures that the living conditions facing Alaska 

Natives are even more dismal than they appear to the eyes of the 

occasional visitor. 

For example, some of the Commi.ssion's findings are simply ap- palling. The suicide rate among AlaE:ka Native males in their early 

20's is 30 times the national average; nearly two-thirds of Alaska 

Natives students in urban high schools do not graduate; the infant 

mortality rate of Alaska Natives is twice the national average. During the 1980's on average, one Alaska Native committed suicide 

every 10 days. 

The picture drawn by this report reminds me of something Will 

Rogers once said, "Someone with a message is a whole lot harder 

to listen to." The main message of this report lies in its recommendations. The recommendations not only address what the 

Congress should do, but also what ~:hould be done by the State of 

Alaska, each Native village, corporation, and organization, and indeed each Alaska Native citizen. 

Real hope for improving the lives of Alaska Natives rests mostly 

with Native people and their institutions. We in Congress can and 

should do our part. But as we have found with the rest of Indian 

country, nothing works better than a Federal policy that encourages self-determination and self-governance by Native Americans 

themselves. 

These are the policy recommendations I find most persuasive, 

and I intend to work closely with my friends, Senator Stevens, Senator Murkowski, and you, Mr. Chairman, in developing more ways 

to bolster Native American self-govemance. And, again, it has been 

a great privilege for me to have the opportunity to work with Senator Stevens and Senator Murkowski and you. 
3 

And I also note the longtime interest and commitment of my colleague from Hawaii, Senator Inouye, to the betterment of Native 

Alaskans. He has made numerous trips there, and I think he has 

a very not only deep knowledge but deep commitment that he and 

I share on this issue. I thank you very much, Mr. Chair. 

CHAIRMAN YOUNG. Thank you, Senator McCain. We have a vote 

on, and with the indulgence of my co-Chairman, Senator Murkowski, who is now here, he will take the chair. And it will be at his 

discretion to recognize whoever he wishes to recognize in that time. 

The House members, I would suggest, should go vote and let the 

Senators go forth, and we will come back as soon as possible. Senator Murkowski, will you please take the chair? 

Mr. MURKOWSKI. Thank you very much. It is a pleasure, Don, to 

chair this hearing with you. Let me ask any of my Senate colleagues if they will be with us for a while. Ben? 

Mr. CAMPBELL. I will be here. 

Mr. MURKOWSKI. Senator Inouye? 

Mr. INOUYE. I will be here till noon. 

Mr. MURKOWSKI. You will be here till noon. Well, I think it 

would be appropriate then that you lead off. You are the formerwell, I would assume that your statement wasn't going to last 15 

minutes so--

Mr. CAMPBELL. I have no opening statement, Mr. Chairman. I 

look forward to hearing this report. 

Mr. MURKOWSKI. Well, then I should put you all on notice. I do 

have an opening statement, but I am going to call on Senator 

Inouye. Senator Inouye and I have worked a long time, as well as 

Senator McCain and Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell, on the 

Senate Indian Affairs Committee. 

Senator Inouye during the time he was Chairman of that committee really expanded, I think, the ability of that committee to respond to the needs of Native Americans. And particularly we think 

that he has been adopted into our Alaska Native community. The 

many trips that he has made with his staff and his particular sensitivity to the needs of Alaskans, we are most appreciative. 

I want to also recognize, of course, the current Chairman, Senator John McCain. He recently made a trip, as he indicated, up to 

Alaska and held a hearing on this subject with Senator Stevens. 

And it is always a pleasure to work with you, John, and your sensitivity not only to your own constituency in Arizona, which is a 

significant portion of America's Native community in transition. 

You have a unique opportunity to observe your system, which is a 

reservation system, with our system which is a corporate system 

and the trials and tribulations of both as we face the reality that 

Federal funding is in decline, welfare is in decline, and we are 

faced with the realities of trying to address more self-help, more 

independence individually. 

And it is a tough set of facts in many cases because it is great 

to talk about jobs, but if you can't identify where those jobs are 

going to come from, all you have is a lot of words. Senator Inouye, 

we look forward to your statement. 
4 

STATEMENT OF HON. DANIEL INOUYE, A U.S. SENATOR FROM 

HAW AU 

Mr. INOUYE. I thank you, sir. As one of the original co-sponsors 

of the measure establishing this Commission, I wish to express my 

gratitude to Chairman Murkowski and my Chairman, Senator 

John McCain, as well as the Chairman of the House Resources 

Committee, Chairman Don Young, and the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Native American Insular Affairs, Chairman Gallegly, 

for scheduling this hearing this morning on the important work, 

the findings and the recommendations of the Joint Federal-State 

Commission on Policies and Programs affecting Alaska Natives. 

Several years ago, I had the privilege of visiting a number of Native villages in some of the more renote areas of the State of Alaska, accompanied by the President •)f the Alaska Federation, Ms. 

Julie Kitka, and the General of the National Guard, John Schaeffer. And much of what I witnessed in those travels is, in almost 

every respect, mirrored in the Commission's findings. 

It is sadly true that the well-intentioned outsiders attempting to 

address various substandard conditions of living in rural Alaska 

may have caused more harm than good. When, for instance, we 

walked through several houses in the Village of Noorvik, one could 

immediately see that the manner in which the housing was designed considerably enhanced the potential for very serious injury 

or loss of life should there be a fire in the home, because the only 

door to the houses was next to the stove, which served not only as 

the only source of heat for the how;e, but which also would have 

been the source of any fire, thereby blocking the only exit for those 

trapped inside. 

And because these houses were built on stilts to adjust to the 

changes in the permafrost, the only other possible exit, the windows in the rooms behind the kitcl:.en, were five to six feet from 

the ground. And it seemed obvious that children and elders would 

likely sustain serious injuries if fire forced them to jump from those 

windows. When I inquired about the design, I was told that. the architect came from somewhere in the Southwest of the United 

States, and to the best of anyone's knowledge had never been to 

Alaska. 

Although they had a new water and sanitation system in this village, which, as the Commission's report documents, is a rare luxury in most of the villages of Alaska, the system had obviously not 

been designed with village life in mir,d. 

The designer of the water system had not taken into account the 

fact that most citizens of the village would be rising in the morning 

around the same time, flushing their toilets at the same time, 

using water for washing and eating at the same time. 

So not long after the system was installed, the villagers foand 

that they had to implement a schedule for water use, staggering 

the water use in each household, to J:•revent the system from breaking down. 

I think it would shock most Americans, accustomed as we have 

become to the amenities of contemporary life, to know that in village Alaska honey buckets serve aH the most common means of 

human waste disposal, and that these buckets are emptied into the 

nearest stream or river, or that the same stream or river also 
5 

serves as the source of the village's drinking water. It is no wonder 

that the rates of hepatitis are so alarmingly high. 

Like many other Americans, before I visited village Alaska, I had 

little understanding of the challenges that most Native peoples in 

Alaska must confront on a daily basis. Mter visiting village Alaska, 

it seemed to me that if America was ever to understand why the 

rates of suicide and alcoholism amongst Alaska Natives are so 

high, the conditions of life in Alaska were a story that had to be 

told. 

And so I am most pleased that we hold this hearing this morning 

and that this documentation of the challenges confronting the Native peoples in Alaska is before us and before the American people. I would hope that all who read the report will give thoughtful consideration to its message, that the best solutions to the problems 

confronting Native communities can be developed by the Native 

people themselves. 

But they will need our support because we must also acknowledge and accept responsibility for those actions of government that 

have either engendered these problems or which have served as obstacles to their resolution. 

Support for the authority at the village level to address those 

matters are best handled at the village level: the protection of the 

health, safety and welfare of the village citizens; the exercise of 

governmental authority at the village level including the role of 

tribal justice systems in preserving the protections of the Indian 

Child Welfare Act; the application of Federal policies of self-determination and self-governance; the preservation of Native language 

and culture and the development of a sound and culturally relevant 

educational system; the need to sustain a subsistence way of life 

for many, and for others, a viable means of becoming part of Alaska's economic endeavors; the important contribution that Native 

people can make to the management and conservation of natural 

resources. 

Like the other members of this panel, I look forward to the testimony of Native witnesses this morning. I hope this hearing will 

mark the beginning of a partnership in which we might begin to 

serve a more constructive role· in addressing the challenges the 

Commission has identified. And I thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. 

Mr. MURKOWSKI. Thank you very much, Senator. I am going to 

make a few opening remarks prior to calling the witnesses and any other members that want to make a statement. 

STATEMENT OF HON. FRANK MURKOWSKI, A U.S. SENATOR 

FROM ALASKA, AND CHAIRMAN, COMMITTEE ON ENERGY 

AND NATURAL RESOURCES 

Mr. MURKOWSKI. I think it is significant that this is the first 

joint hearing that we have had with the House Resources Committee and the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. I am very pleased to see our governor with us, Governor Knowles, 

and we look forward to his testimony. 

A little history perhaps is appropriate. The idea of the report on 

the Native Commission goes back a ways. It goes back to 1989 

when the Alaska Federation of Natives, Julie Kitka, in cooperation 
6 

with the University of Alaska, Institute of Social and Economic Research, known as the ISER, publinhed a report on the status of 

Alaska Natives-"A Call For Action". The emphasis on action is important because actions speak loude:r than words someone once observed. 

That report concluded, and I quote, "Despite much progress 

among Alaska's Natives, most Nati're villages are caught in a pervasive social and economic crises." As we address what to do about 

it, one of the conclusions that I think is most important is the recognition of the lack of job opportunity in rural Alaska. 

If Congress is to do anything trJly meaningful to make a difference in the lives of the people in rural Alaska, the Native people 

in the villages, it is going to have to support them in their quest 

for economic security-economic security not based on government 

handout, or government dole. It is based on real job opportunities 

and the opportunity for training associated with those jobs. 

We have to begin to identify where those jobs are going to be as 

opposed to just talking about them. And I think we have to be specific, and if there was one lack of emphasis in that report, it was 

the specifics of how we are going to create those jobs because I 

think we all agree Alaska government has played a major role in 

our economy-state government, Federal Government, local government. The military has played a major role in our economy. Those 

are all in decline due to budgetary constrictions and a change in 

our national security emphasis. 

What we have been blessed with in Alaska is an abundance of 

resources, but we have a strange mix of landowners. I wish the 

governor from Texas were here as is the position of the governor 

from Texas where the Federal Government when Texas came into 

the Union was not allowed to own any land-was not allowed. That 

was part of the compact. 

The State of Alaska is owned by the Federal Government so any 

time we try and address a resource development project, why, we 

have to proceed oftentimes with the Federal agencies, or access to 

a project is controlled by Federal agencies and away we go. So I 

think it is time to recognize that we are going to have to be specific 

as we address the relief necessary for Alaska's Native community 

and to participate in the economic realities associated with opportunities that exist in our state with regard to resource development. 

Now, Don and I, along with otherH on this committee, introduced 

that legislation and set up this Commission in July of 1989. As you 

know, the legislation passed both Houses of Congress, was signed 

into law by the President, President Bush, on August 18, 1990. 

There has been two years of resea ~ch, public hearings, and task 

force deliberations throughout this Commission's study .. The Commission published a three-volume report in May of 1994, 

and I, as I have already indicated, went through that report and 

addressed some of the findings and conditions. I think Senator 

McCain has gone over it as well as Senator Inouye. Many of the 

highlights that are addressed with regard to the crisis situation in 

Alaska, whether it be water and sewer, which is nonexistent in 

most areas, yet, the recognition that $1.3 billion has been spent in 

rural Alaska to address issues of running water and flush toilets. 
7 

I was in Venetie this summer as well as Arctic Village. I was 

taken out to some of the hut houses. The hut houses had been built 

with logs. Nothing wrong with logs, but the logs weren't peeled. If 

you don't peel the logs, the bugs get into the logs. There was no 

foundation. The logs were put in the ground so they began to rot 

at the base. 

The roof leaked. I was asked, "Who is going to pay to fix the 

roof?" I said, "Well, funds probably aren't going to be available." 

The response was, ''Well, the BIA fixed the roof last year." I mean, 

we have got a problem here-transition-the reality that, you 

know, if we are going to put in housing, it has got to be the right 

kind of housing. To use the local material is most appropriate, but 

we want to put a foundation under it so the logs don't start to rot 

from the bottom. 

We have got high unemployment. We have 21 percent of the Native families below the official poverty line. We have talked about 

infant mortality. We have talked about substance abuse, and those 

will be included in my entire statement. We have heard about the 

disastrous suicide rate; the birth rate relative to Alaska Native 

women age 15 to 19, two and a half times the national average for 

teens; Native children are abused. 

In some respects, the situation, of course, is not unique to Alaska. It is characteristic of other areas across the country, and it is 

related to lack of economic opportunity. High rates of unemployment, of course, again lead to low self-esteem and the problems associated with substance abuse. 

I think what makes the case of Alaska's Natives even more severe is their extreme lack of opportunity of any kind. They simply 

get discouraged. The winters are long, and you look at the opportunity for a better lifestyle, and it is hard to see. Flipping burgers 

at a McDonald's is not an option in rural Alaska. 

Furthermore, many rural economies are dependent on public expenditures. We would be hard-pressed to find anyone, I think, in 

this room who believes that the Federal side of public expenditures 

is going to go anywhere other than down in the near future. And 

as we look at the transition in Alaska, as you know, we have a 

proud people who depend to a large extent on subsistence. But in 

the last 10, 15, 20 years in addition to subsistence, there has been 

a growth in dependence on welfare. That is just a reality. 

I can recall the elders talking about the introduction of food 

stamps and what that meant. It meant both promising alternatives, and it meant an abandonment to some degree of an effort 

to go after a cash economy. So we have this transition, and it is 

tough to work out that transition. But it is interesting to note the 

elders as they reflect on the efforts of relieving dependents on welfare, relieving dependents on the Federal Government, relieving 

dependents on the BIA. 

So Alaska's Natives are trying desperately to work their way out 

of Federal dependency. But because of some of their successes, they 

now find themselves opposed at nearly every turn-and I am going 

to be rather specific and rather harsh here because I think it was 

evident of the mentality of some of the Administrations people relative to the efforts by Alaska's Natives to relieve themselves of this 

dependence. 
8 

The Assistant Secretary for Indhm Affairs, Ada Deer, spoke in 

Anchorage recently at the AFN Convention and basically told our 

Native people they should not support-not support the opening of 

ANWR, not support the opening of the Arctic Oil Reserve, or the 

potential economic opportunities it would create. That is pretty 

harsh stuff when people are trying to relieve their dependence on 

the Federal Government. 

Mter the Alaska Federation of Natives executed their vote in 

favor of opening up the Arctic Oil Reserve by a vote I believe of 

19 to 9, the Assistant Secretary said, and I quote, "It is reprehensible to try and balance the budget by risking damage to the environment, the wildlife, and the traditional ways of the villages." 

Now, here we have the Secretary of Indian Affairs telling the Native people they should not support economic development, jobs, or 

a tax base in their area. 

Well, one can conclude perhaps two or three things from those 

remarks. One, the Assistant Secretary does not perhaps trust the 

Native people of our state to make their own decisions when, in 

fact, it is precisely the recommendation that this report concludes 

that it is the only way for the Native people of our state to look 

for relief from their situation of unemployment. 

Secondly, the Assistant Secretary evidently does not think the 

Natives are concerned about their own environment. Well, I might 

suggest that if you are cold, if you are unemployed, dependent on 

public dollars, the environment is a factor. But the recognition that 

if there is any group that is more eommitted to the protection of 

the environment it is the Alaskan Native people in rural Alaska. 

They understand, they appreciate the renewal of resources, the caribou, the moose, bear. And if any group is committed to ensure continuity and the protection, it is the Native people. 

The third response of the Secretary, that she wants rural Alaskans, especially the Eskimo people, to be dependent-dependent on 

the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Well, my co-Chairman here may have 

something to say about his feelings. I certainly feel this is contrary 

to self-help. 

So, Mr. Chairman, all these things that were stated by the Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs are inaccurate, especially the 

issue of dependence which was made clear in the Commission's report. And I think the people of Alaska, the Native people, know 

that difference. 

They know that dependence kills self-initiative. It breeds a welfare society. Alaska's Native community wants to follow the American way, the way of independence, self-help, individual responsibility, family values, sense of community. The Alaska Natives 

know that there are not enough tax dollars in the world to teach 

our children the values they need to learn. As hard as government 

may try, we cannot give our children money and expect them to 

know the value of the hard work, and that is what is coming forth 

from the Native elders as I hear their message. 

Dr. Robert Alberts of the Advisory Council of the Alaska Native 

Foundation said, and I quote, "Mter many years of research, I 

agree fully with what the Native elders have told me. The true nature of the sickness which runs throughout the Native villages is 

the state of dependency. Everything else is of secondary value." 
9 

If the Alaska Native people are to combat the problems that exist 

today, we must start with providing them with the hope that their 

economic situation will improve. By providing real jobs, that is 

identifying real jobs associated with Alaska's abundance of resource, and real wages to rural Alaska, we will begin to restore the 

spirit of Alaska's Native people. 

Authorizing oil exploration and leasing in the Arctic Oil Reserve 

is the biggest single step that we can make now with regard to providing opportunities in that segment of northern Alaska and, for 

that matter, all Alaska. 

We are all aware in Alaska that we have an excellent job corps 

training center in Palmer so rural and Native people from all over 

Alaska can have an opportunity if we have jobs. Yet, we find our 

Secretary of Interior, Secretary Babbitt, opposing ANWR; supporting a very small segment of our Alaska Native people; namely, the 

Gwich'ins, about one percent of the native people, who oppose opening ANWR, who are funded by the preservation and the environmental community as we acknowledge some of the full-page ads in 

the New York Times and who pays for them. 

I don't want to get on my soapbox about America's environmental 

community, but it is fairly interesting to note that, Don, of the 12 

major environmental groups in America today, their collective net 

worth totaled 1 billion, 30 million. Their income last year was 

about $638 million. They are a big business, and they have a cause. 

Their cause is ANWR. They are opposed to it. They generate dollars, and they generate membership. 

They don't have to live up there. They don't know what it is like 

not to have running water. They don't know what it is like not to 

have a tax base. They only know what it is like to live in Washington or New York City, but they don't see the Alaska that many 

Alaskans live in and who want opportunities for jobs and a better 

way of life. 

Mr. Chairman, at the beginning of my remarks, I referred to an 

'89 report that stated, and I quote, "MoFt Natives remain poor by 

any American standard." I would like to add an exception to that 

by saying that Alaska's Native people are among the richest people 

in the world in terms of their pride, their honor, their determination, and their heritage. 

So our challenge as laid out in the authorizing language in this 

report is to help assure that Alaska Native people have life opportunities comparable to other Americans while respecting their 

unique traditions, their cultures, and their special status as Alaska 

Natives. 

Because as evidenced by the oversight responsibility of this committee, we have two different systems in America with regard to 

the Native settlement, the claims, and the manner in which the 

Natives themselves live; one group on reservations, another group 

on a corporate status. So I have wandered long enough, Don, but 

I look forward to hearing from the witnesses. I want to thank those 

members of the Commission who worked so hard on the report, the 

AF of N, the principals of the AF of N, the state, our governor, and 

you, Mr. Chairman. And I would ask the full text of my remarks 

be part of the record. 

[Statement of Mr. Murkowski follows:] 
10 

STATEMENT OF HON. FRANK MURIWWSRI, A U.S. SENATOR FROM ALAsKA 

Mr. Chairman, thank you for inviting the S•mate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources to participate in this hearing on the report of the Alaska Natives 

Commission in regard to the status of Alaska'n Native people. 

The idea for this report dates back to 198!1, when the Alaska Federation of Natives, in cooperation with the University of Alaska's Institute for Social and Economic Research (ISER), published its "Report on the Status of Alaska Natives: A 

Call for Action." 

That report concluded that "despite much progress among Alaska Natives, most 

Native villages are caught in a pervasive social and economic crisis ... " 

The report further concluded that" ... because opportunities for advancement in 

the mainstream culture are severely limited, most Natives remain poor by any 

American standard. And on top of all the cultural and economic problems, a significant minority of Native people is being systematically destroyed by alcohol and 

other drugs-and by the violent behavior that chemical abuse unleashes within families."The ISER report merely scratched the surface and in July of 1989, I was happy to introduce legislation along with you, Mr. Chairman, creating the Alaska 

Native Commission. 

This legislation passed both houses of Congress and was signed into law by President Bush on August 18, 1990. 

After two years of research, public hearings and task force deliberations, the Commission published its three-volume report in May of 1994. 

Having gone through the report I wanted to highlight some of its findings on the 

conditions facing Alaska Natives: 

Over 50% of villages have no running water or flush toilets-that is after more than $1.3 billion have been spent in rural Ala~ka; 

Economies precariously dependent on public expenditures; 

Over 20% of the Native work force was unemployed; 

In 1/3 of villages male unemployment is 32% or greater; 

21.5% of Native families are below the official poverty line; 

Native infant mortality and fetal alcohol syndrome rates are more than 2 times 

the National average. 

Mr. Chairman, what is the result of these difficult social and economic circumstances for Alaska Natives? The result is: 

An average of 1 native suicide every 10 dayE; 

A suicide rate among Alaska Native males age 20-24, more than 30 times the Na· 

tional average; 

59% of Alaska inmates are Native; 

A Native death rate, most of it alcohol related, more than three times the National average; 

A birth rate among Alaska Native women age 15-19, greater than 2 1!2 times the 

National average for teens; 

Native children abused 55% more than children Nationwide. In some respects this situation is characteristic of many communities across the 

country. Lack of economic opportunity, high rates of unemployment, lead to low selfesteem, high rates of drug and alcohol abuse, and then to high rates of crime and 

loss of life. 

What makes the case of Alaska Natives ewn more severe is the extreme lack of 

economic opportunities on any kind. Flipping burgers at a McDonalds is not an option in rural Alaska. 

Furthermore, many rural economies are dei•endent upon public expenditures. We 

would be hard pressed to find anyone in thiE room who believes that the Federal 

side of public expenditures is going to go any where down in the near future. 

Alaska Natives are trying desperately to W)rk their way out of Federal depend--

ency. 

Because of some of their success at this they now find themselves opposed at 

nearly every turn by the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs, Ada Deer, who 

spoke in Anchorage recently at the AFN Convention and told the Natives they 

should not support opening of the Arctic Oil :1.eserve or the potential economic opportunities it would create. After the Alaska Federation of Natives Exe(utive Board voted in favor of opening 

the Arctic Oil Reserve by a vote of 19-9, thE Assistant Secretary said, "It is reprehensible to try and balance the budget by ri:;king damage to the environment, the 

wildlife and traditional ways of villages." 

One could conclude three things from her remarks: 
11 

1. The Assistant Secretary does not trust the Natives to make their own deci- sion~when in fact it is precisely that recommendation that this report concludes 

is the only way to get the Natives out of their situation. 

2. The Assistant Secretary does not think the Natives are concerned about their 

environment-! might suggest that cold, unemployment, and dependent on public 

dollars is an ugly environment that all Alaskans are very concerned about. 

3. That she wants rural Alaskans, especially the Eskimo people, to be dependent on the Bureau of Indian Affairs. 

Mr. Chairman, all these things are false. Especially the issue of dependence which was made clear in the Commission's report. 

Native Alaskans know that dependence kills self-initiative; it breeds a welfare so- ciety. They want to follow the American way, the way of independence, self-help, 

individual responsibility, family values, and sense of community. The Alaska Natives know that there is not enough tax dollars in the World to 

teach our children the values they need to learn. As hard as government may try we cannot give our children money and expect them to know the value of hard work! 

Dr. Robert Alberts of the Advisory Council of the Alaska Native Foundation said, 

"After many years of research I agree fully with what the Native elders have told me. The true nature of the sickness which runs throughout the Native villages is 

the state of dependency ... everything else is of secondary nature." 

If Alaska Native people are to combat the problems that exist today, we must 

start with providing them with hope that their economic situation will improve. 

By providing real jobs and real wages to rural Alaska we will begin to restore the 

spirit of the Alaska Native people-authorizing oil exploration and leasing in the 

Arctic Oil Reserve is the biggest and best step we can take. 

Mr. Chairman, in the beginning of my remarks I referred to a 1989 report that 

stated, and I quote, " ... Most Natives remain poor by any American standard .. . ", I would like to add on an exception to that by saying that Alaska's Native 

people are among the richest people in the World in terms of their pride, honor, and 

determination. 

Our challenge, as laid out in the authorizing language of this report, is to help assure that Alaska Natives have life opportunities comparable to other Americans, 

while respecting their unique traditions, cultures and special status as Alaska Natives. 

I look forward to hearing from the witnesses. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And I ask that the full text of my remarks be part 

of the record. 

CHAIRMAN YOUNG. Thank you, Senator Murkowski. I would like 

at this time--

Mr. CAMPBELL. Mr. Chairman? 

CHAIRMAN YOUNG. Yes, Senator Campbell. 

STATEMENT OF HON. BEN NIGHTHORSE CAMPBELL, A U.S. 

SENATOR FROM COLORADO 

Mr. CAMPBELL. Thank you. I am going to make a statement, and 

I don't have a prepared one, but I would like to reflect just a little 

bit on Senator Murkowski's comment. I think that the problems 

Native Alaskans face are probably the same that all Native Americans face but much more severe partly, probably, from the isolation 

from major metropolitan areas. 

I know in our State of Colorado, in the city of Denver, for instance, there are about 25,000 Native Americans. But of that population, I doubt if 500, perhaps even much less than that, are from 

landbased groups within the boundary of Colorado. They come from 

Pine Ridge which is about eight hours' drive or some of the other 

reservation areas outside of the state because they know there is 

a little more opportunity to get a job in the city. You can't do that 

in Alaska. There is no million population base as we have in the 

lower 48. 

And, clearly, the Native Alaskans face the same thing that other 

Native Americans do and that is this so-called state of dependency. 
12 

Given a choice 100 years ago, the:r wouldn't be dependent on anybody. No Native Americans would be. So it is from my perspective 

kind of a forced dependency, and ·;here is no question in my mind 

that throughout the history of America there are people in every 

Administration that would prefer to keep them in that state of 

forced dependency if they could. 

And even though they talk a l·lt about self-sufficiency and all 

those wonderful poetic ideas of helping Native peoples get off their 

knees and work for themselves, when it comes right down to giving 

them the latitude to do it, the tools simply aren't there. They pull 

the tools away from them. 

And I look at the numbers. I was looking in my friend, Julie 

Kitka's, testimony a few minutes agcr-I don't know what page it 

was on now-but about the population growth of Native Alaskans. 

I mean, all you have to do is look at those statistics and realize 

that the traditional subsistence methods of staying alive simply are 

not going to sustain the growing Native population of Alaska. The 

population is growing too fast. And I understand there are about 

90,000, or something, known Nativ·~ Alaskans. 

In another decade or another twc•, whatever the goal is, whatever 

the timeframe is out there, that population is going to double. And, 

clearly, the alternative to those traditional industries are going to 

be new industries that don't rely on massive transportation, shipping, big metropolitan areas, and so on. And to me, that leaves just 

pretty much one area, and that is landbased industries. 

And I agree with you, Mr. Chairman, that unfortunately we have 

now a system in the Administration or a group of people that simply don't want the development of landbased industries. And we 

see it in almost all the western states. They talk a lot about multiple use, but when you try to do anything that requires using the 

land or mining or oil or whatever, you run into this buzz saw over 

there of antiuse rhetoric. 

And it has really bothered me tc see the position it puts Native 

Americans, and particularly Native.; of Alaska, because they simply 

don't have the alternative. But you know as I do that there is no 

new wealth anywhere unless it comes from the land. Everything 

else-wealth in this country is made by transporting, by packaging, 

by trading on Wall Street, by tranBforming, something in that nature. But if you track anything, whether it is wood, fiber, meat or 

whatever it is, minerals, it all comes from the land at point of origin. 

And it seems to me that virtually the only alternative that Native Alaskans face, perhaps ail Alaskans but certainly to a much 

bigger degree Native Alaskans, is we have got to enable them to 

somehow use the resources of the land to develop those new industries. 

And I have absolute confidence in the Native Alaskans that they 

are not going to spoil the earth in doing so. I think that their cultural traditions are going to make them very, very concerned about 

it and very aware of it, and they have got to have the opportunity 

to do it and at the same time protect the earth that they live on. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

CHAIRMAN YOUNG. Thank you, Senator Campbell. Senator 

Inouye, I believe you are the last one that has not been recognized. 
13 

You have spoken. Is there anybody else who would like to speak 

at this time? The gentleman from Samoa would like to say a few 

words. My good friend, have you got your shoes on today, or have 

you got your sandals? 

Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. No, I don't have my shoes on. CHAIRMAN YoUNG. Well, I was wondering. 

Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. I still have my sandals on. CHAIRMAN YOUNG. He was down at the White House signing the 

other day, and he didn't have any shoes on. I didn't recognize him, 

but go ahead. 

STATEMENT OF HON. ENI FALEOMAVAEGA, A U.S. DELEGATE 

FROM THE TERRITORY OF AMERICAN SAMOA 

Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Chairman, thank you. I want to thank 

you and Chairman Murkowski for calling this joint hearing especially as we review the recommendations offered by the Alaska Natives Commission that has been established by law to hopefully 

give the Congress better insight and to address some of the serious 

social and economic issues affecting the Native Alaskan people in 

the State of Alaska. 

Nothing pleases me more, Mr. Chairman, than to note that even 

though we only have one member representing the largest state in 

our country, and the fact that holding the leadership helm and 

being the Chairman of this committee, pleases me more than the 

fact that the years that I have served as a member of this cotp.mittee and that despite the differences perhaps of the idealogies that 

we profess here in this committee, but when it comes to issues affecting Native Americans and Native Alaskans, I know the Chairman of this committee has always been at the forefront. 

And not only being sensitive, but demonstrating outstanding 

leadership to provide for the kind of legislation that is needful for 

the needs of the Native Alaskan community not only from his own 

state, but certainly for the needs of Native Americans throughout 

the country. 

I certainly would like to also pay a special tribute to the gentleman sitting next to me, the gentleman from the State of Hawaii, 

the good Senator Inouye, for the initiatives that he has taken over 

the period of years because, and I will say it quite frankly, Mr. 

Chairman, even through our times as the majority party in the 

Congress that somehow when we deal with Native American issues, Native Hawaiian issues, Native Alaskan issues, we kind of 

put it on the back burner like either if it is too sensitive for the 

members to consider seriously the issues affecting the lives of this 

sector of our American society as the worst off. 

Somehow it has not been a good experience in my observations 

of how we have had to handle the needs of our Native American 

community. I recall that even in the organizations over the years 

of our own committee here in the House, we never had even a subcommittee. 

It was taken on an ad hoc basis when it comes to dealing with 

Native American issues, sending a very strong signal to the Native 

American communities throughout the country. It seems that there 

never seems to be that high of a priority when it comes time for 
14 

the Congress to seriously consider the issues affecting our Native 

American community. 

So, Mr. Chairman, and I say I collldn't think of a better combination that not only as a former tE:rritory of the United States, I 

think I can certainly say that you have a real sensitivity to the issues-what it means to be a territory at least for this member representing a territory-what we have to go through in trying to fight 

not only with the bureaucracy at times, but even with the members 

who necessarily may not be as sensitive to the issues affecting the 

Native American community. 

On the question of AA~, I want to commend the Chairman for 

personally consulting with me, as well as the ranking Democrat on 

our Subcommittee on Native American and Insular Mfairs, and the 

fact that the first question that I raised with the Chairman was 

where do our Alaska Native communities lie on this issue. 

And I was very happy not only to have the privilege of discussing 

the matter with Governor Knowles, but that several of the Native 

Alaskan organizations and associations were very helpful in helping me to make my decision; the fact that I supported ANWR very 

much; the fact that this will be ar1 economic-will be giving tremendous economic opportunities for our Native Alaskan communities throughout the State of Alaska. 

I also note with interest that we do have one Native Alaskan 

community that is against ANWR hr the fear of the situation with 

the caribou, but I hear stories to the contrary; the fact that the 

Alaska Pipeline has been one of thE: great helps not only to the environment, but the fact that it has increased the population of the 

caribou. This has been one of the main concerns that this particular tribe has had over the years. 

So with that in mind, Mr. Chairnan, I want to thank you both 

for holding-! hope that in the coming weeks and months that we 

will continue perhaps to hold joint hearings of the sort so that we 

can expedite perhaps some of the real critical bills affecting Native 

Americans, and certainly hope with my own insular areas that we 

can look at these issues with the fa.ct that we have got some very, 

very strong supporters, their sensitivities, and the leadership that 

is demonstrated both in the SenatE: as well as in the House. And 

for that I commend you both for having this joint hearing, and I 

thank the Chairman for the opportunity. 

CHAIRMAN YOUNG. I thank the gE:ntleman. Governor, excuse me, 

you were absent. I will recognize the governor. 

STATEMENT OF HON. CARLOS ROMERO-BARCELO, A U.S. RESIDENT COMMISSIONER FROM THE COMMONWEALTH OF 

PUERTO RICO 

Mr. ROMERO-BARCELO. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I came to this hearing not only because I am a member of 

the subcommittee, but also because I, like my colleague, 

Faleomavaega, from Samoa, as a representative of U.S. citizens in 

Puerto Rico, have been subject to decisions that were made even 

without being consulted. 

I know very little about Alaska except for what I have read, but 

I had the opportunity to go to Alf.ska-a trip that we made recently. And I feel I know a little bit now, at least much more than 
15 

I did particularly from the point of view and the attitude of the Native Alaskans and all of the people in Alaska. 

And sometimes to try to tell others what to do with their hind 

or with their environment from a distance, I think, seems a little 

bit kind of arrogant. We have to first of all take into consideration 

what the people themselves have to say and how they feel about 

it and what their needs are. In this day and age there certainly are 

controls about any-whatever injury to the environment might be 

because there are so many ways to control and to at least limit 

them considerably so that people can also make use of the land to 

open up opportunities for themselves. 

Right now, as the Representative of Puerto Rico, I am seeing 

that even some of our colleagues just because they were born in 

Puerto Rico are trying to tell us how to do things in Puerto Rico 

without heeding what the elected representatives and the elected 

governor of Puerto Rico want. 

So I feel very much sympathy for the position of the people of 

Alaska, and I just wanted to make that known and say that the 

first thing that we have to take into consideration are the needs 

of the people in this local situation and hear what the local people 

have to say about how they want to do it and what they can do. 

And from our point of view, we should only be concerned with 

whatever controls or systems can be established to prevent whatever damage could be the cause, if any, to the environment. 

CHAIRMAN YoUNG. I thank you, Governor. The gentleman from 

Hawaii, Mr. Abercrombie. 

STATEMENT OF HON. NEIL ABERCROMBIE, A U.S. 

REPRESENTATIVE FROM HAWAII 

Mr. ABERCROMBIE. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I just want to reiterate what I am sure that you know already and what Senator 

Inouye no doubt has emphasized, that we have a special relationship, Alaska and Hawaii. We were territories together. We came 

into the United States together. 

I think that there is a special affinity that will always be there 

between Alaskans and Hawaiians, and I just want to welcome our 

brothers and sisters from Alaska here today and let you know that 

those of us in Hawaii will always remain sensitive to the issues affecting Alaska and Alaska's natives. 

CHAIRMAN YOUNG. I thank the gentleman. I do have an opening 

statement, but at the discretion of the Chair, I will submit it for 

the record. 

[Statement of Mr. Young follows:] 

STATEMENT OF HON. DON YOUNG, A U .S. REPRESENTATIVE FROM ALAsKA, AND 

CHAIRMAN, HOUSE COMMI1TEE ON RESOURCES 

I would like to welcome our colleagues from the Senate Committee on Energy and 

Natural Resources and from the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. I also want 

to extend a special welcome to our Alaska witnesses. 

We have a very impressive lineup today: Governor Tony Knowles; Mary Jane 

Fate, Co-Chair of the Alaska Natives Commission; John Schaeffer, Commission 

member; Julie Kitka, President of the Alaska Federation of Natives; Harold Napo- leon, AFN Special Assistant; Chancellor Lee Gorsuch, University of Alaska; Dr. Walter Soboleff, Distinguished elder of the AFN; Ms. Melissa Berns, AFN Natives Youth 

Chair; Sarah Scanlon, Vice President of NANA Human Resources; and Doug Webb 

of the Alyeska Pipeline Service Company. 
16 

This is a joint oversight hearing on the Alaska Natives Commission report on May 

1994. The report provides an in-depth study of the social and economic status of 

Alaska Natives. It makes specific recommendations to Congress, the President, the 

Governor of the State of Alaska and the Alaska State Legislature. 

The report was written in response to an earlier report on Alaska Natives titled 

"Report on the Status of Alaska Natives: A Call for Action". That earlier report portrayed a severe crisis faced by Alaska Natives. Since the 1960's, Alaska Natives 

have experienced some of the highest rateB of suicides, accidental deaths, alcoholism, homicides, fetal alcohol syndrome, and domestic violence in the Nation. The Alaska Natives Commission was formed after Chairman Frank Murkowski 

and I introduced legislation to conduct an in-depth study of those programs and 

policies of the Federal and State governments wh1ch provide services to Alaska Natives, and to report on the reasons why these programs are not working. Our legislation also mandated that the report include :recommendations on how to address the 

exceedingly unstable social and economic sts.tus of Alaska Natives. 

Today we will receive testimony concerning these recommendations. I look forward to hearing how we can address and so>.ve what has been a social and economic 

crisis of shocking proportions. 

CHAIRMAN YouNG. I would like at this time to bring the first 

panel up and begin the hearing, and the witnesses will please step 

to the table. The first witness is thE~ Honorable Tony Knowles, Governor of the State of Alaska, and Mary Jane Fate, Co-Chairman of 

the Alaska Natives Commission, Fairbanks, Alaska, who will be accompanied by General John Schaeffer-it says he is retired-Commission Member of the Alaska Natives Commission. Would you 

please take the witness stand? And if there ever was a rose between two thorns, there is a classic example right there. 

Governor, let me apologize for not meeting with you this morning. I will tell you right up front, as I told my staff, it takes me 

about an hour and a half to get here by 8:15. The traffic here is 

horrendous. I envy those that do n•)t have the automobile gridlock 

that we have here. Even with the Bo-called government shutdown, 

the traffic is terrible. But I have understood that we had an excellent meeting, and I 

do appreciate your being here today; being the governor, your interest in the Alaska Native group which supported you very strongly 

in the last election and for that I commend you. So with no further 

ado, Governor, you are on. And after all our presentation today, I 

am reluctant to suggest if you can keep it to five minutes, fine . If 

you can't, we will be very, very lenient in the time that is used. 

Governor Knowles. 

Mr. MURKOWSKI. I have got a bas·~ment apartment for rent if you 

want to move a little closer to the Hill. 

CHAIRMAN YoUNG. Well, after what happened to Senator Campbell yesterday and my good friend George Gekas, I am not exactly 

sure I want to do that. But, Governc•r, you are on. 

STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE TONY KNOWLES, 

GOVERNOR, STATE OF ALASKA, JUNEAU, ALASKA 

Governor KNOWLES. Thank you very much, Chairman Young, 

Chairman Murkowski, and committee members. My name is Tony 

Knowles, and as Governor of Alaska, I am thankful to have the opportunity to be here today. And I am particularly thankful to join 

the distinguished Alaskans that will provide further testimony. It 

is important that you are taking time to hear about the Alaska Natives Commission report, and I am pleased to be able to add my 

thoughts to the record. 
17 

When it was released in May of 1994, this report triggered an 

emotional response from many of us in Alaska, especially from the 

Native community. It documents deep-seated problems and does 

provide a road map of accomplishing significant progress. The report concisely and correctly identifies the most serious problem in 

much of rural Alaska. It states, and I quote, "The true nature of 

the sickness throughout Native villages is the state of dependency 

which has led to the loss of direction and self-esteem." 

The solution to that problem is just as clearly stated in the three 

main principles of the report: self-reliance, self-determination, and 

preserving the integrity of Native cultures. I believe the number 1 

tool for fixing the problems in rural Alaska is jobs. Good jobs are 

the key to economic security. And by giving people a sense of selfworth and self-reliance, whether they live in Ketchikan or 

Kwethluk, good jobs are the antidote to social problems like alcoholism, child abuse, or suicide. And despite many of the grim statistics in the report, there has 

been some considerable progress in some rural areas. The number 

of jobs are at an all-time high in Bethel, Nome, the Northwest Arctic Borough, Dillingham, and the relatively new Lake and Peninsula Borough. 

Partnerships between the state, the Federal Government, and 

the Native corporations and organizations have been keys to many 

of the successes. They have helped to inject some new fuel into 

what are often stagnant and slow-burning economies. This can be 

most clearly seen in the development of Prudhoe Bay where 

partnering among Native corporations and oil support companies 

have provided some economic opportunities for Native Alaskans. 

I saw it firsthand last winter when I visited a drilling rig on the 

North Slope. I met a team of roughnecks from interior villages. The 

driller, a Native Alaskan, had been with the company for more 

than 10 years, and all of them were bringing home good paychecks. 

The Red Dog lead and zinc mine and silver mine near Kotzebue 

is another example of a public-private partnership. That project already employs about 300 people, many of them Native Alaskans 

from the local area. And that mine is soon going to expand, investing an additional $50 million for new storage and conveyor facilities. And the private sector is going to put up an additional 100 

million more. 

Now, I would also remind that the Federal Government played 

an important role in getting this project off the ground by permitting a road to pass through a national monument. Another example 

of a partnership and certainly with the Federal Government and 

Congress is the CDQ fishery program underway in western Alaska. That is the Community Development Quotas. And with the help of 

Congress, this program is bringing new fishing jobs and greater income to many villages. 

There are many other examples of partnerships between Native 

corporations and private sector companies, partnerships such as 

the NANA-Marriott which provides food catering to the oil fields. CIRI, Doyon and NANA all are part owners of the Endicott oil 

field. Doyon provides drilling services for BP and ARCO. 

Ahtna and Alyeska are partners in servicing the trans-Alaska oil 

pipeline. And the Arctic Slope Regional Corporation is now one of 
lH 

the largest oil field service companies through subsidiaries like the 

Alaska Petroleum Contractors. And just last month as part of a Native hire agreement, the 

Alyeska Pipeline Service Company announced at the AFN meeting 

a $25 million program for training, recruitment, scholarships, and 

employment. And the goal is to put more Alaska Natives to work 

in the corridor. 

Now, it would be wrong to suggest that the record is perfect, far 

from it, but it gives us a framework, a start, and a solid basis for 

hope. And a true partnership is a two-way street where each partner has responsibilities as well aH opportunities. And it is incumbent upon Alaska's oil industry and its partners to hire Alaskans 

and Alaska companies. In turn, the state is obligated to be a clear, 

consistent, fair, and responsive pa:ctner on the customer side of the 

counter. 

Despite all the progress, however, there are problems in rural 

Alaska that are very real and all too troubling. Employment-and 

at the national level we sometime.; consider if we got to eight percent unemployment, it would be a recession, 10 percent would be 

a depression, a:nd I would ask you what would you call the situation that exists in many of rural villages where there is 70 a:nd 80 

percent unemployment. 

Let me give you a few quick statistics from the Alaska Natives 

Commission report. In the quarter··Century ending in 1989, the rate 

of suicide among Alaska Natives increased 500 percent. Half of 

those were among the young Natives aged 15 to 24. That is four 

times the national average. Hep.atitis is considered endemic in 

many Alaska villages, the result, a.s Senator Inouye pointed out, of 

people having to handle their own :1Uman waste. 

Hepatitis A in rural Alaska is 36 times the national average. 

Cases of fetal alcohol syndrome among Alaska Natives are more 

than twice the national average, and tragically so is the infant 

mortality rate. To me, those grim numbers highlight, again, looking 

to the number 1 tool that I identified, to provide for the self-esteem, self-worth, and self-reliance is economic development. 

I believe the benefits of those evelopments are first a:nd foremost jobs and, secondly, basic services, a:nd these are at the core 

of the Native Commissions call for self-reliance in the villages. 

It is government's role I believe at both the state and Federal 

level to help build the foundation for that self-reliance. And to do 

that, we have to make sure they have the right tools and some of 

the same tools that other Americans take for granted; solid schools, 

improved sanitation, decent health care, a:nd something unique to 

Alaska, the ability to continue cultural traditions like subsistence 

hunting a:nd fishing. 

That is why we in Alaska find it so vital to develop our mineral 

and other natural resources. And there is no more important development opportunity than in the .Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. 

Some of you have heard me talk about that before. I am sure you 

have heard from the two committee Chairmen from Alaska who 

talk about it often and forcefully. 

And there is a reason for that passion. Oil production has already paid for countless improvements throughout Alaska including rural areas. If it continues to do so, if it is to help put the tools 
19 

of self-reliance in place, then environmentally sound development 

in ANWR is essential. 

Let me give you a few numbers about the benefits Alaska has enjoyed as a result of oil development in our state. Eighty percent of 

all the revenues in the Treasury comes from the oil industry, and 

since Prudhoe Bay started pumping in 1977, Alaska has spent billions of dollars in rural Alaska. 

Some of the big ticket items include $1 billion in direct grants 

for construction needs, including $300 million on rural water and 

sewer projects; 400 million in state revenue sharing for rural communities; 300 million for construction of rural schools; 35 million 

for village electrification projects; 7 million to upgrade village 

health clinics, and the list goes on. 

As we talk about the needs of rural Alaska, my point is without 

a healthy oil industry, there is no way the state could have afforded these investments. Instead, the financial burden would have 

rested squarely on the Federal Government. Certainly Congress 

has committed millions to rural Alaska over the years, but without 

the help of a healthy state economy, the pressure would have been 

intense for even more Federal spending. 

The bottom line is this. Alaska has benefited greatly from oil production. While we have made progress, there is a lot more to be 

done. And sensible oil development in ANWR can keep us headed 

in the right direction. 

While I am on this subject, let me point out what I believe is an 

irony in the whole ANWR debate. Current sentiments in Congress 

are to decentralize control, to assume, and I agree, that the best 

decisions about people's lives are made by those people and at the 

level of government closest to the people. That is certainly true 

when it comes to social services and the congressional desires for 

block grants. 

But why are some so intent on making local decisionmaking 

when it comes to the delivery of social services and yet oppose it 

when it comes to economic development? Let me put it perhaps in 

a different way. In an era of budget cutting, the government just 

can't walk away from rural Alaska and say, ''You are on your own. 

It is time to be self-reliant." The government needs to make sure 

the proper tools are in place as the funding is gradually reduced. 

And giving people the ability to develop sensibly the natural resources in that area is critical. 

The discussion about progress in rural Alaska must talk about 

a healthy oil industry, and that is why the Alaska Federation of 

Natives after a long debate voted last month to support oil exploration in the Arctic Refuge. Now, that vote was not taken lightly. 

Dominating the long hours of debate was the special relationship 

Alaska Native people have to their land and to the wildlife and fish 

that inhabit it. That relationship, of course, centers on subsistence. A very legitimate concern has been expressed about the development and its effect upon caribou. That vote taken by the AFN 

would not have prevailed if there was any doubt that development 

can and will take place only with a guaranteed protection of subsistence wildlife. Protecting traditional subsistence way of life is a 

top priority of my administration. 
20 

Others have tried to resolve some long-running disputes over 

subsistence hunting and fishing rights. And the legislature in :recent years has refused to allow Alaskans to vote on the issue. I 

think it is time to move forward, snd I would note that subsistence 

is mentioned not just as a way of preserving the important cultural 

traditions that the report highlights, but it is also the number 1 

employer in rural Alaska. It is an ~~ssential source of jobs. 

We are working right now on concepts that will take into place 

two consensus points; one, that st:.bsistence use shall be a priority 

for fish and game, and, secondly, that we need a unified management of our resources. There is a special relationship between Congress and the Alaska Native community on oversight issues, and 

we don't want to jeopardize that relationship in the subsistence 

area. 

But amendments to ANILCA, the Alaska National Interest 

Lands Conservation Act of 1980, may be a necessary part of any 

lasting subsistence solution. So will amendments to state statutes 

and the state constitution. 

Many of the recommendations of the Alaska Natives Commission 

report include the importance of preserving the subsistence way of 

life, and that won't be achieved without a steady, stable source of 

revenue. All of Alaska will suffer as oil production tails off. Rural 

Alaska is likely to suffer most. 

Here is just one example--improvements to rural sanitation. I 

have said we should put the honey bucket in the museum within 

10 years. I am absolutely committed to that goal. Alaska Natives 

aren't second-class citizens, and they shouldn't have to live in 

Third World conditions. Yet right now, half of Alaska's villages still 

use plastic buckets for toilets or pit privies for rest rooms. 

It will cost money to change thl:t, as much as 1 billion more to 

give all Alaskans the same safe water and sewer facilities that 

other Americans take for granted. This year alone, 45 village sanitation projects are under construction. As you listen to the talk of 

other people today about the needs of rural Alaska, please keep one 

thing in mind. The call for self-rehance in the villages is from the 

heart. It comes from the people who live there. 

It is a call I fully support. I hs.ve adopted the Alaska Natives 

Commission report as a road map for my administration to 

progress in rural Alaska. It is a can to end the long cycle of government dependence. It is a call from village Alaska to assume more 

responsibility. It is our role as elected leaders to hear that call and 

to help lay the groundwork for self-reliance. How? By creating decent jobs, by ensuring education and training, by making sure basic 

health services are in place, by providing the good schools and 

modern sewer and water facilities. 

We have I think a historic opportunity to make a difference. I 

want to thank the Native people of Alaska for their leadership in 

that report. I thank our congressiomal delegation in Congress for 

the vision in providing the forum for this report. And I welcome the 

privilege of taking action in partne1·ship on this important mission. Thank you very much. 

[Statement of Governor Knowles may be found at end of hearing.] 
21 

CHAIRMAN YoUNG. Thank you, Governor, for an excellent presentation in bringing to light the role of the state and what you are 

endeavoring to do. I now recognize the lady, Mary Jane Fate, and, 

Mary Jane, please don't take offense. I do have to take a phone call 

for about four minutes, and I will be back. In the meantime, Senator Murkowski will be the Chair. But, Mary Jane, you are on. 

STATEMENT OF MARY JANE FATE, CO-CHAIR, ALASKA NATIVES COMMISSION, FAIRBANKS, ALASKA; AND JOHN 

SCHAEFFER, ADJ GENERAL [RETIRED], COMMISSION MEMBER, ALASKA NATIVES COMMISSION 

Ms. FATE. Mr. Chairman of the committees, as well as the members of the committees, good morning, and ladies and gentlemen, 

our Alaskans that are with us today. I am Mary Jane Fate. I am 

Co-Chair of the Alaska Natives Commission. I am Athapaskan Indian, having been raised traditionally in and around the Village of 

Rampart located on the Yukon River. I iive in Fairbanks today. 

Our family traveled from Muskrat camps in the springtime, to 

traplines in the winter, to fish camps in the summer. So we used 

our village more or less as a source of supplies and some part of 

our education. 

The Joint Federal-State Commission on Policies and Programs 

affecting Alaska Natives, hereafter referred to as the Alaska Natives Commission, was formed by Congress in August of 1990. It 

would through Public Law 101-379. The Commission's undertaking 

was jointly funded by the Federal Government and the State of 

Alaska. 

The Commission included members appointed by the President of 

the United States and the Governor of Alaska in 1992. We have 14 

commissioners of which today three are here. Including myself we 

have General John Schaeffer, Dr. Walter Soboleff, and you will be 

hearing from them later. 

We also had a number of ex-officio members of which you were 

a part of the ex-officio members, nonvoting members, as well as 

from the state. And like you, we commissioners were a very diverse 

group, and we experienced our differences. The fact that we were 

not all alike was one of our most important strengths. On behalf of the Alaska Natives Commission, I convey our heartfelt thanks and sincere gratitude to each and every one of you. We 

especially want to thank individual Alaska Natives who came forward telling us what they wanted more than anything else, and the 

testimonies totaled about 2,500 pages. The Commission listened 

and the resulting options are before this committee today. In a 

short 18-month period, the final report was on your desks, and that 

final report is our testimony. Please include this report for inclusion in the printed hearing record. The report was presented to the 

PresidentMr. MURKOWSKI. Without objection, it will be so ordered. Ms. FATE. The report was presented to the President and to the 

Governor. I am very sorry that we do not have with us today anyone from the Department of the Interior. I feel this is a big void. 

But on a positive note, I hopefully hope they will be working on a 

positive result for our Alaska Natives and all Indians in the United 

States. 
2n 

~. 

A staff was hired and five task forces were selected to gather information on health, education, social-cultural, economics and governance. The task force members were volunteers from throughout 

the State of Alaska, almost all Alaska Natives expert in their specific areas, and we held nine regional public hearings, as well as 

two statewide hearings, and also heard from individuals throughout. 

The Commission provided Alaska Natives and those entities who 

are involved with related program:; an opportunity to make a positive impact on individual Alaska Natives. I am going to just highlight a few recommendations because you have them before you. 

You know. And I want to thank y)u for your knowledge and messages today coming from the committees. 

But just to highlight quickly, we were very protective of the individual Alaskans' rights as owners today, as well as for the rights 

of the victims. Under health, we were concerned about the funding 

especially with the Community He::Llth Aides' retention and the ongoing services in regard to health. The primary quality health delivery is still a problem in the isolated setting of rural Alaskan 

communities, and you spoke to water and sewer needs-are still a 

problem. 

I feel that we are not a Third World country, but we are almost 

like a Fourth World country becauBe we see on television-our Native people see how it should be or would be to live in a safe environment. And it is very hard when you are in the United States 

of America, and you are left out of the process. 

Education-our education is lagging. It is still lagging behind all 

other places in the United States, as well as other nations. And 

there is a lot of work to be done in that area. Economics-it became 

very clear there is a need for jobs and a means for creating new 

revenue. 

We heard over and over the ne·~d to generate new money and 

heard from success stories such a~: from the NANA region where 

a large mine provides all the values of a Native culture and yet is 

profitable. We too can do the same if given the opportunity in the 

development of oil and gas in the C)astal plain areas, as the Arctic 

National Wildlife Refuge. 

Cottage industries is one way to help the economic future. Many 

restrictions and regulations make :.t difficult, if not impossible, to 

pursue cottage industries. Bartering items which are considered 

subsistence prociucts are also regulated. Potential cash crops such 

as wood products, furs, smoked fish, dried fish are impacted by either environmental or food and dntg regulations. Nobody ever got 

sick from eating my dried smoked salmon. 

Historically, the Alaska Native people are a people of high standards, strong, proud, trusting, and ~~iving. They are hard workers. 

Today, the paternalistic attitude has trained many of our people to 

be on the government dole. The reBtrictions and regulations make 

it very difficult to work and prosper from their own land and environment. Some bright spots do exi~:t in retraining our Alaska Natives to occupy positions in the new Alaskan economies, such as oil, 

mining, transportation, and so forth. 

Today we find ourselves in a crisis situation. The outrageous 

school dropouts, high unemployment, hopelessness, drug and alco-
23 

hoi abuse and other tragic and sad endings such as the highest 

rates of suicides, accidents, violent deaths, and other acts. What we 

learned at the hearings was that time was running out. 

At the inaugural meeting of the Commission, Senator Daniel 

Inouye stated, "I don't want just a report on the conditions. I want 

your recommendations," and we took that to heart. At that time, 

you vowed that the Congress will give such recommendations serious consideration, and we believed you. Senator Ted Stevens "praised the Commission as a genuine attempt with the participation of Native Alaskans to sort out the 

problems created by Federal policies." Senator Frank Murkowski 

added, "The Commission needs to take a fresh look at problems to 

try to fashion solutions that will work for the timely benefit of 

Alaska Natives." Congressman Don Young also is aware of the dire 

needs of the Alaska Natives and proclaimed his support for vast 

changes. Today's hearing on the Alaska Natives Commission is a very significant part to the Alaska Native people. It represents a collective 

communique from Alaska Natives to the United States Congress, 

the President, and the Governor, and made it clear to the Commission that they would not stand for a sanitized report. Many of 

those recommendations are completely contrary to the way it used 

to be. 

The government can no longer maintain the old status quo or ignore Alaska Native needs. We hope that this report makes it clear 

that our people want more involvement in their lives, less government, and more independence. To sum it up, time has already run 

out, for in the short life of this Commission, approximately 1,300 

Alaska Natives have perished. And of those deaths, too many of 

our future leaders are youths-died, and almost all were 

nonaccidental or unnatural. 

There are three volumes to this report, and, lastly, I want to 

thank you on behalf of the Alaska Natives Commission, the Alaska 

Native people, and we will always be available to help you, and if 

there is any comments or questions, we are available. Thank you. 

[Statement of Ms. Fate may be found at end of hearing.] 

CHAIRMAN YoUNG. Thank you, Mary Jane. It is my understanding, Mr. Schaeffer, that you are not hereto testify. You are here to 

answer questions, and later on I might make some suggestions or 

comments about the success of your region, what you have been 

able to do. I think that is a classic example. 

But at this time, I would like to have questions if there are questions for the Governor or Mary Jane asked at this time. I do have 

two questions if you will give me the privilege of asking them first, 

and then I will go to the Senator, and then we will alternate between the members of the committee. 

Mary Jane, in your statement just a moment ago, you state that 

time has already run out, what should be the next step for the 

Congress to do. What would be your recommendation-what can 

we do to expedite or to make sure that time has not run out, that 

we can solve these problems? 

Ms. FATE. Mr. Congressman, I believe you will be hearing from 

others today on that issue in specific resolutions that have already 

been taken in the last five years, repeated resolutions over and 
over from the whole statewide of Alaska Natives, and also from the 

Governor's office, and also your own plans that you have and your 

goals. But we are going to follow through on every aspect of this 

report. 

CHAIRMAN YoUNG. I appreciate that. My biggest concern is the 

gentleman from Alaska, Senator Murkowski, made the comment 

about not only-and the Governor is correct-not only this Administration, other Administrations-there is an opinion here that for 

the American Native is that they look good as far as the government officials, including the Congress, and they come up with what 

I call paper solutions but no real solutions to the issues affecting Natives. 

So I hope that the rest of the Commission, after the report is 

made that we have some suggestions where I should go from here 

and being able to implement the desires of the Alaska Natives 

Commission and the people that you interviewed. My understanding is you traveled throughout the state. You heard testimony with 

regard to the social and economic problems which we have heard. 

Do you a~ree? I guess you do because you signed it with the 

Commission s recommendation that solutions need to come from 

the community first-and it goes back to my opening question-the 

community first and then recommendations to the Congress on how 

we can, in fact, implement through the help of the state and the 

Governor, and he is committed to that, the decisions that come 

from the community. I do believe you would agree with that. 

Ms. FATE. Mr. Congressman, that brings up a good point because 

there are several recommendations that may not be 100 percent 

from every community equally. We are a diverse group, large, different geographical areas in needs. And some of us are lagging way behind. In my area of the Athapaskan, the Yukon drainage, I believe we are the poorest, most isolated, most unmarketable, most 

needs. And I see that from my eyes. Others may see that from 

theirs, but the options are here and open for further work. 

CHAIRMAN YoUNG. OK Governo1·, you emphasized in your testimony and I want to compliment you that the Alaska National 

Wildlife Range, ANWR, supposedly would benefit the State of Alaska and assist in its Native constituency in achieving self-reliance. 

I believe you went through some ~.tatistics on what the state has 

been able to do. 

As governor, are lou recommending that the opening of ANWR 

is a main source o revenue available for the State of Alaska to 

help eliminate the social and economic problems faced by the Alaska Natives? I know that is what you are saying. My biggest concern is that the state doesn't become the secondary BIA. I hope 

that whatever you do you are doing in consultation with the communities and the regional corporations and individuals. 

One of my classic pet peeves, Governor, is the housing programs. 

The HUD housing built by the Federal Government at a tremendous cost has been a failure, and yE1t they said this is the only way 

you can get any money to do it. You have to follow our rules. 

It would have been much better if the community had decided 

what type of building they would have had and got a better bang 

for the buck, a better home for the people, and they would have 

some pride in what occurred instead of having probably wooden 
25 

shacks that you can stick your finger through after a period of 

years. I just hope in your efforts, and I know you are sincere, that 

you will try to hopefully be a partner not just as an individual that 

says, ''This is the way you are going to do it." 

Governor KNowLES. Congressman Young, I absolutely agree with 

your observation on that. To me, what is the most unique and compelling part of this report as differentiated from the feet or yards 

of other reports that lay on shelves is that this report from the villages calls for control of people over their own lives. The role that 

I would see the state in partnership with the Federal Government 

would be to provide the tools by which people can construct those 

productive lives themselves. 

That will be primarily through private sector employment and is 

through the partnerships that you speak of with the development 

in the coastal plain there of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, 

whether it be with the fisheries in western Alaska through the 

CDQ programs, through the mining that is taking place, through 

the interior northwest and southeast and the timber activities, the 

value-added. These are all private sector sustainable jobs that we 

can be partners in but which people create their own situation 

rather than have it done to them or for them. 

CHAIRMAN YOUNG. OK. One other thing, Governor. I happen to 

agree that the subsistence issue is top priority, has been, and I will 

do everything I can to help you. My comment to Julie and the AFN 

and yourself is this has to be a working relationship between all 

factors, although we may never always agree, but we have to have 

some centr~l consensus of how we solve this problem. 

One of my basic concerns is that the illusion of subsistence can 

be a total way of life. I think the gentleman from Colorado brought 

it out very clearly. We have to also look at what we can do to improve the amount of species that are available. We have not done 

that. 

I just came out of an area where an American Indian group has 

utilized their expertise-biology background, management of their 

own lands which is not popular in the state, but management of 

land and created a tremendous amount of wealth for their own 

tribal members in the field of fish and game. It is a very rewarding 

example of what can be done with a smaller body of land than the 

Alaska Natives have and yet make it very rewarding. 

I just want us to be on track, communicate with one another on 

this issue, and see if we can't solve that problem which has been 

a festering sore in the state for many, many years. And why, I 

agree with you, we don't allow the people to vote on this issue, I 

do not understand. If, in fact, the people vote against this, that is 

a different story but at least let them have the ability to do it. I 

don't have any comments at this time. Senator, do you have any 

questions you would like to ask? 

Mr. INOUYE. I have been advised, Ms. Fate, that since the issuance of this report a year ago the statistical data has worsened. Is 

that correct? 

Ms. FATE. I will ask for John Schaeffer to answer that please. 

General SCHAEFFER. Senator, it is my understanding that the 

Alaska Federation of Natives in their presentation will provide you 
26 

with more up-to-date statistics on some of the problems, and they 

will pretty much show that things are continuing to worsen. 

Mr. INOUYE. So you are at a crhds stage now? 

General SCHAEFFER. I think that is a matter of opinion. We may 

have passed that crisis stage sometime in the 1960's. 

Mr. INOUYE. I would like to asBure all of you and Mr. Governor 

that in this city the word commission is oftentimes a laughable 

item. A study commission is usually the cynical answer for problems to appease those who are tr·oubled. I can assure you that as 

one of the co-sponsors of this mea.3ure I will do my utmost to make 

certain that this Commission is not a scam. We will make it work. CHAIRMAN YOUNG. Thank you, Senator. Senator Murkowski, do 

you have questions? 

Mr. MURKOWSKI. A couple of observations. Thank you, Don. Our 

microphones work all the time over there. I guess we don't have 

concern over the light bill, and you do over here. But, in any event, 

let me make a comment with re~rard to Ms. Fate's statement regarding the lack of attendance by representatives of the Bureau of 

Indian Affairs who had been asked to attend, and we had reason 

to believe the Secretary of the Interior would be with us on the 

hearing. 

However, there is a provision that was brought to our attention, 

and I will read it. The provisions of 31 USC 1342 generally prohibit 

Federal employees from providing services to their agencies even 

on a volunteer basis. As a consequence, Ms. Fate, I guess one can 

conclude that the Department of Interior's absence here is noted 

obviously. One can perhaps conclude that the Secretary considers 

himself a nonessential governmen.t employee. I don't know. But I 

think many Alaskans might agree that that might be a fair selfevaluation. 

Of course, the junior Senator from Alaska is a little biased on the 

attitude of the Secretary toward self-determination. You know, evidently there is a necessity of having two chefs in the White House 

that are essential but testifying at this hearing is not. 

I don't want to get too partisan, however, but let me tell you one 

other thing that does disturb me. We have had an objection by Senator Daschle on the floor of the Senate today to object to the twohour rule which we have that says that committees cannot hold 

hearings two hours after the Senate has convened. So officially as 

far as the U.S. Senate is concerned beyond the two hours that 

probably ended around 10:30, why, we are kind of out in the cold 

here officially. 

CHAIRMAN YOUNG. No. I am the Chairman--

Mr. MURKOWSKI. We are volunteers as the Senator from Hawaii 

testified. 

CHAIRMAN YOUNG. I am the Chairman of this oversight hearing, 

and I have cordially invited my two Senators to participate in this 

hearing on a voluntary basis. They have gladly volunteered their 

time, and I think the last time that happened, Senator, that was 

quite a few years ago. And I do welcome you back into the ranks 

so you are here. And as long as you want to be here, your record 

will be stated on the recording machine, and you are my guest. 

Mr. MURKOWSKI. It sounds like we are prisoners of the House. 

CHAIRMAN YOUNG. If I get you, you are never getting away. 
27 

Mr. MURKOWSKI. But there has been an objection filed. However, 

it is fair to say that from the standpoint of getting things done, we 

had a pretty good day the first day that the government closed 

down because we have been working 15 years on the oil export 

issue and finally got a vote to vote it out of the Senate. It was a 

conference report that you had done such an extraordinary job on 

so sometimes we do get something done for Alaska when government is out. 

Governor, you and I had an opportunity to chat this morning, 

and you know and I know based on our experience in the private 

sector that government doesn't create jobs. Jobs are created by the 

private sector, and the private sector makes a decision on whether 

or not they are going to risk their capital and evaluation of the potential return on investment. 

And as far as Alaska is concerned, whether we look at ANWR or 

whether ·we look at the hopeful development of our huge gas reserves or our interior timber or other things, we are talking about 

resource development as you indicated in your statement which I 

thought was very well thought out and direct. 

And I am wondering as a consequence of the experience that 

John Schaeffer and NANA have had in the development of the Red 

Dog mine which created the first jobs in northwestern Alaska that 

previously year-round jobs, John, were nonexistent in the NANA 

region. Is that correct? 

General ScHAEFFER. Not in the resource development area, no 

sir; just in the service area. 

Mr. MURKOWSKI. And this has provided jobs in your area for the 

local residents of the villages, and they have had an opportunity 

for training. And you would generally evaluate that experience as 

how? 

General SCHAEFFER. As positive, sir; very positive. 

Mr. MURKOWSKI. Very positive. So, you know, recognizing that 

some areas where we have rural Native residents it is difficult to 

identify potential for jobs. If you have a mine prospect, and I gather the prospects for Red Dog's expansion look encouraging-we 

have got the southeastern possibility of mining. We have got Fairbanks and other areas. 

But I am wondering if there is some way, Governor, that we in 

the delegation can help you and your administration begin to identify some specific job opportunities associated with something that 

is not of the general nature. We are all saying we need to train our 

people, and we need to have a labor market that is capable. 

But we also have to begin to identify something that we can either reopen like a sawmill in Wrangell, reopen like the AJ mine 

in Juneau, or develop in the population center around Bethel 

where it is a lot tougher as we may have a seasonal opportunity. 

But that season for tourists is still roughly Memorial Day to Labor 

Day, . and you put in a large capital investment to accommodate 

tourists, it is hard to amortize it in a three or four-month period. 

Is there anything that your administration might develop or look 

toward that the state can do to identify some specifics and you can 

tell us and we can help you? Because, obviously, the Federal Government owns a lot of your land and--

21-794 - 96 - 2 
28 

Governor KNOWLES. Senator Murkowski, the response to your 

question is yes. I believe that there is a real important role that 

the Federal Government, as one of the largest landowners with 

natural resource in the state, can play. I would in the spirit of the 

Alaska Natives Commission report though emphasize what I think 

is a very important economic development message, as well as the 

other aspects of grassroots leadership, decisions being made at the 

local level. 

And I don't know of any one policy that would immediately in a 

blanketing of a state that is so diverse in its resources and opportunities that would solve all those problems, but rather taking the 

initiative such as the Kake Tribal group recently did in establishing .a salmon-ham production facili y. As a matter of fact, you can 

get your salmon link sausage in Williams Sonoma catalog at $36 

for four eight-ounce packages. It is a good buy though. And this 

was developed absolutely at the initiative of the local economic organization and the tribal organization. The state and the Federal role is to make sure that the resources 

are available-that is, the salmon·-to provide good stewardship, 

and to provide the harbors and the utilities and the education and 

training that makes all of that economic initiative on the basis of 

individuals and groups at the local level possible. 

So to the extent for large situations such as ANWR which provides that opportunity throughout the entire fisheries, as you mentioned, mining and timber opportunities, all of that-tourism is another great opportunity, the development of arts and crafts as an 

economic tool are all of these possibilities. Mr. MURKOWSKI. I wonder if you would consider supporting Don, 

Ted, and I on the merits of contracting from, say, the regional corporations or the village corporations for partial management and 

oversight of some of our parks and wildlife and wilderness areas 

relative to the reality that we have a declining Park Service budget, and yet we have residents in rural Alaska that with some training could possibly take over under a contractual commitment much 

of the management that is necessary in these parks. 

I am always reminded, John, of, you know, the Kotzebue area 

and the Gates of the Arctic or Cape Krusenstern where I believe 

we have more entries and exits by Park Service personnel than we 

have by visitors. And why can't we use our local Native rural people in this capacity and break the yoke of the Department of the 

Interior that has mandated that they are the only ones that can 

possibly do a credible job in managing some of these areas that are 

very costly. And if we can involve the Native people, they could certainly I think shepherd the responsibility appropriately. 

Governor KNOWLES. Senator Murkowski, I think that the ability 

to in-fill existing jobs, whether they be public or private by local 

hire and in rural Alaska, that means village Alaska, is absolutely 

one of the quickest ways to transform an economy with high unemployment to one with a proper training, and that is where I would 

emphasize the training and education needs to be able to fulfill 

some <>f those roles. So I would certainly agree with that direction. 

The state is going to be taking the same direction in terms of infilling existing jobs in the public ector, just as we are working 
29 

with the private sector to make sure that their job needs are fulfilled by qualified, trained local residents. 

Mr. MURKOWSKI. Well, we are going to pursue that with some 

legislation. It will be interesting to see the response we get from 

the Department of Interior, but we will appreciate your help. One 

other question, and this is my last one, you used the terminology 

with regard to subsistence of unified management. And definitions 

are always subject to some scrutiny, and I am curious to know 

what you had in mind? 

Governor KNOWLES. Chairman Murkowski, that would mean 

state control of the management of fish and wildlife resources. 

Mr. MURKOWSKI. And when you said unified, you definitely appropriately left out Federal? 

Governor KNOWLES. Yes, sir. 

Mr. MuRKOWSKI. And I certainly agree with you. Thank you, 

Governor. 

CHAIRMAN YOUNG. Thank you, Senator, and I can comment on 

what you meant about hire. We are working even with Secretary 

Babbitt, although he is nonessential, right now trying to get numerous parks like Noatak Park and other areas contracted out. I 

am not terribly concerned about the training aspect. Anybody can 

take and manage security, housing, food, and all this. 

I am sure the capability is there, and it is an immediate way to 

employ people, and it does save the Park Service instead of building their own little forts in Bethel, and that is the Fish and Wildlife in other areas. There is no reason why we can't have yearround employment instead of seasonal employment of all aunts, 

uncles, et cetera, to work for the Park Service. That is just an example. 

And, by the way, we are doing this in Oklahoma right now with 

a refuge. We are attempting to do it in Arkansas, and so it is not 

precedent setting. I don't think we will have to pursue legislation 

unless we run into a stonewall opposition from the Secretary. He 

has indicated he is very interested. So we are going to work on 

that. Any other questions from-the gentleman from American 

Samoa. Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Before asking 

my questions, I would like to ask unanimous consent to allow the 

members of the committee to submit questions especially to the Administration on some of the issues that have been brought up. CHAIRMAN YoUNG. And that is, without objection, so ordered. 

Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Thank you. I would like to ask Ms. Fate and 

the Governor, you know, it is true that Assistant Secretary Deer 

has publicly acknowledged or made known the fact that the Administration, at least the BIA to my understanding, opposes ANWR, 

and she made this directly to try to influence the Native Alaskan 

tribes to support her position. And I understand that there has been a lot of divisiveness among 

the Native Alaskan organizations on this issue, and I would like 

both the Governor and Ms. Fate to comment on that, and Mr. 

Schaeffer, if possible, to kind of edify the members of the committee exactly. I don't know if 49.9 percent is considered a minority position 

with the number of tribes involved. It is my understanding that 
30 

just one tribe was in opposition to this, but I would like your comments on this issue. It might also help us if we find out how Ms. 

Ada Deer went about coming up with this conclusion. Has she consulted closely with the tribes on this issue, or is she just carrying 

the water for the Secretary on this iBsue? 

CHAIRMAN YOUNG. If the gentlema.n will yield--

Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. I would gladly yield. 

CHAIRMAN YOUNG [continuing]--! do not want to put the Governor and Mary Jane in any awkward position. If they wish to answer this-1 know that AFN, Ms. ~fulie Kitka, will be addressing 

that issue at a later time because it was a very contentious and 

very unpopular statement to be made at that time. So if you would 

like to comment, you can. You are not required to do so at this time 

because I know there will be an answer to that at a later date. 

Ms. FATE. I would like to comment because I would like to add 

another little thing I forgot. I cannot speak for Ada Deer. I have 

had many years' experience with the Bureau of Indian Affairs before it was the Alaska Native Serrice during territorial days in 

Alaska. Much of it has been substandard, much of it has been negative to my people in my area. 

So through my history, I always kept in my mind that we must 

be a part of the process. We were 1ever part of the process, and 

right now we are part of the process, and it is not being taken 

lightly and not positively maybe by the present position in the Administration. But we have spoken, and I believe the Administration 

should listen and work with us as well. Thank you. 

Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Governor Knowles, you don't have to comment if you feel it is not relevant to my concern. Let me just say 

this. My support of ANWR hinged entirely on the information and, 

of course, not only consulting with you, sir, but the fact that I did 

receive resolutions and information from the vast majority of the 

Native Alaskan organizations in support of this, and that is where 

I stand. 

And I just wanted to make sure that if I understand-if there 

are other information that has not been made known to the members of the committee, I would gladly welcome your enlightening 

the situation here and how Ms. Ad:::. Deer came up with that conclusion as well. 

Governor KNOWLES. Well, thank you, Representative, and I also 

appreciate the chance when we had the opportunity to talk on the 

telephone about this. It is my feeling that in the very broadest 

sense there is a strong and deep support for the development of the 

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge done in a responsible and right 

way. 

This crosses all geographical line:;, all partisan lines, all backgrounds, cultures, and it is a very strong belief both that it can be 

done right and that it should be done on the basis of local decisions. And so that is the basis upon which I think that you will 

hear from other testimonies today concerning--

Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Would you say that a substantial amount of 

needed resources to meet the economic and the social needs of the 

Native Alaskan people in the State o~ Alaska that ANWR definitely 

is one of the tremendous turning points as far as economic develop·-
31 

ment for the needs of Native Alaskan communities? Will that definitely have an impact? 

Governor KNOWLES. Yes, sir. It will play an important part in 

that transformation. 

Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

CHAIRMAN YoUNG. Yes. And before I recognize the next gentleman, you know, it is not only this Administration and other Administrations, it is the BIA. And the best thing we could ever do 

is to try to transfer their capability to the tribes. There is no doubt 

in my mind it would work better, we would save money, and we 

get a bigger and better return on it. 

This paternalism philosophy is nothing new. It has been around 

since the creation. I think one of the unfortunate things that happened, if I may say in this-I got the Chair-I guess I can say itone of the unfortunate things is we have a Secretary of Interior regardless of what Administration that BIA is under, and yet the 

BIA does not defend or is an advocate for the American Native 

when it comes to the Park Service, or Fish and Wildlife, or BLM, 

or any other thing. 

In fact, they do not do the appropriate-22[g] is a classic example. We gave land for the Alaska Natives, and then say, "Oh, it is 

your land, but you can't do anything with it." Now, you talk about 

a hypocritical action by the Department of Interior. It is wrong so 

it is just, you know, a little background. This is a constant, repetitive thing over every Administration. I have been under six cf 

them. And it is just time that we either tell them to change it, or 

we will eliminate them. 

Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. I want to say to the Chairman that I fully 

agree with the entire realm of his statement about dealing with the 

Secretary of the Interior. In fact, at this point I have some very 

strong grievances that I still have not resolved with the Secretary 

of the Interior dealing with the insular areas. So I know what the 

gentleman is talking about, and I couldn't agree with him more in 

having to deal with the problems and the bureaucracy downtown. 

CHAIRMAN YOUNG. The gentleman from Minnesota. 

Mr. VENTO. Thanks, Mr. Chairman, and let me welcome the Governor. We appreciate his being here. I think it underlines the importance of this Commission's status and report. I don't know that 

you want to turn this-I understand that ANWR is a significant 

concern in Alaska with regards to the economic concerns the Governor and the Native Americans have expressed. Obviously, I view 

it, as you know, Governor, as a national issue more. 

I don't know what the-in listening to the Chairman discuss the 

grant of lands to Native Americans, obviously, whatever the degree 

of autonomy that is granted, obviously, you have to live within the 

context of, you know, the laws that are passed by the Federal Government in terms of the EPA, water quality, and other types of 

concerns. And I guess that is-if that limits-I mean, so that is realistic. 

What we are getting to here though, and I looked at this-at 

least a summary of it. I haven't, obviously, read the three volumes 

that have been put forth, but I think that all of us should take 

heart and direction from the statements made by Senator Inouye 

and others who have spoken in favor of the importance of the Com-
32 

mission report because it is to me surprising, a state that I look 

at as being a progressive state, Governor. We have got a lot of Minnesotans up there. We export a lot of Minnesotans to Alaska, and 

I think that we take a little credit for the--

CHAIRMAN YOUNG. Don't get any .deas, Bruce. 

Mr. VENTO. Don, you would welcome me with open arms. You 

need me up there. But the fact is that, in fact, some have actually 

been sent back to Washington after they went up there, Mr. Chairman-Joe Baggett or Nick Baggett. So the issue I was going to 

point out though, I look at it as progressive. But you clearly have one of the most difficult tasks from a standpoint of the pluralism that exists in terms of the different cultures 

in Alaska: a scattered population and geographic problems which 

have lent themselves to some real slippage when we look at Native 

Americans in Alaska and the conditions that they have i.n terms of 

graduation rates and sanitation, th•~ lack of-two-thirds don't have 

running water. They are using, as .vou point out, these honey pots 

that become sort of a cultural thing . But, obviously, this all reflects 

in terms of health problems. 

And the question is, of course, in this day and age it is not surprising I suppose to see a CommisBion report come back and suggest, "We want greater autonomy." We get that from the states to 

the Federal Government. Now, the states are getting it from governing structures within their states or cultures within their 

states, and I guess that is what we are seeing reflected here. 

Clearly, as I listened to my colleague, Senator Murkowski, talk 

about cooperation with Native Americans in dealing with the management of lands, we really have just skeleton groups of Park Service personnel there, skeleton groups in terms of BLM personnel 

present. The question is really money. 

I suppose some sort of a stewardship role would be completelyyou know, I would see that as being completely compatible. The 

bottom line, of course, is getting enough money to make that work 

and then vesting the authority and the training so somebody actually could, in fact, act in a manner with authority and within the 

law. 

But one of the things that strikeB me is that, you know, we are 

looking, obviously, to try and strekh our Federal dollars to meet 

some of those basic needs. And what does Alaska mean? I have 

worked as a state legislator before coming here 19 years ago, and 

for six years we did power equalizing· formulas. 

In other words, you have got fundamental problems in education. 

Each year we know that there are programs that send some rebate 

back to Alaskans generally. Couldn't some of these dollars be reorganized to focus on where the most acute problems are? Isn't there 

some political response from the state here besides admitting that 

the Federal Government, if we had the dollars, could spend more 

money in management of our parks, of these BLM lands? 

And the other question I had, Governor, and maybe you would 

like to respond to a series of these or others may want to respond, 

is that resource jobs, as important as they are in Alaska, and I understand they are important, we facilitated the Red Dog mine facility by an access road across the park in that area. 
33 

And, obviously, I have some questions about where we derive resources and you do, as well I, guess in southeast Alaska with regards to what we ought to do with the Tongass. In ANWR, we disagree. But the issue here is these resource jobs unless you add 

value to that-as you talked about Williams Sonoma I was wondering whether or not the dollars were staying in Alaska or being 

taken out someplace else. 

So these resource jobs are notoriously poor in terms of adding 

value. They are costly to put in place. It means a lot of investment, 

and they really don't add that many jobs especially with some of 

the technology that we have. So I don't think that-my view is that 

ANWR is not a panacea. I was wondering about maybe due diligence in terms of some of the other leases that are out there, if 

they were going to deliver dollars back. I mean, you would be importing workers, as I had a couple brothers that went up there and 

worked at one time, Governor. They didn't stay though. 

But with that said, Mr. Chairman, using up my time to ask a 

series of questions, I would like to get some response from thenot from you, Mr. Chairman-! know what your answers are already. 

CHAIRMAN YOUNG. I have had 18 years of hearing those questions. 

Mr. VENTO. They are good questions, Mr. Chairman. 

CHAIRMAN YOUNG. I realize that. I am going to suggest that the 

witnesses can respond in writing. 

Mr. VENTO. Unless the Governor wants to make a brief response. 

At least say hello to me, Mr. Chairman. 

CHAIRMAN YOUNG. He can say hello if he wishes to do so. 

Governor KNOWLES. Mr. Chairman and Mr. Congressman, not in 

response to all of your questions, but certainly in response to your 

first observation about Minnesotans moving to Alaska, it is true we 

do have many there. They are the only people I know of that come 

to Alaska because it is warmer. 

Mr. VENTO. I understand, at least in Anchorage, not in Fairbanks. 

Governor KNOWLES. If there might be just one opportunity, Mr. 

Chairman and Mr. Congressman, in reference to the fact that 

ANWR is national land as opposed to-and I think you were asking, well, what is the responsibility in a national interest, I would 

note that the Federal Government owns some 235 million acres in 

Alaska. 

Much of it has been used I think successfully to provide economic 

opportunity. It does that through the development of natural resources; also part of it just through the growing tourism industry 

that we have when we recognize the national importance of many 

of those lands. 

What is being requested in regards to ANWR is not a transfer 

to the state of it, but really just the opportunity for a sharing of 

the economic development. Certainly to better the economic role of 

the citizens of Alaska is in the national interest. 

And in regards to the value-added, I would note that Alaska has 

an L & G plant. We have two major refineries that provide not only 

jobs but a tax base to a number of Alaskans. We were at one time 

the only L & G supplier of Japan. It is an important part of solving 
34 

our deficit situation right now as Alaska provides 25 percent of 

America's oil. With the development of ANWR that surely would be 

in the national interest. 

So I think the development not only in terms of the economy but 

the value-added in the national inte,rest, and I would also note Senator Murkowski and Congressman Young both have in their bills 

a set-aside with the development to a national heritage trust which 

would provide for the opportunity of setting a little bit aside so that 

we might take care of environmental needs, the acquisition for inpark holdings, for wetlands, for as perhaps an endowment fund as 

I have suggested; when we develop any national lands in America 

that we should take care of our national assets. 

Mr. VENTO. Yes. Well, I would agree with you, Governor, and, obviously, this isn't a hearing on ANWR. But if we had had more suc- cess with the Land Water Consenration Fund, which supposedly 

sets aside over-with the Historic Preservation Fund over a billion 

a year-and we don't get anything. You know, most of the time we 

are getting a lot less back. Of course, all of that is dependent upon 

whether there are, in fact, going to be major discoveries there 

which, obviously, are contested. 

But this isn't an ANWR hearing, and, obviously, we could stay 

and we could discuss that. I would be happy to discuss it with you 

at another time, but the other questions that I asked-! know my 

time has expired-! would appreciate if all of you would respond 

to them in writing because I am very concerned I think in terms 

of the education and health. And I think we want to do something 

in terms of cooperation and collaboration. 

So often, I might say to the Chairman, Chairman Murkowski 

now, that we spend so much time talking about confrontation with 

the Federal Government that we don't often talk about the absolute 

need for collaboration in some of these areas. I think something 

could be and should be done in these areas. 

In fact, most often with regards to Native Americans, we have 

attempted to try and facilitate their participation as working for 

the land management agencies in that sense. But there may be 

new things that can be done there so I would be most interested 

in exploring with you, Senator, that proposition. Thank you, Mr. 

Chair. Thank you, Governor, for being here and the distinguished 

members of the Commission. 

Mr. MURKOWSK.I. Mr. Kildee, do you have any--

Mr. KILDEE. No. We have a vote: on in the House right now. I 

will just welcome the panel here and tell you that my son, First 

Lieutenant soon to be Captain, David Kildee is stationed at Fort 

Wainwright in Fairbanks, owns a home there, and I visited the 

state and found out why Don Young loves the state so much. It is 

a beautiful state up there, and I just welcome you here. I have to 

go over and vote now though and hope to come back over somewhere in the hearing. Thank you very much. Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Will the gentleman yield? 

Mr. KILDEE. I would be happy to yield. 

Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. I would like to also suggest to our good Gov- ernor, if it pleases, there is a whole tribe of Samoans living up in 

the State of Alaska and look after them. You might need them for 

your football team one day. Thank you. 
35 

Governor KNOWLES. There is a rugby team, sir, that is well represented. 

Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. And rugby too, yes. 

Mr. MURKOWSKI. I would remind my friend from Samoa that we 

occasionally play on permafrost. There is a little different effect on 

the knees and elbows and so forth. Congressman Kildee, we appreciate your comments. We will take good care of your son. My home 

also is in Fairbanks. 

Mr. KILDEE. Thank you very much. 

Mr. MURKOWSKI. And I wish that we could get Congressman 

Vento to spend a little more time in some of our villages up there 

and see the transition that is occurring and particularly look at the 

school system in Barrow. You know, they have got the finest school 

in the United States as a consequence of their taxing ability on the 

oil revenue, and the other villages would like to see that. 

Mr. VENTO. Well, I understand there is not a word in this report 

on ANWR so, I mean, it isMr. MURKOWSKI. No, not at all. You are correct in your assumption. I want to excuse the first panel and thank the Governor, 

Mary Jane, and John Schaeffer. We appreciate your traveling down 

to Washington where as some people observe things of great importance are done or undone. 

Hopefully we have got some positive testimony today that will go 

a long way toward encouraging Alaska's Native community to have 

an opportunity for identification of jobs and lesser dependence on 

Federal and state government. Thank you very much. 

The next panel is panel two. The first witness will be Julie 

Kitka, President of the Alaska Federation of Natives. I believe she 

is going to be accompanied by Harold Napoleon, Special Assistant 

to the President. And we had a little problem in Alaska. We occasionally get some snow, and we had a snowstorm, and currently 

Lee Gorsuch, University of Alaska, is grounded, and Dr. Walter 

Soboleff, Distinguished Elder, who was giving testimony for the 

Alaska Federation of Natives in Juneau is also grounded. I am not 

sure whether the snowstorm covered Anchorage and Juneau or 

both, but we have Alma Upicksoun, I believe, who is going to be 

joining and presenting the testimony of Lee Gorsuch. Dr. Soboleff 

is here I am told. There he is. You got through. You snowshoed 

through the---

Mr. SOBOLEFF. I brought my down jacket. 

Mr. MURKOWSKI. You brought your down jacket and made it. 

Well, that is fine because we do want to recognize Rachael Craig, 

I believe, who is with you as well. And with that introduction, we 

also have Melissa Berns who I had an opportunity to be with yesterday on a little television program representing the Alaska Federation of Natives Youth Council. She is from Old Harbor; goes to 

school in Kodiak. Right? 

Ms. BERNS. Correct. 

Mr. MURKOWSKI. Thank you very much. Julie, would you go 

ahead, and I want to advise you that we are going to have votes 

in the Senate in about 10 minutes. Don will be coming back and 

conducting the balance of the hearing, and I do apologize. We look 

forward to your testimony, and please proceed. 
36 

STATEMENT OF JULIE KITKA, PRESIDENT, ALASKA FEDERATION OF NATIVES, ANCHORAG:E:, ALASKA; ACCOMPANIED BY 

HAROLD NAPOLEON, SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT, ALASKA FEDERATION OF NATIVES; ALMA 

UPICKSOUN, VAN NESS, FELDMAN & CURTIS (TESTIFYING 

ON BEHALF OF CHANCELLOR GORSUCH) 

Ms. Kl:TKA. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. First of all, I would like 

to request that the committees hold the record open for a period 

of time to accept additional written testimony from our communities. 

Mr. MURKOWSKI. Yes. It will be so ordered. The record will be 

open for a period of 10 days. 

Ms. Kl:TKA. Thank you, Mr. Chainnan. I would also like to, in the 

interest of time and because of your pressing schedules and how we 

are going so far in the hearing, ask that Chancellor Gorsuch's testimony just be accepted into the recc•rd. And if there are any questions, we can direct them in writing to Chancellor Gorsuch. 

Mr. MURKOWSKI. Without objection, it will be inserted at this 

point. 

[Statement of Mr. Gorsuch may hE' found at end of hearing.] 

Ms. KITKA. I would like to ask that Harold Napoleon's written 

testimony be incorporated in the rec:ord, and he would be available 

just to answer questions. 

Mr. MURKOWSKI. It will also be induded at this time. 

[Statement of Mr. Napoleon may be found at end of hearing.] 

Ms. Kl:TKA. I would like to also request that Dr. Walter Soboleff 

and Rachael Craig, as two distinguished elders in our community 

on that, be allowed to testify as wen as Melissa Berns, the Chairman of our Youth Council as part of our panel. So if Rachael is in 

the audience, if she could come up to the panel? 

Mr. MURKOWSKI. Please proceed. 

Ms. KITKA. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. For the record, my name 

is Julie Kitka, and I am testifying today in my capacity as the 

President of the Alaska Federation of Natives, and I want to thank 

you, Chairman Murkowski, Chairman Young, and Chairman 

McCain for agreeing to hold a hearing with all the three major 

committees in the Congress that hold jurisdiction over Alaska Native issues. 

This is a very significant occunence today, and we are very 

pleased, and we are very happy with the cooperation of the committees in doing that. I would also like to acknowledge Senator Inouye 

and say how delighted we are to see you in the hearing and participating. I know other members of the Congress had to go for votes, 

and we are hoping they will join us again. 

First of all, I would like to request that additional hearings be 

heard, if possible, by this joint committee setup because the focus 

of today's hearing is primarily just on an overview on the Commission report. 

But there are major components )n the hearing such as health, 

education, hunting and fishing, cultural issues, Native self-governance issues which are not going to be covered in our overview, and 

we are primarily dealing with the overview and the economic issues today. So I would formally like to request additional hearings 
37 

on these major portions just to develop the record further and allow 

more of our people to participate in the hearing process. 

Mr. MURKOWSKI. I would appreciate it on behalf of Don Young 

and myself if you would submit in formal writing that request so 

that we can take it up within our individual committees. 

Ms. KITKA. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would also like to cordially on behalf of the Native people of Alaska, and I am sure the 

governor, invite members of the committee to come and visit Alaska and come out to our communities, both Anchorage and our regional hubs and our remote villages on that, to see firsthand. 

I know we certainly appreciate the visits and the opportunity for 

the exchange of information as many of our people never have an 

opportunity to come back to Washington or hardly ever have a 

chance to come to our urban areas to testify before such distinguished groups. So we would cordially like to invite you and welcome you at any opportunity that your committees might be able 

to have. 

Basically, my testimony-! would like to ask that be entered into 

the record. 

Mr. MURKOWSKI. It will be entered into the record. 

Ms. KITKA. In addition, I have an addendum to my testimony 

which deals with specifically the Section 29, Native Hire Agreement between the Department of Interior and Alyeska Pipeline 

Service Company and ask that that whole written statement be incorporated into the record. 

Mr. MURKOWSKI. So noted. Ms. KITKA. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I will try to be brief and 

try to split my testimony between about half on the Commission 

and about half on the Section 29 and be as concise as possible but 

try to convey to you the sense of urgency and crisis that there is 

in the State of Alaska and among our people. 

I will also try to be respectful of my other panel members, especially our elders, and not take up too much time to allow them to 

share their wisdom with you as our elders are people in our communities who are very much respected and honored. 

Just in the interest of brevity, our detailed written statement on 

the Commission basically focuses on three major areas of the report. When we take a look at the report and some of the recommendations and the urgency and the crisis, the three major 

areas we focus on the report is the issue of the need for this Congress to work with us to reduce chemical abuse and its social effects on our people. 

The second one is the development of jobs and income for our 

people, and the third one, as you go about reinventing and changing the role of the Federal Government that you devolve the specific governmental functions to our communities. We believe those 

three areas are several of the many recommendations that come 

forward to you from the Commission that are very, very urgent. 

In response to Senator Inouye's request earlier on update on statistics from this report, it is based on information that I have that 

have been provided from very reliable sources and people that have 

been monitoring critical data. There is a number of indicators that 

we monitor to try to see-most social scientists monitor to seehow people are doing and certain things like birth and death rates, 
38 

infant mortality, and a couple of these factors which have changed 

dramatically for the worse which really jumped to our attention. 

The first one I would like to bring to your attention is the incarceration rate of our Native young mEm. In the recent past, that has 

hovered around the 32 and 34 percent of the inmate population. 

And the entire state correctional facility has been Alaska Native 

people, primarily Native young men, basically being approximately 

99 percent alcohol-related offenses which caused the incarceration. 

We have recently received information from the Department of 

Corrections that that has taken a turn for the worse, where we are 

now almost up to 50 percent of the incarceration of inmates in our 

state correctional facility that are Alaska Natives. 

That is deeply troubling to me because how a justice system 

deals with indigenous people and hc·w they interface with the justice system, often minority people receive the most negative aspects 

of a justice system, and a turn to where you have almost 50 percent of the inmate population be Alaska Natives when we are only 

15 percent of the population in the entire state is a dramatic 

change for the worse in my opinion, Mr. Chairman. That is one statistic which is deeply troubling to us. 

Another statistic which I don't haYe the exact number but is the 

number dealing with death among our Alaska Native men, in particular, alcohol-related death. It is my understanding that epidemiologists in the state convey to us that the death rates and the 

rise in the number and percentage of death rates that are attributed to accidents and many of them alcohol related that we have 

not yet peaked in the number of dec.ths among Native people, primarily Native young men, where in c•ther Native American communities in the other 48 states, Dr. Everett Rhodes testified a number 

of years that the death rates, homicides and suicides and deaths, 

did peak in 1976, and we are still climbing. 

We did not peak in 1976, and those numbers are still climbing, 

and that is deeply troubling to me. And those are just a couple of 

examples of where the problems arE: severe and would lead us to 

describe it as a crisis. It is not all our people that are undergoing 

these tremendous problems, but a significant minority of them in 

very life-threatening ways. I mean, these are things that once they 

occur they cannot be undone. And w just in response to Senator 

Inouye's question on that, that is a couple indicators I would like 

to state for the record. 

On the three recommendations b.at we detail in our written 

statement, the reduction of chemical abuse and its social consequences, I think we are very clear in our written statement that 

one of the things that we would urge the Congress to work with 

us on is give our communities the legal ability to deal with alcohol 

and give us the legal ability to not cnly pass village ordinances to 

restrict and otherwise control alcohol as it affects our communities, but give us the sense that we have the ability to take responsibility 

that empower our communities to take on that task, and let us go 

forward on dealing with the alcohol crisis and the impact on our 

people, but give us the authority to d·~al with it at a local level. 

I think that it is very clear that th~ Federal Government has not 

been successful. They have made many good tries. The State of 

Alaska has made many tries, but currently the way the legal au-
39 

thority that there is in dealing with alcohol is not sufficient for our 

communities to take on the responsibilities that they need to take 

on, must take on, and that are critical to the well-being of our people, and I have detailed that more in our testimony. 

On the second issue of development of jobs and income for Alaska Natives, page 11 of my testimony I talk about a number of 

things, one being economics is the most fundamental determinate 

of community well~being, and it will be amazing how these statistics will turn around if our people have an opportunity to go to 

work and have a job. 

And our members are able to provide for their families if they 

are able to have the income from their jobs to be able to have the 

multiplier effect in our communities and how it would benefit other 

people, as well as the difference it would be having, the self-respect 

that individual members of our community would have from being 

able to have a job. 

So I very much strongly support that aspect of the Commission 

report, that no matter what we do on alcohol, no matter what we 

do on governance issues and other things, that one of the fundamental things that needs to be done is there needs to be an intense focus on job creation and training and education and opportunities for our young people. 

Part of my written testimony has a graph of the Native 

workforce, and that will give you an idea of how things have 

changed since 1970. In 1970, our workforce, members of our community 16 and older, was approximately 24,000. In 1990, according 

to the census, our workforce was about 54,000. 

Our projections at a conservative rate for the year 2000 is we 

will have approximately 75,000 Alaska Native people who will need 

the opportunity to have jobs, have opportunities to build strong 

families that come about from having the ability to support yourself and your families and the self-respect that comes from that. 

That is a tremendous challenge to both the State of Alaska and 

the Congress-to work with us to create that level of opportunities 

for such a growing population. And I am sure if you projected out 

the Native workforce in the year 2010 and 2020, you will see nothing but growth in those numbers because we are undergoing a population boom where we are projected to double every 23 years. 

And at this point, our medium age of the Native population is 

only 22 so we have quite a bit of growth to go, and the needs for 

basic things such as health care for our babies and our young 

mothers, the need for basic education for our children are going to 

be fundamental. 

I believe that we will be strapped for the resources just to provide such things as basic health care and education. And so I do 

sense that there is an urgency to the Congress to work with the 

state and work with us to go forward on these recommendations. 

In addition to the recommendations that are stated in the testimony, I wanted to make two observations. One, as the Congress 

deals with the whole issue of redesigning government and devolving it, much has been said about the BIA which has been negative. 

Certainly I am not here to defend the BIA, but I do want to note 

for the committees-for your information-that there are some exciting things going on in regard to that Indian program money and 
40 

primarily that is compacting. That is basically the Native Americans' way of redesigning or reinventing government. 

And one concrete example is in our state in the Nome area, 

Kowarok. When they receive their Federal Indian moneys for the 

Bureau ·or Indian Affairs, it would be basically 10 cents on a dollar 

went out to the people. Under the compacting program, it is way 

over 50 cents on a dollar that gets tc· the people. 

It is a tremendous opportunity as you devolve government and 

redesign that to put the resources t::l.at are available, that are limited, that are shrinking in the areas that Native people can have 

the most control over those resource's and redirect those sources of 

funds to the most needs as identifi,~d by the Native people themselves. So I just wanted to state that for the record. 

CHAIRMAN YOUNG. Thank you, Julie. I apologize. You are the 

first woman to testify out of this panel I take it? 

Ms. KITKA. Yes. 

CHAIRMAN YOUNG. OK. Well--

Ms. KITKA. I will just wrap it up? 

CHAIRMAN YoUNG. Yes, wrap it up and then we will move right 

on down the line. 

Ms. KITKA. OK. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. An additional recommendation based on Chancellor Gorsuch's testimony, he talked 

about the 2[c] study that was done in 1973 to take a look at Federal programs as they affected Native Americans. One suggestion 

is these committees deal with this report. It might be helpful to 

look at that 2[c] model of the report. 

One of the bases for the 2[c] report was to look at and examine 

each Federal Indian program that was in $1 million or more or 

that affected 500 people and evaluated that; as this Congress goes 

into reducing the role of government in people's lives, that this 

might be a model that could be extended for the Native people to 

evaluate program by program and decide which ones aren't working, which ones should be discontinued, and the money redirected. 

And so, like I said, that 2[c] mode:. was something that I would 

suggest. 

Lastly, Mr. Chairman, the addend.um to our testimony dealing 

with the Section 29 Native Hire Agreement, that is divided into 

three segments; the historical background, the current InteriorAlyeska Native Hire Agreement, ar..d unresolved issues and Federal liability. Because of the time restraints, I will just summarize 

that very, very briefly. 

I believe it is very important for these committees to take a look 

at this historical background and especially in light of the committee taking a look at the need for economic development in the state 

and the interconnection between the oil industry and the Alaska 

Native Community. 

I have detailed with great care our view of the historical background on this agreement and some of the promises that were 

made to the Native people as oil was sought to be developed in our 

state. And I think it is very important that this committee looks 

at that historical background and understands our views on that. 

The second point on the current Interior and Alyeska Native 

Hire Agreement, I made comments in our written statement on 

that. And I want to commend the leadership at Alyeska and the 
41 

Department of Interior for signing that agreement at our convention this year. 

I know our organization spent hundreds of hours involved in the 

discussions and negotiations on that. We think that that is going 

to have some positive impacts for employment, education, and 

training for our people and is something that must be vigorously 

monitored, both by the Native people, by the industry, and by government. 

The last issue which is a very extremely serious issue I raise to 

you and I respectfully request that you look into and that is the 

unresolved issue in regard to Federal liability. It is our view that 

over the 21 years in which the Department of Interior, the Secretary of Interior neglected to implement, I mean, to monitor and 

require the full implementation of that provision, that the Native 

community lost over $1 billion in jobs, economic opportunity, training, and so forth. 

And if you see in our written statement in which the Secretary 

in the right-of-way permit reserved the right for the enforcement 

of that solely to himself, I think that there is a tremendous liability 

that the Federal Government has. And they need to take this seriously, and they need to make the Native community whole. 

A billion dollars in lost opportunities could have changed these 

statistics that are outlined in this report if our people had had 

those jobs, if our people had had that training and education. And 

the Federal Government maintains a very serious responsibility, 

and they need to be held accountable for why they didn't enforce 

that. And the damage that that did to our people in our communities and that is something that I seriously urge this committee 

to go further with and work with us on a resolution. 

I had an opportunity on Monday of this week to meet with Secretary Babbitt and Assistant Secretary Bob Armstrong and laid out 

our concerns on that, and we would very much like the opportunity 

to work with the committee as we deal with this unresolved issue 

of the Federal responsibility and liability. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

[Statement of Ms. Kitka with addendum and statement of Alaska 

Federation of Natives may be found at end of hearing.] 

CHAIRMAN YoUNG. Thank you, Julie, for an excellent testimony. 

I believe, Harold, you are next. Are you going to testify? 

Ms. KITKA. His testimony will be for the record, and he will be 

available for questions. 

CHAIRMAN YOUNG. OK. AndMs. KITKA. Dr. Soboleff. 

CHAIRMAN YOUNG [continuing]. it gives me a great honor to recognize my good friend, Dr. Soboleff. This is one of our great leaders 

in the State of Alaska and a good friend of my wife's. They served 

on the state school board together and probably made some great 

decisions in their tenure. And he is still able to charm the ladies. 

So, Dr. Soboleff, you are on next. 

STATEMENT OF DR. WALTER SOBOLEFF, DISTINGUISHED 

ELDER, ALASKA FEDERATION OF NATIVES, JUNEAU, ALASKA 

Dr. SoBOLEFF. Thank you very much. My name is Walter 

Soboleff, and we want to thank the congressional committee for 
42 

being so instrumental in insisting that this Commission be created. 

And indeed I realize fully how diffic:ult it was to get this Commission going. There were pros and cons, and the people who were for 

it won the battle, and so we are hen'. We remember so well when we came here how we were admonished by the congressional committee to come back with no less 

than recommendations, and thus we worked in such a manner that 

we heard the people, and some of the people who came took us as 

another congressional committee who would have a report made, 

and their report would be filed away and gather dust and no action. 

And, thus, we shared with the :Jeople who came this concept 

that, "We have come to hear your needs, and we are one of you so 

please work with us." Thus, we worked right from the ground level 

with the folk, and indeed they had the confidence in what we were 

able to bring together. And, thus, w~~ are honored to be here to appear before this august body to share with you that we heard at 

least one-ninth of the problems of all of rural Alaska. I say oneninth. 

And we were wishing that we had more time, and that this Commission would continue to serve for the needs that were exposed 

were indeed so vital that when it came to an abrupt end, we just 

wondered, "Now, will this continue? Will the recommendations be 

taken heed to?" And we assured thE! people who shared in the report that we will do everything possible because Congress has admonished us to come back with no less than recommendations 

which you now have in three volumes. 

The report is extensive enough to bring into play the various Departments of Congress who ought to be concerned. And we also felt 

that it should be approached on a systematic basis as compared to 

various Departments competing for funds, and always the rural 

people of Alaska as a people in a crisis situation. And if we as 

American people would join together as a team to work on these 

problems, it would reduce costs and assure continuity and progress. 

This is all from me. Thank you. 

CHAIRMAN YOUNG. Thank you, doctor. Rachael, do you want to 

say anything or--

Ms. CRAIG. Yes. 

CHAIRMAN YOUNG. Yes. You are on. 

STATEMENT OF RACHAEL CRAIG, AFN ELDER, NANA REGION, 

KOTZEBUE, ALASKA 

Ms. CRAIG. Well, thank you very much, Mr. Chairman and the 

Commission. It is a surprise for me to be here today. I was here 

on another assignment. But we have cooperated with this Commission wherever they went in Alaska, and we spoke up for our problems, about our problems, our people. I am a village woman. I am 

from Kotzebue, Alaska, and I just left a few people a couple of days 

ago, and they are into their subsistence activities as usual. They 

were ice fishing. They are putting nets under the ice so they could 

put food on the table. 

We have some young people who are all excited about going out 

caribou hunting, but just because we look Native doesn't mean we 

know everything. Our young peopl·~ need to be taught because 
43 

some of these young people inadvertently went too early and scared 

the first rush of the caribou away, and now they have gone farther 

away, and the hunters have to travel farther places in order to get 

caribou. And there are some villages that will be hurting because 

the caribou took another track. 

Every once in a while we hear this Commission and the people 

talking about alcohol. Yes, it is a problem. I think I am like many 

mothers. I finally adopted a son, and we were raising him like our 

own. We raised him like our own, felt like our own. In his adolescent years, we found out that he was also affected with FAS, FAE, 

fetal alcohol syndrome. And he is not the only one. His peers also 

have problems. 

And I think this is one of the major reasons why so many of our 

young men are in and out of the penal systems over and over, and 

right now we are working with our son trying to get him into an 

educational track so he will be able to support himself. And I think 

I am not the only parent who is concerned about this, and the 

funds aren't usually there anymore because of the situation that 

we find ourselves in. I work for the Northwest Arctic Borough, and my job is all information of cultural nature come through my desk including research 

projects, and this is why I am here because my colleague and I 

were awarded some moneys to study child rearing which we hope 

eventually will be an answer to one of our social problems in gathering information, not only from current parents, but also from the 

grandmothers on parenting because our young people for one reason or another are having children too young. And so they are unable to care for their own, and the grandparents have to help them. 

And so this is an answer to working on an answer to one of our 

social problems. 

We hear of Red Dog, and it has given some jobs. But with the 

price of metal so low, there just has to be a cap on it, and so in 

our area we have a lot of unemployed. Now, what we are doing on 

our regional organizations, we don't have the money that we did 

before. And so there is a lot of cooperation going between us, what you 

can do in your sphere, what they can do in their sphere so that we 

could serve our people better. And it is working in a lot of ways, 

but like any other region that is underemployed and with social 

problems, we need help in order to solve these problems or soften 

the problems and channel the attention of our people to more productive ways. And so it is not like we did not care and being happy 

working with our people in every level. 

I would like to say that the work of this Commission in bringing 

out the information and the people to respond to the kind of questions that they have or just being there to hear and to listen and 

the recommendations of the people of wanting to solve their own 

problems in their own way because what we have done in our region is that over the years we have had other people come in there 

to solve our problems, solve our problems until we found we had 

a really dire problem. 

We never had suicide in our society before, but even that was beginning to happen. So what we decided to do was take that advice 

of our elders and begin to infuse our own culture-our traditional 
44 

culture into their education and to bring a balance to their lives so 

that they could be proud of who 1;hey are, be proud of their own 

history, look up to people who arE' Native, achieve for themselves 

and their family and for the comnunity those things that we see 

that other people are doing. 

So we have a tremendous work ahead of us, and we are working 

at it. But we also need assistance ii·om you and our friends around 

us. And I will leave that for now. Thank you. 

CHAIRMAN YOUNG. Thank you, Rachael. Melissa, one of the 

young leaders, you are up next. 

STATEMENT OF MELISSA BERNS, CHAIR, ALASKA FEDERATION OF NATIVES YOUTH COUNCIL, OLD HARBOR, ALASKA 

Ms. BERNS. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and members of the committee for giving me this opportunity to testify on behalf of the 

Alaska Native Youth. There are many problems facing Alaska Natives today, and these problems are becoming a part of a continuing cycle. 

In the past, Native people lived a subsistence way of life, and 

they had a greater respect and understanding for their members 

and their surroundings. As our society has been exposed to the influences of other cultures over the years, our cultures have been diluted and weakened. We have become more dependent on the government and less dependent on the land, its resources, and our traditional customs. 

Many communities do not have an economic base to provide job 

training skills for their young people to replace its old cultural 

ways. A generation dependent on F'ederal welfare subsidies is the 

result. This dependency has led many individuals to feeling a loss 

of cultural and personal identity and contributes to the destruction 

of our inherited traditional values. 

In the past, our ancestors had to spend more of their time striving to survive. Today, many necessities are provided for them, giving the present generation more t:.me on their hands. Many succumb to abusive habits such as dng and alcohol dependency. Behaviors such as these are very destiuctive for our people. 

Youth grow up with this in visic-n, and it eventually becomes a 

part of their lifestyles. This contributes to multiple deaths in rural 

Alaska. One sad fact is that Alaska has the highest rate of teen 

suicide in the nation. 

I believe that education, job training programs, and a tighter 

control on the distribution of money through Federal programs are 

the only ways that we can begin to oreak this vicious cycle. Various 

Federal programs force modern lifestyles upon Native people. 

Modern communications such as television also project an unrealistic view of the world to unso·)histicated individuals causing 

them to be discontent with their viiay of life. Many people isolate 

themselves in their homes watchin1~ television rather than partaking with other members of their cJmmunity in traditional activities. 

The Annual AFN Elders and Youth Conference is the largest 

gathering of the Alaska Native people. This year over 1,000 people 

came together, nearly 700 youth and 300 to 400 elders. There is a 
45 

need for more conferences such as this to increase the amount of 

Native leadership, promising us a brighter future. 

I understand that we cannot return to the lifestyles of the past. 

However, I do believe that by merging the wisdom of our elders 

with modern technology and lessening our dependency upon the 

government, we can improve the lives of Native people in rural 

Alaska. 

The Alaska Federation of Natives, along with other Native corporations, have made efforts to join the old traditional ways with 

modern technology through programs which emphasize and teach 

Native handicrafts, dancing, and singing in Native languages. 

By teaching the wisdom of our ancestors through the use of our 

elders and today's technology, we will be able to preserve our culture and at the same time succeed in living in a modern world. 

Thank you. 

CHAIRMAN YOUNG. Thank you, Melissa. I at this time want to 

thank all of you for your testimony, and I will recognize the gentleman from American Samoa for a question. Then I have a couple 

questions. 

Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Chairman, I believe you had asked me 

that I defer my question to this panel on that particular issue; and 

I certainly would like to ask Ms. Kitka for her understanding of the 

controversy surrounding Assistant Secretary Ada Deer's comments 

about this particular issue. 

Ms. KITKA. Well, thank you, Mr. Chairman. My role as President 

of the Alaska Federation of Natives is to assist our committees and 

our Board in putting together the structure of the agenda for our 

annual convention and trying to make it as successful for our people coming into town on an annual basis as possible. 

We did extend an invitation to the Secretary of Interior and Assistant Secretary Deer to join us at our convention and share with 

us activities from last year to this year on that. And so we very 

much welcomed Assistant Secretary Deer as the leading Federal official, together with Assistant Secretary Bob Armstrong and Special Assistant Deborah Williams as part of our agenda and partici- pating and sharing their views on things. 

In regard to Assistant Secretary Deer's presentation dealing with 

the issue of ANWR, I had no objections with her expressing the 

Clinton Administration's views and her carrying that forward. 

However, I do have great problems with her urging our people to 

make a decision one way or the other on that and urging our delegates to overturn our Board's action. 

I do think it is inappropriate for Federal officials to come in to 

a gathering such as that and take that type of action. I think that 

our delegates should be allowed to make up their own mind and 

engage in their own debate, and so I do think that they did cross 

the line on that. 

Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Basically, the Board made that recommendation, but was the result of the convention? Was there a 

decision made on--

Ms. KITKA. Yes. There was a decision made by our convention 

after many hours of debate. In fact, I gave to Secretary Babbitt on 

Monday a copy of a videotape of the entire debate. Our convention 

is televised out to all the villages, and so we edited it down to just 
4€ 

the debate and conveyed it to him so he could see the debate for 

himself, what is going on. We would be glad to make that vailable to the committee if they 

want it, but basically a lot of stror.g views that were articulated at 

the convention, many strong views in favor, views very strongly 

held against that, and many viewE wanting our organization to remain neutral. 

The resolution urging our organization to remain neutral was defeated on a roll call vote, basically at about a 2 to 1 basis, and then 

the resolution going on record at the convention in support of opening up ANWR passed by our conve·ntion, and so that is our oilicial 

position. Our Board had taken tha1; action in June, and it was rati- fied by the convention in October. Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. And the result of the vote? 

Ms. KITKA. The result of the vo ;e is we are in favor of opening 

up ANWR with responsible envirortmental protections, with protection of our subsistence hunting and fishing, and the people most affected, and strongly urged that the1·e be economic opportunities and 

jobs and so forth for our people so that we can benefit from that 

also. 

Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Just one more question I have, Mr. Chairman. There was some mention that the Commission's report has I 

guess somewhere in the realm of about 100 recommendations, and 

I wonder if you could help-it ce1tainly would be helpful to this 

member and the committee-how we might be able to work out 

these 100 recommendations. Are they in order of priorities, or are 

they all of the same priority level? I mean, is there some way that 

it might be helpful to the Congress!' 

Because I certainly would weleome any suggestions how we 

might be able to resolve the 100 recommendations contained in this 

Commission report. I mean, what would be your best suggestion on 

how we might work this thing over so that we could at least work 

on those issues that are of immediate concern to the communities 

and maybe others that may not be as necessary? 

I imagine the vast majority of the recommendations entails appropriations needs or funding. H.3.s the Commission taken any 

thought on how we might be able to work, whether some recommendations are money oriented, some are policy oriented, some 

are in any way as far as priorities are concerned? 

Dr. SOBOLEFF. I happen to belong to one of the oldest Native organizations in Alaska, and we ahvays felt that health was our 

number 1 priority, and all others came after that. And I believe 

that would be the general tenore of our folk up there. Anything 

that pertains to health would be number 1, and others are relative. 

Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

CHAIRMAN YOUNG. I thank the gentleman. 

Ms. KITKA. Mr. Chairman? 

CHAIRMAN YOUNG. Yes. 

Ms. KITKA. Maybe I could further elaborate in regard to a proc- ess from this. I testified earlier that we requested hearings on the 

other major segments of the report that weren't addressed today, 

but beyond the idea of hearings and having further opportunity to 

bring in testimony and suggestions on that, I would like to respectfully request that the joint committees consider going forward in a 
47 

bipartisan way to address the issues that are of most concern and 

work with us. 

We would be willing to work with the committees in drafting legislation which hopefully could be introduced as early as January. 

And if the committees agreed that we could go forward in a bipartisan way, address the most urgent things, try to get that put together in a package, I am sure that we could get the assistance of 

the State of Alaska and others and try to fast track those things, 

those impediments that the Federal Government has in the way 

that have been identified in the report and try to go forward with 

the first set of recommendations on that. 

CHAJRMAN YOUNG. Well, Julie, you know that I think I communicated already this is what I expect. This committee is very bipartisan, by the way. It is one of the best parts about it, but we need 

your input. 

I am not about to sit here and tell you how you can solve your 

problems. Number 1, I think it questions the Commission. Number 

2, as the Commission has found, if there is a feeling that the people 

have been heard, we can achieve the goals that they seek. 

And I don't believe-! forgot who it was-the testimony a while 

ago about people coming in and solving all your problems, and all 

they do is create more problems. And so that is what I am asking 

you, and we will do that. This committee will move sound recommendations very quickly. 

Which reminds me, you mentioned that the alcohol problem 

which is a common known problem-the state plays a major role 

in that. It is my information that communities can now-1 think 

there has been a decision-make a decision on alcohol-the distribution-consumption rules, et cetera. Each individual community 

can do that. Is that correct? 

Ms. K:ITKA. There are some very strong tools available to our 

communities under state law, local option laws, and I believe there 

are some 60 villages that have taken votes and have gone from different stages to completely dry and no alcohol allowed to dampen 

and some progression of that. 

However, there are still problems with the implementation of 

that, namely, enforcement, and also we don't think that they work 

as well as they should. And we think that there should be additional Federal authority devolved down to the villages, that the 

Secretary ought to be urged to devolve as much authority that he 

has under Federal liquor; the ability on Federal liquor ordinances 

to give the villages all the tools that they need, not only under 

state law, but under Federal; the ability of the Congress under the 

plenary powers on that to give our communities both the authority 

to do something about it, the responsibility, and tell them, "It is 

your community. You now have the authority. You have the tools. 

Now, you have the obligation," and put the onus of the responsibility of dealing with alcohol, developing any programs dealing with 

alcohol offenses, especially things that do not deal with felonies, juvenile issues and something, under the control of our communities 

so our elders and our communities can take responsibility and have 

the ability to have their decision stick in the community and build 

on our community values and systems of mutual responsibilities to 

each other. 
48 

Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Would the Chairman yield? 

CHAIRMAN YOUNG. Yes. I would gladly yield. 

Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. One of the miracles of our committee is the 

fact that the good Chairman on all issues affecting Native Alaskans 

comes directly under the jurisdiction of the good Chairman, and I 

think that is great. 

And I would like to say to the Chairman that I would be more 

than happy to assist in any way on a bipartisan basis as was the 

spirit enunciated earlier by the gc•od Senator from the State of Hawaii. And that certainly I would be more than happy to assist in 

any way dealing with the needs of our Native Alaskan communities. 

CHAIRMAN YOUNG. I thank the gentleman. The question, Julie, or 

the comment I have, I think personally, and I am going to have my 

legal beagle here check it out-! think you have that authority already if you are willing to take it in your own hands and say, for 

instance, drunkenness could be a crime. Under state law it is not 

a crime. Now, keep that in mind. 

When I first went to Fort Yuk:>n, being drunk in public was a 

crime. And then the state came along and said, "No, you can't consider that a criminal act." Now, you may disagree with me on that, 

but really we will look and see whether you have that authority. 

And if you don't have the authority, I am reluctant to get involved 

in the state laws, but, if necessaj:-y, I do believe we will give you 

total authority because that is the key to it. 

I mean, when you go into Venetie, we have one of our elders 

there that meets most of the planes, and groceries are checked. You 

may not like that. It works. If oM maple syrup is found out to be 

100 proof alcohol, it is poured out. And it keeps a village, you 

know, without having those terril:le problems that do occur. Some 

people think it is an infringemen·: of rights, but I think that is a 

decision you have to make. 

Compacting-! was going to ask you a question about the compacting with the BIA. Now, I have had a lot of complaints about 

compacting about-! guess it is with the IHS or one of them where 

the compact is made, and then the payments aren't made to the 

compactors. Otherwise, like Mane,luak or Kawerak or the rest of 

the areas. Have you had better SllCcess with compacting with the 

BIA than you had with the IHS? 

Ms. KrTKA. Well, we would certainly be glad to get you some responses from the major compactors in the state that are going forward. I do know that there have · been some implementation problems with that. 

I believe that there has been greater success probably with the 

Bureau of Indian Affairs in compacting. However, elevating the office of self-governance within the Department to the Secretary's Office might help that even further. 

The big push that-I mean, I strongly believe that the compacting model is one way that the Congress can quickly devolve resources to put it in the hands of Native Americans that can themselves decide what is the most urgent need. 

CHAIRMAN YouNG. And I agree. I am going to suggest the idea 

of 10 cents on the dollar, the prestmt system, versus 50 percent on 

the dollar, I would like to say it 11hould be 90-10. I would like to 
49 

bring that up-90-10 for the Native tribes, and I think we would 

get better results from it. 

I never understood why we have to have such a huge bureaucracy administering to the recipients of services when the decisions 

could be made better locally. I know the health care center in Bethel is run I think very well, but they have had problems with compacting. That is one of the areas I was talking about. 

So we will be looking at that problem and see if there isn't a way 

we can expedite it and get-this is all state compactors are suing 

IHS. That is for noncompliance so it was IHS. I was trying to remember who it was. It is just that they have not-after the agreement is reached, the government is not fulfilling their role. 

Now, I also will tell you we are going to find out why the BIA 

and the Department of Interior is not really leading the battle. 

Why should one of the compactors have to sue another Federal 

agency? That is a terrible loss of money. And would you change 

that light please? I am the only one here so I can have lots of fun 

with it. Thank you. 

You referred to .the liability clause. I happen to agree with that. 

I am not going to point fingers this time, but it appears to me 

though there has been really a big step forward with-the AFN I 

believe is the signers with Alyeska Pipeline. Can you just give me 

a breakdown of what that agreement, you know, says briefly? I 

know you have got it in your testimony, but I would like to hear 

it. 

Ms. KITKA. Well, the Senior Vice President for Alyeska, Doug 

Webb, I believe is on the next panel, and he may go over some of 

that. But the major aspects of the Section 29 agreement-! apologize for speaking funny with my cold-but the major components 

of that is the commitment of Alyeska Service Pipeline Company to 

have both itself and all its contractors retain the 20 percent Native 

hire goal in their employment and work to that under a series of 

staged targets, starting from where they are at now on Native hire 

in such categories as managerial, professional, technical, clerical, 

and so forth on that, starting where they are at right now and moving over a period of I believe it is 12 years on a staged process to 

improve Native hire both for the company and its contractors. And 

I think that that will improve the economic opportunities for Alaska Natives in jobs both at Alyeska and its contractors as they approach that. 

There is also a commitment from the company for $25 million 

over the next 12 years, about 2.1 million a year, for implementation 

of the Section 29 program. Of that, 750,000 is targeted toward 

scholarships to Alaska Native people to get the education and 

training that they need to qualify for jobs, and I think that that 

is going to have a very positive impact. In addition--

CHAIRMAN YOUNG. I will ask Doug this, Julie, but are you getting-! like the idea of the scholarship. But are we getting more 

information into the lower grades about the future opportunities? 

One of the problems I have had all along with Alaska, and we 

go in this job training program, we start training them when they 

are 24 years old. And when they get done training them for that 

job, the job that they were training for is gone. And somewhere 

along the line part of this package has to be information into the 
51) 

elementary school level, high scho·:>llevel, and then the training aspect itself, so there is an acceptance of this opportunity does exist. 

Otherwise, we are treating alcoholism-it is not alcoholism, but 

they talk-we rehab an alcoholic. What we should be doing is keeping the alcoholic from occurring. What we should be doing in the 

job field is making knowledge available so the jobs are available, 

and this is what you have to do when you are in fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth, eleventh, and twelfth grade, and then go 

into the training field. 

I hope we are just not looking, well, he is 24 so now we send him 

to Palmer or we will send him to Seward or we will send him to 

Kotzebue for training. It should sta.rt a little sooner than that. That 

is just an idea, and I don't know what your agreement involved, 

but it is something I would like to suggest. 

Ms. KrrKA. Well, there is a provision in the agreement that allows for contributions to community programs which-and it was 

contemplated that some of the contributions might be the programs 

that are not like college or technical. It may be, in fact, programs 

like the Rural Alaska Honors Institute in Fairbanks which is junior 

and senior high school students from all over rural Alaska. 

So I think that there is some c:ontemplation to deal with that, 

but I think that one of the uniquE: opportunities of this agreement 

is to try to shift Federal and state policies to support some of these 

efforts. 

One example of something that is positive in the agreement is 

the agreement to develop a data base of Native individuals for the 

oil industry workforce on that ancl try to get cooperation from all 

our groups to feed into that and keep that a live, active process so 

that when companies or contractors have a need for Native employees that they can get that readily nnd have some of the most qualified people. 

I see that as an opportunity for the state and the Federal Government that deal with employmE:nt issues to try to maybe build 

on that idea. I mean, if we are looking at 75,000 potential Alaska 

Native workers in the year 2000, the data base that has got 75,000 

names on it that is as simple as possible and it is as efficient as 

possible ought to be doable so that we can address issues such as 

state-need for state to increase Native hire or the Federal Government or private companies doing business. 

One of the most kind of rewarding things following our convention and the signing of the Alyeska agreement was a phone call I 

got from AT&T Alaska which is another big company in our state 

which wanted to talk about how can they increase Native hire in 

their company and retain the Native employees that they have. 

And that is an unexpected plus from this positive agreement that 

just got signed. 

CHAIRMAN YOUNG. Melissa, you talked about recognition, that 

you can't go back, and I happen to agree. If you want to go back, 

that is an individual decision. It is awful hard to go back, and like 

my partner who I love dearly-he is burning oil instead of wood 

now-he talks about the good old days when they didn't have much 

to eat, and they weren't warm very often. He likes present days, 

although I do have some people saying that is not the way it 
51 

should be. They ought to be living in their culture. That decision 

has to be made by you or the individual person. How do you see melding the two together though, the TV in the 

living room and the trapping of a martin or the snaring of a rabbit? 

How do you see that working with the youth today, or is there a 

role for both of them? How do you see that yourself? 

Ms. BERNS. You mean like--

CHAIRMAN YOUNG. I mean, how do you get the two together? See, I have run into this all the time, you know. I want to live the old 

style life, but while he is saying that, he is watching television. Ms. BERNS. Yes. You can't get rid of the television and stuff because it is going to always be there. It is just the modern way of 

life, but after RATNET was cut off, they have the ARTS program. 

And on there they have a lot of cultural programs. They show families-how they go up to their summer camps and split their fish 

and stuff like that. And also you can use the modern technology 

such as computers to preserve your languages and still go on with 

your life. 

CHAIRMAN YOUNG. I think that is probably the biggest challenge 

because unfortunately we have outside influence. Always used to 

say including Native there, they must retain their culture as if only 

one person can direct what is considered culture. And I guess one of my running battles in my years at Fort Yukon 

has been the briefcase expert that arrives off the airplane and decides what is best for everybody in the town and gets back on the 

airplane and goes back down to the Captain Cook. That is very 

frustrating to me. 

And I hope in your recommendations that you make back to this 

committee, and I will say that everybody in the Commission and 

working in conjunction with AFN and the village Native associations, your recommendations will have to come from you. I don't 

want you to say or think about your job being over. It is not going 

to be over. And as Julie mentioned, we will be working on legisla- tion. 

I am one that also believes that laws do not solve everything. I 

am also one that believes that there are laws now being implied 

about-we talk about economic development-that will impede and 

inhibit and slow down anything you attempt to do. Mr. Vento mentioned all the other laws, and it is unfortunate some of those 

zealotly apply to the American Indian groups that try to advance 

themselves and slows down the process. 

If you have some recommendation on how we can expedite the 

process for whatever it may be in the area you are talking about, and it may be in tourism or mining or oil or timber or I don't care 

what it is, then I would like to get those recommendations. I think 

that is the main thing. What I am trying to say is we don't have 

all the answers. 

If you think that we can solve your problem, then you come to 

us and ask me why won't this work, and I will have to give you 

a reason why I don't think it will work. And if you can show me 

why it will work, we will try to implement it into a law, be it regulation or a direction to an agency that helps you improve and 

achieve that goal of self-reliance. That is my main effort here. Doctor? 
52 

Dr. SOBOLEFF. There was a general consensus regarding that 

very point you raised. When the folk came out to present their 

hearings, we heard them say we nc~ed to be doing our part too, and 

that is a rewarding expression. We need to do our part. 

CHAIRMAN YouNG. Well, I look 1orward to that, and as the gentleman from American Samoa said I have a good committee. I 

think you saw this here. We have c. very bipartisan group. We have 

other problems in America with .American Natives, but my main 

goal here is to solve the challenges and provide the opportunities 

for the Alaska Native which I think they justly deserve. But more than that, it is part of our society. And I know the governor is still in the room. I want tc thank the governor still for sitting there so patiently because yc·u cannot have a state divided. 

You cannot break it into the groups. 

I think one of the most frustrating things I have as an individual 

that is very well acquainted with the rural part of Alaska is when 

someone looks upon me with disdain because I am a white man, 

for instance. There is no room for hate in this business, and I know 

both sides have it. 

But there has to be that feeling that we have a greater responsibility. That greater responsibility is trying to leave a better future 

for our younger people. We have not done a good job of that, and 

I think that is our main goal, and quit pointing fingers and utilizing-! call it the negative part of our society and which is the easiest part and that is hate. 

It isn't just Alaska. It is all over this nation today. There is not 

as many happy people as I would hke to see. And I have spent my 

career trying to meld together a unified state with understanding 

for one another; not total agreemen~ but at least respect for one another. And that comes from within too, the respect for oneself. Yes, 

Walter. Dr. SOBOLEFF. I also would like to add the concept that we have 

a people here that do need a certain amount of help, and we would 

appreciate that certain amount of help to never cease. But we will 

also do our part in keeping the life cycle going like it should be 

going. And I think that that should be known. 

CHAIRMAN YoUNG. I thank the panel, and, again, if I can say for 

my colleagues, one of the most diff.cult things we have in this job 

is time. My members that are not here right now it is not out of 

disrespect for this panel or the nex-; panel. It is because they have 

a lot of other obligations. And whatever is said here today will be 

and is recorded, and as the gentleman from American Samoa said, 

the main part about it is the Chairman is still here. And I do 

thank the panel, and you are excused. 

The next panel will be Sarah Sca:1lan from Kotzebue, Vice President, Human Resources, NANA Regional. Boy, I am hearing lots of 

people from Kotzebue, a great town. That shows you what you can 

do when you have a viable community. And Doug Webb, Senior 

Vice President, Alyeska Pipeline Service Company, Anchorage, 

Alaska. Sarah, you are up first, and then we will have Doug. 

Sarah, you are on. 
53 

STATEMENT OF SARAH SCANLAN, VICE PRESIDENT, HUMAN 

RESOURCES, NANA REGIONAL CORPORATION, KOTZEBUE, 

ALASKA 

Ms. SCANLAN. Thank you, Congressmen and Chairman Young. I 

appreciate the opportunity to share with you some of the great 

things actually that are happening as a result of the findings from 

the Commission's report. Unfortunately, in the interest of time, I 

am going to shorten my testimony. You have a full, written report in front of you, and I would encourage you and the rest of the committee members to review that 

to get the full strength of the kinds of things that are happening 

in Alaska that are putting the recommendations to work. You have heard about the bleak status of the Alaska Native people, and the statistics are alarming. Things are bad. But as was 

stated in the report, the tears that came from sections of the report 

were offset by the laughter and humor that reflected the strengths 

of Alaska's Natives who refuse to be beaten. 

And that is the reason we are here. Despite the alarming statistics of despair or dysfunction and at times of feeling that positive 

change will never happen, there is hope. That hope comes from the 

fact that there are examples of the willingness and desire to increase the number of people and communities who want to improve 

their quality of life. 

And, unfortunately, it has taken us too long to speak openly of 

the need to break the dependence cycle on government. And, unfortunately, we are still not sure about what that really means. On 

the one hand, we want to figure out ourselves the best way to do 

things, and yet we do not have the independent economic infrastructures to take over the role that government has played. The 

recommendations in the report are good ones. We now need to 

move to the detailed how-to's to make them work. 

Again, I am not going to spend any time on the problems that 

you have heard enough about. We have all talked about them for 

too long. Instead, I am going to concentrate my comments on the 

kinds of things we are doing to make the recommendations work. 

And it was interesting. I was thinking back here that as the Commission was working on its recommendations, we were putting 

them to work. And, again, I want to share some of that with you. 

Unfortunately, again, we know all of the things that create dysfunction in our people. We know that we haven't come from healthy 

home environments. We know that we have not had the partnerships between the communities and the K-12 system. You mentioned earlier about training people when they reach the age of 24. 

Our school systems, our economic development activities haven't 

been talking to each other, and I will talk a little later about what 

we are doing to get that to happen. And then also .as employers, 

we haven't always understood our role in preparing our human resource. Just recently, in the Alaska Business Monthly, NANA was listed 

as the fourth largest Alaska-owned, Alaska-based business. We currently have just under 1,100 employees, and during the year, we 

employed just under 700 Alaska Natives which includes other corporations' folks. 
54 

The payroll to the end of September for NANA shareholders only 

was just over $6 million. And one •)f the other statistics, we though 

of our current workforce only employ 25 percent NANA shareholders. So you might be asking why are we only employing 25 percent, 

and is this representative of what is going on with the other corporations? 

Quickly, I will just cover that, you know, we have had to deal 

with the issue of the absence of well-being. That topic is well covered in the report. We tried to deal with the alcohol problem. That 

has been talked enough about. Ur~fortunately, we didn't deal with 

the symptoms or the underlying causes. We just dealt with the 

symptoms. So we weren't always successful at that. 

And we have come to the realization that taking on a warm, illprepared body and sticking it intc• a workplace with many standards of performance without adequate orientation and some initial 

training wasn't going to cut it. We knew we were dealing with a 

people whose sense of well-being w:ts lacking. 

We knew we had come from difficult childhoods, again, all of 

which are covered in the report, and we knew we didn't know how 

to cope well. We were always quicc{ to blame others, and we knew 

people generally didn't know how to ask for help because the support systems were not there. 

So here we were trying- to become a successful business, knowing 

our potential workforce was coming from communities where role 

models in most cases were just seasonal employees. We had a poor 

education system that did nothir:g to prepare people for work. 

There was already a great dependEmce on government which made 

people think, "I don't need to work .. , And there was a reluctance for our Native people to be supervisors. We had always been told by others what to do, and for our 

young men a fear of leaving the vElage to take a job elsewhere because his whole self-worth had b1~en stripped away through the 

very rapid changes as discussed in the report. 

So we have learned that we have got to create partnerships at 

the local level, get all of the players together, the school system, communities, employers, government folks, and start working toward creating the curriculums tha·; will train kids from K-12 and 

into adulthood for the emerging and existing employment opportunities that exist in that specific area. So we have started that up 

in the NANA region. It has taken off very well and very, very much 

supported by the community. 

We have had to do a lot of other things to figure out how to get 

this issue of employing Alask~:. Natives to work. We are 

transitioning to a Deming-based quality company. We understand 

that in the world that is the only way we are going to survive. And 

part of that whole philosophy involves empowering Native people. 

What that means for us is that we have now been given the 

brains to figure out that decision making should be done in the 

front line. It has taught us and our employees are telling us that 

people are excited about being givtm responsibility and the power 

to make decisions. 

They are happy about working <:ooperatively across department 

lines. They are enthused about knowing what is going on through 

improved communications and how they fit into the overall success 
55 

of the organization. And they are gratified in realizing that others 

think their ideas are worthwhile. 

And, again, this whole effort is occurring primarily with our Native staff who are in the office support positions right now, and we 

will expand that to include the rest of the employee base. 

We have also paid for a number of training types of sessions for 

our employees, both culturally and technical development. We 

allow our employees to bring their children to work. We have an 

employee assistance program that offers all kinds of counseling. We 

have an active employee association that makes for fun in the 

workplace. We promote healthy lifestyles. We allow our facility to 

be used after hours for employees for things such as training children in self-defense. 

One of the other things that we have had to do is try to go out 

and get data from our shareholders about, ''What do you think we 

should be doing? What is NANA's role to you?" And, unfortunately, 

one of the things that we are learning from our shareholders-and 

as we speak the President, Don Curtis, and Chairman Westlaker 

are out in the villages-the shareholders generally think that we 

are an extension of government, that they expect us to take care 

of everything from housing to medical transports, child care centers. 

And the downside for that is that we continue to carry forth the 

mentality about, "Don't worry about things. We will take care of it 

for you." So you can see that we were all brainwashed well, and 

we are going to have to try to figure out a way to get away from 

that. 

We are attempting to increase the awareness statewide about 

human resource issues as they relate to Alaska's Natives. We have 

recently formed an Association of Alaskan Native Corporation 

Human Resource Managers for a couple things. 

We think the sharing of information of what works, what doesn't 

work, and who is available for work will increase the opportunities 

for employment, not only in our respective organizations, but with 

all other employers in Alaska as well. 

We have increased. We were one of three regions to add children 

born after '71. We have almost doubled our original enrollment 

size. We are now just under 9,000 shareholders. We have realized 

that NANA itself cannot possibly employ all those folks so we have 

had to figure out what we can do in the villages to create economic 

development. And you talked earlier about that also. 

We are looking at expanding our tourism activities. We are looking at information-based opportunities. We are looking at as long 

as this welfare system exists what do we need to do for community 

service. 

There are lots of opportunities for village improvement and quality of life improvement that people can and should participate in 

as long as those transfer payments are coming in, and that can 

serve as income to them for jobs that they do. 

You have heard a lot about the Red Dog project. We have got the 

new deposit. We have 250 shareholders, Natives employed with an 

average salary of about $50,000 a year. We have revenues coming 

to NANA; 7[I] revenues to other Native corporations. 
E6 

I just wanted to let the committee know that we know that responsible economic development can occur. It has been proven on 

the Red Dog project. I wanted to thank the committee for your support in the past on Red Dog, and I also wanted to go on record as 

supporting the development of ANWR, that NANA does support 

the development. There seems to be some confusion about that, and 

I wanted to state for the record that we do support development. 

CHAIRMAN YOUNG. Thank you, Sarah. 

Ms. ScANLAN. We have learned quite a few things about what 

works and what doesn't work. Th·)Se are included in my statement. 

I did want to have one final paragraph that I would like to read 

into the record. Because of the growing awareness and determination of Alaska's Natives to become well again and be the loving, 

supportive families and communities we once were, we will get 

there through a long and slow process. 

We will identify the drumbeaters for the importance of education. 

We will understand what comm: . tment to making things happen 

means. We will create the partnerships necessary to have all of us 

moving in the same direction for the good of the whole. 

We will learn to give up power and authority to empower others. 

We will tra.in our leadership to stop creating the dependencies, and 

we will continue to teach what being responsible means and be accountable. We ask for your cooperation in these areas too. And 

thanks again for the opportunity to comment. 

[Statement of Ms. Scanlan may be found at end of hearing.] 

CHAIRMAN YOUNG. Thank you, ~)arah. Doug. 

STATEMENT OF DOUG WEBH, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, 

ALYESKA PIPELINE SERVICE COMPANY, ANCHORAGE, ALASKA 

Mr. WEBB. Mr. Chairman, good afternoon. I would request that 

you include my written comments in the record in their entirety. 

CHAIRMAN YOUNG. Without objHction, they are. No one is objecting so go ahead. 

Mr. WEBB. I also am going to brief my comments. We have been 

at this for a little over three hou ~s, and I am the last witness. So 

I will try to make it a little more brief. Mr. Chairman, I am going 

to apologize in advance if I sneeztl into the microphone. I was well 

when I arrived here on Monday. I think I am catching the nonessential beltway flu. 

CHAIRMAN YOUNG. May I interrupt a moment there? Julie, you 

have got a cold? Oh, and Doug-wait a minute now. I mean, I have 

seen this togetherness in signing compacts, but let us talk about 

this. Go ahead, Doug. 

Mr. WEBB. Mr. Chairman, in late 1993, Alyeska conducted a 

thorough review of the programs established to meet the requirements of the right-of-way agreemEmt. We were prompted to do this 

because of other audits that were occurring at that time. 

We had just undergone the 60-day BLM audit, and we were 

starting an internal audit that was to take 10 months and be tremendously thorough. We felt that it was also important at that 

time to extend this self-examination to the right-of-way, both the 

state right-of-way and the Federal . As a result of that review, we concluded that our program for 

Native hire under Section 29 was not as effective as we wanted it 
57 

to be. We appointed a team of Alaska Native employees and human 

resource consultants from Alyeska to identify and address specific 

areas for improvement. 

This team worked for eight months to develop a proposed new 

Native Utilization Agreement designed to be more effective for the 

operations era of TAPS, to replace the original construction era Native Utilization Agreement. It was submitted to the Department of 

Interior in February of this year for review and comment. 

Negotiations between the Department of the Interior and 

Alyeska occurred over an additional eight months. Alyeska also 

conducted extensive discussions with the Alaska Federation of Na- tives. And I would like to specifically acknowledge and thank Julie 

Kitka for her significant quality input that has helped us substantially improve this new Native Utilization Agreement. 

On October 20, 1995, Alyeska President, David Pritchard, was 

joined by Assistant Secretary of the Interior Bob Armstrong in the 

signing of the new Native Utilization Agreement. We were very 

pleased that this took place at the annual convention of the Alaska 

Federation of Natives in Anchorage. 

I will now describe a few key parts of this unique agreement. The 

objective of this agreement is to renew our efforts to find, recruit, 

train, and advance Alaska Natives through jobs with Alyeska and 

our principal contractors on TAPS, many of which are Alaska Native corporations. 

Our long-term goal is to have a workforce on TAPS made up of 

20 percent Alaska Natives. Currently, eight percent of the TAPS 

workforce are Alaska Natives. Alyeska has committed to spend 

more than $2 million per year for 12 years to support the programs 

required to find, recruit, train, and advance Alaska Natives. 

This will include at least $750,000 per year in various types of 

scholarship programs. And in somewhat of an answer to your question to Julie a moment ago, there are three types of scholarship 

programs that we have recognized: the traditional college scholarship program, the vocational training that is necessary from time 

to time, but then also a systemic kind of scholarship. 

And these are the kind that would include the University of 

Alaska at Fairbanks, Rural Alaska Honors Institute that Julie described briefly. We think it is an excellent way to get kids in the 

high school time period ready for college and assimilated into college when they get ready to go. We also support the Mount 

Edgecomb High School in Sitka as being a high school that really 

does get kids ready for college. 

Additionally, Alyeska has committed to contribute $6 million in 

the next six years to an AFN educational foundation formed to improve opportunities for Alaska Natives. Our focus will be in four 

areas: first is jobs, the direct hire of Alaska Natives; the second is 

internships and other internal training opportunities available to 

current and prospective employees; scholarships for Alaska Natives 

is the third; and the fourth is other programs such as mentoring 

and counseling. 

We don't presume to know yet how to overcome every obstacle 

we will face in reaching our goals. We will continue to work closely 

with the Alaska Federation of Natives and our Alaska Native Corporation contractors to achieve these goals. In addition, we will 
58 

continue to consult with congressional committees of jurisdiction 

and appropriate agencies of government. 

Mr. Chairman, with your indulgence, I am pleased to introduce 

to you the recently appointed manager of Alyeska's Native Utilization Program. She is Ms. Kathy Mayo, formerly the founder and 

Executive Director of the Doyon Foundation. Of course, you know 

that that organization is an Alaska Native nonprofit corporation 

providing education and professional development services to Alaska Natives in Alaska's interior region. 

She will be supported by Mr. Charles Hubbard who will be the 

Native Utilization Program Business Advisor. Mr. Hubbard is an 

Alaska Native who has worked as an operations technician for 

Alyeska since 1981. He is also the immediate past Chairman and 

CEO of the Ahtna Native Heritage Foundation. 

Ms. Mayo and Mr. Hubbard will be responsible for day-to-day implementation of the Native Utilization Agreement. We are fortunate to have two people with exactly the correct mix of skills, experience, and connection to the Alaska Native community to lead our 

Native Utilization Program. Let me stress that no Alyeska employees will be laid off in order 

to meet the goals of the Native Utilization Agreement. However, we 

have analyzed the demographics of our current workforce, and it 

indicates that we can expect a significant number of retirements 

throughout our organization over the next 10 years. Alyeska intends to use the opportunities created by those retirements and 

other types of normal attrition to increase Alaska Native hire as 

we implement the new Native Utilization Agreement. 

This agreement represents the principles of respect and dignity 

Alyeska and the TAPS owners hold for the Alaska Native community. We look forward to a long, productive relationship with Alaska Natives. We know how important they are to the success of the 

Trans-Alaska Pipeline System. 

This concludes my presentation. I have provided a copy of our 

1995 Native Utilization Agreement and request that it be included 

in the printed record of this hearing. I will be glad to answer any 

questions you might have, Mr. Chairman. 

[Statement of Mr. Webb and the Native Utilization Agreement 

may be found at end of hearing.) 

CHAIRMAN YOUNG. Thank you, both of you, for very excellent testimony. Doug, on this agreement, did the numbers or do they include the contracts that Doyon has, NANA has, Ahtna has? 

Mr. WEBB. Yes. 

CHAIRMAN YOUNG. I think every line of the pipeline has a Native 

corporation contract with Alyeska. Are the numbers, the 20 percent, included in that? 

Mr. WEBB. Yes, they are. CHAIRMAN YoUNG. OK. It goes back to one of my biggest concerns, and I do congratulate Julie and the rest of you who worked, 

Doug, on this agreement. We have a battle here about resource development, and with all the training and all the agreements, if we 

don't have any resource development, we don't have any jobs. 

All the agreements you have-because if you don't exist, there is 

no work. And that is one of the hardest things that I have to get 

people to understand, that this goes beyond really the pristine area 
59 

of which you are speaking of. This goes to the economics of part 

of our state, that I don't understand where they think any other 

type of economy is going to come from. You know, it !s going to be 

very difficult. 

By the way, Sarah, I am more mature than you are in the sense 

that I am a little older. I don't think I am more mature, but I have 

the one thing, time; I have been able to go to every village of over 

100 people in the State of Alaska in my 34 years. And you can see 

a total change between before 1971 and the Alaska Native Land 

Claim Settlement Act. 

But more than that, you can see the villages that have the opportunities and the attitudes. And I want to congratulate you in 

Kotzebue, and NANA's work has been done there. And I don't know 

what it is just the individual leaders-you know, you had Frank 

Ferguson, the Senator, and Willy Hensley, and John Schaeffer, and 

Marge Baker, and all these people were there. 

It is an example of what an area can do if the opportunity comes. 

You go into the town, and most people are happy because they are, 

in fact, employed. I think that is a classic lab example of what can 

occur, and we are seeing it somewhat in Dillingham because of the 

fisheries. CDQ's-the best thing the state ever thought of, best 

thing we have ever done in the Magnuson Act because there is that 

employment factor. 

If anybody ever saw that, now if we can extend that a little bit 

which apparently we are doing, Doug, under your agreement, it is 

really going to make a lot of difference in the structure of our state. 

I don't have any other questions. 

Do you have any other comments? I know it has been three 

hours. And those in the audience, I want to congratulate you for 

sitting there so patiently. Any comments from Sarah or Doug? I 

would gladly try to respond to them or anything else you would 

like to say? 

Ms. ScANLAN. I just wanted to again thank you for giving the opportunity for us finally to come and speak to you and to let you 

know that truly there is a desire to improve the way things are. 

We appreciate your continued support for all of the things that we 

are trying to do. 

All of us recognize it is going to be a slow and agonizing process 

to go from this dependency cycle to when we were trained to do 

things on our own. But we do need your support and assistance, 

and we will try to give you specifics as you request it to show you 

what the priorities are. 

CHAIRMAN YOUNG. And I thank you. One of the things that-it 

goes back to Red Dog-and, again, it is my pet peeve so while I 

am still here-is the problem we had getting the right-of-way from 

Red Dog because it went through a park created after the Alaska 

Native Land Claim Settlement Act which gave the Alaskan NANA 

region a right for economic development. Yet, they were saying no. 

We had to just about beat people on the head to get it done. 

And that is some of the things I would like all the regions and 

all the Commission members to think about, where we can be of 

assistance and see if we can't get-the agencies should be helping 

you instead of hindering you-to give you that economic base. 

21-794 - 96 - 3 
60 

You know, there is absolutely no reason why they wouldn't give 

you the right-of-way, but we had to do a lot of finagling. They finally got it done. It took us two years to do it, and it should have 

taken us two weeks. But that is an example. 

I want to thank both you, Doug, and good work and you, Sarah, 

for your testimony, and everybody that testified. This is the conclusion of this oversight hearing at thiH time. Senator Murkowski offered me the opportunity to extend his regrets for not being here. He is downtown visiting the big man for a while. I am not sure who 

that is. And we will continue this eorrespondence-communication 

and working with you. Thank you very much. This oversight hearing is adjourned. [Whereupon, at 1:48 p.m., the joint hearing was adjourned; and 

the following was submitted for the rr~cord ] 
61 

Executive Summary 

Report of the Alaska 

Natives Commission 
62 

REPORT OF THE ALASKA NATIVES COMMISSION 

MAY, 199·l 

Executive Summary 

Prepared by the Alaskq'i~~ 

Federation of Natives~ 

~~ 

MEMBERS OF 1HE COMMISSION: 

PcayEaton,~ 

Mary Jane F~te, Co-au.irpelson 

Johne Binkley 

Edgar Paul Boyko 

Father Norman H. V. Elliott 

Bever! y Masek 

Martin B. Moore, Sr. 

Frank Pagano 

John W. SchaeHer, Jr. 

Father )ames A. Sebesta 

Walter A. SoboleH 

Moms Thompson 

S=Towank 

Frances E. Hamilton (deceased) 

Mike Irwin, Executive Director 

Volume I 

Prepared by Commission stall, providing overview and summary of (140 pp.) work product compiled through 21 

months of hearings, research, delih<rations. Centul principles: Na~ive Self-Reliance, Native Self-Determin-ation, 

Integrity of Native Cultures. Historical causes of Native personal and cultuul breakdown. 'Thirty-four main policy 

=ommendations (plus 76 additional r=mmendations), dUtcted to United States, State of Alaska, Native community and general public. Statistics on Native soci.al/cultural, judicia!fcorrection.al, economic, educational, 

physical/behavioral health problems. Demognphic and geographic data; biographical infor=tion on 

Commissionm; description of Commission's work procedures. 

Volume II 

Providing full narn~tive text, data and ra:ommendations of five (2.01 pp.) separate studies of Native problems conducted by the Commission's usk forces: Alaska Native Physical Health; Sociai/Olltuul Issues and the A!rohol 

Crisis; Economic Issues and Rural Economic Development; Alaska Native Education; and Self-Governance & Sel£-

Detennination. 

Volume Ill 

Providing fullnmative text, dau and =ommendations oi two (91 pp.J separate studies of Native public policy 

issues conducted by the Commission: Alaska Native Subsistence; •<Od Alaska Native Tribal Government. 
63 

HlSTORJCAL BACKGROUND 

The idea of an Alask.a Natives Commission dates from early 1989, when the Alask.a Federation of Natives, in 

cooperation with the University of Alask.a's Institute for Soeial andEc.onomic Research, published its landmark "Report on the Status of Alask.a Natives: A Call for Action." . 

Based on a wide range of socio-economic data, the AFN Report had concluded that, despite recent improvements in 

physical health, educational opportunities, standards of living. and access to government services, most Native villages are caught in a pervasive social and economic crisis- as revealed by abnonruilly high statistics of personal 

andcommunity breakdown. The rultural changes of this cotury have been so rapid and so profound that many of 

Alaska's indigenous people have been overwhelmed, isolated and lost. Because opportunities for advancement in the 

mainstream culture are severely li.m.ited, most Natives remain poor by any American standard. And, on top of all the 

cultural and economic problems, a significant minority of Native people is being systematically destroyed by alcohol 

and other drugs - and by the violent behavior that chemicalabuse unleashes within families. 

The AFN Report quickly caught the attention of the Conu=· When asked for follow-up recommendations by the 

Alaska Coll&ftSSional Delegation and by Cbainnan Inouye of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, AFN pointed 

out that its Report had merely saatched the swface. No comprehensive study of Alaska Native status had been condueted by the United States for almost 20 years. What was needed was an in-depth policy analysis, with specific recommendations to the Congress, the President, the Alask.a ugislature, the Governor and the Native community. 

In July, 1989, Senator Murkowski and Congressman Young inuoduced a bill creating a public commission of 14 

members -ltalf to bedesign2ted by the President aod hall by the Governor- jointly funded by the state and federal 

governments. It passed both houses of Congress and was signed into law by President Bush on August 18, 1990. 

White House and gubernatorial nominations took another 18 months, and the Alask.a Natives Commission sat 

down for its inaugural meeting in Washington, D.C. in February of 1992. 

After two years of research, public hearings and task force deliberations, the Commission published its three-val· 

urne, 440-page Report in May, 1994. As required by the authorizing legislation, the Report has been formally conveyed to the Congress, the President of the United States, the Alaska Legislature and the Governor. This Executive 

Summary was produced by the Alaska Federation of Natives and is publicly available through its office: 1577"C" 

Street, Suite 100, Anchorage, Alaska 99501- (907) 274-3611. 
64 

CENTRAL THEMES 

0 "\IVhatevcr words are chosen to depict the siru.ation of Alaska':; Native people, there can be lirtle doubt that an 

entire population is at risk ... of being permanently innprisoned .n America's underclass, mired in physical and 

spiritual poverty; of leading lives, generation to generation, ch;ncterized by violence, alcohol abuse and cycles 

of personal and social destruction; of losing, irretrievably, the< ultural strengths essential for the building of a 

new and workable social and economic order; of permanently , osing the capacity to sell -govern, to make considered and appropriate decisions about how life in Native conun mities should be lived." 

0 "Tilis lack of well-being, or 'dysfunction,' ... was precipitated by a century-long policy of cultural, social and economic assim.i.lation. Rampant unemployment and the virtual r om:xistence of other economic 

opportunities,. .. together with the spiritually and psychological y debilitating intervention of governmental ser· 

vices ... has created a culture of dependency. If one theme can lx identified as having emerged dwing the .:.uurse 

of the Commission's work, it is Alaska Natives' seeming inabiity to take responsibility for local economies, 

governments, schools and other social institutions." 

0 n ... the impact of govcmment on the villages dwing the past qU;Irter«ntury, while often oat.eriall.y bencfici.al. .• , 

has been desuuctive in process. The fedcr.a1 government appeu s to have believed that 'developmcilt' ... is some· 

thing that can be done to one group of people by another .... The result of this systeoatic asswnption of responsi· 

bility and control by outsiders is that village people lost hold of their commurlities and their children's lives. 

That is a fundamental fact underlying the contemporary Nativ< ... crisis." 

0 " ... There is no end of the downward social and eronomic spiral en sight. Natives are still the poorest of Alaska's 

citizens .... There has been little, if any, return on the billions of •lollars that govemments have spent over the 

past 30 years on what has become, qnite literally, a growth ind"stty revolving around problems in the Native 

commurlity." 

0 ''"The true nature of the siekness ... throughout the Native viJLa8e; is the state of dependency which has led to the 

loss of direction and sell~teern. Everything dse is of a seronday nature. merdy symptoms of the underlying 

di'"ase. Programs which are ainned at relieving the symptoms b'tt refuse to relate to the sickness are doomed to 

fail and may even make things worse." 

0 "-.. unhealthy dependence ... on outside decision makers and servi::e providers ... servefsl to displace the village 

cotmcils, natural leaders and extended families. Rather than having to face, acknowledge and deal with prob· 

lems, the community can turn those problems over to someone else." 

0 '1t is time to accept that the past policy of assim.i.lation has not worked. The federal government and the State 

of Alaska have repeatedly chosen to ignore this fact. But it is om clearly understood by Alaska Natives. Natives 

must...approach the future with the certain knowledge that their world views, their traditional methods of solv· 

ing problems, their ways of thinking and doing... will be given re: pect and precedence." 

0 "The issues confronting Alaska Natives are compounded by their intendationship: 

-Reversal of the cultural and social decay in which Nati= are enmeshed seems impossible without 

improvement in their economic condition. Individuals who believe themselves doomed to an unending 

future of ecanomic dependency are in such psychological de;pair that little energy is left for understanding 

and valning their heritage. 

-Improvement in their economic condition seems ~y without...an educational system that 

works_Cbilchm and young adults.who are dqxived of self-respect by a culturally alien school systcm and 

then sent into society without marketable sltills cannot UnP!OVC their eoononlic status. 

3 
65 

-An oouution system t!ut works for Alaska Natives seems out of reach so long as public hezlth problems, 

family dysfunction, and alcohol and =I abuse are prevalent. Children suffering from cluonic diseases 

brought on by exposure to raw sewage or Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, children from families in which one or 

both parents are absent or abusive, and children who must live in communities in which the society ... has 

failoo, ace ill equipped to succeed in school, even if school is reformed to acrommodate ways of learning 

particular to .. .Native cultureS." 

0 "The answc:r .. .is not sum:ndc:r to this multitude of problems, but pe>tc:r effons to address all concurrendy. 

Progress in reve.sing culruul and social erosion will be rewanled by gains in otha areas. The forward movement of an empowerro Native community __ will go far in promoting substantive advances ... • 

0 • _.there needs to be a mmpn:hensi-.e approach by tbe fedea1 and &tate governments and Alaska Native people 

tbemsehoes ... (A)ny piecemeal attempts at reform will faiL The success or failure of one initiative binges on tbe 

su=ssor failureofotbe.s. Such a multi~approach...would beapositive. .. depanure from present governmental poUcy miling which is issue specific and political in approach. • 

OVERARCHING PRINCIPLES 

Self-Reliance 

"_.using the rights they have. .. from tbe special relationship of Native Americans with the federal government 

and. . .as citizens of the United States and Alaska,._ the acceptance of responsibility for individual and community 

actions .. .is the key to Alaska Natives' future wcll-being. .. " 

Self-Determination 

• ...policies and progmns must, to the bqest extent possible; be conceived, develop"<~ and carried out by Alaska 

Natives." ·· 

Integrity of Native Cultures 

"Policies and programs ... must recogni2e, take advantage of, and maintain and enhance the traditional values of 

Alaska Native cultures." 

RECOMMENDATIONS 

111irty·lour proposals, organized in seftll issue categories, are tbe ptindpal policy recommendations ol tbe Report 

(pages 25 to 78 of Volume lJ: 

Social Needs and Services 

l. FedenJ. and state laws, rqubtions and prooedures should give maximum local powe.s and jurisdiction to uibes 

and tribal CIOUctS in alcohol importalioo/control, oommunity/domestie rebtions, and law enlon:cment. 

2.. Fedeal. and state governments should stop developing new - ·Native agency programs md raeatth on 

Native social pathologies until Natives themselves can design effective approaches in their own communities. 

3. Every Native village should design and implement a process of healing and recovery for its own people, and 

all extemal agency services should Conform to and support that plan. 

4. Fedeal. and state appropri2tions for Native social serviCie progams sbould be t=sfemd out o( public ag<:ncies md funded dUtttly to those villap and W1ar;e consortia locally~ social pathologies. · 

4 
66 

Employment. Work and Income 

I. Government service programs should be contracted to uib ;s and other Native org>.n.iutions to enhance low 

employment opportunities, decision-making. management sl:ills and culturally effective deuvery. 

2. Every federal agency operating a 638<ligible program shou.d enforce a Native hire requirement like that of 

BlA and IHS; and hiring for all federal jobs in rural Alaska should give Native preference so that the work force 

at IC3St reflects the Native composition of the local populatio 1. 

3. Obstacles to Native employment in vi!l.o&e capital construction projects should be removed. 

4. Obstacles to Native employment in rural Alaskan extueti•e resowce indusuies should be identified and 

removed. 

5. Federal and state regulations should permit uibal design an• I mawgement of income suppoct progranu (e.g., 

AFDC, Food Stamps, State Genua! Assistance, BlA General A ssistaooe). 

6. Tribal governments should be permitted to design and oper..te local wworkfare• progmns thac •I require 

able-bodied recipients to give productive community labor in return for transfer payments, and b) provide training. child care and support services. 

law Enforcement and Justice 

I. Tribes should establish culturally appropriate institutions and pr~ures for local dispute resolution (including tribal couns); and federal and state governmentS should support same with training and technical assistance. 

2.. The state government should negotiate formal agreementS ~.;th all tribal councils, delineating those offenses 

within the domain of uibal couns and those under state law and specifying that VPSO's will enforce tribal ordi· 

nances as well as state statutes. 

3. In addition to advocating tribal status, jurisdiction and powe:s, Native organiz.ations should identiJy ways in 

which existing governmental entities em address village probkms and goals effectively. 

4. State parole and probation programs should be rclotmcd by inplementing them in the offender's home village, 

fully involving local people and traditional values in monitorinj, support, rehabilitation and healing. 

S. The state should establish alternative corrections programs, ,;upported by effective alcohol treatment services 

and operated by local Native organiz.ations, for all but the most violent Native offenders. 

Education 

I. Local control of schools in Native areas should be strengthened by: a) ciwJ&ing village advisory boards to pou· 

ey-m.aking bodies, and b) delegating. within five years, operatin;; authority hom REM's to uibal governments 

in pannership with the state Depanment of Education. 

2.. The state government and local school districts should signif .cantly increase the number of their Native 

teachers and administrators through affirmative hiring. altcrnat ive ccrti£ieation and other means. 

3. Federal and state governmentS should create an Alaska Native Heritage Trust, grmti!lg funds to tribes for progranu of pa.rentalfoonununity involvement and eduational enhancement of Native languages/eultutts. 

5 
67 

Physical and Behavioral Health 

I. Federal and state governments should fully fund rural water/sewcr proJects, as recommended by the Ah.ska 

Sanitation Task Force, involving local residents in all funding, construction, maintenance and repair. 

2. The entire Native health care systcrn, now concentrated on secondary and teniary care, should be reformed to 

emphasize health education and primary prevention-stressing community involvement, changing attitudes, 

and encouraging healthy lifestyles. 

3. Congress and IHS should esubli.sh and finance an improved, timely system of dUgnosis/screening for serious 

disease and other disorders, providing adoquate travel funds for villige residents to obtain same. 

4. Unorganized, ineffective dau-gathering by federalfstate{municipal governments should be reformed into a 

single, oompr:ehensive, st2tewide system for assessing Native health needs and evaluating services. 

5. Substance abuse progwns for Natives should be reformed to emphasize oommunity-based, family-oriented, 

culturally relevant strategies developed by villiges; and public funds £or such programs should be directly granted to councils and other Native organizations. 

Subsistence 

!. Congress should repeal its 1971 extinguishment of aboriginal hunting and fishing rights in Section 4 (bJ 

ofANCSA. 

2. Congress should maint2in ANILCA's rural preference as the minimum aceept2ble level of subsistence protection in federal law, ~ting all state and private pressures to remove or weaken it. 

3. Congress should oonduct oversight of Title VIll implement2tion by the st2te and by federal agencies and 

should draft alternative language that provides more adequate protection of sulisistence by all Alaska Natives. 

4. During dual management, federal jurisdiction should be maximized- to include, at least, all public lands 

(including all marine/navigable waters!, all oonveyed ANCSA lands, all selected{unconveyed state and ANC'.SA 

lands, and extraterritorial regula to!)' reach off public lands. 

5. Administering federal agencies should fully implement regional advisory oouncils and options for co-management oontracting with Native oommunities and organizations; and the st2te should regionalize its Fisheries and 

Game Boards for greater local control of subsistence. 

6. The Alaska Ugislature should adopt a ronstitutional amendment allowing st2te subsistence law to comply 

with federal law, using language that will ronform to an improved federal preference; and it should adopt laws 

mandating oo-management agreements, effective regional advisory oouncils, and thorough reform of its regulatory system. 

Tribal Governance 

1. Congress should adopt policies supporting and strengthening Alaska's tribal governments, st2rting with repeal 

of all legislative disclaimers disavowing its promotion of the federal relationship with these tribes. 

2. The Secret2ry of the Interior should withdraw Solicitor's Opinion M- 36/}75 and clarify the federal position 

on the Indian Country jurisdications of Alaskan tribes through patticipation in pending coun cases. 

6 
68 

3. Native communities should ha,•e the legal power to trans!o:r freel y the ownership of their ANCSA lmds 

benveen corporations, tribes, individuals and other Native or ~aniz.ations . and to govern such Lmds for uib.!l 

and subsistence purposes, regardless of institutional ownersl1 p. 

4. State and federal govenunents should suengthen aibal financial ba.ses by sucb measures as federal ux credits 

for aibal taxes paid and state funding for tribal communities •:qual to those v.~th municipalities. 

5. By Executive Order or legislative enacunent, the state gave rnmem should recognize the existence of Alaska 

Native tribes. 

76 addition.alrealmm(lldations (pages 85 to 100 of Volume I}: 

Economics 

• Federal Native hUe preference • Veterans' hUe preference I Jr AWka Nation.al Guard Service • "Local prevailing wage• stmdard lor Davis-Bacon in village projects • 'Tallage design, construction and hUe on HUD 

housing projects • Contracting and Native hire for surveyinj: rural land oonveyan= • Native job training 

prognms for •Information Age" opponunities • Americorps, 'Nation.al Service Corps employment and education • tate Office of Alaska Native Recruiunent (Governor) • Creation of Alaska Native Economic 

Development Trust, and projects • Evaluation and restructwing of ANA economic development projects • 

Increased suppon of Native businesses by Alaska's ARDOR'; • Increased public suppon (capital) for Native 

towism projects • Expansion of CDQ program model to one Jther extractive industry • Creation of state 

Bulk Fuel Task Force, and facilities remediation • HUD crealion and funding of AWka Native Housing 

Authority • State task force on solutions to Native Limited In try problems • NPFMC codification and 

expansion of CDQ pollock program • State and federal development of Native reindeer industry • Training 

prognms in reindeerberding/husbandry/products/marketing • State/federal suppon of shell£ish mariculture 

in Native villages • State/federal suppon of fin-fish farming. .md Native demo project. 

Judicial and law Enforcement 

• VPSO training, pay, powers, uniforms, weapons, advancement • VPSO enforcement of village ordinances and 

state laws • State power beilind village council ordinances/c:nf<>rccment/adjudication • State agreements with 

village adjudicators on respective domairls • State task force id !Iltif)Wg parameters of village court powers • 

Cultural evaluation/reform of state judicial system regarding Natives • Appropriate village dispute resolution, 

and governmental suppon • Revised state goals for punishment, relubilitation and protection • Culturally effective, village-based punishment alternatives • Culturally effective transitional living/rehabilitation/treatment for 

Natives • Early, effective substance abuse counseling for Native inmates • State hire of capable Native corrections counselors • Detailed reform of state policies on Native Iarolefprobation • Village monitoring and suppon 

roles in Native parole/probation • Aggressive state hire of Natives in law enforcement/courts/corrections. 

local Self-Determination 

• State/federal recognition of all village governments (TC, IRA, city) • Evaluation and expansion of local government assistance programs • Identification of effective roles/po' rers for existing local governments • Evaluation 

of BIA programs and funding, and lm(a) reinstatement • BIA Ul3(a) training, and ANA tribal government training • Regional non-profit training and funding of village tribal rovernmcnts • Cost-effective transfer of service 

progruns &om non-profit regions to villages • Evaluation of no1-profit region.al programs, limiting costs, shifting prognms • 5-year $50 million coogression.al funding to tribes for social problems. • lteform of Fish and 

Came Boards, and strengthened region.al councils • Region.al cc •unci! review and veto power over· subsistence 

r~tions • State task force on solutions to Native Limited Entry problems. 

7 
69 

Education 

• K-12 "i.l.lage schools, regional/distance eruichment, voc od progr:uns • Loeal control of schools through policy 

making boards and Nativ< hir< • Development of modd Nativ< cwricul.a IK-12, post-2nd, traditional) • Oueer 

development/training/ccrtilicatioofhlre of N>tive <due> tor.; • Par<nt/community involvement in education, 

and Nativo H<riU8e Trust • State steps to incrust percent of Native teacher.;/ school <mployees •Tenwc 

reforms and Native hire to stabilize vi.l.l.age te.ching work force • Fodera I/ state reforms of school funding and 

mzn>gemont in villages • Creation/funding of AI3Ska Native Haitage Trust, and tribal grants. 

Physical and Behavioral Health 

• Alaska Sanitation Task Fo=; coostruction/maintmulce/opalltion • Data coordination IANHA. CDC, VA, 

state, health corporations, etc.)• Data reform !health needs, risks, wdlness, delivery evaluation, etc.)• Health 

Aide program funding. pay, work fo= stability, training • Adc:qw.te patient ttavel funds, meeting IHaA authori:ution level • ANHS immunization of all Native children by decade's end • Continued B1A support and funding for ICWA tribal grmts • Unified, oo~Ye data $)'Sielll on Native child abusefn<t}.ect • System re-orientation to primary pteVC~~tioo, Wnilics,mmmnnities • NatiYe-planned pRlgraiil of infectious disease p<even· 

tion education • Native health eduation auriculwn (scbools) for IJDS{HI.V prevention • Gencal health educa· 

tionfpromotion lor all Native '&e 810UP5 •lnaeased =iDg.ld.iagnosis and preventive education -for cancu • 

More timdy/effective dUgnosis and clis<as< int=cotion by IHS • Community suicide prevention progruns 

(e.g., state DH&SS model)• Evalw.tion/rdorm of substance abuse pn:ventionfueaunentprograms • Creation of 

Ai>Sk> Native Family Development Center )e.g., Kmwis)• Early risk-detection programs for child 

•buse/neglect, FAS, FAE • Research/data on N2tive substance abuse and program ellectiveness. 

FINDINGS AND DATA 

Social/Cultural Status 

• Native annual binhrate is 36.5 per 1,000, creating large danand for village child developmen~ edueation, 

he.lth programs • Effective Native public education is bi<ulturaljski.l.ls and values) • Native annual de.th rate 

is more than three times rutional>verage, much of it alcohol-rdat<d • Native infant mortality and Fetal 

Alcohol Syndrome r>tes are more than twicc rutionalaverages • !988, birth rate to Native girls 15-19 W3S 2·1/2 

times rntionalaver>ge • 1988, one of every II Native children recciv<d child protection services • 1992, 30% of 

DH&SS child abusefn<t}.ect/injury reportS involved Native children (94 per 1,000 Native children, 55 per 1,000 

non-Native Alaskan children, 39 per 1,000 children nationwide)• 1992, almost one of every eight Native males 

14-17 spent time in juvenile detention • April, 1993, over 27% of Native inmate population had S<XUally abused 

a child or other adult • Nearly 1/2 all Natives currently inearccrated for sexual crimes victimiz.c:d children. 

Economics 

• Village costs of living are exorbitant; with vi.l.l.age economies precariously dependent on public expenditures • 

1990, over 2.0% of enumerated Native work fo= is unemployed, oompar<d to 8.8% of total Alaskan work force 

(actual Native unemployment rates is much hid>er, due to uncounted work fo= dropouts) • In 1/3 of vi.l.l.ages, 

nule unemployment is 32% flour times statewide avero&e); in 1/8 of villages, male unemployment is more than 

50% • About 42% of 16,000 Native nules in Alaska's employed civilian work force are in crafts, tndes, servicc 

sectors • Almost 1/3 of all ernploy<d Native women are secretaries or clerks; 1/4 are in servicc sector (mainly 

food preparation, custodial) • Native women are about 60% more Likely to work in managerial and professional 

fields than Native men • 1992, 4.8% ol State of Alaska executive branch work forcc was Native (e.g., Law, 3.8%; 

DNR, 2.1 %; ADF&.C, 1.6%)• 21.5% ol Native £arnilies are below olfic:W poverty income line, compmd to 

6.8% of all Alaskan families • Native families and individuals are increasingly welfare dependent. 

8 
70 

Justice and Corrections 

• Non-Native belief tl>at only "Western" justice is worbble impedes culturally appropriate village altcma· 

tivcs for dispute resolution • April, 1993, Natives arc 16% ol Alaska's population, 13.5% of its prison-age-eli. 

gi ble population, and 32% of its inmates • Natives are 59% of Alasb's ,.iolent-crimc inmates and 38% of its 

sex-offense inmates • Most Native crime: is aloohol-rehned; peranuge of Native crime that is violent or sexual is far higher than state/n.uional averages • 5.3'% of all Native inmates are incarc.erated. for "most violent" 

crimes (assault, 14%; sexual assault, 14%; sexu.alabuscof minor, 13%; murder/manslaughter, 12%)• 1992, 

about 27% of all Native males 14-17 years old were rei erred ·:o swe juvenile inuke system • Native murder 

rate is four times national average • Natives represent 43% c f Alasb's misdernemor inmates, 39% of its sex 

offenders, and 41% of its parolees/probationers • 1990, Nati'es made up 1/2 of Alaska's second-degree murder 

convictions, and only 8% of its drug offenders • "Charge baq;aining" practices, coupled with Native cultural 

avoidance of confront.ation (trials), may contribute to high ecnviction rates. 

Education 

• 1981--89, Native FAS ate was 5.1 per 1,(XXllivebirths (almost 2·1/2 times NonhAmerican aveagej • 60% of 

Native students entering wb.m Alaska high schools do DOt guduate, compared to 12-15% Native attrition ate 

in rural high schools; but rural graduates b.tve much lower avaage achievement levels • 1989, Nitive ACf 

scores were about 40% lower than non-Native SCOleS • Rural schools enroll 14,000 Native students (7% Native 

instructors); urban schools enroU 9,500 Native Students (less than 2% Native instruCtors)• One advant.age of 

rural schools is low student-teacher ratios (bettereb.tnces for cnstructional impacts)• 53% of all Alask.a SCU· 

dents (but 11% of Native scudentsl took Algebra fi; 48% of all Alasb scudents (but 8% of Native •cudentsl took 

chemistry • 3/4 of all Alasla scudents (but 2/3 of Native scudmtsJ complete high school • In some districts, 

30% of Native elementary scudents and 40% of Native secon•!ary students are below grade level• Replacing 

boarding schools with village schools increased graduation rates, but with lower achievement scores than 

st.atewide • 1980, percent.ageof adult non-Native Alaskans with college degrees was five times tb.tt of adult 

Natives with degr-ees. 

Physical/ Behavioral Health 

• Lack of adequate village sanit.ation/water systems is p~· cause of many Native health problems (e.g., 

Alasb's highest incidence of Hepatitis B is in southwestern villigesJ• Despite SLJ billion public investment, 

many villages have only rudimentary water/sewage utilities • Heart disease accounted for 16% of all Native 

de..ths in 1994 (5% in 19501• Natives are more vulnerable to ;erious injury and infectious disease than nonNative Alaskans • Formerly low Native cancer rates are steadily increasing • 1985-89, Native diabetes rose from 

15.7 to 18.2 per 1,000 • Formerly epidemic TB is no longer p1evalent, butfar from eradicated • Individual subst.ance abuse and other health problems are closely related to •lysfunctionality of whole communities (must be 

addr'-'lsed together!• 39% of Natives smoke tobacco (compan:d to 26% of all Alaskan adults); some Native villages have 60% smoking rates • 1980-89, an average of one N:.tive suicide occurred every 10 days, reaching 

1989 annual rate of 69 per 100,000; preliminary 1990-93 dat.a indicate continuing increase • Almost 1/2 of 

Native suicides are by 15-24 yearolds, compared to 1/4 of no~·Native suicides • 1964-1989, Native suicide rate 

incre..sed 500% • 1980·89, 86% of all Native suicides were mt!es • Late 1980's, suicide rate of Native males 2.0· 

24 years old was more than 30 times national suicide ate for all age groups • 61% of Natives live in rural 

Alaska, but more than 2/3 of 1980-89 Native suicides occurtel there • 1980-89,305 Nttives (173 males, 132 

females! were killed by direct effectS of alcohol or other drugs (average of one every12 days); this Native sub· 

stance abuse mortaliry we (4.1 per 10,0001 is3-l/2 times non Native rate (1.2 per 1,000)• 1980-89, cumulative 

Native "Years of Potential Life lost" (i.e, number of years incividual dies before 65th birthday) attributable to 

alcohol were 6,607 years (~!most five times non-Native rate)• Native rate of fatal injuries caused by alcohol is 

ne.uly three times non-Native rate • Native per capit.a deaths by lire are twice non-Native rate; about 1/2 attrib· 

ut.able to alcohol • 79% of aU Native suicides had deteet.able Hood altohollevels • Al<;oholabuse and criminal 

acts correlate significantly, particularly in rural Alaska and an tong Natives tluoughout the st.ate. 0 

9 
71 

Tlltirnonv of Al•lk• Gournor Tony Know1t• 

to a !oint oyii'Jight bgdng of the 

U.S. Houu R11ourcu Commjttee. 

U.S. Senate Commmee on Energy and Natural Reyyrces 

and the U.S. Smate Convnlttoo on Indian Affti[J 

Noyemb1r 16. 1996 

Chairman Murkowski, Chainnan Young. Chairman McCain and committee 

members, thank you for having me here today. It's important 1hat you arc taking time to 

bear more about the Alaska Natives Commission report, and I'm pleased to be able to add 

my thoughts to the record. 

When it was released last May, this report triggered an emotional response from 

many of us in Alaska, especially from the Native commllllity. It documents deep-seated 

problems, but also lays the groundwork for enormous opportunities. 

The report correctly and concisely identifies the most serious problem in much of 

rural Alaska. "The true nature of the sicbless 1broughout the Native villqes is the state 

of dependency which has led to the losa of direction and self-esteem," it says. 

The solution 1o 1hat problem is just u clearly stated in the ~ main principles of 

the report: Self-rehance, self-dctmninati.on and preserving the integrity of Native 

cultures. 

I believe the Number l tool for fixing the problems in rural Alaska is jobs. Good 

jobs are the key to economic security. By giving people a sense of self-worth and selfreliance - whether they live in Ketchikan or Kwethluk - good jobs arc an antidote to 

social problems like alcoholism, child abuse and suicide. 

Despite many of the grim statistics in the report, there has been considerable 

progress in some rural areas. The numbers of jobs are at all-time highs in some rural areas 

--Bethel, Nome, th.c Northwest Arctic Borough, Dillingham and the relatively new Lake 

and Peninsula Borough. 

Partnerships between the state and federal governments and Native corporations 

and organizations have been key to mauy of the successes. They help inject new fuel into 

what are often stagnant, slow-bumiDg economies. 

That can be most clearly seen in the develapment of Prudhoe Bay, where 

partnering among Native corporatioas and oil support companies has proWled enormous 

economic opportunities for Nati~ Alaskans. 

T saw it first-band last winter when I visited a drilliq rig on the North Slope. I was 

impressed by the team of Native Alaskans from Irumor viJlaacs workins 1hcre u 

roughnecks. The driller bad been had been with his company for 10 years and all were 

bringing home good paychecks. 
72 

l 

Th.e Red Dog zinc, lead and silver mine ncar Kotzebue is mother great example of 

public-private partnerships. Already, that project employs about 300, many of them 

Alaska Natives from the local area. Red Dog will soon expand, with the state investing an 

additional $50 million for new storage and conveyor facilities and the private sector 

owners putting up about $100 million liiOie. 

The federal government also played an impor111Dt role in getting this project off the 

ground by permittiDg a road to pass through a national monument 

Another example is the CDQ fishery program Underway in Western Alaska. Wtih 

the help of Congress, the program is bringing nevf fishing jobs and greater income to 

many villages. 

There are many other examples of such partnerships: NANA-Maniott provides 

food catering to the oil fields. CIRI, Doyon and NANA all part of owners of the Endicott 

oil field. Doyon provides drilling services for BP and ARCO. Ahtna and Alycska are 

partners in servicing the trans-Alaska oil pipeliDe. The Arctic Slope Regional Corporation 

is now one of Alaska's largest oilfield service companies through subsicliaries like Alaska 

Petroleum Contractors. 

Just last month, as part of a Native hire ag·eement, the Alyeska Pipeline Service 

Co. announced at the Alaska Federatio11 ofNativo:s annual convention, a $25-million 

progJUl for training, recruitment, scllolarships aui employment. The goal is to put ~ 

more Alaska Natives to work along the pipeline conid.or. 

A true partnership is a two-way street, wh•:n: each partner has responsibilities as 

well as opportunities. It is incmnbent on Alaska's oil industry and its partners to hire 

Alaskans and Alaska companies. In tum, the statf: is obligated to be clear, coiUistent and 

fair; to be responsive to the customer side of the t:ounter. 

Despite all this progress, the problems in I u.ra1 Alaska are still very real and all too 

troubling. Let me give you a few quick statistics from the report: 

"In the quarter-centmy ending in 1989, the rate of suicide among Alaska Natives 

increased 500 percent. Half of those were among yoq Natives, ~ 15-24. 

• Hepatitis is considered endemic in lDILilY Alaska villages, the result of people 

having to handle their own human waste. 

• Cases of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome among Alaska Natives arc more than twice the 

national average. So is the infant mortality rate. 

Those grim numbers highligbt d1e need for economic development. I beliew the 

benefits of development-jobs and basic services- are at the very core of the Natives 

Commission's call for self-reliance in the vitlaget:. 

It's government's role- at both the state and federal levels- to help build the 

foundation for that self-reliance. To do that, we need to make sure the people of rural. 

Alaska have the right tools. Not only good jobs, hut also solid schools, improved 

sanitation, decent health care and the ability to C(ll!tinue cultural traditions like 

subsistc:nce hUDting and fisbiD:J. 
73 

3 

That's why it is so vital we ccmtinue to develop Alasb's mineral aDd olber natural 

resources. There is no more impormnt development opportuDity tbaD in 1hc Amtic: 

Natioual Waldlffi: Refuge. Some of you have heard me talk about that before. I'm aure you 

have heard the two c:ommittee chairman from Alaska talk about it, often lllCl fon:cfully. 

There's a reason for that passion. Oil procluc;tiODhas already paid for c:oun1less 

im.provcme:lits 1hrougbout Alaska - including in the rural areas. Hit iJ to continue to do 

so - if it is to help put the tools of self-reliance in ptac:e - th£n environmentally S01Dld 

development in ANWR is essential. 

Let me give you a few numben about the benefils Alaska has enjoyed as a 

result of oil development in our state. Eighty perceot of al1 revenues in Alaska's 

treasury c:ome from the oil industry. Sioc:e Ptudhoe Bay started pumping in 1977, 

Alaska has spent billiQnS of dotlars in tural Alaska. 

Some of the big-ticket items include: 

• $1 billion in direct grants for construction needs, including $300 million on 

rural water and sewer projects. 

• More than $400 million in state revenue sharing for rural communities. 

• AD c:stimatcd $300 million for construction of nual schools. 

• $3S millioo for village electrification projects. 

• About $7 million to build or upgrade village bealtb clinics. 

The list goes on and on. 

As we talk. about the needs of rural Alaska, my point is without a healthy oil 

industry, there's absolutely no way the state could have afforded such an investment. 

Instead, the financial burden would have rested squarely on the federal 

government. Certainly, Congress has committed millions to rural Alaska over the 

years. But without the help of a healthy state economy, pressure would have been 

intense for even more federal spending. · 

The bottom line is this: Alaska has benefitted greatly from oil production. But 

while we've made a lot of progress, there's more wort to be done. Sensible oil 

development in ANWR can keep us beaded in the right clirec:tion. 

When we say "sensible oil developmeut," we mean it. The U.S. Interior 

Department estimates that less than one-tenth of ~, percent of the refuge would be 

directly aii'c:\.1cd- an area about the si7.e of Washington's Dulles Airport. 

Due to new drilling tecbniques, a 19705-era, 6S-acre produc:tioo drilbite requires 

less than nine acres today. By comparison, if the 5,000-acrc Prudhoe Bay development 

were launched tomorrow, its size would be reduced by 60 percent because of uew 

technology. 

Opening die Arctic: Refuge to responsible development is contingent on a change 

in Alaska's Wlique relatiODShip with the federal govermnent At the time of StU:hood, the 

federal go~ recognized Alaska's great distances, om n:motc:nesa and our lack of 

basic services that most other Americans tlkc for granted. 
74 

4 

As a result, Alaska was granted Alaska a bigger slice of the revenue pie from 

development on federal land within our state. We: were given a 90-10 split of mineral 

royalties on federal lands in Alaska. 

A change in that relationship requires an amendment to the Statehood Act. And 

that in tum requires state concurrence, which iJ fossible in only one of two ways: 

enactment of a bill by the Alaska Legislature or &pproval by a vote of Alaskans. 

There have been inaccurate news reports on this subject latl:ly, so I waiit to be 

clear about the State of Alaska's position. Bued •>n the judgment of Alaska's 

congressional delegation, I agree that in order to gain federal authorization for oil leasing 

in the Arctic Refuge, the State of Alaska support!! an amendment to our Statehood 

entitlement from 90/10 to SO/SO for this development only. It wollld be morally and ethically wrong for Alaska to come to Congress, agree 

to a S0-50 split of ANWR proceeds, then tum around later and sue the federal 

government for a greater share. I'll do everythi.ltg in my power to make: sure that 

doesn't happen. 

While I'm on the subject, let me point out an irony in this whole ANWR debate. 

Current sentiments in Congress ate to decentrali2e control, to usumc 1hat the best 

decisions about people's lives at made at the level of government closest to the people. 

This is certainly true when it comes to social ser"l'ices and the congressional desire for 

block gJants. 

But why are some so intent on local decision-making when it comes to the delivery 

of social services, yet oppose it when it comes to economic development? 

Let me explain that a different way: In tbi:1 era of budget cutting, government 

shouldn't just walk away from rural Alaska and say, "You're on your own. Time to be 

self-reliant" Government needs to mala: sure the proper tools are in place as funding is 

gradually reduced . 

Fact is, any discussion of continued progr•:ss in rural Alaska must- MUST -

include talk of a healthy oil industry. That's why the Alaska Federation of Natives, after 

long debate, voted last month to support oil exploration in the Arctic Refuge. 

This was not a vote taken lightly. Dominating the hours-long debate was the 

special relationship Alaska Native people have 10 their land and to the wildlife that 

inhabit it. 1bat relationship, of course, centers on subsistence. 

Protecting the traditional subsistence way of life is a top priority of my 

administration. Others have tried to resolve the long-running dispute over subsistence 

bunting and fishing rights. The Legislature in rc:cent yean has refused to allow 

Alaskans to vote on this issue. 

It's time to move forward. I believe then; are two consensus points on which 

any state subsistence policy must be based. First. subsistence use shall be the priority 

for fish and game. Second, we need unified IWillagement of our resources. 
75 

5 

We're working right now on concepts that will achieve my goals: A 

constitutional preference for subsistence use - and a Wlified state management system 

t:Mt respects this priority and IICCOIIIll10dat local knowledge and concerns. 

There's a special relationship between Congress and the Alaska Native 

community on ovmight issues, and we don't want to jeopardize that relationship. But 

amendments to ANILCA - the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act of 

1980 - may be a necessary part of any lasting subsistence solutioit. So will 

amendments to state statutes and the state constitution. 

Many of the recommendations· ofthe·Alasu-Natives Commi5sion report, 

including the importance of preserving the subsistence way of life, won't be achieved 

without a steady, stable source of revenue. All of Alaska will suffer as oil production 

tails off. Rural Alaska i& likely to suffer the most. 

Here's just one example-· improvements in rural sanitation. I've said that we 

should put the honey bucket in the museum within 10 years. I'm absolutely committed 

to that goal. Alaska Natives aren't second-class citizens and they shouldn't have to live 

in Third World conditions. Yet right now, people in nearly half of Alaska's villages 

still use plastic buckets for toilets .or pit privies for restrooms. 

It will cost money to change that - as much as S 1 billion more to give all 

Alaskans the same safe water and sewer facilities that other Americans take for 

granted. This year alone, 45 village sanitation projects are under construction. 

As you listen to other people talk today about the needs of rural Alaska, please 

keep one thing in mind. The call for self-reliance in the villages is from the heart. It 

comes from the people who live there. 

It's a calli fully support. To end the long cycle of government dependence, 

village Alaskans must assume more responsibility. It's our role-- yours and mine·- to 

help lay the grmmdwork for that self-reliance. 

By creating decent jobs. 

By providing good schools and modern sewer and water facilities. 

By making sure basic health services are in place. 

But here's the reality. None of that comes cheaply. That's why I think it makes 

sense to talk about responsible ANWR development in the context of today's hearing. 

The healthier Alaska's overall economy remains, the healthier rural Alaska will 

become. 

Thank you. 
76 

•~a~aor• cc.m:'l"''ft 011 .... er 1 D'l'Ga&L a..oneu 

r~..a •· lhu'uwall::l., u. cuu.a. 

lllllaU caaa'ft'll 011 lDIU UI'UU 

.Jolla xoc:aia, &•. Olaaizwaa 

DaDiol %DDaYe, Vioo Cbr. 

IIOVII caaaft•• a~~ ... one•• 

DoD Yo-9, (1roailmall 

Nov..ar u ., 1995 

WaahiftC)tc•n DC 

k. Claai:cw.oa of ~~~· ~~t~ ... , Laf.ioo aDd .. atl-a: 

% .. 11ary J-• l'a~o, co-cui:r or l:.ilo Alaoll:a .. ti-• e-iaaioa. J: - Atbabaoll:aa %DIU- aad I -· :rai oee ia Uaditio-1 Atbabaakaa 

waya; IIUoll::rat oa.pa arouad tll.o Lall:oo 4u:riq tll.o lp:riJav tiao; 

t:rapliaoo cu:r.lq tbo wiatoZ' aad floll.oa.p 4u:riDIJ t11o •- aa11 

fall. 

'rho .Joiat r .. oral-IC.to .... toaioa oa .. lioioo aDd •:rovraa affooU.av Alaoll:a lati-• Cho:r .. ftiiZ' rofor:r .. to •• tbo Ala8u .. th•o1 C-iaaioa) waa foned by Ct1D4fZ'Oaa A111JU8t 1D1 1110 tbroqla ~lio Law 101-371, 'r11o c-iaa:loa'a -••~tall::l119 -• :toiatly f11D4o4 bJ tho fo4o:ra1 v-o:raaoat .... tbo ltato of &laalla. no c-iaoloa iaol114o4 ..-.ora appointo4 IIJ' Uao •Z'oai4oat of tllo 

Vaitoe Ita~•• aad bJ ~-- ao•o:r-:r of Alaoll:a ia early 111a. n•~• 

wo:ro fou:rtooa aa.aiooioao:ro of .-lob tb:r .. aro ll.oro ~od•J'• 

co-cuir •o:r:ry a. la~oa 

.Joluao at.~Eloy 

l':r..a •avaao 

.Jou •· llallilaoffo:r, n. 

l'atbo:r .Jaaoa &. 1.-.ota 

xor:ria on.o.pooa 

n-••• •· ... :Lltoa 

Co-claair .azy .7-• l'ato 

1N9U' .. 111 aoyu 

ratbo:r llo~ •llio~~ 

....Z'lJ ... oil: 

&artia a. xoo~o 

.. 1~•~ lalllloloff ... ~all: 

lPZ'-ooo •· ... iltoa .. rYo4 oa t11•• c-iooioa -til bo:r •-til loptoabo~ a7, 111a. 

•• aloo Iliad a a~ of --offioio ....,.Z'.. iaolu41q 

rop:roaoatati••• of tll.o ua:Lt.. •ta~oa .... ~. aad X011ao of aop~oooatati••• ••• alao ..-..zoo ot tho Alaall:a ltato .... to aall 

lo-• or aop:&-oaoata~i•••· Lil&o JOU, - ._iaaio-~o wo:ro a ·~ 

«1•ar•• 9Z'011P aad •• -.arioao .. ~ allaro of 41ffo:roaoao. ~ 

root tll.at •• ••~• -~ all alill:o ••• oao of ou:r -·~ illpo:rtoa~ at~roD9tba. 

oa ltolaalf of tllo Alaoll:a .. ti-• OO.iaoioa, I _,.., oar ll.oar~fol~ 

t'lllaalto ODd oiDOO:&'O g:I'Otit1140 to .. 0111. aall OYOZ'J' ODO of J'OU• Wo 

oapeaially ~la&U 1D41•14ual &laalla .. ti-• no .... fo:rware 

tolliav ua wbat tlloy -•ted -r• tlaaa oafUiiDIJ olao. fto 

tootl-•1•• - to •- asaa pov•• ,,, t:&-a-o:ripto. no ~aaioa 
77 

11otoae4 all4 tlao rooultlav aptiaaa are before tllio c-lttao ta4ay. Ia a alaal't alvllta .. aaatla period tlaa flaal report wae aa yaw: 4aell:a 

aa4 tlaat fiaal report le our taatt.oay. 

A etaff -• lalre4 &D4 flTa taall: faroao wore ealaote4 to vatlaor 

iataraatiaa aa laaaltla, eduaatlaa, aaolal/aultural. oaoaoa:loa aa4 vo..-oraaaao ioouoo. ~Ia• taoll: foroo aeaa.ro waro ·voluatoara. ~lao 

c-.aiaoiaa laol4 aiao rovioaal publio laaarlav• aa4 twa atatowi4o 

public lleariav•· our taal ••• to t.plaaeat tlao iataat of tlao law 

ia ardor to faraulata aa4 tlaoa flaall•• & ore4llala report of tlao 

lalCJiaoot quality. 

~bie c-loaiaa provi4a4 &laoll:a .. tlvaa aa4 tlaaaa oatitloa wbo are laval..-&4 wltll related provraa• aa appartuaity to aaa:a a poaltl..-o 

t.paot oa tbo la4ivi4ual Alaoll:a •ativa. 

•xca:r.tCIIft8 01' 8nDAL a~Tl:OII81 

•a.L~: Tbo aoo4 tor aaatiauiav laoaltla o4uaatiaa iaolu4iaCJ 

coaauaity Baaltb al4ao. •riaary quality baal\:11 4olivary io atill a prolalaa la tbo ioolato4 aottiDCJ of rural &laall:aa ooaauaitiaa. 

•atar aa4 aawor ••••• •~• etill a pralalaa ia aaay &laell:a villav~•· 

caatractlag of baaltla eorvloae will bolp. 

IIDVCATIOIJr 'l'ba aae4 for looal ooatrol of o4uoatioa aa4 -r• perolltal ia..-al..a-t le aaoaaaary. Uuaatiaa le otill lavviag belaia4 far tbo aativo paaplo ia &laaka . ~· priaary e4uoatlaaal 

1e.ol ia atill aat prapariav olail4roa for aaooa4ary aa4 oolloqo laval o4uoatioa. 

BCOIIC*IC8a It beoaaa ..-ory olaar tlaara ia a aoo4 for jolla aa4 a ••••• for oraatiD9 ••• ra..-aauo. · 

•• laaar4 oYer &D4 ovar tlao •••• to toDOI'&ta aaw aaaoJ aae beard 

troa ouooaea atoriao, euola •• froa tlao ...a retioa wllora a larva 

aillo proYi4ae all tba ... luoo of a aati•• 011ltw:a -• J'&t ia profi~lo. •• too, oaa •• tlaa .... if vi••• tlaa opportunity ia 

tlao 4avolo,.aat of oil OD4 va• ia tlaa ooaatal plaia araae. ouob •• tlao Alaall:a .. tioaal Wi14lifo aofuv•· 

Cottav• ia4uatrioe ie oaa way to laalp tbo aooaoaio futuro. ..., raotrlotioae all4 raqulatioa• .. ka it 4iffiou1t if aot t.poeeilala, 

to puraua cottage 1D4uotrioa. aortariag :lt- Wlaiola are ooaoi4ore4 

oubaiotaaco praclucte are a1ao rovulate4. •otaat:lal aaob crapo euob •• wood pracluGto, fur, ... ked flab ..c 4rio4 aaata oro iapaGtocl lay 

o:ltbor oavlro .. oatal or food aa4 4r11V rOCJQlatloae. .. .... , aver vot 

oiGk troa aatia9 ~~ .. aalte4 ... 11:&4 .. 1aaa. 

•iatorioally, tlao Alae .... tivo people are a poopla of II:I.VIa 

etaaUrca. auoq, prou4, truatiiiiJ aa4 vi•iq. ftoy wore !Mr4 

-rkaro. or ... ,. tao patOI'aal:latio attitude laao Ua:l.aod aaay of our people li••• to be oa tlaa ~t 4olo. ~~~• raotrlotioaa &D4 

rOCJDl&tioDO aako it ••rr 4iffl0111t to work aa4 proapor froa tbolr 2 
78 

o- laad ... oa•iro-llt. •- briyllt apota Co -1•~ ia rouaiaiiiiJ our &laoka .. tl••• ~o oovupy poa1~1oaa ia tho aow &laakaa oaoa .. 1oa, auca aa oil, a1111111J, traaaportat1oa, aac oto. 

'foclay •• fiad ouraolvoa ia a orit<ia aituatioa. 'lllo O\ltrag-ua 

aollool dropout ratoo, lliiJil \111..,1oyao11t 1 hopol•••••••· druiJ aac 

aloohol ab\loo ••• otllor tragio aad ••d oaGillga, auoa aa tho hi9haat 

ratoa of auioidoa, aooi&oata, •1o1•a~ aoto all4 4oataa. Wha~ wo 1oarae4 a~ ~llo 'boariaqa ••• tlla~ • t:iao -• ruJ1ai119 out • • 

at tllo iaauqural aootiav of tho C01aiaaio11, •oaator 0a111o1 X11ouyo atate4 "X do11't waat juot • report oa tao oo114itioaa, x -.t your roo ....... tio11o." at ~llll~ ~tao yo1:1 "l'DWM tllat coavroaa will 1Jlva 

auoll r••--datioaa oorioua oo11aidot.l'ot1o11a. Wo took heart 1a your 

atat .. oata. 

••aator '1'e4 at .. oaa "praiae4 tlla c:-iilaioa •• a IJOil\liao att..,t 

with tho partiaipat:ioa of .. ti•• &l11akaaa to aozot: O\lt tho prollll-• 

oroat.ct ~ fe4ozoal polioioa." 

801111tor :rrallk Jl\lrk-olti a44e4, "tho c ... 1aa1oa aoe4a to tako a froah look at probloaa to tzoy to faahioa ao1utioaa that will work 

for tho tiaoly bollofit of Alaakll ••t1voa." -

COD.IJZ'aaaioa.aa· Doll Youav aloo 1• avazoo of tbo 41ra ao.cta of tho 

&laaka .. tivoa aa4 proolaiae4 Ilia aupport for vaat ahaaiJoa. 

'foda7'• holl.l'iD.IJ 011 tho &1aoka .. t1••• ~iaaioa i• vazoy aipifiaaat to tho &laaka .. ti••• people. xt roproooata a ooll-ti•• o-uaicuo fr- a1aaka .. tl••• to tho Vaitod atatoa coavr•••· 'llloy .. do it oloar to tlao c ... iaaioa tllllt ~hoy would 11ot 

ataad for a aaa1t1ae4 report. ...Y of tlaoao rooo.aoadat1oao aro CIOaJilotoly aoauary to tho _, • it "•• to Ito'. 'rho IJO"l'or--t aaa ao lOD.IJOZ' 8&iataia tho old atat- cuo or liJIIOZ'O &laoka •ativo 

ao.cta. Wo llopo that th1a report Mkoa it c1 .. r tllllt ou p-p1o waat 

aDZ'O ill"l'DlYOaOIIt ill their 1i•oa, loaa IJO"l''Z'-IIt &114 D.OZ'O 

1114opolldoaoo. ~ .ua it up, •tiao baa a1r .. 4y rua out•, for ill 

tho abort lifo of t'bia c ... 1aa1oll, appr-iaatoly 1300 &laaka 

••ti••• have poriall.ct, aa4 of tlloaft doat'ba, ~- .. ay wore youtlla ... ·~•t all wore aoa-aooidoatal or ...-taral. 

nero are tllar- -1-•• of tho fiaal report. Yol1ao % wao propare4 ~ tho c ... iaaioa ataff for tlao purpooo of pro•i4ia9 aa o"l''Z"'l'iow 

aa4 .,....ry of tllo c ... iaoioa•a a~ataatial work produot aa.pile4 

tlaro'119h lloeria9a, roaoera'b all4 Colibazoatiou aarrioe out a1aoo July of 1,,a. •iko I~ia, ..... t:i"l'D Diraator, 1a o4it:or aDI pr1aa1pal autllor. ~liar writiD.IJ oroeito for tlaio _. auo....-t .ol-• IIJO 

to Mward .,__, •'b. D. • Baz~ Clarbor, WillS... llaaablo, lleoriiJ• Xrwia, 

&.of. MOClaaallaa 11114 -.rold .... 1-a. 

Laa~ly. oa lllollalf of tho lllaakll .. ti•ro e-i•aioa, qaia tllaak you. 

I .. a•ail .. lo for aay caeatioaa ozo .....ate. 

~~~~ee-Cilair o: &t.UD D'l:nu c:oaxaaxa. 
79 

TESTIMONY 

CHANCElLOR 2DWARD LBB GORSUCH 

ALASKA FEDERATION OF NATIVES 

Mr. Cllainnan and Members of the Joint U. S. Houae and Senate Committee: 

I am Lee Gorsuch, the Chancellor of the University of Alasta Anchoraae. I am pleued to 

have the opportwl.ity to address you on an i&&ue of importance, not OD1y to Alaska Natives 

but alao to the state of Alaska and the United States of America. I will foeua my remarb 

on the propesa. problems, and pJ'Oipecll 0011frontin& Alaska Natives and the implic:ationa 

for the federal aovenunent's continuing relatiolllhip with Alaska Native people. 

I tirst moved to Alaska on the eve of the enactment of the Aluka Native Caims Settlement 

Act. This historic, federal legislation was desiped to addreu the IODJ postponed aboriginal 

land daims pressed by the Aluka Native people with the federal aoverumeat. 

Tlae terms of the Settlement Ad. conveyed to Alaab Native people JODlc 44 million acres 

in land and disbursed $962.5 million, paid out over what was anticipated to be an 11-year 

period, half of whic:h would be paid by the 51ate of Aluka. All the benefltl are held by 

Alaska Natives enrolled as lbareholders of profit making corporations repterod under 

Alaska statutes. Section 2C of the Settlement Act called for an eliBllliaation of the federal 

aovemment'a apecial relatloolbip with the Alaska Native people and dlrec:tecl the Secretary 

of the Interior to report Ilia finclinp to the Coapeaa. 
80 

2 

I represented ill 1972 a private eooDOJDic COIIIUltlna firm that wu selected to perform the 

study for the Department of the IDterior aud I served u tbe study manaaer. ID the course 

of our uamillation we learned the federal aovemmeot had a kmaltllldins and pervuive 

relatioaship with Alaska Nadve people, closely paralleliDg the relatiODship the federal 

aovemment hu with other Native American tribes. Not Wllike other tribal relatiouhips, 

the Alaska Native commUJii1¥ depeDded upon the federal sovemment for the prcMaioa of 

many esseJitial health, welfare, and educatiOD rela1ed aervicel. We found that althoup the 

terms of the Settlement Act were, in historic terms, financlaiJy very lup, the net present 

value of the cub portion of the Settlement Act Will approximately equal to the annual flow 

of federal funds ctisbursed by various federal qeades on behalf of Aluka Native people. 

Aay presumption that the Settlement Act would dJ&place fllderal programs and aervioes wu 

fiDandaJly iDfe&SJ'ble ,given the mapitude of the financial value of the federal pemmeut 

se.rvices pr<Mded Aluka Natives. To illustrate tlds fincUD& the apprOllimate net present 

value of the Settlement Act, becauae of the scheduled dlabursement over an 11-year period, 

waa leu than $300 m.illion. A laqc univcnity encliowmeot would have yielded an averaae 

4 perceat annual real income stream over thia IIIDC time perlod. Thus, the net present 

value of the cub pordoo of the Settlement Act "ith a similar retum would have yielded 

appl'Ollimately $~ milliOD a year. Had the settlement cub value beeD annuitized and 

earu.lnp cllsbursed aa a dividend to approximately 75,000 elip"ble shareholders, a check of 

apprmdmately S180 per aharebolder would have be.!D paid, equal to oae-twentieth the value 

of federal services provided. While the 44 million acres of land also had and ClOJitinues to 
81 

3 

have significant economic values, nonetheless, the IJlDuitlzed overall cuh value of the Native 

Oal.ms Settlement Act wu relatively small compared to the IJlDUal flow of federal doUan 

expended on Native behalL To a large eJtent the Conpss has c.ontJJiued to appropriate 

funds to support federal programs for the benefit of Alaska Natives as it did prior to the 

enactment of the Settlement Act, presumably in part based 011. thU banclal reality. 

The discovery of on on Alasta'a North Slope at Prudhoe Bay and the commeoced flow of 

oil through the trans-Alaska oil pipeline in the late 1970. and early 19801 flooded the state 

treaswy with significant economic rent&. The state budget jumped from approximately $1 

billion to $4 billion in the space of just a few years. This dramatic increase in state revenues 

not only prompted a large population influx into the state of Alaska, but it also enabled the 

ltlte of Alaska to bcgba to provide aervic:ea to Ita citizenry, inclucfiq ~aslta Natives, which 

Jt heretofore bad been financially unable to provide. For example, an expensive program 

to build high schools in small villages throughout Alaska represented one of the first major 

sources of public expenditures. Where previously the only high school education options 

available to rural Alasltan Natives had been through regional or out of state boarding 

programs. the state now provided a vlllaae baaed high sc:boo.l. 

Thus. in financial terms both the federal relationship with the Alaska Native community and 

the state provision of aervic:ea far ovenhadowed the financial impact of the Alata Native 

Oaims Settlement Act on the lives of the averaae Alulta Native. Without contJJiuina 

federal and state governmental support there is little likelihood that the Native corporations 
82 

4 

themaelva could make up the difference iD p10111di.ac comparable aervicea or cash valuea 

to their constituent shareholders. Federal and state aervkel will contiDue to play a vital and 

determiDiDg role 1D the long-term welfare of Allllka Native people. 

This is not to say that the Native Oaima Settlement Ad baa not had a vezy aipificut ucl 

pervasive impact OD the general welfare of the Alub Native communi~¥ aacl on the 

eamomy of the state of Alaaka. In fact, several of the A1ub Native corporatiou now 

stand among the state's largest and most mcc:ess&<l corporation~ and are a major 10uroe of 

employment. not simply for Aluta Native• but fl•r citlzeu of the ltate of Aluka u weD. 

Succeu amons the Alub Native corporations Ia by no means even aacl many of the 

corporations have experienced aipificant financial clitficultica. Indeed, were it not for 

federal provision~ authorfzillg the Ale of the net operating.louel auoclated with the delayed 

conveyances of land tides to Aluka Native COIJOratioas, several of the corporationa, I 

beHeve, would have faced early bankruptcy. 

Sipificant p~ in the pneral welfare of the Alub Native commllllif¥ hu occurrecl 

over the past 2S yean since the enactment of tht: Alub Native ClaimJ Setdement AA · 

Much of this prosress is attributable to the contiDuin1 proviliou of the federal proarams and 

aervices u wen .aa the dramatie expansion of thtl .Ute JII'OII'IDII and aervicea. Private 

bUiiaeu activities illitiated by the Setdemeat Ad 1 Alub Native corporationa bu been, 

with significant resfoual variances, an Important auamentadon of the pubUc sector. OYer 

the put two decades the size of the Aluta Native populatioD hu cantiDued to pow 
83 

5 

sipifieut!y, both in rural and urban arcu. The provision of public servic:ea has expanded 

into areas that previoualy were not served or were under served. The general quality of 

houaing hu increued sipificut!y. Althoup UDemployment and poverty peniat at 

disproportionate rates in mOlt rural areas, Alaska Native incomes have increaaed. Perhaps 

the peateat propeaa baa been in providiD& secondaJy educatioul opportunities throupout 

the state of Alaska. On the physical health frout, Alaab Native li& expectancy continues 

to increase and infant mortality to decline. There is indeed much that the Native people, 

the state of Alaalta, and the U.S. government eu look to with pride on the aipificant IOCial 

and economic prosresa made. 

Notwithstanding this proare1111, llignifieut entrenohed problems persist within the Native 

community and throughout much of Alaska. The ecoiiODlic development of much of rural 

Alaska is still heavily dependent on the pubHe sector wherein lie most of the employment 

opportunities. Opportunities for economic development tend to be bued around large 

deposits of natural resouroes located in close proximity to transportation or near coastal 

areas. Coastal Native communities have recently benefited from community development 

quotas in which small percentages of commercial fish allocations are set aside for coastal 

commmrlty groups. While aummer tourism and the selling of Native arts and crafts are very 

important souroes of supplemental iucome, they remain, nonetheless, 1upplemental in 

character. Absent a sowad economic base, the pr01pect1 for IUitained Improvement in the 

economic welfare or the divenlficatlon of the sources of income in much of rural Alaska are 
84 

6 

..verely COIIStralJled ud hi&hli&ht the importaa~ of natural raouroe development withiD 

their repOJII. 

While sipificant proarea baa been made iD pra~~iding teCODduy educational opportunities 

throughout rural Aluka ud hip achool Jl'lduation rates for Alaska NatJve youth have 

increased aignificautly over the past 20 ye&JS, the actual educatloDalattalmnent. u meuured 

by vu:lous studardized teat scores, revellt that ~ficaut improvement needs to be made 

it rural students are to be able to achieve the 111me level of mastery as their udlan DOD· 

Native counterparts. Thls is a particularly impottant issue u the labor force increuin&IY 

requires a hiply educated, teclmologically sophi:rticated worker. 

A third penistiJia problem is the legal entanale1nents IIIOCiated with the AJuJca Native 

coamnmity's priority iD the harvesting of the subtisteace resouroes iD and around the various 

villqes Uld within rural areas of the state. Many committee members may be aware that 

subaistence fishing and huntina contiDuea to be ao importaat part of the villqe eamomy. 

NotwithstandiDg some economic progress and educational advancements, subUstence is an 

iDtepl part of the culture and lilestyle for the ovmwhelmflla majorfl)' of villqes of Alaska. 

The state of Alub has coutftutioual difflcultie£. iD accommodatius the rural preference 

provisioDs illduded in the Alub NatioaaliDterest Lands CoDiervatioa Ad u authorized 

by Consress· The state's iDability to reach this ac:ommodation is causin& a lipificant lou 

of trust aod ooafldeuce amons many Alasb Nathe. communfties. Tbey lear a lou of this 

important mainstay of their already precarious villqe ecoaomies. 
85 

7 

Filially, whUe slpificant improvements in health have undeniably occurred throughout 

Alaska ill both rural and urban areas, very serious social and behavioral problema penilt. 

Perhaps the most dramatic are those related with alcohol and alcohol abUte, particularly as 

it affects young Native men. I am sure many of you have seen statistieal reports illdieating 

the alarmin&}y high rates of suicide among young Native men. Confronted with the 

dramatic cultural changes occurring in their villages, the limited economic opportunities they 

see for themselves to become providers, and their sense of displacement by their young 

female counterparts who do fifld continuity ill their respective roles as mother, household 

manager, and office worker, they take their own lives out of despair and/or absence of hope. 

This high rate of suicide among young Native males is a particularly distressing indicator for 

It reveals not only a loss of the hope but also a low self esteem for potentially half of the 

future leadership of the Native community. The lou of young Native men directly 

undermines potential Native families, villages, and cultures. Furthennore, the succ:essful 

suicides are relatively small compared to the attempted suicides and to the personal abuse 

many young men subject themselves to, and tragieally, to the abuse they may, under the 

influence of alcohol, illt1iet upon their relatives and loved ones. The very real problema of 

inadequate saaitation syst.ema throughout many vniages in Alaska II also a significant 

problem undermillillg important dimensiou of publlo health. But even the ablence of these 

everyday basic services pale In their comparisons to the more troubling developments amoag 

the Native youth and their deep sense of despair. 
86 

8 

Despite these serious perslsteut problema, then~ are a number of promiaiDJ pi'Oipec:ta to 

cope with these problems and opportllllitiea to t•uild on the progreu made. 'lbe theme of 

the Aluka Natives' Commiuion report, "healing, harmony, and hope, • reveal that the Native 

commUD.ity itself has elected to focus on the spiritual and cultural climelllion1 of these 

problems. They recognize and feel the los of their soeial and cultural integrity and are 

committiug themselves to a plan of empowerment and cultural integrity u foc:al points of 

their initiatives. Expanding opportunities for Alusta Native villagu to share with a~te and 

federal entities a concurrent jurisdiction as Nativci groupa on a variety of aodal jurildictional 

issues could be an important advancement In Ibis concept of empowerment. Slmllarly, 

sharing in the management responsibilities of uarioua subsistence and natural resourua 

could also be empoweriDJ. 

A second area, and one that I personally have a areat deal of interest in, is in improving the 

education of Aluka Natives. 'lbe research is fairly clear that the early educational 

interventions are among the moat succaaful. Thclrefore, I encouraae the expauion of early 

infant and early childhood education progr111111 in Alaska Native communitiea. 1'hele 

proarams can be a vital auamentation to regulaJ K-12 propama. 

At the UD!Yenity ~Alaska laqe numbeD of ow: Alaska Native atudeutl come out of hip 

school interested in pll!'SUiDg a JIOil·secondaty education but are under prepared to take on 

college level work. Despite summer orieatatiou propams ba which atudentl are illtroduced 

to c:olleJe life, larp numbeD of hip school stwleD11 from rural schools (u well u 1010e 
87 

!I 

from the urbu echools) oeed upificaat pre-college IChooUDg. Tbele atudentl would 

benefit from a thirteenth year of pubHc ICbooUng during whicb these defic:ienciea could be 

remecliaWI. An additional year of formal school tra1DlDg prior to wdertakiDa coUege level 

course work would provide atudentl the oppOrtuaJty to prepare themselves to take full 

advantag6 of the educational opportuDitiea at the post-secondary level but without incu.rrblg 

aubltutial debt in order to do eo. Far too many ltUdentl are incurrina lllbatandal debt 

taking essentially pre-college oounea. 

A well educated and trained adult population Js, in my view, the ai.Dgle, moat succ:eaful, 

lona-term strategy that will advuc:c the economic welfare of any group of people or counuy. 

I atrongly encourage the committee to coasider supplemental education PI'OJI'*IIII aa a 

promising source of pubHc interventiOA to strengthen and empower Alaska Nativea. 

FIDally, a third area of prospective benefit to the loq-term welfare of the Aluka Native 

people ia full recognition of the Alaska Native cultures themselves. The importuce of 

continued access to the subsistence resources on which they rely, the recognition of their 

cultural beritaae ud the lanauaaea they speak, the authority to participate in the 

adjudication of disputes, and the formulation of rulea of aoc:ial conduct, are all measures that 

would advance the Alaaka Natives' Commission call for u empowerment of Native people 

and the restoration of the integrity their rich cultures deserve. 
88 

10 

Mr. Chainaao.J thaot you tor 1hla opportualty tl> prcaeDt my view~. I would be pleued to 

reapoad to quelltiODS you or aay committee nwnber may llave or to pnMde further 

documeDtation in support of tile obeervatiODS I bave made ill thae abblftiatAid remarb. 

I commend you mel the committee for earcisiD& thJa ovenipt of the federal pei'DIDCDt'l 

•pecial relatiooshipa witll itl Native Americu ptiOple. 
89 

Testimony of Harold Napoleon before the joint Congressional Oversight Hearing on the 

Findings of the Alaska Natives Commission; November 16, 1995; Washington DC 

Congressman Young, Senator Murkowski, Senator McCain and honorable 

members of the Committee; For the record, my name is Harold Napoleon, a Yupiq 

Eskimo from the Bering Sea village of Hooper Bay. I am testifying today in my capacity 

as coordinator for the Alaska Native Reawakening Project, an AFN initiative designed 

by Alaska Natives to bring about a social/cultural renewal. It is a privilege and an honor 

to be able to speak to you today . 

..•......................•............................... 

The period from 1900 to 1960 was a time of great change for Alaska's Native 

people. The catalysts for this change came from the outside: disease,' christianization, 

assimilation, the introduction of western technology, and the transition from a 

subsistence economy to one partly based on cash. It was a period of steady 

encroachment by non-Natives, a time of tightening federal control over lands and 

resources once used exclusively by Alaska Natives. 

The agent of change with the greatest impact was disease, the most 

cataclysmic being the influenza epidemics of 1900 and 1918 when 6 out of every 10 

Alaska Natives died and many small villages ceased to exist. Lost to these natural 

disasters were leaders, medicine men, artists, historians; the human bonds which had 

kept their people together for thousands of years. 

In that same period of time, the campaign by mainline churches and the US 

government to Christianize and assimilate Alaska Natives intensified. Under the 

leadership of the Rev. Sheldon Jackson, who considered Alaska Natives an almost 

'extinct' race of "barbarians and savages" who lived near the "bottom of the scale of 

human existence," the American Federation of Churches, in 1880, had divided Alaska 

Native tribes amongst themselves so as to prevent undue competition in the harvesting 

of new souls for their churches. 

1 
90 

Initially unsuccessful, the churches affected wholesale "conversions" in the 

wake of the epidemics of 1900 and 1918 whon the Native's faith in their spiritual belief 

systems waivered. Resistance to Christianity crumbled In the face of mass death, and 

with It all that had anchored Alaska Native e~istence for thousands of years. 

In the village, the surviving culture-beurers, the medicine men, having failed to 

affect a cure for the sickness, saw their inflllence waning. Many became objects of 

ridicule, and were persecuted by the missionaries and school teachers till they 

receded in silence into history. Others oecame Christian converts and were 

instrumental in the mass conversion of their people. 

Thousands of children had been orphaned by the epidemics, and of these, 

hundreds ended up in government-funded, church-run orphanages where the ties 

between them and their cultures were severe•:!. In time, the children and grandchildren 

of these orphans and other survivors would be taken from their families and sent 

thousands of miles away to schools as far away as Oklahoma, New Mexico, and 

Pennsylvania. 

The stated plan of the government for these generations of Alaska Natives was 

to 'cure them' of their 'improvident habits; to make white men of them; and to 

discourage them from returning to the village. 

In many villages, the missionary and the government school teachers filled the 

vacuum of leadership left by mass death and the departure of the medicine men. 

Taking control, they ruled by decree, ordering a halt to cultural activities which they 

considered demonic, and mandating childrt3n's attendance in school where the 

process of assimilation became institutionalizad. 

Weakened and demoralized, the survh1ors did not resist but silently acceded to 

the wishes of the missionaries and school teachers. Indicative of their frame of mind 

was their inaction when some school teache'S washed the mouths of their children for 

speaking their mother tongue; did nothing ev•3n when their children were shamed for 

being who they were." 

Powerless to control the scope or the pace of change Alaska Natives became 

bystanders as non-Natives from the United Slates and around the world, 'settled' and 

'developed' their homelands, now the Territory of Alaska. Tribes lost ancestral lands to 

2 
91 

a distant government which did not bother to inform, much less consult with them, 

even when it "withdrew" the very lands from under their feet. 

Till the 1960's, Alaska Natives were, for the most part, passive participants as 

others from distant lands changed their lives forever; things were done to them, things 

were done for them, things were decided for them. By 1960, all that remained of their 

old world was the land they lived on, some of their languages, some of their songs 

and dances, and the fish and game which fed them. The rest of their old worlds; 

their independence, their cultures, social institutions, spiritual beliefs, their hard 

earned knowledge, had faded into history. 

No longer anchored by their cultures and social institutions many villages, 

families, and individuals became lost, and like driftwood were carried by the currents 

of change further and further away from themselves. 

The guilt and shame born of trauma and mass death, aggravated by religious 

and cultural persecution, poverty and dependency, would turn to silent selfcondemnation; powerlessness and failure in the new world, to frustration, anger, and 

resentment. And being removed further and further; in time, distance, and 

understanding from the source of their demise, they would come to blame themselves 

for their condition, and turn on themselves and those closest to them. 

In a period of sixty years, Alaska Natives had become a subject people, aliens 

in their own lands. By 1960, social, cultural, and economic conditions for many Native 

tribes had deteriorated; just staying alive took most ot their time with little left for 

addressing the dangers inherent in their decaying societies 

Respite finally came with President Johnson's declaration of war on poverty 

when the pressure just to stay alive was relieved by food stamps and other programs 

for the poor. For the first time, Alaska Natives were given a moment to reflect. What 

came to them was devastating; like hollowed out logs, they found themselves still 

standing upright on the ground, but with their roots severed, they had no life left; 

spiritually, they were numb. 

Since then, Alaska Natives have been experiencing an epidemic whose deadly 

symptoms include alcohol abuse, violence, and untimely death. The first Natives to 

show these symptoms were today's elders, the children of the survivors of the 

3 

21-794 - 96 - 4 
92 

epidemics who began self-medicating with alcohol. Men who had been leaders of their 

villages, and who had never drank before, took to the bottle. By 1970 plane loads of 

alcohol were being freighted into many villa!~es, and a new round of suffering and 

trauma began ; but this time, it was self-inflicted. 

The exact number of lives lost in the last 30 years of social and cultural turmoil 

is unknown; but in a ten year period from the f!arly 1980's to 1991, almost 

2,000 Alaska Natives died violent deaths. Natives suffer the highest rates of homicide 

and suicide in the nation; they also lead the nation in incidences of domestic violence, 

sexual abuse, and a litany of other social ills. 

While it is possible to quantify the fatalities in this present epidemic, the 

imprisoned, and the numbers of unemployed, it is impossible to gauge the long term 

effects this trauma is having on the will of the people, especially the children. Every 

village, every family, has been affected. 

Some statistics from the Institute of Social Economic Research: 

Children are not learning in school: 60% of Native students entering urban 

Alaska high schools do not graduate; 12-15% of Native students attending 

village high schools drop out; 30% of elementary students, 40% of High 

school students attending village schools perform below grade level; Native 

ACT scores are 40% lower than non-Native scores 

- Rates for FAS among Natives is twice the national average 

- In 1988 30% of all child abuse/neglel:tlinjury cases reported to the 

state Division of Family and Youth Services were Alaska Native 

- In 1988, 1 of every 11 Native children recieved child protection services 

- Between 1964-1989 Native suicide rate increased 500% 

- 1980-1989, every ten days an Alaska Native committed suicide 

- 1/2 of all Native suicides are youth bt.~tween the ages of 15-24 

- 86% if suicides are Alaska Native males 

- 59% of Alaska's violent-crime inmatt~s are Alaska Natives, 99% are there 

for crimes committed under the influgnce of alcohol 

- In 1992 about 27% of all Native males, ages 14-17 were referred to the 

state juvenile intake system; one of every eight Native males, ages 

14-17 spent time in juvenile detention; 

- Birth rate to Native girls, ages 15-19 is 2.5 times the national average 

4 
93 

Statistics show that the age of chemical and inhalant abusers is falling, as is the 

age of suicides. There has been a sharp rise In teenage pregnancies resulting In a new 

generation of fatherless children. And like refugees fleeing a war zone or famine, 

many young Alaska Native families are moving away from the village to the cities. A 

growing number of women are leaving their husbands in the village and moving with 

their children to cities like Anchorage. 

Unfortunately, many of these Native migrants to Alaska's larger communities do 

not find safe havens, but are plunged into new levels of poverty, alcohol abuse, 

violence, discrimination, and all too often, death by homicide, alcoholism, and 

exposure. Their children do not fare better there either; 60% of Alaska Native youth 

drop of high schools in the municipality of Anchorage alone. 

The present epidemic is symptomatic of a people who have lost their cultures, 

who have lost touch with each other, and whose social institutions have collapsed. 

Caught In a period of rapid transition, untethered to either their Native cultures or the 

Anglo/Saxon one, many have become floaters, literally lost between two worlds. The 

victims are the ones who have fallen through the cracks where there are no cultural or 

social 'safety nets' in place to break their fall. Still others have become entangled in the 

'safety nets' of anti-poverty programs and have become prisoners of dependency. 

Alaska Natives, because of the rapidity of the changes they have had to live 

through, have not yet made the necessary adjustments to the new realities with which 

they are faced. Well-meaning churches and educational systems have tried to 'remake' 

them into white, anglo/saxon Americans, and in this way have tried to make them 'fit;" 

but Natives being natives, have been unable to accomplish this impossible and 

ultimately self-destructive feat. 

In order to see a reversal of the present epidemic of alcohol abuse and related 

violence, there has to be a concerted effort on the part of government and the Alaska 

Native community to address the cultural, social, psychological and economic 

problems that are the root causes of the abuse. 

Unless necessary reforms are made by the Native community and government 

the already tragic situation will only continue to deteriorate. A case in point: unless 

5 
94 

things change, it is projected by the University of Alaska that out 

of 100 15 year old Native boys alive today, 22 will have died 

violent deaths before the age of 60. 

Agreeing fully with the Natives Coamission, AFN in October, 

1994, sponsored a conference for village leaders entitled "Taking 

Community Responsibility." The conference was organized, not to talk 

about problems, but to identify concrete steps village governments can take to end the needless sufferin; and dying in their 

communities. 

Although the impact of such a me ting was not readily apparent, 

it did signal a change of historic proportions; for the first time, 

Alaska Natives had looked to themselvas for solutions. In other 

words, they had assumed the responsibility of healing and rebuilding 

their communitiesd, not the BIA, not ·the CIA, not the SFTPCTA, nor even the nearest state social worker. 

The other AFN initiative, the Al.>.ska Native Reawakening 

Project, has taken years to develop a~d has the support of the 

medical community. It addresses the untreated spiritual and 

pyschological wounds left by the trawua of mass death, relegious 

persecution, forced acculturation, bigoty, discrimination, and 

poverty. But while this initiative of.fers the best avenue for 

healing it is going to take many year:• to complete because of the 

scarcity of monetary resources availru>le to the Native Community. 

I will close by echoing the writors of the Natives commission 

Report; that unless a comprehensive approach dealing with the 

problems of Alaska Natives by governm•mt and Natives alike is 

institued, the problems facing us can only get worse. 
95 

TESTIMONY OF 

JULIE KITKA, PRESIDENT. AlASKA FEDERATION OF NATIVES 

NOVEMBER 1 B. 1995- BEFORE THE FOLLOWING COMMITTEES: 

United States HoUIMI R .. ources Committee 

United States Senate and Natural Resources Committee 

/ 

Unhed States Senate lnclan Affairs Committee 

ON THE 

ALASKA NATIVES COMMISSION REPORT and 

SECTION 29 AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR AND 

THE Al.. YESKA PIPELINE SERVICE COMPANY 
96 

For the record, my name ia Julie Kltka. and I atn testifying today in my 

capacity as President of the Alaaka Federation of Natives. 

The thrae-volume Report of the AIIUika Native$ Commlaaion, published In May o1 

1994, Is a critically important docunwnt In the history of modem Aluka. To my 

knowledge, this is the first time that a major public atudy of Native lsaues haa 

been written by ~tlv-, for Natlvee, to N.UV.. If it8 central meeaage Is 

taken to heart by my own paople, as well as by the state and federal 

governments, the Report will have a significant effect on our social well-being, 

our sconomie condition and our political statue. 

As you, the three Chairmen and Members know, the Alaska Natives Commission 

began to take shape In 1989, when AFN, In cooperation With the Umttrslty of 

Alaska's Institute for Social and Eeonolric Research, publlahed a landmari( 

"Report on the Status of Alaska Natives: A Cal: for Action: That study was one 

of several pubUcallons of the period - including the Anchorage Dally News 

Pulitzer Prize-winning sari-. "A People in Peril"- which dealt with the 

deteriorating condition of Native families and ().)nlmunltles. 

But the AFN Report was the first to attempt a e,omprehenliye deiCriptlon of 

what hu been happening to Native people, covering a wide range ot socio· 

economic data In Just 78 pages. It concluded that, ciesplta significant 

Improvements In physical health, educational opportunlti88, standards of living, 
97 

and acceaa to government services In recent years, most Native viDagn are 

caught in a pervaalve soctal and economic crllla • as revealed by abnormally 

high statistics of personal and community breakdown. The cunuraJ changaa 

that we have experienced In thla century have been so rapid and eo profound 

that many of our people have bean owrwhelmad, llolated and lost. Our 

opportunities for advancement In the mainstream a.llture are aaverely limited, 

and moat Natlvea remain poor :Jy any American standard. And, on top of all the 

cultural and economic problems, there Ia the undeniable fact that a 11gnlftcant 

minority ot our people is being systematically destroyed by alcohol and other 

drug& • and by the violent behavior that chemical abuse uniNShea within Native 

families. 

The AFN Report caught the attention of the Congress. When Native leaders 

were asked for follow-up reccmmendatlon'a by our Congr811ional Oeltgatlon and 

by Senator Inouye, then Chairman of the Senate Committee on lndiBn Affairs, 

we pointed out that the AFN Report had merely scratched the aurface. No 

comprehensive ltiJdy of Alaska Nlltivas had bean conducted by the United 

Stat&$ in over 20 yealli, and we felt that an in-depth policy analysis should be 

done, providing ctear recommendations to the Congreee, the President. the 

Alaska Lllglalatura. the Governor and the Native community. 

On July 20, Hl8i, Senator Murkoweki and Congre88man Young introduced a bUI 

creating a public commission of14 members, half to be dalignated by the 

President and half by the Governor, jointly funded by the state and tederal 

2 
98 

govemmanta. The bift pueed both houses of Congreee and was signed into 

taw by President Bush on August 18, 1150. White Houn and gubernatorial 

nominations took up another 18 months, but at last the Alaska Natives 

Commiaion held Ita inaugural meeting in Washington, D.C. in February, 1992. 

During the next 27 months this group worked ti...teealy, and Its debl!tes over 

policy recommendations were pa~~~lonate and complex. What emerged from 

the process wu the three-volume Report, which was formally conveyed to the 

Congress, the Pre~ldent, the Alaska Legllllature and the Governor. i call your 

attention to Volume I, which provldea an overview of the lndinga 

and recommendations, by eevan categories of ISSJttS: sodal problems and 

services, employment and Income, law enforcement and justice. education, 

health, aubaittence and trtbal governance. VOlume 11 presents the fUll narrative 

text and data of five ma;or studies conducted by the CCmmlstlon's talk forces: 

health, social and cultural problems, economic development, education and 

community self-determination. Finally, Volume Ill offers poli~ analyses of two 

critlcattasues now confronting us all: aubaiance hunting and fishing and tribal 

government In the villages. 

I spoke earlier of the Report's central them a, which is so important for the reader 

to grasp. One can spend weeks analyzing the 11atlatlca and policy 

recommendations; but what realty matt8f818 the Commission's overall picture of 

of modam Na1lve lift and the historical force~ that have produced it. Please 

listen to the stark language of the Report: 

3 
99 

'Whatever words are chosen to depict the situation of Alaska's Native 

people, ther& can be 11tt1t doubt thlf an entire population Ia at rlak. .. of 

bllng permanently Imprisoned in America's undtrcl-. mired ln. .. physical 

and aplrltual povtrty; ... of leading lives, generation to generation, 

charactar1zad by violence, alcohOl abulll and cycl .. of personal and 

aocill dalltructlon: ... ot losing, Irretrievably, the cultural 

strengthe ... euentlal for the building of a new and wt~rlalbla social and 

economic order; ... of permanently la.tng the capacity to 11111-govem, ... to 

mike conelctered and appropriate decisions about how life In Native 

communities should be lived." 

But why? How Ia It that Native people, non·Natlve Alaskana and a host of 

fad9ral and state inltlMiona - with all of the laws, and programe, and effort, and 

money that have been put Into buSh AIUka during the put fw decadea • have 

come to such a tragic result? 

The great virtue of the Natives Commission Report is that It has the courage ta 

put its finger on the basic causal factor: the hlatorlcel evolution of a self• 

destructive culture ot dependency and poweriH8M88 that Ia killing our 

people and destroying our communities. Everything else comes back to 

that • all of tha drinking, the suicides, the violent crime and Incarceration, the 

educational deficits, the economic stagnation, the paychological depression, the 

family dylfUnctionallty, and the breakdown of poHtlcal control at thtl community 

level. 

The historical proC888 by which we Nlltlve people loat control of, and 

responsibility for, our own families and communities was a mixture of abdlcatlcn 

by us and uaurpation oy aevaral generations of mlsalonarlea, teachers, 

government officials and other caregivers. Much of It hu occurred In the put 

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quarter-century, during wt1k:h a flood of non-Native laws, Institutions, public 

works and human sarvi~ programs has inundated our \lillages. 

Moat such "developmems• ware gjdn to us by distant public deciaions, rather 

than emerging from our own cholcea about what we needed. Polley makars 

and agency personnel were so dlltermined to help us as lndMduala that they ran 

right over us as communlllea, using their echooh, courts. hospitale and ell the 

other instruments of government to taka care of us. spending little time or effort 

reinforcing our IMata capec:itiee to take care of tlUI!Ielves. 

It was all done with the best of Intentions - to Improve health, to lengthen life 

expectancy, to reReva suflaring, to educate chlle'ren, to ralae standards of living. 

But the WI¥ In which it was done hall been a disaatar. Tile net ,...ult Ia that, 

despite many sub5tantive benefits received, a whole generation of Native people 

has grown up dependant on public aervic:es, auteicliet!l and external control: and 

It Is this culture of non-rnponeibllity and powerh•nea that undenlee the 

findings of the Commia&ion. 

This Report leads Irresistibly to a amch.lllion that some people are not going to 

like but that cannot be avaidld eny longer: We, • Alllska Nallv•, allowed 

thll to twppen. Mdeo It wllltop only when we atap lt. No amOYnt of 

eX1emally designed laws, protua~onal aervi~ l)r publiC mo~ will begin to tum 

around the present a1s1s until we takll back authority and responsibility for our 

own wei-being. We have to do that • incivk:MIIs who atop drinldng, aa 

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parents who take charge or our children's health and education, ae "Ifsupporting familiae that taka prlda In productive labor, and u communities that 

make humane public dec:lelons for the governance of our own peopl8. The 

proper role of the atatt and federal govemmenta Is not only to ~ that effort, 

but to armlllt. 

The great tuk now facing Natlvea Is to change our own aelf-defeatlng attitudes 

and behaviors - at the same time that we are ohanglng the actlone of a nonNative public culture which has ayatematieally turned us Into aome of the moat 

managed people on earth. The central measage Of the Commlaalon'a Report -

one in which Natlvea are talking to Natives - Is that the answer raeta within 14-

that we must have the courage to break the culture or dependency ancl to 

reassert control and responsibility over our own Jives and our own communities. 

I need to add a word of caution: It I& relatively easy for anyone to lall5 about 

such a massive shift of control and accountability; but actually cloing it ia 

Incredibly cifficult - because the people who gave up the power have come to 

doubt their own ability to exercise It - and because the people who took it, 

especially becau!e they did so with good intentions. will desperately resist giving 

It back. But there is no alternative. The condition of cur people hu come to 

such a point that the entire rsl~tionahlp muat change. If it dON not, then the 

deterioration of Alaska's villages will proceed apace, and Native people will 

continue to suffer and to die In numbers. and from causes, that constitute a 

national disgrace. 

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Becausa the Report of the Alaska Natives Commission is 444 pages long, 

bacauae it oovars such a wide range of ieeue ca1egoriea, and because it 

contains 34 main policy recommendations ancf 76 adcltional 111C0mmendatione 

on specific laws and programs, where do wa hegln any effort to change the 

present situation? I suggest to the respective Chairmen and Committee 

Members, a couple of practical ground nJes. 

First, let us recognize the lmpcconnactedoeg of the problems analyzed here. 

We all tend to organize complex lssu88 into all&tract categories of discussion -

like economics, or health, or justice, or sccial ~ervices, or education - as If th~JSe 

somehow existed In !sclallon from one anotner and could be dealt with 

separately. But real life cannot be divided up that conveniently. The Report, 

for example, speaks to the interrelationship o1 culture, economics, education, 

health, and social pathotogiaa: 

'Reversal of the cultural and social decay In whlch Natives are enmeshed 

seems impouible without improwment In their economic alndition. 

Individuals who believe thamselvN doc)med to an unending future of 

economic dependency are In such payc:hological despair that little energy 

is left fOr understanding and valuing their heritage." 

BUT: "Improvement In their economic concition seems unlikely 

wlthout ... an eduoalional system that works ... Children and young adults 

who are deprived of self-respect by a culturally alien school system and 

then sent into soclllly u functional illiterates without marketable skllla 

cannot improve their economic etatua.' 

BUT: "An education system that worto~ for Alaska Natives seems out of 

reach eo long as pubUc health problems, family dysfunction, and alcohol 

and sexual abuse are prevalent. Children IIUffertng trcm chronic 

cliseases brought on by exposure to rRII sewage or Fetal Alcohol 

Syndrome. children from famifies in which one or both parents are absent 

or abusive, af'd children who must live in communities In which the 

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aotiety ... haa failed, are ill-equipped tc auocead in school. even If school Is 

reformed to accommodate ways ofleamlng particular to ... Natlve cultures. • 

In &hort, no single factor has produced the contemporary Native crisis. It Is 

a composite of interrelated causes; and there is no magic thread one can pull on 

to unravel the knot. If we are going to have any beneficial effect, we must do 

several things simultaneously. 

A second ground rule we should follow Is that, despite these interrelallonships, 

we cannot do everything at once. Given the limits of money and human 

energy, an effeotlve effort to restore responslbHity and authority In the 

Native community has to start somewhere and go somewhere. It must take 

hold of a few good ldeu and work very hard to Implement them, building a track 

record and a knowledge base on which larger efforts can be planned In the 

future. Those Items on which we do begin must be carefully chOMn for their 

capacity to motivate and their ability to improve the lives of ordinary people. 

I recommend that the Native community, the ted.,.l govemment and the 

State addr ... the central theme of the NltlvM comml11lon'e ReportenCIIng the culture of dependency - by mMntl of thrM priority IISUM: 

-reduction of chemlcallbull and Itt soolal consequences, 

-development of Jobs and Income for Ndv-. and 

-devolution Of apeclflc govemmental functions to vlllagea. 

Measra. Chairmen. I will first take up the issue of chemical abuse by telling you 

that alcohol and drugs constitute a public health epidemic which ia the greatest 

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single danger to the survival of Alaska Natives. They are fiterally dllstroylng our 

people. The Na11ves Commission pointe out at the primary causes of death 

and Illness among comemporary Nativea are bt1havioral and preventable; and 

the worst of these, by far, Is sublrlanca abuse. As human beings, we have a 

moral obligation to stop the dying. Moreover. we recognize that no program of 

economic development or governmental refom1 will be aceompliehed In rural 

Alaska until people stop drinking and using dru ~S. All the jobs ln the world will 

produce nothing if individual Natives can't keep them - and no affective village 

government can be run by people whose own livaa are disfigured by addiction 

and anti-social behavior. 

I propose that the Native oommunHy, the United States and the State of Alaska 

join together In making the reduction of chemical abuse a top priority for our 

limited public resources. I sugg9Gt that we admit that we are In a dangerous 

historical crisis - and that we act accordingly. SUch a commitment will require 

large amounts of public funclng • not out of ne., resources, which will not be 

forthcoming, but transferred from other areas ot the budget which, however 

desirable, are not as critical. I further propoSE.! that the Native community and 

the state and federal governments evaluate thi etf8C!tvaneu of programs and 

laws addressing alcohol and drug abuse in villt~gt~ Alaska • and that we have the 

courage to strengthen inadequate laws and to drop ineffective programs. 

transferring their funding into efforts that proci.lce reet.~lts. 

Any majOr public commitment to reduce chemical abuse in bush Alaska must 

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appeal to two level8 ot r•ponslbiNty: the indMdual and the community. We 

start with the Individual becauae only the lndlvic1Jal can cho068 between 

intoxication and sobriety. When an individual s1ope dttnking, he or ehe 

Invariably comes to that choice alone. The peraonal re;ponalblllty cannot be 

avoided. But It can be aided. Other ~ople can help that pa...,n make that 

choice and can provide the therapeutic expertise and the personal support to 

help him or her malmaln sobriety. This requires effective programs of 

prevention and educaUon, crisis intarvantion, in-patient treatment, counseling 

and support. Just ee the put few decades have produced a proftMional cadre 

of village health aidee, complete with training and certlflca11on, we must now 

create a village-baled profeulon of counseling for mental health and chemical 

abuse. In order to be succeeeful, any program of pei'8Qnal and family healing 

must be dulgned and operat8d by the village itself. The money will have to 

come from elsewhere, whether funded directly to the village or to a village 

consortium. but the program must belong to the community. To the extent that 

It is externally planned and bureaucra11cally controlled, It win fail. 

Beyond programmatic intervention, communities have a general reaponalbllity for 

the safety and well-being of their residents. Therefore, any village which haa 

the political courage to protect Itt people from alcohol and other mugs must 

have the legal power to make It stick • and it Is the responsibility of the state and 

federal governments to make such laws available and to http enforce them. 

The Alaska Natlvee Commisalcn points cut the inadequaci .. of subetance 

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control In moat villages and calla for a "broad expansion of regulatory and judicial 

authority" under the aegis at fadarallaw and tribal councils and couns. 

I propose that the Natlva community and the state and federal govemmams 

conduct a thorough review of the efledlveneee c.t substance control procedures 

In the vtnag• and that tawa ba enacted which will allow any Native village that 

so desires to follow a policy of "z8ro totarance· toward the Importation, sale or 

posaeaelon of alcohol or any licit drtig within l1a geographical Jurisdiction. I 

urge thlll thla policy allow the vllagas suctl meawrea as personal searches upon 

entry. confiscation and destructiOn at contrabaneiaubatancea, felony prosecution 

and serious pynlshments for bootlegging or drug dealing, and protective custody 

of intoxicated persons. H the Alaska Leglalaluna ia unable or unwillng to enact 

and enforce such laws, the United S1las should exarcl18 itll trust obligation 

toward Native Americana and Ita powers at lncian liquor control to perform the 

function. To thoea who would object that thlala a violation at constitutional 

rtghts or of state prerogatiVII in the fldtral syst&m, 1 answer that this ia a crl8ia 

of human lives - at beaten women, sexually abused children and dead man. 

If you and I are willing to allow such a situation to eontlnue, then It Is we who 

have succumbed to the culture of irresponsibaity. We must atop the dylna. 

The aacond ma;or i88ue on which l111.1ggeat we begin Ia the creation of job 

opportunltiN and cuh Incomes tor a large, unemployed Native wotk terce. 

economics is the most fundamental determinant of community well-being. It is 

not the .1UJ1x factor. IU nothing il11l0rtant or pennanant can happen without it. 

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All the 1obri8ty, political control, social services end cultural preservation In the 

world will not suffice If people cannot provide for their own families through 

productive labor. It is astounding how well human beings taka care of 

themselv• when they have the opportunity; but without a base of self-sustaining 

economic activity, no place can thrive. 

We should begin by admitting that the current employment plct\Jre in the 

remote bush II poor. The cash economies of moe1 viRages located north 

and W8lt of Anchorage remain artificial dependencies of government The one 

sector that has always been self-sustaining 11 aubsiatence; and It Ill now under 

concerted political assault from competing urban resource users. Rural Natives 

have become COI'l8Ymers In the national economy and need cash income. The 

few jobS that tto exist in the villages tend to be pubHc aervioes that are aupported 

by massive external appropriations and are often held by transient or resident 

non-Natives. low levels of education and skills, combined with Institutional bias 

in hiring and aupervlalon, keep most of the Native work force chronically 

unemployed or underemployed. Many Native families have come to depend on 

public transfer payments to meet high costs of living. Lack of work, inoome and 

881f·reepect Is an important C8Uial factor In the epidemic of social problems 

afflicting Native falniliH. The muslve public spending of the 1aat 30 years, on 

which much of the rural cash economy depends, II leveling off and about to 

decline. A large population of Native children and adolescents is now coming 

up through the achoola; and neither their parents, their teachers nor the kids 

themse~vet have any clear plans for their economic careers. 

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It is tha sheer size of the employment need that Is so ominous for Alaska's 

future. In 1970, the aatlmated Nartve work fo1·ce of 16 years and older 

numbered 28,726 people. During the next decade It grew to atmoat 41.000. 

By 1990, It had reached nearly 55,000; and by the end of the century It will 

include more than 75,000 people. That Is a lot jobs. 

Every governor of Alaska since statehOOd hu t::ome to office promising to 

develop the rural economy and Increase job opportunities, and many of them 

have worked hard to do so. The combination of enormous distances, 

high costa of transportation, a sparae popullltlo1,, limited markets, and lack of 

education and skills are Intrinsic limits on what 1~ovemment and the private 

secttlr can do. Occasionally, a major resourtltl OPJJOrtunlty ·such as Prudhoe 

Bay and its effect on the North Slope Borough, or the Red Dog mine and itl jobs 

for NANA shareholders ·will occur. But In the absenc:e of such sporadic 

events, what is left tel the remote bush Is sublistence, tiny commercial fisheriea, 

a few public service jobs, and welfare. This ec~nomlc reality will be dlfftcult to 

change, and if we really want tc hillp families tal<8 care of thamaetves, we mUit 

get realistic and Imaginative. 

Here are five pradlcalldeaa articulated by the Alaaka Natival ComlftiSion: 

First and fot9most, the auballt&nce economy ot the vlllagea mWil not ba (')roded 

by reducing the protections of state or federal law. If the larger poHttcal system 

were ever tc pull that plug on the bush. most Native villages would be doomed· 

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with all tha SOCial and economic COSts of their gradual deteriorauon and out· 

migration falling on the rest of us. Subsistence remains the largest single 

employer In the villages, accounting for more self-sustaining labor and personal 

pride than anything else. If what public policy really wants Is that Native people 

take care of themselves, It wtll move heaven and earth to support viUage 

economies of hunting and fishing. As the Natives Commission points out, the 

impasse between federal and atata subsistence taws Ia not an issue of resource 

management; it i& social policy on a grand scale ·and what is at staks In l1s 

resolution Is the continuing existence of the villagee themselves. 

Next, we should do everything possible to ensure that those jobs which do exist 

In the viftages are held by local people rather than by imported labor - which Is 

essentially a colonial modsl. The largest number of cash jobs Is in the schools. 

with other pubfic servlcee also providing many opportunities. Every public 

agency operating in bush Alaska and avery public works construction firm 

should have a plan for training the local work force and for achieving specific 

percentages of local hire by specific dates. The institutional goal of the current, 

imported labor force should be to work itself out of a job. The Natives 

Commlnion further recommends that all public serviC86 and works be 

contracted by state and f1Kierat agenclea to village and regional operators and 

that every federal agency under P .L. 93-838 have Native hire requirements 

similar to those In the BIA and IHS. 

Let us not kid ourselves about the difficulties we wm encounter in shifting rural 

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Alaska's currant employment economy Into local nancts. It wtllrvqulre great 

effort and re10urces in t~nlng, human skill development and supervision • and it 

will be stn~nuously resisted. But to the extent that public aarvice programs tor 

the villages continue to be staffed by non-Natlva Imports, 88rvlces wiH continue 

to be culturally Ineffective, communities will cor,tlnue to depend on others. and 

the local work force will continue to alt. There are a lot of public sector Jobs out 

there, full- and part-time, which need to change hancla. Instead of dreaming 

about new davalopmenta, we should concentrate on what Ia there. 

Here is another practlcalldeL The Natives Cclmmlulon recommends 

that we learn from and expand the example of the Communhy Development 

Quota program. This afton, through which mora than so Western Alaska 

villages share in the royalties of the Bering Sea pollock fiSheries, is a modal for 

other extractive Industries. Through It, the wo1ld'a economy ia sharing a small 

percent of what It takas out of rural Alaska with \:he people who live there • and -

that small portion Is creating a lot of benefits, lnc~udlng local employment and 

training In the villagaa. Again, we must make more creative use of what 

presently exllb In rural Alaska. 

Another model which we should apply to new ch'CUmetancee is the village 

flretlghtlng Industry. Every year, It enables hundredl of Native people to bring 

back millions of dollars In wages that have been earned a long way from home. 

Given climatic changes. ftreflghtlng may prove to be a growth sector; and the 

village crawa have become a stable labor baH for this "Specialty" Industry. 

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In addition to prwidlng good wages for very hard work, flreftghting provides 

personal and community pride. 

What this model points up Is that our discussion of rural employment Ia almost 

always confined to two alternatives: either we have to create thousands of new, 

full-time jobs right there In the villages, or else Natives are going to have to leave 

rural Alaska permanently. But there is nothing wrong with a middle-ground 

option of seasonal, transient group labor outside the village. That, after all, is 

the model of the Red Dog mine; and It has also powered Alaska's fish 

processing Industries for decades. Moreover, the phenomenon is worldwide: 

many traditional areas have addressed their own unemployment by developing 

and exporting technical labor forces in specific industries. 

Again, I am urging realism and imagination. We must face the fact that, even 

with unlimited resources, we could not build a modern, full-time job economy 

within bush Alaska. To some extent, It Is going to be necessary for rural 

residents to pick up and go to the work, even on a temporary basis. The great 

tasks in this will be to train personnel in the required skills, to make seasonal 

worl< schadulee fit aubelstenoe hun1ing and fishing cycles back home, to 

organize the complex logistics, and to protect Natives from cheap-labor 

exploitation. 

Finally on the subject of economics, we must not only create employment 

opportunities. but we must break the corrupting hold of welfare dependency. 

Such programs as AFDC, for all their good Intentions, have supplanted men, 

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weakened fllmiDu and undermined the value <•1 work among recipients; and the 

Natives Oommllalon eloquently catalogues the resulting etide into inertia and 

deprMSion. Ita Report recommends that trlblll govammenta be reeponetble tor· 

designing and operating local "wortdare" progmms. 

Even with significant welf~~re reform coming ou! o1 Washington, D.C., various 

types of public assistance will continue to support some village residents for 

limited ptrlods of time. When received by at~e-bodled members of the adult 

work force, such transfers aralnmmla; they should be earned, not given. 

Certain people, due to age or disabling condltlcms, cannot ptrform such tasks: 

and support services, such u skill training and child care, will be required to 

ensure that the rest can do it. But that leaves a large group of recipients who 

can be required to work on community Improvements and services. 

Above all. such programs must be planned anclrun by the villages themselves. 

They know better than anyone else what they need; and they have the moral 

authority to requira it. To the extent that workfare Is perceived as a 

bureaucratic requirement imposed on the villase by distant laws, the adversarial 

resentmenta will make the program a sham. It can work only to the extent that 

the village Is willing to say to one of its own: •y,,u are a member of this 

community; and you owe this effort toll&." Tc• thosa who might object that such 

a requirement deprives the recipient of a legal entitlement, my response Is that 

Native societies are founded on relationships, tlbligatlone and shanng - and that 

the worst thing that can happen to any people tS to end up In a culture In which 

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they have nothing but rights. 

The third major Issue on whiCh we llhould begin our campaign against the 

culture of dependency is the devolution of governmental powers and 

I'SII')Onaibilitlea to Native communitlee. One of the most powertul causea of 

dependency, inertia and deterioration in modern villages has been the 

systematic ctsplacement of Native cultural authority ln.lall. Onca, long ago, 

law belonged to the Native peoplee of Alaska. It came out of them, not to them. 

But in today'a VIllages, law and government are mora often the lmpceltlon of 

someone else's prtorttlas, by someone else's methods. Swept aside by all 

thla beneficent interference, and doubting their own abilities to govern 

in the modem world, Native people have surrendered governance to alien 

processes and instltutlone. We are now the Atllll=a of law • the ones to whom It 

Ia applied • not the ILibim:ll who make and enforce it. So al course it Jacka the 

mcst critical attribute of any legal system: legitimacy. 

This simple tact hae been a motive force in the development of the tribal 

sovereignty movement among Alaska Natives during the past decade. Far 

from wanting to Ht up their own nations, the vat majority of Natives would be 

happy juat to make and enforce local laws and customs in an effective manner. 

Moreover, they are not particularly interested in legillatlng or adjudicating grave 

criminal or dvU mattera, most of which they would leave to state ancilar 1ederal 

authority. Whllt they do cere about are thou legal deciaiona that directly touch 

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their own lives: alcohol control and public safety; children and familiae; local 

property dlaputea; punishment and rehabilitation of community members who 

have committed offenses. They want to do these things themselves, to put the 

authority of their own cultures behind government, and to quit depttndlng on 

outaldera far every public funCIIon and choice. That. Mean. Chairman, Ia the 

one trait that Alaska Natives have In common with every citizen of this republic; 

and It Is why we can understand a lot of what is going on In Congrass theu 

days. The tribal governance movament Is our attempt to free ourselves from 

laws and bureaucratic controls which, however well-Intended, don't wortc. 

I propose that we proceed to work very hard on a limited number of 

practical, speclftc governmental functions whlct1 can and should be performed by 

village people themselves. If in one village, such roles can beat be assumed 

by municlpallnstitutiona, fine. If in another. tlibal institutions are preferred, eo 

be it. If both can share cooperative rclea, eo rr~uch the better. The point Is not 

the "how; it is the "What.· 

In this connection, let me list far you several feasible racommendations of the 

Natives Commission regarding those areas in which public decisions should 

devolve to village Institutions, with the eupport, ;raining and technical ueletance 

of the stata and fedaral governments: 

The first, mentioned already, Ia control of alcohol and Illicit drugs within villages. 

I repeat far emphasis: to the extent that state law will not permit municipal 

entitles to enforce a policy of •zero tolerance" bacause of political or 

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constftu11onallmpedlments, state law should be changed or replaced with federal 

statutes eftl)OWerlng tribal oounciiB to do eo. We must stop the dying. 

My ncond MJggeation ia domestic rela11ona. Native famiUes must ceue being 

social labon1toriee for non-Nattlle couna. bu1'81lUCf8das and private agenCies -

particularly as regards child welfare interventions, foster care and adoptions. 

Funding and technicalualatance should come from public aourcaa, but the 

village must take ruponslblllty for itS own Children. Wt have to become our 

own social workers and Judgea In this moat intimate aspect of community life. 

Third, the Natlvea Commia&ion recommends that villag• establish dispute 

resolution bodies - including tribal cour18, If dulred -to handle a broad variety of 

local infraction• and confronta11ona. Culturally approprlat8 m.cfiations and 

Judgments muat come from the community'• own leader8hip procel888, and they 

must be honored by other furllldlctlona. 

Fourth, the State of Aluka should enter Into a formal agrHment with each tn"bel 

council to ou111ne which cluaes of criminal infractlone shall be the domain of the 

tribal court and which wtll continue under the State. The State has considerable 

experience In negotiating ICWA ag11111ments with the tribes. VPSO's should be 

charged with enforcing tnbal ordinances, u well as state laws. 

Fifth, I recommend that tribes be made functioning p811S of the State's Justice 

and correctional syatems. To the extent thllt prosecution. conviction and 

punishment are exclusively external fundlons, the vi.age wiU continue to resent 

20 
llf) 

them, and they will continue to produce recidhiem. Let ua not be deterred by 

the failure Of one hlgh-proftle cue of tribal barllshment in Southeast Nuka. 

That instance did not work; but n was the right way to go. PuniShment and 

rehabDitatlon by ones own ia fat more effei:tlve than the intervention of alien 

institutions. 

Sixth, I reiterate my earlier recommendation that tribes be empowered by state 

and federal law. to dealgn and operate "Workfan" programs of community 

service In retum for pubHc support payments. Aa In all the other Idea Ulted 

here, our intent should be to Inject the community's culrural authority into what Is 

now a nameless, faceless system of foreign requirements which no one in the 

village respects. 

Thank you Measre. Chairmen for the opportunity to testify. The Alaska 

Federation of Natives looks forward to wortdng with you to resolve these 

concerns. 

Attachments: Special AFN Convention Resolutions (5) 

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Alaska Federation of Natives Convention 

_____ .Special ResolutionL___ ___ _ 

TITLE: REGAINING ECONOMIC SELF-SUFFICIENCY 

WHEREAS: despite decades of talk about rural economic development, the cash 

economies of most Native villages remain artificial dependencies of 

government; and 

WHEREAS: the one seH-sustaining village base is subsistence - a culture and economy now under political assault by non-subsistence user groups and 

powerful elements of the state government; and 

WHEREAS: our people have increasingly become consumers of goods and services from the national economy and media culture, requiring cash 

incomes equal to extraordinary high costs of living in the villages; and 

WHEREAS: there is a persistent lack of cash employment in all villages. and the few 

jobs that do exist often end up in the hands of transient or resident nonNatives; and 

WHEREAS: in such an economic environment, it is natural that many of our people 

should have come to rely on public weHare for their survival; and 

WHEREAS: because all people need productive labor and the satisfaction of supporting their families. this widespread dependency on money that is 

given to us as an entitlement, rather that paid to us for work. is a primary cause of personal breakdown, family erosion and community disorganization; and 

WHEREAS: many publicly funded projects are contracted to firms that bring in their 

workforces from outside the community, seriously undermining positive 

impacts to the local economies; and 

WHEREAS: state and federal agencies employ people from urban areas to staff 

positions in rural communities; and 

WHEREAS: no amount of social services. no program of cultural preservation, and 

no restructuring of village political institutions will produce stable Native 

eommunities until our people take back power to feed and clothe 

their families by their own ettorta; and 
118 

WHEREAS: we cannot simply wait for future projects to create new jobs in the villages - but must act immediately to convert the principal source of 

today's cash incomes into healthy activities that benefit individual 

recipients and the community as a whole; 

NOW THEREFORE BE rT RESOLVED that the delegates of the Convention of 

the Alaaka Fed•atlon of Natives urge all Native vlllagea and organizations to 

Implement local programa of mandatory "wortdare," on needed community 

Improvements and aervlces, for all able-bodied recipients of public tranafer 

payments, additionally providing child care and othw aupport aervtcea necessary to project aucceaa; and 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Convention urges appropriate state and federal institutions to enact laws and revise regulations clearing away legal impediments to 

the implementation of such local requirements and supporting the efforts of all 

Native communlttea that have the courage to break the dependency cycle. 

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED that the Convention urges maximization of local hire in 

our rural communities by requiring all federal and state agencies to negotiate local 

hire on projects and in programs Intended top provide services and facilities in our 

communities with the appropriate local council. 
Projected Increases in Alaska Native W

26,726 

For Age Groups 

16-yrs. and over 

4.4% 

growth per year 

since 1970 

40,956 

2.

growth 

since 

54
120 

Alaska Federation of Natives Convention 

_____ .Special Resolution ____ _ 

Tm.E: BEGINNING THE REFORM OF FEDERAL LAWS AND PROGRAMS 

THROUGH CONGRESSIONAL FIELD HEARINGS 

WHEREAS: the Report of the Alaska Natives Commission eloquently points out that 

we, as Native people, have now come to a point where we must 

choose: either to take back pcJwer and responsibility for our own communities or to witness their continued deterioration: 

"The true natwe of the alcknen which has apreed throughout 

the Native villages Ia the state of dependency which led to the 

loaa of direction and aeH-eateern. Everything else Ia of a secondary nature - merely symptoms of an underlying disease. 

Programs which are aimed at relieving the symptoms but refuse 

to relate to the alckneaa ltulf are doomed to fall and may make 

things worse. .• " and 

WHEREAS: the historical process by which we lost power was a mixture of abdication by us and repression of Native rights to sovereignty, self-governance and self-control, and tht! alienation of our land and resources by 

several generations of missionaries, teachers. bureaucrats and other 

caregivers; and 

WHEREAS: reasserting our own authoritv and responsibility will not be easy -

because people who give it up doubt their own ability to exercise it -

and because people who take it, especially if they do so with good 

intentions, always resist givin~1 it back; and 

WHEREAS: the real error in this massive imposition of non-Native laws and services was not simply its arrogance - but the fact that IT DOES NOT 

WORK - and it almost seems 1hat the condition of our people has varied inversely with the growth of many programs intended to help them; 

and 

WHEREAS: ending the destruction of our communities requires not only that we 

take care of ourselves but that an enormous public service industry 

change its own values and behavior, assuming a different role in order 

to achieve effective results; and 
121 

WHEREAS: real reform of federal policies cannot be accomplished solely from the 

grassroots - but will require direction, support, and legal authority from 

the top; and 

WHEREAS: it was the United States Congress that created the Alaska Natives 

Commission in 1991 and that is now the primary recipient of its findings 

and recommendations; so it is the Congress, as well as to our own people, that we now tum in order to begin the long process of changing 

public policy in the villages; 

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the delegates of the Convention of the 

Alaska Federation of Natives urge the Alaska Congressional delegation and the 

chalrper80na and rnembera of the appropriate commltt .. to join us In a fundamental reform of federal 8tatutea, aervlc:ea and operating proceduree - the goal 

of which Ia to reduce dependency and lncr .... the c.paclty of Native communltlea to tllke care of themMives; and to enaure that the atate and federal government fully Implement meaaures for local control and aelf-governance; and 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Convention urges that this process begin in 

early 1995 with a series of Congressional oversight hearings on the present condition 

of Alaska Native people and communities; that such hearings be a cooperative effort 

of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, the Senate Committee on 

Indian Affairs, the House Natural Resources Committee and such other committees as 

have jurisdiction over Native policies and appropriations; that the topical organization 

of such hearings generally follow the · structure of the Alaska Natives Commission 

Report; that such hearings be held in Alaska to maximize Native participation; that 

such hearings require public testimony to make specific recommendations for procedural reforms and resource reallocation in federal statutes and programs; that such 

additional research and hearings as the Committees deems necessary be conducted 

thereafter in Washington. D.C. and/or Alaska; and that Congressional enactment of 

statutory reforms begin no later than the Second Session of the 1 04th Congress. 
12:2 

Alaska Federation of Natives Convention 

_____ Special Resolution ____ _ 

11TLE: FEDERAL AND STATE ROLES IN IMPLEMEN11NG THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE ALASKA NATIVES COMMISSION REPORT 

WHEREAS: the Report of the Alaska Nalilles Commission urges fundamental refonn 

of many government policies and programs; and 

WHEREAS: each of the Commission's 34 major policy recommendations and 76 programmatic recommendations requires changes in statutes, regulations 

and administrative practices that no group of private citizens can 

poalbly achieve without adequate governmental appropriations 

and without the the active support of public officeholders and 

agency administrators; and . 

WHEREAS: the Commission's report describes the development of an insidious 

dependency relationship between Native people on the one hand and 

the laws, appropriations and services of public agencies on the other -

which Ia 1tae1t a fundamental cause of the preaent eoc:lal crisis; and 

WHEREAS: no signHicant improvement in the condition of Alaska NatiVes wUI oocur 

until Native communities regain control and access to natural 

resources in order to sustain ourselves economically and culturally and 

we ourselves take back responsibility and authority for our own 

well-being - and until non-Native laws and bureaucracies not only 

support that effort but llt!fl'l.lllt to occur: and 

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the delegates of the Convention of the 

Alaska federation of Natives urge federal and state administrators, members and staffs 

of Congress, members of the Alaska State Legislature, and the public at-large to study 

the findings of the Alaska Natives Commission Report; and 

BE rr FURTHER RESOLVED that the Convention urges all policy makera and operational agencies of the United States and the State of Alaska to develop procedures to work with the appropriate Native organtzatlon, government and corporation, to Implement those recommendations of the Commission that require governmental action. 
.. ' ··123 

~ to tile Tent.ouy of .nalie Jti tk& 

~ideD~, Alaaka •edera~iOR o! .. tiYee 

Befoce tbe Jotmt Ca.aitt .. seariag of •~ 11, 1tt5 

OD tbe Alaska Bati.._ C~8dOD bpoZ't aD4 

tile S.CUOD 2t BatiYe Bin Ap'....at 

o.s. llouae heovou C~t:t .. o. I. laate :IDe:rgy u.4 8atua1 auovo•• Coaittee 

0.1. aaate XDiti- Affaire a-ittee 

My name iB Julie ltitka. I am testifying in my position as 

President of the Alaska Fede~ation of Natives. My testimony on 

the Section 2S Native Hire Agreement is ~ivid~ into three parts: 

first, Historical Background; second, Current Interior/Alyeeka 

Native Hi~ Agreement; and third, Unreeolved Iesuee - Federal 

:.iability. 

.... llbto:r:la&l ~tal4 

In the past when I ha\'e appe~ befoR the Con~eas, I have 

spoken of preseat concerns. amandments to AMCSA, subsistence 

rights and ?ederal ~dgetary concerns. Rarely have I spoken of 

~he history of Alaska Natives . Today, I ~elieva this Committee 

needs to ~e r8111in4ed of that history and the bargain struck 

between the federal governmant, the Alyeaka Pipeline Company and 

Alas~ Natives, reflected in Section ~9 of the Grant of Right of 

Way from the u.s. Daparecent of the Interior to the Alyeaka 

Pipeline Collqlany. In speaking of that bargain, I must remind the 

Committee of the prom~aes ~~~&de and broken. Moat will acknowledge 

that the histo~f of dealings between the federal government and 

ita ir.digencua peoples in the eighteenth an4 nineteenth centuries 

is one of w~y broken promises. Few realize that for A1aska 

Natives tha~ history of broken promises extends through the last 

three decades of this century. 

21-794 - 96 - 5 
124 

The recent history ot Alallka Natives is the story ot the 

inex~ricable l i nkage between t~e development of Alaska's 

petroleum resources and the extinguishment of Alaska Native land 

claims to perrn1: that development resulting from the passage ot 

ANCSA . 

Unlike Native Americans in the lo~er 48, Alaska Native 

history is not a •tory of conquest, loss of 1~ ~ the creation 

of a reservation system. By the late 1960's it ha4 become clear 

that the dlaims by Alaska Natives to ownership of virtually all 

of the land in the State of Ala:oka had not been extinguished and 

development of Alaska an4 ita rich oil and gas fields vas on 

hold . In admitting Al aska into statehOod, Congress reserved the 

resolution of Native land claims for a later date. No serious 

development o! the recently discovered oil field at Prudhoe Bay 

or a corridor for a pipeli ne from the Borth Slope was possible 

until the status of Native claims waa ~••olved. To permit 

resolution at Native claims :nterior Secretary Stewart Udall 

froze all land tra~srers . His successor, Walter Hickel, 

continued the freeze whi ch was conrirmed by tbe united States 

court ot Appeals tor the Ninth Circui t in State ot &l••5a y 

.\l!a.ll . 

As a short term etra~egy, in or4ar to con1truct a transAlaska pipeline syetem, the pipeline company. attempted to cecure 

waivers, or release of claims tram those Native organization• 

whose land lay in the pro?osed pipeline route. Tba pipeline 

company funded a Native employment ceneus witb the APN. Then it 

2 
1~ 

turned to the four regions whose 1~• the pipeline would 

travsrse . 

The pipeline company promised the Native land claimants that 

if they released their claims to the lands in the proposed 

pipeline right of way, Alaska Na~i\~S would be given priority 

preferences for all of the joba involved in constructing and 

operating the pipeline and the regions would experience 

prosperity on a scale that was ~nimaginable in the past. The 

pipeline company moved aggressively and was able to secure 

contractual releases from the Chugach for the proposed terminal 

at Valdez and the Ahtnas for the lower third of the more than 700 

mile right of way. Based on these promises of jobs and 

prosperity. the Ahtna and the Chugach two groups gave up their 

rights in the pipeline corridor for $1 and the promise of jobs 

and contracts and other special consideration. The pipeline 

company failed, however, to get releases from the two other 

regi ons claiming ownership :n lands necessary for the proposed 

~ipeline. 

By the winter of 1969, it was clear to all knowledgeable 

observers that a comprehensive long term resolution of Native 

land claims was necessary before anyone's land ownership caul~ be 

secure . Followini publication of the authoritative ~ 

Naciye& an4 the Lan4, the oil rich land in Prudhoe Bay appeared 

subject to our land claims. ~ha pipelice company had be•n 

unable to secure releases for the land necessary for the pipeline 

in~ependent of a settlement . 

3 
126 

Once again the pipeline company, and its parenc oil 

companies, promised Alaska Natives titat if they were to support 

the extinguishment of Nati·.re claims t:o the necessary pipeline 

right of way, Alaska Natives would bE.! given priority for all 

pipeline jobs and would benefit from training, employment, 

subcor.tracts and the consequent prosperity. These promises are 

memorialized in transcripts which ex:.st today of meetings between 

Alyeska's highest leadership and the Ahtnas, the Chugach and 

other Native leaders. Because of these promises, Alaska Natives 

did not object to the provisions of ;~CSA that extinguished 

Nat;;.ive claim to all lands necessary l~or t.he pipeline and its 

atcendant facilities. Section 17(c) of ANCSA, authorized the 

Secretary of the Interior to withdra~r a pipeline corridor up to 

lO miles w~de, free trom Native land selection under that Act . 

This was an extraordinary concession permit~ed the pipeline 

company, now called Alyeska Pipeli~e Company, to avoi~ paying 

right o~ · .. ay fees to any Native corporation. Coupled with the 

Secretary of rncerior's acceptance ot~ ~he 1969 Chugach and Ahtna 

releases, t his ccncessio!l was worth hil:i.ions. 

The AFN and the Secretary of !nt:erior s·.1ppor~ed the Section 

17(c) proposal oecause they believed that Alyeska would honor the 

promises it made in the preceding tw(J years. Indeed, Alyeska 

aclcnowledgeli that it has created a special relationsbip wicl:: 

chose two regions and that i~ had on!JOing responsibilities 

:::awards A~aska Natives as a people. 

Tl:'.e Alaska Native Claims Settlem~nt Ac::: (ANCSA) passed 
1~ 

handily in ~971 and was signed into law December 18, 1971. 

Construction of the pipeline required separate special 

legislation. In 1973, Congress passed the Trans Alaska Pipeline 

Authorization Act (TAPS Act ) which authorized transfer of the 

necessary right of way to the pipeline company, and directed the 

Sacretary of the Interior to take all actions necessary to permit 

construction. Passage of the TAPS Act was controversial, and 

strongly contested. The oeciding vote in the senate was cast by 

the Vice President. Once again, Alyeska solicited the support of 

the AFN and Alaska Natives, promising training, and jobs, and 

subcontracts and other benefits. Once again, believing Alyeska's 

promises, the AFN and Alaska Natives supporte~ the legislation . 

In 1974, the Secretary of the Interior awarded Alyeska a 

right-of-way ever Alaska Native lands, free of Native land 

claims, and included in that right-ot-way provisions (Section 29) 

requiring Alyeska's to do everything practicable to secure the 

employment of Alaska Natives. Section 29 is not an affirmative 

action requirement. Affirmative action is addressed in a 

separate provision, Section 28. Instead, Section 29 addresses 

the promises ~4de by Alyeska Pipeline Company as quid pro quo for 

securing Native support for creation ot a pipeline corridor free 

of Native land claims. 

In 1974, the secretary of Interior and Alyeska entered into 

a Native Utilization Agreement implementing Section 29 that 

required Alyeska to ensure that 20t of its work force and 20\ of 

its contractors' workforce were Alaska Natives. That Agreement 

5 
128 \ 

also required A:.yeska to report to the Secretary on the Native 

composition of its and its contract,•rs' workforce at regular 

intervals. That Agreement remained in effect for 21 years, until 

it wa11 replacecl one IIIODth ago. Altr.augh the :zot employment 

commic::nent was far below the ''virtua.lly all of the rural pipeline 

jobs" promised by Alyeska, AFN recos·nized that it was a good 

start . AP'N was troubled by the provisions in the Agreement and 

Right of Way that denied it the ~ility independently to enforce 

Section 29. The Secreta~ reserved to hiaaelf full and excluaiv• 

r••p~ibility fer bDlcliAg Alyeaka to ita Agr•..-nt &D4 Rivht of 

Way. 

Our misgivings about the enforcement provisions were not 

misplaced . Over the nex~ 21 years two things became clear . 

First, Alyeska never lived up to its Agreement, and, second, the 

Secretary did nothing whatsoever to enforce Section 29. rn 1978, 

Alaska Natives reminded the Secretaiy of his obligation to 

enforce Section 29. Ahtna brought action against Alyeska to 

enforce the obligations Alyeska agreed to 1~ 1969 to secure 

waivers of claims by Ahtna and Chugach. That action, settled to 

Ahtna•s satistaction the !allowing ~ear. disclosed that only an 

Ahtna/Chugaeh pipeline joint venture had met the 20t Native hire 

requirement . Neither Alyeeka nor ar..y other subcontractor was 

even close to the 20t goal. 

In 1980, despite the express re.quirements in the Right of 

way and Implementation Agreement, Alyeska stoppe1 reporting its 

Section 29 eomp~ianc• efforts. The Secretary of the Int•rior 

6 
129 

knew of this and acquiesced in the practice, ettectively 

precluding both the Department of the Interior's and the AFN's 

ability to monitor Alyeska's compliance with its Native hire 

o=.ligations. 

The consgquences to Native Alaskans, alrea~ in crisis in 

l9BO, have oeen devastating. The following table shows the 

Alyeska Native hire from 1988 to 1995. It is not a pretty 

picture. Between jobs, manpower training and employment 

~pportunity, Alaska Natives lost several hundred million dollars 

over that seven year period. Wheo added to the loss from 

noncompliance from the prior 14 years, the total loss to the 

Alaska Native community in jobs exceed& $1 billion of wages and 

benefits. 

In!: 

1988 

1989 

1990 

1991 

1992 

1993 

1994 

ALASKA NATIVB EMPLOYMBNT 

ALYESICA ONLY 

DOBS NOT INCLUDB CONTRACTORS 

.I2U.! Na;:!.ve 1 Jobs 

Lost 

878 45 5 . 13 131 

891 45 5 . 05 133 

1,122 so 4.46 174 

1,222 50 4 . 13 194 

1,338 50 3.74 218 

1.269 48 3.78 206 

1.304 47 3.06 214 

7 
130 

The actual impact on the Native community has been tar 

greater than the loaa of wages and benefits alone. Alyeska jobs 

are among the very Qest in Alaska. They require extensive 

training and are filled by individuals with skills and mature 

judgment . Natives trained and qualified tor Alyaska work are 

desirable in the greater workplace. Because of promotion, 

competition from other employers, natural attrition and 

retirement Alyeska would have had to train many mora Alaska 

Natives than the two hundred or more Native j®a to be filled 

annually . our advisors suggest that a fig'J.re ct. three trainees 

for each joQ is a reasonable indicator of lost jobs. The total 

wage and benefits lost should be multiplied by a factor of three 

to reflect the enormous effects the Secretary's historic 

inaction. 

In ad4ition, tbe impact wages paid to Natives are enhanced. 

by a rural multiplier. Dollars returned to the villages stay 

there and circulate often, up to two or three times before 

entering the broader.Alaskan economv. Had Interior enforced. 

Section :Z9 the economic ift~~act on r11ral Alaska woulc! have been 

significant. 

Two events lat• last year focused on the consequences of the 

Secretary's failure to enforce the :onditions in Alyeaka's 

permit. First, the Joint Alaska Pipeline Office began an audit 

of Alyeska'a compliance with the terms of the pipeline ~all of 

its conditions, prompting Interior ~nd Alyeska to begin 

negotiation of a new Section :zg Implementacion ~eement. To the 

8 
131 ' 

btlat of my lalowledge, Interior undertook those negotiations 

without into~ng the APN or any Alaska Native organization of 

its efforts an4 without consulting Alaska Natives about the terms 

of the proposal . Secon4, in the mi4at of negotiations, Alyeska 

laid off Native technicians without first consulting the 

secretary of the Interior as required i~ the Right ot way Permit . 

These two developments were called to our attention by several 

Native technicians who were very concerned with their lay-off, 

which was not for cause, but merely to accommodate Alyeeka in its 

downsizing . 

At ita February 7, 1995 Board meeting, the AFN Board 

authorized immediate action to address the prOblem. For the past 

eight months we have negotiated with Alyesk4 resultiag in two 

' 

agreements . The first, a new Section 29 Implementation 

Agreement, is between the Secretary and Alyealta. The second, an 

Alyeska-APN Agreement, is memorialized in a letter dated October 

17, 1995, reflecting the offer, acceptance and consi~eration 

between Alyeska and APN. Both ar~ prima~ily the product of weeks 

of bilateral negotiations between AFN and Alyeaka. 

I would like to state clearly for the record that wa 

sincerely appreciate the efforts of Alyeska an~ its leaders, 

President David Pritchard, Vice preaident Doug Webb and General 

Counsel Michael Smith . These ~ere not easy negotiationa, but 

both A1yeska and AFN persisted in their efforts to find a 

workable framework for measuring and enforcing Alyeslca'a Native 
132 

em!?loyment obligations. The Agreemer..ts retain the 20\ target and 

provide tor systematic staged increases in Native employment to 

reach that goal. The Agreements oblige Alyeska to spend $25 

million cr training and scholarship Eupport. They create an 

open, easily monitored system of c~ liance to ensure that 

noncompliance never happe~ again. 

On October 17, 1995, the AFN Boa.rd unanimously endorsed the 

new Sectio~ 29 Agreements, and specifically directed us to act 

further on the Governments failure tc, meet its obligations to 

Alaska Natives. 

On October 20, 1995, Assistant Secretary Bob Armstrong of 

the Department of the Interior togett.er with David Pritchard, 

President/CEO of Alyeska Pipeline Sezvice Company signed the 

Agreement be!'ore the entire AFN Conv••ntion (the largest Native 

meeting on an annual basis with apprc•ximate1y 3000 Alaska Native 

representatives in attendance). This: was an exciting time. I am 

proud that this was accomplished. I know I speak on behalf of 

the entir: Native leadership, when I say that this is a very 

serious and important reaffirmed ).gn•ement. The A.P'N commits to 

work diligently with the leadership or Alyeska ar.d its owners to 

ensure a positive and constructive in~lementation. 

::: hope this Commit::ee will reco~.rnize this newly sigr..ed 

Agreement for what it is -- a positive step forward. 

c. unresol'Y&d Iaau- - Faclaral L:l.al1:l.li.ty 

As ,?OSitive and successful our negotiations were, they only 

address part of the prob::.em. While ue appreciated the 

10 
1~ 

cooperation cf Interior officials, including Assistant 

Secretaries Armstrong and Deer and the Secretary's Alaska 

Representative Deborah ~illiams, their goOd will cannot remedy 

the results of 21 years of Secretarial neglect. 

I! the Secretary riad fulfilled his obligations to Alaska 

Natives, Sec~ion 29 would have been precisely the kind of private 

entrepreneurial initiative endorsed by both political parties. 

Section 29 was a promise by business, to be funded by business, 

that would have reduced the need for public manpower training 

efforts. All the Secretary had to do was to enforce the terms of 

the Right of Way and Implementation Agreement. Mind you, the 

Secretary required that er.forcement authority be his exclusively. 

Had the APN been allowed to enforce Section 29, I believe that 

this tragedy would never have happened. But the Secretary 

specifically denied those very individuals affected by the 

obligations the ability to e~force those obligations directly . 

ANCSA very clearly requires that the federal government ensure 

maximum participation by Natives in decisions affecting their 

lives and property . In denying us enforcement authority under 

Section 29 , the Secretary exceeded his authority. You must 

address the Secretary's role in failing to enforce Saetion 29 as 

you reflect on what shoula be done here . 

The Secretary's failure to enforce the requirements of the 

Native Hire Agreement resulted in an great incalculable social 

loss to Natives. The federal government's actions told one 

generation of Alaska Natives ~hat they were not worth hiring or 

11 
134 

training. The federal govern~ent s actio~& told the ~ext 

generation ot Alaska Natives that it ~asn't worth the effort to 

stay in school and get a college education since they weren't 

going to be considered for responsible jobs anyway. The 

Secretary ~f the Interior, who is specially charged with 

protecting the rights of Alaska Na~ives was indifferent to their 

needs and could not be trusted to deal with them fairly. The 

federal government actions confirmed the very stereotypes that 

have constrained Native workers ability to thrive in the greater 

economic sphere. 

I know that I do not need to paint tor you the crisis that 

we face for our people . The Report by the Alaska Natives 

Commission sets out our challenges. rhe AFN believes that it 

would be er.tirely inappropriate and grossly unfair in this time 

of budgetary constraint to deny neede~ manpower training support 

to Alaska Natives. Our claim for these funds is both tragic ~~d 

extreme . we believe that this claim is unique among all Native 

American peoples. 

Because the federal government danied Alaska Natives t:ha 

right to enforce ~lyesk~'s obligation independently, and !ailed 

altogether to enrorce the obligations itsel~ . Alaska Natives lost 

~ore than a billion dollars worth of employment, contracts and 

t:raining . The ~ew Section 29 Implementation Agreement looks 

primarily to the future. The federal govern."11ffnt must be 

responsible eor its part of the past. A balance is owed our 

people by :he Secretary . We call upon you to ensure that the 

12 
135 

fedsr•l government never again eails the Alaska Native people on 

an issue involving their priv~te property rights -- the rights to 

jobs, training and contracts. I also call ~pon the Congress to 

ensure that the Native people are made whole again. Make us 

w~ole , not from the injuries ot a century ago, but from ~he 

injury that began 21 years ago and ended only last ~onth. We are 

committed to work with you to remedy this injustice . 

13 
136 

A CALL TO ACTION: 

TAKING COMMUNITY RESPONSIBILITY 

THE ALASKA FEDERATION OF NATIVES 

tsn "C" Street, Suite 100 

Anchorage, Alaska 99501 
137 

INTRODUCTION 

The AFN conference," A Call to Action: Taking Community Responsibility," 

(October 1 0,11, 1994) was called in response to the final report of the Alaska Natives 

Commission which affirmed what the Native community has known for some time -that 

only they can solve the social, cultural, and spiritual problems that have plagued them 

for the last 30 years. 

The tone for the conference was set by the opening statement of AFN President 

Julie Kitka, who asked the delegates to "send a clear message, to our people and 

government alike, that we - as Alaska Natives - intend to reclaim control over our lives." 

Saying that the problems facing Natives had multiplied over the years, becoming 

more serious in scope, she told the Native leaders present that they had to "confront 

and overcome• these challenges now, as the "will to take hold of our future was 

slipping away ... one village at a time ... one family at a time ... one person at a time." 

The alternative, she said, was to "do nothing, • to "resign ourselves to our present 

circumstances;• and this, she said, "was not acceptable." 

The only criteria set in the search for solutions were that they be ones Native 

villages could Implement on their own without the need for new authorization from state 

or federal authorities, and further, that they not require the creation of new government 

programs. Government, Kitka said, had spent billions of dollars creating a "forest" of 

programs designed to keep Native people alive, and to solve their growing 

socialproblems. But, she said, the well-intentioned programs had not worked, they had 

instead, brought Alaska Natives to the brink of becoming "prisoners of dependency.· 

2 
138 

Saying that government still has a critical and positive role to fulfill in the lives of 

Alaska Natives, Kitka called for a "new partnership" with government, where it becomes 

an "investor" in the economic development of rural and village Alaska; trading welfare 

programs, hopelessness and depression for jobs, hope, and a new lease on life . She 

also asked that government and Native people together examine how the ever 

dwindling monetary resources are being appropriated in rural Alaska, to see if they are 

going where they are most needed. 

The Native leaders present were asked to concentrate on the most basic issues 

facing Alaska Native communities: the alcohol fueled suffering; physical and mental 

health; joblessness; and dependency on government. 

Called to "identify those things village governments, families, and individuals can 

do now to improve life for themselves," the viUage leaders who attended met for two 

days. The first order of business was to answer the question posed by AFN to its 

members: • Whose responsibility is it to end the alcohol-related violence and deaths?" 

and by extension, the socisVcultural/ and spirituul problems that lie at the root of these 

tragedies. 

The an5wer was unanimous, the conferees agreed it was their responsibility; and 

in so answering, the representatives of the Native villages present, quietly signaled a 

change of historic proportions. 

3 
139 

PLANNERS 

The planners for the conference were: 

Julie Kitka, President, AFN 

General John Schaeffer, NANA Regional Corporation 

Emil Notti, President , Naska Native Foundation. ~- . 

Mike Irwin, former Executive Director of the Naska Natives Commission 

Ann Walker, Executive Director, the Naska Native Health Board 

Gerald Ward, Department of Corrections 

Gregory Nothstine, AFN Sobriety Movement 

Margaret Olsen Knowles, Kodiak 

Dr. Matthew Berman, Institute of Social, Economic, Research, UAA 

Dr. Robert Nberts, MD 

Major funding for the conference was provided by the Naska State departments 

of Health and Social Services and Corrections. 

The Department of Community and Regional Affairs provided funding for the 

composition and distribution of this report. 

Malcolm Roberts, special assistant to Governor Walter J. Hickel, co-ordinated 

with AFN In the planning and financing of this conference. 

MARKAIR provided special conference rates for delegates traveling from the 

rriany villages they serve. 

4 
140 

TOWARD ENDING ALCOHOL-RELATED VIOLENCE AND DEATH 

Michael Irwin, former Executive Director of the Alaska Natives Commission 

introduced the issue of alcohol control in Native villages es an issue that has escaped 

successful resolution by the various governments under which Native people have 

fallen since contact with the West; "successful resolution• being defined as keeping It 

out of the village. 

Since its Introduction, alcohol has presented a threat to the health and wellbeing of Alaska Natives, bringing death, violence and sorrow wherever It was 

introduced. As an example, Irwin cited the first homicide reported In the North Slope, a 

murder committed by a drunk man In 1836. In the same period, he said, the Nunamuit, 

going to what Is now Barrow, traded all they owned for liquor and molasses only to 

starve, or die of exposure, on the way home. 

There are many other examples, historical and current, of the tragic 

consequences of alcohol use by Alaska Natives. The ethnograph&r, Edward William 

Nelson, on arriving on St. Lawrence Island aboard the Revenue Cutter COrwin, in the 

spring of 1875, recorded how they had found dead villages with bodies strewn all over; 

of a once healthy population of 4000, only 200 were found to have survived. Nelson 

attributed the deaths directly to alcohol abuse. As with the Nunamult. it appeared that 

the St. Lawrence Islanders had starved to death after neglecting the hunt due to 

drinking, but It Is possible that disease was an added factor. 

Another constant, Irwin pointed out. was the in~acy of Federal, territorial, 

and state efforts In controlling the flow of alcohol into Native villages, In spite of the 

repeated requests from the people living th8re. At the same time, Irwin said. Federal, 

territorial, and State authorities have never been wiiUng to turn over control of alcohol to 

the Native village governments because of jurisdictional and other considerations. 

s 
141 

Commenting on the intractability of the problem, he said that the comments 

made by Native villagers recently before the Alaska Native's Commission echoed the 

very same comments that have been made before governmental bodies since 

intercourse between Native people and the US government began. 

Following Irwin, Dr. Matthew Berman of the University of Alaska's Institute of 

Social Economic Research, presented the conference with the statistics on violent 

deaths, most of which are alcohol related. And, as he correctly pointed out, as 

distressing as the numbers might be, they did not represent the true costs of alcohol 

abuse on Alaska Native communities, families and individuals. (Berman's statement 

"Alaska Natives Dying from Injuries and Violence"and accompanying graphs are 

attached to this report.) 

" Alaska Natives are more likely to die violently than any other group In 

America (italics added)." 

" The deaths themselves are only many of the symptoms that something Is 

seriously wrong In Native communities." 

" ••• the number of people dying addS up to an epedemlc of staggering 

proportions. From 1980-1991, 396 Alaska Native men committed suicide, 

173 were murdered, 862 died from accidents. All these deaths could 

have been prevented." 

"The total number of [violent) deaths between 1980-1991 add up to 1,431 men 

and 410 women· nearly 2,000 Native people In just 12 years." 

"Alcohol Is Involved In most accidental deaths, suicides, and murders." 

" If the deaths continue at their current rates, violence will take an 

enormous toll on the population of the village." 

Matthew Berman, ISER 

6 
Unmeasured is the damage alcohol abLISe has inflicted on the will and the spirit 

of Alaska Native families and communities who have had to live through repeated 

episodes of traumatic events, especially the ct ildren, many of whom are now scarred 

for life. 

Through alcohol, the "cyde" of violence, trauma, and death, that began with the 

massacring of Aleuts by the Russians, and ca1·ried on by disease, church, and state, 

continues today; but now it is Alaska Natives who are hurting themselves, it is as if 

they had turned on themselves. 

Indicators of the damage can be found in the rising migration of the young from 

villages to hub communities and the cities; the -::ontinuing poor performance of children 

in school; the break-up of families; the number of young Alaska Natives in the juvenile 

and correctional systems of the state; the fall in the age of alcohol, drug, and inhalant 

abusers (youngest known is 2 years old); the falling age of suicides (a 

12 year old committed suicide this fall in one of the villages, leaving a suicide note 

behind; reason given for taking her life was her parent's drinking); teen pregnancy; etc. 

The presentations by Irwin and Berman 1lrove home three points to the 

conferees: 

1. Alcohol poses an Intimate and Imminent threat to villages, families, and 

Individuals who use It, as well as for those around whom It Is being 

used; It's very presence In a vlllaga or home making the likelihood of 

violence, accident, or death very high; 

2. In spite of "local option laws" and tne "sobriety movement," alcohol use 

and abuse has not been significantly reduced, especially among the 

young; 

3. While local option laws have slowed the flow of liquor Into communities 

that have enacted them, they have not been effective, and this, because 

most communities rely on state troc1pers and distant state courts to 

enforce them; trooper Involvement Is mostly been one of arresting 

Individuals who have committed alcohol-related crimes; hence, as the 

figures show, alcohol abuse and the Incidences of violence, accidents 

and death, remain constant In spite of state sanctioned and enforced 

"local option laws." 

7 
143 

PROGNOSIS 

Unless urgently needed reforms and improvements ·are made in the societies, 

economies, and governments of Alaska Native villages, the prognosis for seeing a 

lessening of alcohol abuse and related social pathologies is poor. 

In fact, if there are no immediate improvements made, alcohol abuse, drug 

abuse, inhalant abuse, and related tragedies, will remain constant, and will most likely 

rise, as the group identified as being most "at risk,· presently comprises over half the 

Native population, and is growing. 

ALASKA NAllVE POPULAllON CHARACTERISllCS 

Alaska Native population 

Average Age 

Most numerous group 

18 and under 

Rural 

Urban 

Growth rate 

90,000 

22 

Sand under 

40%oftotal 

66"k 

34% 

3%annually 

(Source: Alaska Native Health Board) 

Note: This "at risk" group of Alaska Native children and youth is already exhibiting 

behavior which should be of concern to tribal, state and national leaders: 

* 15-20% of Alaska Native rural 12th grade students admltto regular alcohol use 

* Inhalant abuse (gas sniffing) Is a rapidly growing problem in the 7·13 age range 

8 
144 

RECOMMENDATIONS 

Faced with this poor outlook for the future of many Alaska Natives, the planners 

and the conferees decided to recommend a number of immediate and long-term steps 

to village, state and federal governments. 

The first body of recommendations are contained in this section and they are 

proposed primarily to village councils; to control, or end, the flow of alcohol into their 

communities, and taking immediate steps to und the violence and deaths. 

The other recommendations contained in other sections of this report, while not 

directly related to alcohol abuse, are aimed a1: addressing some of the social, cultural, 

economic, and spiritual causes of the abuse. 

Concurring with AFN President Julie Kitka, who had issued a proclamation 

declaring alcohol "a clear and imminent health risk" to Alaska Native's wherever it is 

found, the conference, in order to save lives, .3nd to regain the peace and harmony of 

their villages, made the following recommendations: 

I. That VIllage tribal governments enact and enforce ordinances 

banning the Importation, sale, and the manufacturing of alcohol In 

their communities as a public health measure; 

2. That village councils enact protec:tlve custody ordinances, giving 

themselves the authority to take Into custody any Inebriate, from 

homes and public places, until such time as the Inebriates no longer 

pose a threat to themselves, their families, and others In the 

community . 

. The conference participants understood, in forwarding this recommendation, 

that itis not against state law to be drunk, ancl that the constitution protects what a 

person does in the privacy of his own home. Elut seeing that in most villages alcohol 

related crimes of violence are committed in th11 home, and usually against friends or 

family members, they decided that the need to protect lives far outweighed any 

constitutional protections to privacy; hence the recommendation to take drunk people 

even out of their own homes. 

9 
145 

The conferees agreed, that protective custody ordinances, tirelessly and 

patiently enforced by village governments, will cut down dramatically the number of 

deaths from alcohol-related accidents, homicides and suicide. They also believe that 

such ordinances would significantly reduce violence in the home and restore peace to 

the village. 

Protective custody was proposed, not as a punitive measure, but as an act to 

protect the community from further violence and death. 

3. That bootleggers and homebrewers be charged as accessories to 

crimes committed by people to whom they sold or gave liquor. 

This recommendation is based on the fact that over 90% of all violent crimes in 

Alaska Native villages are alcohol-related; that 53% of Alaska Natives incarcerated are 

being held for crimes that have been categorized as the "most violent.· lnupiaq elder 

Rachel Craig pointed out that these tragic facts are well known to bootleggers, who still 

choose to profit by selling alcohol where it has been banned. She, and an 

overwhelming majority of conference participants, felt that such people should be held 

responsible for the violence and suffering caused by their clients 

The conferees further recommended that village councils, AFN, and legislators 

representing Alaska Native communities, lobby the Alaska State legislature for the 

enactment of laws making bootleggers accessories to crimes committed by their 

clients. 

4. That village councils provide healthy cultural, social and recreational 

activities for the whole community, especially the young, who 

oftentimes correctly complain about having "nothing to do; " the 

result Is boredom which then elevates the likelihood of alcohol and 

drug abuse. (15-20% of Alaska Native rural 12th graders admit to 

regular alcohol use: Source: Ak Native Health Board) 

10 
146 

Underlying the diSCUS$ion around alcohol was the urgency, the need to do 

"something• to save a generation of Native children from the ravages of alcohol, drug, 

and inhalant abuse, along with the certainty that if they truly wanted to, village councils 

and their communities could end the alcohol related violence and deaths. 

It was the consensus of the group that villages should enact, implement, and 

enforce their alcohol control ordinailces without waiting for state or federal approval. 

It was also the consensus of the conference that village tribal governments (the IRA's 

and traditional councils) were best able to pass 11;11d enforce such ordinances as they 

had a greater variety of options under Federal Indian law than the village municipal 

~ovemments (2nd Class cities) did under the state's municipal code, Title 29. 

11 
147 

IMPROVING THE PHYSICAL AND MENTAL HEALTH OF ALASKA NATIVE 

VILLAGES, FAMILIES AND INDIVIDUALS 

The discussion around physical and mental health centered around the Alaska 

Native Commission's assertion that, because of depression, Alaska Natives were not 

taking care of themselves; that they were suffering from illnesses that they could 

prevent; and that they had "turned over" to the Indian Health Service the responsibility 

of taking care of their health in much the same way that they had turned over other 

responsibilities to other branches of government. 

Dr. Robert Alberts, in his presentation to the conference on the "Anatomy of a 

dysfunctional village, • identified the depression as one of the lingering aftereffects of 

the collapse of Alaska Native cultures and societies after repeated attacks by disease, 

missionaries, and government, as represented in early territorial days by the school 

teachers. 

Echoing the Alaska Natives Commission's SociaVCultural Task Force, he told 

the conference that this psychological, or "spiritual," illness, aggravated today by 

joblessness, poverty, dependency and a growing sense of helplessness and 

powerlessness, was one only the Native people themselves could heal by re-opening 

the broken lines of communication between families and by reestablishing the bonds of 

kinship, culture, language, and traditional values. 

Anne Walker, Executive Director of the Alaska Native Health Board, agreeing 

with Alberts, told the conference that regardless of who was responsible for creating the 

problems Alaska Natives face today, they still needed to take "ownership" of them, then 

do whatever was necessary to solve them • 

She said that while the Federal government's legal and other responsibilities for 

ensuring the health care of Alaska Natives remains clear, there was only so much the 

Indian Health Service could do; that because of the limitations of staff, facilitates, 

equipment, money, time, and distances separating villages from the hub communities 

and Anchorage, the IHS continues to spend its resources in treatment and not in 

prevention. 

12 
148 

Walker said that the same limitations also applied to the regional health 

corporations which have contracted many of the Indian Health Service's programs 

including the running of several hospitals. Here again, Walker said, preventive medicine 

has not been a priority, nor has it been integrated into the workings of these 

corporations on the village level. 

Village governments, families, schools and churches, she said, need to fill this 

gap, begin working together to improve the mental, physical, and spiritual health of 

their members through education and preventi11e programs. 

Native people, she said, are no longer dying from infections and respiratory 

diseases like they did only 40 years ago; they are dying from preventable diseases like 

cancer and heart disease; and from accidents, homicide and suicide, most, If not all of 

which, be prevented. 

causes of Death, 1950, 1988, by Percent 

(Source: Alaska Native Health Board) 

CAUSES 1950 1988 

Infections 45.8% 1.3% 

Respiratory 13.2% 7.2% 

Accidents 9.6% 21.7% 

Heart Disease 5.3% 16.2% 

Congenital 3.0% 6.0% 

cancer 2.4% 15.7% 

Homicide/Suicide 1.7% 11.1% 

Stroke 1.4% 3.6% 

Other 17.6% 17.2% 

13 
149 

RECOMMENDATIONS: PHYSICAL AND MENTAL HEALTH 

1. Village Councils need to educate their members to the dangers of 

tobacco, alcohol, Inhalant and drug abu se ; they could do this 

through the schools, churches, community functions, etc.; the best 

targets would be the children In the schools who had not yet begun 

to smoke, chew, drink or use other chemicals and Inhalants; they 

must also practice sobriety as leaders and role models, especially 

at this critical stage In the history of their people. 

In her report to the conference, Anne Walker told the participants that "tobacco 

offe!S the largest singe opportunity to reduce cancer and heart disease and improving 

the overall physical health of Alaska Natives. • Not only is tobacco affecting the health 

of adults, it is also a definite health risk to children and Alaska Native youth. 

Tobacco abuse by Alaska Native Children and Youth 

- 16% of rural4 and 5 year old children In NW Alaska are regular users of 

smokeless tobacco (S.T.). 

- 30% of 7·12 year olds In Western Alaska are regular users of S.T. 

- 40-50% of Alaska NaUve 12th graders use some form of tobacco. 

(Source: Ak Native Health Board) 

2. VIllage Councils should pass ordinances making community halls, 

schools, and other public places off limits to smoking; they should 

also pass ordinances making the sale of tobacco products Illegal to 

all village members under the age of 18 and penalizing those 

businesses that do; 

While village councils can pass ordinances making smoking illegal in public 

places, and while they might make it illegal to sell tobacco products to children, it is an 

unfortunate fact that some Native parents actually a/low their children to chew tobacco, 

some even buy it tor them. They do not seem to understand that tobacco, smoked or 

chewed, poses a risk to the long-term health and well-being of their children. 

14 
15{) 

- By grade 12,81% of Alaska Native females and 68% of Alaska Native males 

have had sexual intercourse. 

- The same statistic for American Indian females Is 59%, and 66% for males. 

(Source: Ak Native Health Board) 

3. Village Councils, parents and youth, must address the issues of 

sexually tra11smltted diseases and pregnancy by unwed teens; 

Like communities and families everywhere, Alaska Natives have not been able 

to bring themselves to openly discuss matters rolating to sex; it is as if by mutual silent 

consent, they have decided not to "talk about it'" in the same way that they have chosen 

not to talk about other troubling aspects of their existence. 

In the meantime, there has been an explosion of teen pregnancies and unwed 

mothers; a generation of "fatherless" children h~s been born to Native families in the 

last thirty years the impact of which will not be known for some time. Furthermore, as 

Joe Cantil of the Alaska Native Health Board Aids Project told the conference, there is a 

real danger of an AIDS epedemic in Alaska Nati'le villages; a totally avoidable 

epedemic made possible by a lack of informaticn and denial. 

This unwillingness or aversion to openly discussing matters of sex is wrapped up 

in an unhealthy religious/moral blanket of "sin." Where once it had been a natural part 

of life, it has become dirty, a cause for shame. But underneath the blanket of silence is 

turmoil reflecting the erosion of traditional Native· values and mores. The result, as 

already mentioned is an explosion of teen pregnancy and other sexual abuses. 

In communities where 81% of all 12th grade girts have admitted to having had 

sexual intercourse, as had 68% of the boys , Cantil and others say it is imperative that 

everyone in the community, even the churches, oegin working to address the very real 

risks of unprotected sex, both physical, spiritual, and social. 

IS 
151 

4. Village councils must pass and enforce ordinances against domestic 

violence, sexual abuse, and incest. 

The recommendation on domestic violence, sexual abuse and incest touches on 

one of the most tragic and sensitive of problems facing Alaska Natives societies today; 

tragic because it is mostly family-on-family violence committed in the "safety" of the 

perpetrator and victim's home; sensitive, because it is hidden in silent shame and fear 

in the "privacy" of many village homes. 

Although no specific numbers were given, it was the consensus of the 

presenters that violence against Alaska Native women was greater than reported; that 

many cases go unreported and perpetrators go unpunished; as in accidental deaths, 

homicides and suicides, most of this violence is related to alcohol abuse. 

Identified as "victims" were the village, the families, the abused women, and the 

children, who become traumatized witnesses, especially when the abuse is directed at 

their mothers openly and over a long period of time. For these victims, the long term 

effects have proven to be just as tragic as the original abuse itself: 

a) The Alaska Natives Commission in its final report attributes the poor 

performance of many Native children in school to alcohol abuse and 

violence at home; the Commission said that for too many children, 

school was a place to rest , a haven from the troubles at home; 

b.) Charmaine Ramos, a Tlingit woman, told the conference that statistics 

compiled by the Municipality of Anchorage show clearly that most Alaska 

Native women who become victims of violence in Anchorage had left the 

village to "escape" physical and sexual violence only to fall victim to 

alcohol abuse, and even more violence in the city. 

c) It is a commonly accepted fact that many children raised in homes 

where alcohol and violence were constant, become alcohol and drug 

abusers themselves later on in life; many get into abusive relationships, 

continuing the "cycle of violence" they fell into as children; 

16 
152 

d) many sons of abusive families end up dying in alcohol related accidents, 

suicides, and homicides: 

e) Alaska's prison's are overflowing with young Alaska Native men imprisoned 

for violent crimes committed while drunk: most of these young men come 

from homes where one or both parents abused alcohol, and where 

neglect and violence were frequent; most dropped out of school, 

many grew up in the state's foster care program. 

The conference participants in passing the recommendation to village councils to 

pass ordinances protecting women and children did so because ultimately it is the 

responsibility of the Native people to protect their members from violence, not the state 

troopers, state welfare agencies, or anyone else . They also wanted to send a very 

clear message to the Native community that tflis type of behavior against women, 

children and other vulnerable members of the village cannot, and should net, be 

tolerated. 

They also wanted to reinforce and supp.)rt existing state and federal laws 

against domestic violence and make it incumb•mt on Alaska Native governments to 

an-est and bring to prosecution, tribal memben: who have been accused of committing 

these crimes. 

5. Alaska Native tribal councils must pass ordinances protecting 

children from parental neglect, sexual, and otherabuses, and they 

must work with trfbal, state, and federal enforcement agencies and 

courts In enforcing them 

Considering that over 40 % of the Native population is 22 years old and 

younger, and considering that the largest age nroup of the total Native population is 

under 5 years of age, this recommendation by the conference is significant, especially 

"when the increased ability to recognize, treat, and prevent child abuse, particularly 

child sexual abuse, offers Alaska Natives the bt~St opportunity to preventsubstance 

abuse, suicide, FAS, and child abuse (The Alaska Native Health Board)." 

17 
153 

If village governments follow this recommendation and move vigorously to 

protect the children it would correct one of the most tragic breakdowns in Alaska Native 

societies. 

- In 1991, Alaska Native children comprised 30% of reported Native 

American child abuse cases In the US while comprising only 9% 

of the total Native American child population. 

- In 1992, Alaska Native children experienced 35% of all confirmed child 

abuse In Alaska 

- 25% of 12th grade Native girls and 4% of 12th grade boys report to having 

been sexually abused. 

(Source: Ak Native Health Board) 

At present, most Native councils and communities do not "interfere" with the 

inner workings of families, even when abuses are known to be occurring in a 

household; they leave it to State weHare agencies like DFYS to do "something." 

Unfortunately, and tragically, many children suffer neglect and abuse long before they 

catch the attention of a social worker. 

The effects of such communal and parental neglect of children is already 

evident in the number of Alaska Native juveniles under protection and supervision of 

the state and in the young Alaska Native men in prison. It is also a factor in the falling 

age of young Alaska Native suicides, and in the rising alcohol, drug, and inhalant abuse 

by Native children. 

The conference, in recommending ordinances protecting children recognized 

that they are the most vulnerable members of communities where the abuse of 

alcohol and violence has grown in proportion to the problems they face. 

• Everything eventually comes down on the children, • said George Owletuck of 

Marshall, " in the early days of westernization and Christianization, it was the children 

who fell into the hands of the school teacher and the missionary to become pawns in 

18 
154 

the forced acculturation of their people; unprotected by families, they were ridiculed 

for being who they were, their mouths washed with soap for speaking their own 

language; it was the children who were hauled off to school hundreds and thousands of 

miles away. to orphanages and boarding schools only to become strangers to their own 

people, wedged in impossible places between two cultures. • 

"Today they are falling through the cracks again," Owletuck continued, "but this 

time they are being neglected and abused by dysfunctional families and communities, 

by parents whose eyes have turned inward in self-reproach, because of constant 

stress, depression, and failure." 

PROVIDING MEANINGFUL WORK FOR AL.L SEGMENTS OF VILLAGE 

SOCIETY 

Dr. Robert Alberts, in his prasentation to the conference on the "anatomy of a 

dysfunctional village,· pointed to dependency as the most destructive and disabling 

symptom of a village that had lost control of itself. In the case of Alaska Natives. after 

over a century of rule by federal, territorial and state authorities, coupled with the many 

programs fostered by the War on Poverty, dependency has come to pervade all 

segments of Alaska Native society. From birth to death, Alaska Natives now rely on 

government to provide for their health, educational, governmental, social, and 

economic needs. 

As AFN President Julie Kitka said in her opening statement, Native people now 

watch as someone else feeds, meclcates, houses, clothes, and educates, their 

children, while on the other hand, following government cirectives In running every 

aspect of their existence. And having become frozen into this culture of dependency, 

she says, Native people now stand helplessly by as the "flower of our youth" selfdestruct through alcohol and drug abuse born of the hopelessness and 

discouragement endemic to a dependent society. 

19 
155 

While dependency pervades all segments of Alaska Native society, it is 

perhaps most obvious in the economy of Native villages where food stamps, AFDC, 

and other "welfare" programs have become the foundation. 

The conferees agreed with Or. Alberts and the AFN President that Alaska 

Natives had become a dependent people. Yet, they also agreed, that because of the 

continuing economic depression in rural Alaska, economic assistance will continue to 

be needed, but not in the form that it is presently b~ing given. 

TOWARD BREAKING ECONOMIC DEPENDENCY ON GOVERNMENT 

Long term solutions to dependency, AFN President Julie Kitka told the 

conference, will have to come through a "new partnership" between Alaska Natives and 

Federal and state governments. While Kitka's call for a new partnership covers all 

aspects of the Federal/state/Native relations, implicit in her comments was the need to 

reform the way "welfare" is provided Native villagers now, and the necessity of creating 

a lasting economic base for them in the future. 

Rather than continuing to prop up the artificial welfare economy that it has 

created for Native villages, Kitka called on government to become true "investors" in 

their economic future. 

For the short term, she asked that government replace food stamps, AFDC, 

General Assistance, and other transfer payment programs, with "Community Economic 

Support Grants;" monies to be granted to village councils so they could hire the 

unemployed to work on needed projects around the village. In this way, AFN proposes 

to double the Impact of the aid going to the villages: not only would the unemployed be 

given "meaningful work,· village projects that would otherwise require other grants from 

government, would get done. 

For the long term, Kitka called on government to invest in the economies of rural 

Alaska, to leave something behind for the people that live there instead of just 

extracting minerals, precious metals and renewable resources from their lands, then 

20 

21-794 - 96 - 6 
156 

leaving . As put by one of the conference participants, there is "something terribly 

wrong when Alaska Natives, once the sole owners of the land, must live on food 

stamps and other handouts "while someone olse pumps oil out from under their feet.· 

In adcition to asking for investments, Kitka called on federal and state 

governments to remove existing statutory and regulatory "obstacles· that stand in the 

way of Native participation in the development of Alaska's renewable and nonrenewable resources. 

These comments of Kitka's on "new partnerships,· "investments, • and the 

removal of "obstacles" are best understood only when it is seen that the economic . 

depression in Native communities is the result of government policies followed since 

the United States "bought" Alaska from Russia. General John Schaeffer,Jr. (ret.) of 

Kotzebue said such policies had '1gnored the existence of Native people," brushing 

them aside as "inconsequential non-entities" when it came time to distributing Alaska's 

wealth. 

The oon1erence, in making the following recommendations, recognized that 

achieving a turnaround in the dismal social conditions of Native villages hinge on 

solving the problems of unemployment and the lack of economic oppurtunity available 

to them; that as long as Native people remain economically dependant on government 

to live, any progress they might make In OCher areas of their lives, would continually be 

undermined: 

1. Tllat village councils provide meaningful work (voluntary If ne~ry) 

for the youth and other unemployed In their communities. 

The conference allrlbul8d a lot of the social problems to unemployment 

and Idleness on the part of many Nalives. Of special concern were the young 

men, whose traditional role as hunter, provider, and protector of the family 

and the community has been undermined by the "welfare" economy. 

21 
157 

With no job, besides hunting and fishing for subsistence, many young men 

today, not only have a lot of idle time on their hands, but have become 

dependant on their parents and other family members to provide for their 

needs. Hence the recommendation that village councils provide "meaningful" work for the young, even if it is voluntary. 

There is a lot in the history and traditions of Alaska Native tribes extolling 

the "work ethic;" of helping others, of contributing to the welfare of the 

people, especially the elderly. This ethic, many conference participants 

felt, is one of the casualties of the welfare economy, and the results, they 

say, have been tragic. 

Julie Kitka, in her opening comments, had decried the "waste" of Native 

youth, of the labor force with •nothing to do," who in time, turn to alcohol 

and drugs to relieve the tedium and to "medicate" a discouraged soul. 

Village leaders need to resurrect the spirit of selfless community service 

around which the old Native cultures were formed, where giving by 

labor, not only kept the village going, but helped form the bonds which 

tied the people together. 

2. That village tribal governments, regional corporations, and the 

Alaska Federation of Natives, work with Federal and State 

governments In changing the way economic support Is being 

provided Alaska Natives and their families. Specifically, It 

is recommended that food stamps, AFDC, and other transfer 

payments be traded for "village economic support grants;" the 

grants to be used by the village councils In hiring unemployed 

heads-of-households to work In the schools, clinics, sanitation 

services, and other needed projects In, and around, the village. 

There is already some precedence, in Alaska and other states, for 

"workfare" as proposed by the conference. The Tanana Chiefs 

Conference, although the practice was later questioned by the 

BIA, utilized their General Assistance program funds to hire 

unemployed village people. The program where it was instituted 

was very popular and recieved widespread support in the 

communities where it was tried, especially by the village elders 

and the participants. It is recommended that village, regional 

and statewide Native governments and organizations seek 

the necessary waivers from federal and state governments to 

implement "workfare" in Alaska Native villages. 

22 
158 

3. That village governments, village corporations, regional Native 

corporations, and the Alaska Federation of Natives, work with 

state and Federal governments In the planning and Implementation 

of a comprehensive rural Alaska economic development plan. 

Some of the recommended courses of action, proposed for inclusion 

in the plan were: 

a) amending the state commercial fisheries limited entry program to 

allow the issuance of inalienable'1ocal access permits" for Alaska 

Natives living In fishery sites like Bristol Bay, the Yukon and 

Kuskokwim fisheries, etc., 

b) enacting and enforcing local hire laws for capital projects funded 

by the state and federal governments to include planning and 

construction; 

c) the creation and funcing of an •AJaska Native Economic Development 

Trust (as reconvnended by the Alaska Natives Commission); the 

principle to b8 used as loan quarantees for businesses and economic 

development projects being developed regionally and locally by 

Alaska Native tribal govemments, corporations and individuals; 

CLO~NG;RNALRECOUMENDADONS 

The "Caal to Action: Taking Community Responsibility" Conference was the first 

step in a process that has to eventually translate itself to action on the village, farpily, 

and incfrviduallevel. To assist the process It was recommended that the AJatka 

Federation of Natives hold regional conf8r8nces with viUage councils as participants so 

as to localize the proposals made by the statewide conference. 

The proposed cohferences would acllJally be -council work sessions· where 

councilmen and leadels from area ¥~~ages would come together to share ideas, 

discuss specific courses of action. oninances, etc:. The result would be a united and 

common effort at solving the problems that face them and a uniform system of laws for 

that region. 

It was recommended that there be six regional conferences prior to thel985 AFN 

Convention. 
159 

Testimony on 

Alaska Natives Commission 

Final Report dated May 1994. 

Longworth House Office Building, Room 1324 

Thursday, November 16, 1995 

11:00 a.m. 

By: Sarah Scanlan 

Vice President Human Resources 

NANA Regional Corporation 
ltiO 

L InlrOductioa 

n. Confumatioo of Report FiudiDp 

nL Focus 011 Employmeat I-. in AIMb Narive Commuaity 

• Wbat Cteales ~ ill dac World of Wodt 

• NANA Slalillic:a 

• NANA 'a Pllibophy Oil EIDploymall 

• NANA'a Experieal:a in~ Native~ 

Well beiDa t.c:lriDI 

Udt of CCililll akiDa 

Udt of support JY11aD1 

Udt of role JDOCiela 

l)epenc!cn« ODpaDibtilt 

. Udtoflelfwordl 

IV. Wbat We've Dolle 

• Orientatioa PR!pam 

• TrainiDg 

• Developiaa PartDalbipl 

• Trmsitioa to Demir.& s-t Complllly 

• Wbat Empowameal Does 

• Employee DcvelapDcal Aclivilica 

• Sblrcboldcr Surwya 

• New Vi118p Ec:ollmDic Oft ' 1 PM AdiYilia 

• RedDot 

V. Wbat We've Larned 

• Stereotypa 

• Not a Cub s-1 Cullule 

e Governmeat Frapealled Syaaa. 

• Succaa eon. Prom W"dbin 

VL Next Step~ 

• CommitmcDt to Cbaaae • Create More hnDtaabip; 

• Empowamcat 

• l.eldcrabip VI Dql .. -la•:e 

• Tac:biq lleapoaaa"bility 

• BeAceoumable 

Siutdl Scllllllut 

Yl« PralMitt HIUIUUI Ratnii'Ca 

NANA RegloiUil CorpDrtdloll 

1H1 E. ikruD11 Boukwml 

Alldulrwge, A/aU 995114291 

Plunu: (907) 265~101 

Fcc: (9fJ7) 265-4123 
161 

W ann greetings from Alaska. Good afternoon Cbainnen Murkowski, Young, McCain, and 

members of the Committees on Resources, Senate Energy and Natural Resources, and Senate 

Indian Affairs. 

Thank you for the continumg opportunity to dialogue about how we, the Alaska Native 

Community and Congress together can improve the delivery of services to your customers 

through an understanding of exactly what the customers need and want 

You have already heard and are aware of what seems to be a bleak picture of the status of 

Alaska's Native peoples. Yes, the statistics are alarming. And yes, things are bad. But, as was 

stated in the report, the tears that came from sections of the report were offset by the laughter and 

humor that reflected the strengths of Alaska's Natives who refuse to be beaten. 

This is the reason we are here; despite the alarming statistics of despair, dysfunction, and at times 

a feeling that positive change will never happen, there is hope. That hope comes from the fact 

that there are examples of the willingness and desire to increase the number of people and 

communities who want to improve their quality oflife. 

It has taken us years, even in the Native community, to speak openly of the need to break the 

dependence cycle on government. We too are still not sure about what that really means. On the 

one hand, we want to figure out ourselves the best way to do things, and yet we do not have the 

independent economic infrastructures to take over the role that government has played. The 

recommendations in the Commission report are good ones; we now need to move to the detailed 

how-to's to make them work. 

I am not going to spend very much time on the problems that have and continue to plague 

Alaska's Natives. You've already heard enough about them; we have talked about them ourselves 

for too long. Rather, I will take this time to talk about what we're doing about the problems. I 

would like to however, emphasize how the report was right on target with what has led up to the 

situation with Alaska's Natives. Even though the findings are ones which none of us can feel 

good about, I am glad they are now out in the open so we can begin to deal with them in a 

constructive way. I would like to focus my comments on the issues of human resource 

development, and more specifically, employment issues within the Alaska Native community. 

As indicated earlier, I have been with NANA for 20 years and involved in Human Resource 

issues for much of that time. I have been involved in the public sector's people development 

system also since the early 80's, having served as the past Alaska Chair of the JTPA Council, and 

currently am the State's School to Work Chair. So I have had an opportunity to see what has 

worked in other countries, states, and Native communities as it relates to preparing a successful 

workforce. 
16:2 

There are some common threads 1hat surface in successfully preparing people for the world of 

work, and on a broader scale, life. Clearly, and 011e you have heard over and over again, is 

having children grow up in a healthy home environment. As you've heard, that is our .first strike. 

Secondly, strong community paitncnhips with the local K-12 system so the two support each 

other and have common goals that children can bl: directed towards. Another strike against our 

villages for the reasons you've heard. Thirdly, a connection with any economic development 

activities to the local community's school system omd other workforce development activities. 

Again, you've heard enough information to know these three very rarely talk to each other. And 

finally, a fourth is as employers, what do we do tc ensure success? 

NANA was recently listed in the Alaska Business Monthly as the fourth largest Alaska owned, 

Alaska based business. We Clllmltly have 1,087 employees, and during the year, 692 Alaska 

Natives were employed by us, including NANA and the other Regional C01poration's 

shareholders. The payroll year to date to the eud of September to NANA shareholders only is 

over $6 million. Our cunent shareholder workforce is about 25% of the total. 

Of course the first question that you are asking yourselves is why only 25%7 And is this 

representative of the other corporations? · 

Perhaps a brief historical perspective ofwbat we've bad to deal with as an ANCSA Corporation 

will shed some light on your questions. 

NANA's philosophy early on was to enter into labor intensive types of investments. Even we 

carried the attitude that getting into technical types of development would make it difficult for 

our owners to participate in employment opportunities. But, we were committed to insuring 

there would be opportunities for shareholders. So, we got into things like food service and 

housekeeping contracts, hotel operations, security, office/accounting support staffs, and 

construction. 

NANA has grown considerably over the years in terms of the numbers of employees, but our 

percentage of shareholder hire has remained basically the same. Even though we do a better job ;most, .we obviously still have lots of room for improvement. 

In Alas~e are just now beginning to create the awareness of developing not only our natural 

rcsourccj, but the human resource, which around the world is seen as the only way to survive 

economtcally. In the Native Community, it is not as simple as saying let's find jobs for our 

s~olders. 

We have dealt with the issue of the absence of well being as early as the mid-seventies when 

John Schaeffer and others conducted a series of community meetings to attempt to deal with the 

alcohol problems. Unfortunately, we did not discu..~ the underlying causes of this symptom of a 

dccpcr problem, and only dealt with the results of alcohol abuse. I will discuss how we have had 

to address the issue of well being in order to employ Alaska Natives a little later. 

2 
163 

We have painfully come to the realization that taking on a warm ill-prepared body and sticking it 

into a workplace with many standards of performance without adequate orientation and some 

initial training wasn't going to cut it. We knew we were dealing with a people whose sense of 

well being was lacking; we knew we had come from difficult childhoods, all of which are 

covered in the report. We knew we didn't know how to cope well- we were always quick to 

blame others, and we knew people generally didn't know how to ask for help because the support 

systems were not there. 

So here we were, trying to become a successful business, knowing our potential workforce was 

coming from communities where, in most cases, their role models were, at best, seasonal 

employees; coming from an education system that did nothing to prepare people for work; there 

was already a great dependence on government which made people think "I don't need to work"; 

a reluctance to be the supervisor- we'd always been told by someone else what to do; and for our 

young men, a fear of leaving the village to take a job elsewhere because his whole self-worth had 

been stripped away through the very rapid changes as discussed in the report. So, in addition to 

developing orientation workshops in the villages prior to hire and explaining what to expect once 

hired, we have had to sponsor entry level training, with mixed results. We only recently have 

facilitated and sponsored meetings in the NANA Region with the various employers, education 

institutions, Native non-profit funding agencies, and government representatives, in order for all 

of us to come together to understand what needs to be done to decrease the import labor 

numbers, and to better target the limited training dollars to the emerging and existing 

employment opportunities such as mining, health occupations, and teaching. We just completed 

the first phase of a detailed work plan to develop these local partnerships so necessary for 

moving forward together for all of us to do a better job of understanding what it takes in the 

schools, workplace, government, and communities to prepare people for work. 

We've had to do many other things. It's interesting because you have heard about one of the 

underlying values of Alaskan Natives: that being cooperation; always figuring out how to do 

things in a cooperative group way. In the business world it's dog eat dog; at school, it's 

individual competition for the A students and to heck with the rest. 

In the competitive business world, we've learned that as a business, we too have to adapt to 

provide the best possible service to our customers at the best price. We have invested heavily in 

time, effort, and money to transition to a Deming-based quality company, and are seeing the 

positive results of empowering the front liners, most of whom are Native shareholders in the 

office setting where we are fi!St implementing this philosophy. 

I wanted to spend a few moments on this issue of empowerment, since it is at the very core of 

Alaska Natives' crises. Empowerment in our workplace means giving the decision making 

authority for figuring out how to do things better to those at the front line who really know best 

what will work. Again, most of these individuals are Natives. What our experience in this effort 

has taught us is that people are excited about being given responsibility and the power to make 

decisions; happy about working cooperatively across department lines; enthused about knowing 

3 
164 

what is going on through improved communications and how they fit into the overall success of 

the organization; gratified in realizing that others think their ideas are worthwhile. 

We have also spent considerable time and money on employee development activities, both 

personal and technical. These are key to again empowering employees, and more importantly, 

letting them know they are a valuable asset, and really, the most important resource. Some of the 

other activities we have bad to do to support our employees includes a variety of paid-for-training 

sessions in such areas as financial planning, how to become involved in your child's education, 

basket weaving, lnupiaq language, computer upgrade training, and paying for post secondary 

classes. In addition, we have a policy that allows mothers to bring their infant children to work 

with them until 6 months of age; we sponsor an Employee Assistance Program where employees 

can receive counseling for any type of problem they may be having; we have an active Employee 

Association that organizes all the fun social gatherings at the office, including Native feasts; we 

foster good morale by having monthly birthday parties to celebrate those employees whose 

birthdays fall in that month; we promote healthy lifestyles by sponsoring employees at such 

things as community Health Fairs. We also allow our facility to be used for after hour classes for 

such things as training our employees' children in self defense. I mentioned earlier the pre-hire 

orientation program. It is currently a four hour session that gets to the core of what causes 

dysfunction in Alaska's Natives, because of the impact it has in the workplace. We have had to 

implement a tough drug and alcohol policy, with pre-hire testing requirements, which the Board 

of Directors and all employees are required to take. 

As part of our transition to a Deming-based quality company, we have learned the need for 

standards, accountability, taking responsibility, and data based decisions. The President, Chair of 

the Board, and key staff are as we speak conducting .mrveys in the villages to find out what their 

expectations are ofNANA. We see ourselves as having several purposes; to make money in 

employment opportunity investments so we can fund the cultural preservation activities and 

protect the land. An interesting point here is that the shareholders see us as an extension of the 

government based dependency program and expect us to take care of everything from housing to 

medical transports to child care centers. Unfortunately, we too carry forth with the mentality of 

"Don't worry, we'll take care of you.· So, you can see we were all brainwashed well. 

We're attempting to increase the awareness statewide about these issues, and recently formed the 

Association of Alaska Native Corporation Human Resource Managers. We think the sharing of 

information on what works, what doesn't, who is available, will increase the number of Natives 

hired not only in our respective organizations, but with others as well. 

With the expectation that NANA can take care of everything and everybody, we know our own 

limitations. We have grown from an original enrollment of 4,800 shareholders to about 8,500. 

We are one of three regions which elected to add children born after 1971. We cannot possibly 

employ everyone, so we began the regional partnership meetings to share this burden. We are 

looking at new economic development activities that are village based, recognizing their small 

size, remoteness, lack of business experience, and lack of infrastructure will make it difficult. 

4 
165 

However, there are viable options which we know are working. We are looking at expanding our 

tourism activities, and are looking at information based opportunities. We are choosing not to 

get left behind. 

So, getting the ieadership of the various institutions and organizations, political and otherwise, to 

begin pushing the solutions to problems back to the village level is going to be critical if we are 

truly going to make headway in bt:coming self sufficient. 

I haven't talked yet about our very successful Red Dog project and a special thanks to many of 

you who were instrumental in helping us get over the hurdles so we could develop the world 

class zinc deposit. With the recently announced additional 80+ million ton deposit, we can 

continue to expect many benefits from this project, including great paying jobs for at this time 

250 shareholders, with an average annual salary of$50,000; revenues to NANA to continue to 

fund our cultural projects; 7(I) revenues for other Native Corporations. This is truly an economic 

development project that can serve as another model in the world for responsible economic 

development. We have a structure in place with an all-village, Native committee whose 

responsibility it is to insure there is minimal or no impact to the environment and all the wild 

resources in the area. We have had to be concerned with beluga migrations and the huge 

shipping boats, the water bodies and Arctic char, the caribou and the road with the constant 

traffic hauling ore. After five years of production and several years before that of construction, 

we are proud to say that economic development activity has not had negative impacts on the 

wildlife. As one of our former Board members testified as we were preparing for Red Dog, "We 

are the original environmentalists." His message was clear that Alaskan Natives would not 

promote something that we were not comfortable would be OK to that which feeds us and is such 

a large part of us culturally. 

There aren't other known Red Dogs in Alaska, but I would like to go on record that NANA 

supports development of ANWR for all the reasons stated above. 

We have learned a few things in the 20+ years that we have become a semi-Westernized 

corporation. We've been stereotyped as being unreliable; we have placed individuals in 

positions they were not suited for; we have not learned about planning ahead and saving for that 

rainy day; we are not yet assimilated to a cash culture. But, we do know that productivity brings 

pride, and pride brings self esteem. 

We know we have the mind boggling government structure that is fragmented, and needs to be 

reigned in to create a system that better serves people, and which we feel will be more effective 

once the government's self imposed walls and turfs are tom down. We know we have to figure 

out the how to's of implementing the recommendations- its ironic because I sense many of us 

are still waiting for someone to come in and tell us how to fix things. 

But, because of the growing awareness and determination of Alaska's Natives to become well 

again, and be the loving, supportive families and communities we once were, we will get there 

5 
166 

through a long and slow procas. 

We will identify the drum belten fur~ ialpodace of ednc8rion, - will UDderslaDd what 

coinmitment to malcins thiDp hlppal~D~:~D~.- will crate the patDcrsbipl necessary to have 

all o( us moving in the ume cliredioD fur lbe JDOd oflbe wbale, 'ft will learn to give up power 

and authority to empower olben,- will tniD oar leldcnbip to atop crating the depeodencies, 

we will coatinue to teaeh what beiDa mpcwwiNc IIII:UI, aDd- will be accoun1able. 

We ask for your cooperation in tbese areas COo. 

6 
167 

Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

House Committee on Resources 

Introduction 

Senate Committee on Indian Affairs 

Testimony of Douglas M. Webb 

Alyeska Pipeline Service Company 

November 16, 1995 Washington, DC 

Good afternoon, Messrs. Chairmen and Members of the Committees. 

I am Doug Webb, Senior Vice President of Alyeska Pipeline Service 

Company. Alyeska is a corporation established to build and operate the 

Trans-Alaska Pipeline, an 800 mile crude oil pipeline that moves oil from 

Alaska's North Slope to the ice-free port of Valdez, where it is shipped to 

market by tankers. Alyeska is owned by seven pipeline companies. They 

are BP Pipelines (Alaska) Inc., ARCO Transportation Inc., Exxon Pipeline 

Company, Mobil Alaska Pipeline Company, Amerada Hess Pipeline 

Corporation, Phillips Alaska Pipeline Corporation and Unocal Pipeline 

Company. 

Alyeska Pipeline is pleased to tell you about the opportunities for Alaska 

Natives on the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS). 

History - General 

Oil was discovered in 1968 on Alaska's North Slope. To address the 

transportation issues associated with what has become North America's 

largest oil field, Congress passed the Trans-Alaska Pipeline Authorization 

Act in 1973. 

As soon as the Act was signed, the TAPS Owners negotiated an Agreement 

and Grant of Right-of-Way with the U.S. Department of the Interior acting 

as agent for the United States. The .Right-of-Way establishes a contractual 

relationship between the Owners of TAPS and the United States. 

Page 1 
168 

History - Section 29 

In addition to the stipulations relating to safety and the environment, the 

Right-of-Way Agreement includes Section 29, titled "Training of Alaska 

Natives." It begins: "Permittees shall enter into an agreement with the 

Secretary [of Interior) regarding recruitment. testing, training, placement, 

employment and job counseling of Alaska Natives. • The section goes on to 

address, in another 100 words or so, direction to the Secretary of Interior 

and the TAPS Owners regarding the make-up of this agreement. 

During construction of TAPS, from 1974-1977, Alaska Native hire appears 

to have surpassed the employment goals set at that rime by almost 100%. 

A study conducted by the University of Alaska, published in 1978, found 

that nearly 6000 Alaska Natives worked in .over 75 job categories on the 

pipeline during construction. Clearly, our Native hire programs were 

successful during the construction era. 

In late 1993, Alyeska conducted a thorough review of the programs 

established to meet the requirements of the Right-of-Way Agreement. We 

concluded that our program for Native hire under Section 29 was not as 

effective as we wanted it to be. A team of Alaska Native employees and 

human resources consultants at Alyeska was set up to identify and address 

specific areas for improvement. 

This team worked for 8 months to develop a proposed new Native 

Utilization Agreement designed to be more effective for the "operations" 

era of TAPS to replace the original "coostruction" era Native Utilization 

Agreement. It was submitted to the Department of Interior in February 

1995 for review and comment. 

Negotiations between the Department of the Interior and A1yeska occurred 

over an additional 8 months. Alyeska also conducted extensive discussions 

with the Alaska Federation of Natives. On October 20, 1995, Alyeska 

President David Pritchard was joined by Assistant Secretary of the Interior 

Robert Armstrong in the signing of the new Native Utilization Agreement. 

We were pleased that this took place at the annual convention of the 

Alaska Federation of Natives in Anchorage. 

I will now describe this unique agreement. 

Page 2 
169 

1995 Native Utilization A~reement 

The objective of this new Native Utilization Agreement is to renew our 

efforts to find, recruit, train and advance Alaska Natives through jobs with 

Alyeska and principal TAPS contractors many of which are Alaska Native 

Corporations. 

This program should not be confused with statutory or regulatory 

affirmative action programs. This program is based on the contract 

between the TAPS Owners and the United States established in the 1974 

Grant of Right-of-Way. 

Our long term goal is to have a workforce on TAPS made up of 20% Alaska 

Natives by 2004. Currently 8% of the TAPS workforce are Alaska Natives. 

The 20% is not a quota, but a goal to gauge the effectiveness of the 

program. 

' Alyeska has committed to spend more than $2 million per year for 12 

years to support the programs required to find, recruit, train and advance 

Alaska Natives. This will include at least $750,000 per year in various 

types of scholarship programs. Additionally, Alyeska has committed to 

contribute $6 million in the next 6 years to an educational foundation 

formed to improve opportunities for Alaska Natives. 

Our focus will be in four areas: 

(1) jobs - direct hire of Alaska natives, 

(2) internships and other internal training opportunities available 

to current and prospective employees, 

(3) scholarships for Alaska Natives, and 

(4) other programs such as mentoring and counseling. 

We don't presume to know yet how to overcome every obstacle we will 

face in reaching our goals. We will continue to work closely with the 

Alaska Federation of Natives and our Alaska Native Corporation 

contractors to achieve these goals. In addition, we will continue to consult 

with Congressional committees of jurisdiction and appropriate agencies of 

government. 

Page 3 
170 

I am pleased to introduce to you the recently appointed manager of 

Alyeska's Native Utilization program. She is Ms. Kathy Mayo, formerly 

the founder and Executive Director of the Doyon Foundation, an Alaska 

Native Non-Profit Corporation providing education and professional · 

development services to Alaska Natives in Alaska's Interior region. She 

will be supported by Mr. Charles Hubbard, who will be the Native 

Utilization program Business Advisor. Mr. Hubbard is an Alaska Native 

who has worked as an operations technidan for Alyeska since 1981. He is 

also the immediate past Chairman and CEO of the Ahtna Native Heritage 

Foundation. Ms. Mayo and Mr. Hubbard will be responsible for day-today implementation of the Native Utilization Agreement. We are fortunate 

to have two people with exactly the corect mix of skills, experience and 

connection to the Alaska Native commuuity to lead our Native Utilization 

program. 

Let me stress that no Alyeska employees wiii be laid off in order to meet 

the goals of the Native Utilization Agreement. However, we have analyzed 

the demographics of our current workforce and it indicates that we can 

expect a significant number of retirements throughout our organization 

over the next ten years. Alyeska intends to use the opportunities created 

by those retirements and normal attrition to increase Alaska Native hire as 

we implement the new Native Utilization Agreement. 

Conclusion 

This agreement represents the principles of respect and dignity Alyeska 

and the TAPS Owners hold for the Alaska Native Community. We look 

forward to a long, productive relationship with Alaska Natives; we know 

how important they are to the success of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline 

System. 

This concludes my presentation. I have provided a copy of our 1995 

Native Utilization agreement and request that it be included in the printed 

record of this hearing. I wiii be glad to answer any questions related to 

Section 29 and the Native Utilization Agreement at this time. 

Page 4 
171 

-SCIUTM~tnla" ~""""""- ' ~(lf'lt,._t.lt ,IIJ(JI)-eltt . TILU-...Js 

October 18, 1995 

Bob l. Armstrong 

Assistant Secretary 

l and and Minerals Management 

Department of Interior 

1849 C Street, NW 

Washington, DC 20240 

Dear Bob: 

APSC letter 195·3386-G . 

Attached lor your approval is a new Natiw Utilization Agreement (NUA) to impmve the 

effectiveness of Alyeska's Native recruiting program under Section 29 of the Federal 

Grant of Right of Way. As you know, we submitted a draft for your consideration on 

February 22, 1995. Since then, we ha\18 been actively engaged in discussions with 

concerned Native representatives and at your request, over the last eight months we 

have focused our discussions on reaching agreement with the Alaska Federation of 

Natives (AFN). 

I am pleased to report that the attached cover letter and NUA were unanimously 

approved by the AFN Board on October 17, 1995. In addition and after AFN's 

endorsement, we talked to DOl offiCials on October 17 and 18, 1995 and made three 

changes to the attached NUA at their request. 

The attached NUA requires a 3-year review with DOt ot Alyeska's results and progress 

in meeting the goals and commitments set out in the NUA. Alyeska has no objection to 

AFN being included in a consultative role in the 3-year Section 29 review process 

between 001 and Alyeska. 

We are pleased that you have agreed to approve the attach8d NUA and that you will be able to travel to Alaska this week so that the agreement can be signed in conjunction 

with the AFN Convention. We look forward to seeing you on Friday. 

Sr. President, 

~-.~- . M~rrc- H alth, Safety, Environment and Corporate Affairs 

DMW:pja 

Enclosures 

cc: Representative Don Young 

Senator Ted Stevens 

Senator Frank Murkowski 

Deborah Williams, BLM 

Tom Allen, BlM John Santora, BLM 

Jerry Brossia, JPO 

Julie Kilka, AFN 

Owners Committee 

David Pritchard, APSC 

Mike Smith, APSC . George Watson, APSC 

Karen Kitty, APSC 

APSC Government Letter File 
Alyesko pi~!!J!· 

October 17, 1995 

Ms. Julie Kitka 

President 

Alaska Federation of Natives. Inc. 

1577 C Street 

Anchorage. AK 99501 

Dear Julie: 

17:~ 

The changes to the February 22nd NUA in the attach<d revision are all offered on the basis that 

the Alaska Federation of Natives (AFN) Board endorses in all respects the attached revision. 

Alyeska will contribute $1 million per year for six ye<~r.; to an AFN endowment fund (beginning in 

1996) if the AFN Board endorses the attached versio~ of the NUA in all respects. supports its 

acceptance by DOl, and agrees to the following requirements: 

I. Alyeska's contributions to the AFN endowment fund are to be viewed positively and are 

not in any way to he tied to the past. 

2. The endowment fund money will be spent in preparing Alaska Natives for oil industry 

jobs. 

3. All AFN Board members will agree to stand with Alyeska on any historical Section 29 

issues. 

4. AFN will agree that if Alyeska performs its Section 29 obligations in good faith that AFN 

will support the finally agreed NUA during the 2004 Right-of-Way Agreement renewal 

process. 

Further, subject to the foregoing conditions, Alyeska will contribute $1 million over three years to 

support fundraising efforts for an AFN endowment ft•nd and the trans Alaska Pipeline System 

Owners agree to support the AFN endowment fundraising effort by pro-actively participating in 

the steering committee for the AFN endowment fund raising for three years with a target of raising 

an additional $20 miltion from third parties. Alyeska also agrees to provide an additional $1 

million to help offset fundraising costs if and when the fundraising efforts have succeeded in 

collecting a net $10 million of the $20 million target (rom third parties. 
Ms. Julie Kitka. AFN 

October 17, 199S 

Page 2 

173 

For tbe considerations stated in Ibis letter Alyesta. in transmitting its final proposed Nti A changes 

to the DOl. will include in our cover leaer to 001 that we have no objection to AFN being 

included in a consultive role in !be ~-year Section 29 review process between DOl and 

Alyeska. 

We look forward to !be agreement of !be AFN Boanl with !be aaacbed NUA and the conditions 

in this cover letter on Tuesday, October 17th. Alyeska will !ben submittbe attached :'-ltiA to the 

DOl for final review and approval. 

gl 

Scni Vice President 

Health, Safety, Environment cl: Corporale Affairs 

cc: Tom Allen 

John Santora 

Jerry Brossia 

R.A. Malonc 

OJ. Pritcbard 

M.F.Smith 

G.A. Watson 
SECTION 

SECTION 

SECTION 

SECTION 

SECTION 

SECTION 

SECTION 

SECTION 

SECTION 

SECTION 

174 

ALASKA NATIVE UTXLIZATION AGREEMENT 

Alyeska Pipeline Service Company 

TABLE QJ' CONTENTS 

l INTRODUCTION 

2 EMPLOYMENT GOALS 

2.1 Alyeska 

2. 2 Designated Contr<tctors 

3 RECRUITING AND PLACEMENT 

3.1 Recruiting Methods 

3. 2 Screening and Ev<:,luations 

3.3 Pre-employment Training 

4 TRAINING PROGRAM~: 

4.1 Types of Trainincr 

4. 2 Learni ng Contract.s 

4.3 Responsibility for Training Success 

5 DEVELOPMENTAL OPPORTUNITIES 

5.1 Loanee Program 

5.2 Intern Program 

5. 3 Educational Assi~ tance 

5.4 Scholarships 

5. 5 Educational Sabbc-.ticals 

5.6 Secondary Support. Programs 

6 NATIVE EMPLOYEE UPPORT 

6.1 Mentoring Progr~1 

6.2 Job Counseling 

6. 3 Cross Cultural A~1areness 

6.4 Nondiscrimination 

6.5 Termination/Notification 

7 MEASUREMENT OF PFcOGRESS 

8 MANAGEMENT/ADMINISTRATION 

9 ADVISORY BOARD 

10 PARTIES 

1 
175 

SECTION l. INIRODUCIIQN. 

Section 29 of the Agreement and Grant of Right-of-Way for 

Trans·Alaska Pipeline (hereafter referred to as •section 29") 

states: 

29 . Training of Alaska Natives 

A. Permittees shall enter into an Agreement with the 

Secretary regarding recruitment, testing, 

training, placement, employment, and job 

counseling of Alaska Natives. 

B. During construction and operation of the Pipeline 

System, Permittees shall conduct a pre - employment 

and on-the-job training program for Alaska Natives 

designed to qualify them for initial employment in 

connection with the Pipeline System and for 

advancement to higher paying positions thereafter. 

C. Permittees shall do everything practicable to secure the employment, in connection with the 

Pipeline System, of those Alaska Natives who 

successfully complete the Permittees' training 

program. Permittees shall inform the Authorized 

Officer of the discharge from such employment of 

each and every Alaska Native and of the reason therefor, in advance of such discharge whenever 

possible or, if advance notice is impossible, as soon thereafter as is practicable. 

D. Permittees shall furnish such information and 

reports concerning Alaska Native employment as the 

Authorized Officer shall require from time to 

time. · 

This agreement between Alyeska Pipeline Service Company 

(hereafter referred to as "Alyeska•), as agent for Permittees, 

and the United States Department of the Interior is made pursuant 

to Section 29 to establish appropriately funded programs to 

increase Alaska Native employment, training, and promotional 

opportunities. This agreement supersedes all previous agreements 

and is intended to improve the effectiveness of the program 

employed by Alyeska to fulfull Alyeska's obligations ~~der 

Section 29. This agreement will remain in force for the duration 

of pipeline operations or until modified by the mutual agreement 

of Alyeska and the United States Department of the Interior. 

2 
1~ 

This agreement is intended to further Alyeska's longstanding 

relationship with Alaska Native organizations, and particularly 

those located in the vicinity of the pipeline corridor. This 

agreement continues Alyeska's efforts, beginning prior to 

construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, to ensure that Alaska 

Natives benefit from the economic development opportunities 

afforded by construction and operation of the Trans-Alaska 

Pipeline System. The programs est~blished by this agreement are not intended to establish an affirnative action plan or quotas 

for Alaska Native employment. These programs instead serve to 

fulfill Alyeska's commitment to the United States, embodied in 

Section 29, and Alyeska's desire tJ afford employment 

opportunities for Alaska Natives, Nith recognition of the 

importance of emphasizing employme~t opportunities for Natives 

who reside in close proximity to t~e pipeline route. 

Alyeska and the Department of the Interior agree to review 

this agreement at least once every three years to assess the 

programs and commitments contained herein. The first review will 

be accomplished on or before DeceriJer 31, 1998. Subsequent 

reviews will occur on or before De·:ernber 31 in three-year cycles 

thereafter. 

This agreement will be imple~=nted by plans and procedures 

appropriate to carry out the commi:ments contained in this 

agreement. Within six months of the execution of this agreement 

by Alyeska and the Secretary, Alyeska will prepare and submit to 

the Authorized Officer, an Initial Plan for Implementation (IPI) 

of the Section 29 Native Utilization Plan. The IPI will 

describe, in broad detail, the intended timing of the various 

programs and commitments in this a<rreement. The IPI shall be 

effective 30 days after it is fo~tlly submitted, unless the 

Authorized Officer objects in writ:.ng to all or a portion of the 

IPI in which case those portions which are unobjectionable shall 

be effective. Review of the IPI by the Authorized Officer shall 

in no way restrict or impede irnpler1entation of any portion of 

this agreement. The IPI will be pl:epared in consultation with 

the Authorized Officer to assure that Alyeska remains responsible 

for the details and successful imp:.ementation of this agreement 

and to assure that appropriate fed•~ral resources are available 

and in place to support realization of positive goals and 

intentions of this agreement. 

Such implementation plan shal:. be consistent with the terms 

and conditions of this agreement. Approval of such plan by the 

United States Department of the Int:erior shall not be 

unreasonably withheld and shall not: be conditioned on Alyeska 

agreeing to terms and conditions therein which are not otherwise 

consistent with this agreement. 

3 
177 

The implementation of programs described by this agreement 

will be prioritized annually to adjust the program to Alyeska 

work force requirements and the availability of the Alaska Native 

work force. Alyeska will maintain the program described for 

Alaska Native employees for the life of this agreement. 

SECTION 2 . EMPLOYMENT GQALS. 

In order to facilitate the measurement of the success and 

improvement of this program, it is the ultimate goal of Alyeska 

to increase its employment of Alaska Natives in regular, 

full-time positions to a level in the combined TAPS work force of 

Alyeska and its Designated Contractors (see Section 2.2) that is 

equivalent. to 20\. This goal is based upon the original overall 

goal in the 1974 Native Utilization Agreement and was derived 

from the estimated percentage that Native Alaskans comprised of 

the total Alaskan civilian population . 

The "combined TAPS work force• is defined as the total 

number of employees on the Alyeska payroll plus the total number 

of employees on the payrolls of the Designated Contractors 

performing work for Alyeska in Alaska measured on an agreed date 

each year. 

It shall further be a goal of this Agreement that Alaska 

Natives will be employed at all levels throughout both the 

Alyeska organization and its Designated Contractor organizations. 

The goals described in this agreement will be reviewed by 

Alyeska and the Department of the Interior in each three-year 

review, to determine whether the goals should be adjusted in 

light of then-available information including progress made 

during the review period, obstacles to implementation and other 

appropriate factors. The numerical goals, other than the 

spending commitment in 2.1, adopted in this agreement or in 

subsequent review periods are aspirational objectives and not 

contractual commitments or guarantees. 

2 . 1 ALYESKA. 

Alyeska will make good faith efforts to achieve the interim 

goals as stated herein. as well as all future interim goals. As a measure of Alyeska's good faith efforts to reach these goals, 

Alyeska agrees that it will spend $25 million over the 12-year 

period (to be spent at a rate of approximately $2.1 million per 

year) from 1996 through 2007 in furtherance of Alyeska and its 

Designated Contractors reaching the ultimate employment goal of 

20% Alaska Natives in the TAPS work force. As a part of this 

spending commitment during the period 1996 to 2007, Alyeska will 

target scholarship spending on an annual basis at a level of 

$750 , 000 . Performance under Section 29 will be measured by the 

4 
178 

DOI based on Alyeska' s continuing ~Jood faith efforts to meet the 

Section 29 commitments contained in this agreement. 

Pursuant to the objectives of Section 29, Alyeska adopts the 

following interim goals for emplo~1ent of Alaska Natives as a percentage of Alyeska's own work force, as of the year-en~ of the 

year identified: 

Aug 1995 

Current 

Estimat!i: ]996 1997 1998 

Managers/Supervisors 3 5 7 10 

Professionals 3 5 7 10 

Technicians 7 8 10 12 

Clerical/Administrative 9 11 13 14 

Attached as Exhibit 1 is an e>:tension of these numerical 

goals through 2007 to indicate higt.er goals that might be reached 

in future years,in pursuit of the cverall target. Actual goals 

in each 3-year period will vary on the basis of performance and 

other factors and will be developec in consultation with the 

Department of the Interior. 

2.2 DESIGNATED CONTRACTORS. 

For purposes of this agreement, a contractor shall be a Designated Contractor if that Contractor has at least so employees engaged full-time in work on TAPS within the State of 

Alaska under contract with Alyeska on a regular basis. 

Contractors who are Designated Contractors at the time this 

agreement is executed will be required to have a Section 29 

implementation plan approved by Alyeska within six months after 

execution of this agreement . Future Designated Contractors will 

be required to have an approved Section 29 implementation plan 

within six months after commencing rAPS-related work under 

contract with Alyeska. 

Designated Contractors' Section 29 implementation plans will 

include average workforce employment goals for each of the 

succeeding three years, and will set objectives of employment of 

Alaska Natives as a percentage of the Designated Contractor's 

workforce at least equal to the minimum goal applicable to 

Alyeska at the end of the then-curr~nt three -year review period. 

Designated Contractors• goals will ~e a lump percentage without 

regard to job categories. Designat~d Contractors• Section 29 

implementation plans will describe ?rograrns they will put in 

place to encourage success in meeti:1g their employment goals, 

including internship, mentoring, co·mseling or other appropriate 

programs for Alaska Natives. 

5 
179 

SECTION 3 . RECRUITING AND PLACEMENT · 

Alyeska will continue to implement a proactive program of 

recruitment, placement and employment to attract Alaska Native 

candidates to meet the employment goals. This program will match 

Alaska Native candidates to job vacancies based upon the existing or potential skill levels of the candidates and current 

organizational needs. 

3.1 Recruiting Methods. 

The Alyeska Human Resources Department will continue to be 

responsible for the ongoing implementation of a recruiting 

program. The recruiting program shall utilize both internal and 

external recruiting efforts to attract qualified candidates . 

Alyeska will develop and maintain recruiting sources and 

establish affiliations to improve success in recruiting Alaska 

Native applicants for job vacancies at Alyeska. 

External recruiting efforts will seek to attract Alaska 

Native candidates with particular focus in areas having a high degree of exposure to Alaska Natives such as trade and vocational 

schools; public and private colleges and universities; Alaska 

Native Regional and Village Corporatio;ls; minority organizations; 

local, state and federal government agencies; and community sources. External recruiting efforts will be conducted inside 

and outside of Alaska at Alyeska's discretion. 

Alyeska will facilitate the development of a comprehensive 

computer database or roster of Alaska Natives qualif!ed for 

employment in the oil industry, by funding 75\ of the development 

cost, with the remaining 25\ to be furnished by Designated 

Contractors, Native Corporations or other interested third 

parties. Development of the database will be overseen by Alyeska, with guidance from a joint steering committee composed 

of representatives of Alyeska and of those Designated Contractors 

and Native Corporations who make a substantial contribution, as determined by Alyeska, to the cost of development. 

Alyeska will work cooperatively with the Designated Contractors to enhance the overall effectiveness of the 

recruiting effort. To the extent practical, Alyeska and 

Designated Contractors will share information gained through 

their respective recruiting sources and assist each other in 

efforts to identify viable candidates for training and/or 

employment. 

6 
180 

3. 2 Screening and Evaluatiomt. 

Alyeska will employ a screening and evaluation process to 

address •testing• referenced in Paragraph A of Section 29 . Each 

applicant may be asked to verify tteir Alaska Native heritage and 

will receive a response from Alyesl<:a notifying them of current 

and potential employment or educational opportunities. 

3.3 Pre-employment Training. 

In order to expand the recruiting effort, Alaska Native 

candidates who do not meet the entry level educational 

requirements for initial employment with Alyeska will be eligible 

for pre-employment training opportunities. 

Alaska Native applicants who do meet entry level educational 

requirements and Alaska Native students who show promise and 

indicate an interest in Alyeska as an employer may be offered 

intern positions as a form of pre-enployment training. Intern 

positions will be designed to provije potential employment 

candidates with on-the-job experience that will stimulate 

interest in and training for future employment. 

SECTION 4. TRAINING PROGRAM£. 

Alyeska will implement trainin·:J programs designed to 

attract, develop, and maintain Alas ~a Native employees at all 

levels in the organization. TrainL1g programs will be designed 

to provide the necessary skills to 1neet entry level requirements, 

enhance the skills of existing empl•Jyees, and provide expanded 

skills to allow employees to develop and advance. 

Training programs for all Alaslca Native employees who wish 

to participate will be defined in d•!tail by the preparation of a Learning Contract. {See Section 4. :! . l 

Alyeska and its Designated Contractors will fund the 

training programs described in this agreement by annual cash 

disbursements projected and budgeted for each year. 

4.1 Types of Training. 

Alyeska will offer a comprehem:ive training curriculum to 

interested Alaska Native employees. Training opportunities will 

be identified soon after an Alaska Native's initial employment 

date and will be reviewed and updatE>d annually by the Alaska 

Native employee in consultation witt• their supervisor and Alyeska 

training professionals. Training will be designed to meet the 

needs of their job or provide skill~ . to encourage advancement and 

enhance individual or career potential. Training will be offered 

in the following areas: 

7 
181 

Leadership Training - Available to Alaska Natives who are in supervisory or managerial roles. This training 

is intended to improve the leadership abilities of 

existing managers and supervisors. 

MAnagement/Supervisory Training - Available to Alaska 

Natives who are in supervisory or management roles or have been identified as candidates for 

management/supervisory roles and have exhibited the 

aptitude and interest to move into leadership 

positions. 

Technical Train; nq - Available to Alaska Natives who 

perform technical jobs (such as operators, mechanics, 

electronics, drafting, et~ ) or nontechnical personnel 

with an aptitude and interest to move into technical 

positions. Training includes programs designed to 

satisfy initial qualification requirements as well as training to maintain and increase proficiency. 

Safety Trai ning - Available to all Alaska Natives in 

all job categories. Safety training will be specific 

to the requirements of each employee's job and is 

intended to provide safe working conditions for 

employees and the overall pipeline system. 

Regulatory Trainiru/ - Available to Alaska Natives who 

have responsibility for performing work to meet 

regulatory requirements. Training includes programs 

designed to satisfy initial qualification requirements as well as refresher training. 

Communications Training - Available to Alaska Natives 

in all job categories. This training is intended to 

improve the business and personal communication skills 

of all employees in the organization. 

Basic Skills/Orientation - Available to all new Alaska 

Native employees. The training focuses on Alyeska 

processes, procedures and corporate culture and 

provides all employees with an awareness of basic 

safety issues and regulatory requirements. 

Professional CggtiQUinq ldu>~ - Available to Alaska 

Natives who are in professional assignments. 

Training may be provided to Alaska Natives through internal 

training programs developed and delivered by Alyeska professional 

trainers; by consultants and professional trainers under contract 

to Alyeska including qualified Native Training Resources (profit 

8 
or non-profit); and through external vendors, schools and 

training institutions for specialty training programs. In 

addition, Alyeska will investigate pprenticeship programs 

(similar to the National Apprenticef:hip Program) to determine if 

such programs provide technical or vocational training 

opportunities that either stand alor_e or supplement Alyeska's 

existing Technician Progression Pro~ram. Designated Contractors 

who already participate in apprenticeship programs will be 

encouraged to continue these progran$ so long as they are a viable method to train Alaska NativEs. 

4 .2 Learning Cont racts. 

The identification of the types of training to be provided 

and the planning and organizing of the training curriculum will 

be accomplished annually through the preparation of a Learning 

Contract for each Alaska Native employee. The preparation of the 

Learning Contract is an interactive process involving the 

employee, the employee's supervisor and Alyeska's training 

professionals, with input from the employee's mentor as appropriate (as described in Section 6 . 1). 

Each year the Learning Contract will be updated for each 

participating Alaska Native empl oyee taking into account previous 

traini ng experience and identifying specific, prioritized 

training to enhance current job resp~nsibilities and 

developmental training to allow and ~ncourage professional 

advancement . An annual schedule of training events will be 

developed by the Human Resources Dep3.rtment and coordinated with 

the employee's supervisor to ensure ,;tdequate time away from work 

is available to attend training . 

Alaska Native employees are responsible for participation in 

the preparation of the annual Learning Contract, successful 

completion of training classes and providing feedback to Alyeska 

concerning the effectiveness of the ~raining received. 

4.3 Responsibil i ty for Traininq Success . 

The responsibility for the succ•!ss of the training program 

will be jointly shared between Alyeska and each Alaska Native 

employee participating in the progr~~- Alyeska will plan and 

organize training curricula to suit the needs of each employee 

and qualify trainees to assume the responsibilities of the 

positions to which they and Alyeska agree are appropriate; make 

appropriate training personnel and facilities available; and 

supervise, manage, and monitor the t r aining efforts to 

continuously improve the training process. 

9 
183 

SECTION 5 DEVELOPMENTAL OPPORTUNITIES. 

In addition to the formal training programs described in 

Section 4.0, Alyeska will also provide developmental 

opportunities for Alaska Native employees. 

5 . 1 Loanee Program. 

Loanee Programs for Alaska Native employees may be used to 

obtain specialized skills, training and unique experiences not 

available in the Alyeska system. 

Targeted placements may include: Native Regional and Village 

Corporations, nonprofit corporations, Alliance Contractors , and 

other petroleum industry companies. 

5.2 Intern Program. 

Alyeska will implement an Intern Program for qualified 

Alaska Native employees seeking employment or advancement to 

higher positions. 

5.3 Educational ~sistance. 

Alyeska provides educational assistance that is available to 

all employees, including Alaska Natives. The educational 

assistance program will reimburse Alaska Native employees up to 

80\ of the cost for pre-approved courses. Individuals may seek 

technical training, advanced degrees, degree completion, or a basic degree. 

5 . 4 Scholarships. 

When necessary to provide training or education of Alaska 

Natives to prepare them for initial employment or advancement to 

higher positions within Alyeska, Alyeska will provide a limited 

number of scholarships on an annual basis. 

Alaska Natives who apply for scholarships must meet minimum 

requirements and agree to. program stipulations. Scholarships will be granted at the sole discretion of Alyeska. 

5.5 Educational Sabbaticals. 

Alaska Native _employees who have worked for Alyeska for at 

least two years may apply for unpaid educational sabbaticals to 

pursue degrees or further their professional development. 

Sabbaticals will be granted in accordance with Alyeska's Leave of 

Absence Procedure. 

10 
184 

5.6 Secondary Support Program§. 

Alaska Native employees who have worked for Alyeska for at 

least two years may apply annually for funds to support programs 

at their village or regional level that will assist Native 

students currently enrolled in se:ondary schools to develop 

skills that will help qualify them for entry level employment in 

the Alaska job market upon graduacion. Alyeska will review all 

applications and may select some for funding. All Alaska Native 

employees who make an application for demonstration funds will be 

notified of those selected and th; selection criteria . The 

selection of programs under this 9rovision shall be the sole 

discretion of Alyeska. 

SECTION 6. NATIVE EMPLOYEE SUPPORT. 

Alyeska will provide Job Counseling and Mentoring Programs 

to Alaska Native employees, above and beyond the aforementioned recr~iting, training and developmental opportunities. 

6 . 1 Mentoring Proaram. 

Alyeska will develop a forma:. Mentoring Program that will 

provide a mechanism for selected JUaska Native employees to be 

paired in a developmental relationship with an Alyeska mentor. 

The Mentoring Program, which will be coordinated with each 

employee's supervisor, will provide for personalized educational, 

professional and career developmental assistance to Alaska Native 

employees selected to participate in the Mentoring program. The 

Mentoring Program will be available to Alaska Native employees 

who are selected and who elect to participate in the program. 

The Human Resources Department will have the primary 

responsibility for management, acm1inistration and implementation 

of the Mentoring Program. 

6.2 Job Counseling. 

Alyeska will provide a Job Cc•unseling Program designed to 

assist all employees including Ala.ska Natives and their mentors. 

The Job Counseling Program will be coordinated by the Human 

Resource Department to provide co~: nseling as a means of assisting 

employees with concerns or problen~ that may interfere with 

employment success. 

6 . 3 Cross Cultural Awareness .. 

Alyeska will actively promote a cross-cultural work 

environment by providing cross-cultural training to every 

employee, including an understanding of Section 29 and Alyeska's 

long-term relationship with Alaska Natives, and by sponsoring 

11 
185 

cultural awareness activities. Alyeska will promote and 

integrate positive imag€s of Alaska Native culture in its decor 

and advertisements, and will sponsor, promote or participate in 

selected traditional Alaska Native cultural activities in the commun i ty. 

6 . 4 Nondiscrimination . 

Alyeska will maintain a work environment that is free from 

discriminati on or harassment. Alyeska will promptly and fairly 

investigate and respond to allegations of disriminatory or harassing conduct . It remains each supervisor's and manager's 

duty to enforce Alyeska's Code of Conduct. 

6.5 Termination/Notification. 

Alyeska will use progressive disciplinary measures to aff ord 

employees every reasonable opportunity to correct deficiencies or job performance prior to termination . The Human Resources 

Department will review, in advance when possible, all proposed 

disciplinary actions or discharges of employees . No employee of 

Alyeska will be terminated for cause unless the termination occurs in accordance with Alyeska's Disciplinary Actions 

Procedure and subject to review by the Alyeska Business Practices 

Officer. "Cause• shall have the same meaning as in Alyeska's· Disciplinary Actions Procedure . Until the established employment 

goals are achieved, Alyeska will make every reasonable effort to 

retain, retrain or transfer rather than lay-off Alaska Native 

employees during times of reorganization and/or 

reduction-in-force except those Alaska Natives who choose 

retirement or a severance package. Nothing in this agreement 

shall limit or otherwise affect Alyeska's ability to terminate 

any employee for cause including poor job performance . Designated Contractors' procedures for discipline and discharge 

of their employees will be a component of their Section 29 Plan . 

Alyeska and Designated Contractors will inform the 

Authorized Officer i .n writing of the pending discharge and reason therefore of any Alaska Native employee working on TAPS, in 

advance of notification to the employee if possible. If advance 

written notice is not possible, immediate verbal notification 

will be provided if practicable and will be followed up in 

writing as soon as possible. Notification from Designated 

Contractors will not be required when Alaska Natives .are terminated as a result of the normal completion, suspension, or stoppage of project work. 

SECTION 7 . MEASUREMENT OF PROGRESS. 

Alyeska is in a declining mode of operations, and it is 

anticipated the total work force necessary to effectively operate 

12 
186 

the system will be growing smaller as time passes. At the same time, the program described by .this agreement will be attempti ng 

to place more Alaska Natives into the dimini shing work force . As a resul t, the target ed employment 'joa l s and the metr.ods used t o measu r e compliance with these goals will need to be periodically 

adjust ed to reflect the changing b.1siness needs. 

Measurement of progress towarj the overall goals of this 

program must recognize many factors and cannot be measured simply 

by counting the number of Alaska Natives employed at any one point in time . Although the success o f the program will 

prima ril y be measured by the number of Alaska Natives employed , success (and credi t t owards achiev·=ment of the goa l s of Section 29 ) will also be measured by the number of Alas ka Natives who may 

not be currently empl oyed by Alyeska or a Designated Contractor 

but may be enrolled in an educational or training program. Similarly, the measurement approach must recognize current Alaska 

Native employees who are on loan to other organizations or are involved in career advancement programs intended to allow the 

employee s to move up to h igher job categories. 

Measurement must also recogni::e Alyeska's 

contribution to systemic educationa l programs. 

expenditures under this provision >Jill be made 

priorities in mind: (1) jobs; (2) internships 

scholarships; and (4) community support. 

efforts towards 

The annual 

with the following 

and training; (3) 

In recognition of the above considerations, credit towards 

meeting the overall goals of this program will be measured in 

terms of employment, training and educational opportunities for 

Alaska Natives as follows: 

1 . Each Alaska Native on the Alye ska or Designated Contractor 

payroll during the year will count as a single employment opportunity on an agreed date each year. Those Alaska 

Natives employed for less thar. a full year will be counted 

based upon the portion of the year for which they are employed, even if they are not employed on the agreed date. 

2. Each Alaska Native not employed but who receives a scholarship funded by Alyeska will be counted as an educational opportunity . Each educational opportunity will 

count as 1/2 credit of an employment opportunity. Credit 

will be given for the year the individual is enrolled in a training program regardless of whether or not the individual 

voluntarily resigns from the training program, is dismissed or refuses subsequent employment. 

3. Each Alaska Native employee on loan to another organization or on sabbatical for purposes of career development or training will count as a single employment opportunity as 

13 
1~ 

long as he or she remains an Alyeska employee on the agreed 

date that year. 

4. Alaska Natives who are actively employed, have been 

identified as candidates for higher job categories, and are participating in training to allow them to move to the 

higher job category, will be counted as an additional 

employment opportunity for the portion of the year they are enrolled in the training. 

s. Internships (internal and external) will be counted as a single employment opportunity. Summer internships will 

count as an employment opportunity for the pro rata share of 

the year that they are working as interns. 

6. Each funding of a secondary support program and other 

systemic educational programs will be counted as a single 

employment opportunity in increments of $30,000 expended . 

Alyeska will develop a program of internal measurement to 

determine the effectiveness of the recruiting, training, loanee, 

and counseling efforts. Data will be recorded and management 

reports prepared on a periodic basis to establish trends in job 

retention, promotions to higher levels, annual performance 

evaluations, training effectiveness, and scholarship 

effectiveness. These statistics will serve as a measure of success of the overall program and can be modified to meet the 

changing needs of Alaska Natives, Alyeska, and its Designated 

Contractors. 

If the three-year (e.g., 1998) goal identified in Section 

2 . 1 above is not reached during the applicable year (e.g., '96, 

'97 and '98) Alyeska will make funds available during the 

following calendar year to create the number of additional 

educational or employment opportunities that would be required to 

fulfi ll the goal. Funds expended by Alyeska for this purpose will 

be counted toward Alyeska's overall commitment to spend $25 

million in funding on Section 29 between 1996 and 2007. 

An Alaska Native who accepts an offer of benefits under a Voluntary Severance Program will continue to be counted as a single employment opportunity for a period of three years following the date of severance . 

SECTION 8. MANAGEMENIIADMINISTRAIION. 

Management and administration of the Alaska Native 

Utilization Program will be the responsibility of Alyeska's Human 

Resources Department . Alyeska will provide the resources reasonably necessary to implement this agreement, as provided 

14 

21-794 - 96 - 7 
188 

herein. An Alyeska employee in a position reporting to a Vice 

President will be accountable for the management of this program. 

SECTION 9. APVISORY BOARD. 

Alyeska will establish an Advisory Board to provide advice 

and counsel regarding the operation of the program, assess the success of the program in achieving the agreed goals, make r ecommendations for change and improvement, and to further report 

annually to Alyeska management on the overall effectiveness of 

the program. The Advisory Board wi l l include : representatives 

from Alyeska Management, Alyeska's Human Resources Department, 

Alyeska Alaska Native employees' representatives, representatives 

from Designated Contractors and external Alaska Native 

representatives from appropriate Native Organizations including 

AFN, ANCET and the four Alaska Native Regional Corporations whose 

lands adjoin the right-of-way. 

The Advisory Board will meet on a quarterly basis . The 

agenda for each meeting will be developed by consensus. Alyeska 

will provide the Advisory Board with data and reports as required or requested by the Advisory Board to understand the overall 

progress of the program. 

SECTION 10. PARTIES. 

The sole parties to this agreement are Alyeska, as agent for 

Permittees, and the Department of the Interior. The parties 

hereto do not intend to create any rights under this agreement 

that may be enforced by any third parties for their own benefit or for the benefit of others. 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Parties hereto have duly executed 

this Agreement as of this~day of October, 1995. 

UNITED STATES OF AMJmiCA ALYBSJ:A PIPELINE SERVICE COMPANY 

Acting as Agent on behalf of: 

NE1WJA I£SS PIPBJIE CORP. 

NlCtJ TRANSI'ORTATION N<, INC. 

IJ' Plf'ELIIES (AlASKA) INC. 

EXXON PIPEUNE CQ/f'Nff 

loiOBl. NJ,SKA PIPELINE COMPANY 

PHIWPS NJ,SKA PIPELINE CO. 

lHlCAl PIPEliNE COMPANY 

Br. 

iT[Javid ~ J. Pritchard 

President & CEO 

15 
189 

EXHIBIT 1 

Hypothetical Extension of Goals 

for Alyeska's Work Force 

The following extension through 2007 of the goals identified 

in Section 2.1 is provided to show the possible effect of 

continued regular increases in Alaska Native employment. The 

projection does not take account of the possible revision or modification of Alyeska's goals during the three-year review 

process. 

2001 

2004 

2007 

Alaska Natives as a % of Average TAPS 

Work Force Employment 

16% 

20% 

20% 

16 
190 

ALASKA FEDERATION OF NATIVES, INC. 

SOBRIETY MOVEMENT 

PUBLIC TESTIMONY 

PREPARED FOR THE 

SENATE ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMITTEE 

HONORABLE FRANK H. MURKOWSKI, CHAIR 

SENATE COMMI'ITEE ON INDIAN AFFAIRS 

HONORABLE SENATOR JOHN McCAIN, CHAIR 

HOUSE RESOURCES COMMITIEE 

HONORABLE CONGRESSMAN DON YOUNG, CHAIR 

WASHINGTON, DC 

HEARINGS ON THE 

ALASKA NATIVES COMMISSION REPORT Vol. I, II, III 

Thursday, November 16, 1995 

Friday, November 10, 1995 

Greg L. Nothstine, AFN!SM Cooldinator 

1577 C Street, Suite 201 *Anchorage, Alaska 99501 * 907-274-36-11 • fax 907-274-7989 
191 

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

I. Testimony 

II. AFN/SM Narrative Outline (w/attachments) 

a. Position Paper. i.e., mission. goals, concept definitions, merits 

b. Sobriety Pledge & Sign·Up Sheet 

c. Events & number of sobriety signatures collected - last 9 months. 

d. Resolution "Draft" for becoming a Charter Group/Honor Society 

e. Current list of the 58 AFN/SM Chaner Groups & Honor Societies 

f. Budget "Draft" for AFN/SM's fiscal year (April '96 - March '97) 

g. Current list of AFN/SM Council Members 

III. 1995 AFN Resolutions 

a. ~ "Keeping Sobriety in the Public Domain; 

Implementing into Action the Alaska 

Natives Commission's Recommendations" 

b. ~ "Restoring the Shared Strength of Spirit among 

Alaska Natives, Alaska's Citizens" (Proclaiming 

March '96 as Sobriety Awareness Month) 

IV. 1994 Final Report Summary 

Separate Attachment: Three Copies of "Helping Sobriety Happen" Manual 
192 

TESTIMONY 

GREG NOTHSTINE, COORDINATOR, AFN SOBRIETY MOVEMENT (AFN/SM) 

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 1995 

Messrs. Chairman. Members of the Committees. Ladies and Gentlemen: 

My English name is Gregory Nothstine, my Inupiaq (Eslcimo) name is Tungwenuk. I am testifying 

in my capacity as the Alaska Federation of Natives' Sobriety Movement (AFN/SM) coordinator, 

augmenting the testimony of Ms. Julie Kitka, AFN President. to the findings and recommendations 

of the Alaska Natives Commission Repon. 

In so doing, Messr. Chairmen, allow me to give you a summary to what the AFN/SM is. The 

AFN/SM is a campaign, self-supporting through th: charitable contributions of individuals and 

businesses. Its mission is to encourage and suppolt the sobriety movement already growing in 

Alaska, and to the reinforcement of a "lifestyle" with which lhousands of Alaskans (if not millions 

of Americans) are already familiar, i.e., sobriety: a positive, healthy and productive way of life, 

free from the devastating effects of alcohol and drugs. 

The AFN/SM's 18 member advisory council l:dieves its ~. not only mobilizes 

individuals and communities into taking joint QMI!~ in a common solution to the problem 

of alcohol and drug abuse, but that the outline and fund-raising format is simple and duplicable 

enough, that it allows it the potential to becom~ fully self-sustaining without government 

subsidy. 

For more on the AFN/SM's campaign, Messrs. Chairman, let me to refer you to a prepared packet 

of information attached to the back of this testimony. 
193 

Messrs. Otairmen, Ms. Julie Kitka, AFN President, has already eloquently outlined for you the 

history, findings and recommendations of the Alaska Native Commission's Report. My testimony 

is not so much a reiteration, as much as a representation. to the sentiments which have been 

expressed by many "Alaska Native" rural health & substance abuse prevention providers. Time 

and again, at one drug prevention seminar or another (e.g., sponsored mostly by government 

agencies), this aggregate group has expressed their frustration to tbe AFN/SM Council when its 

was first known as tbe "Alaska Native Blue Ribbon Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse. 

1he essence of their frustration, I have paraphrased in tbe following paragraph: 

"When ever we had a problem in our village (e.g., suicide. domestic violence, substance 

abuse) tbe government would have us deal wilh representatives of a particular profession, in order to help fix the problem. With good intentions, lhese warm-hearted and 

caring individuals would give us their "professional" diagnoses, introduce the latest in 

methodologies worlting well in other parts of the country, organize and hold seminars 

and classes on tbe subject maner, give us worltbooks, and then leave. lbis has, more 

often than not, only lead to compounding tbe problem. Because what works in Detroit, 

or in the suburbs of New York or Los Angeles, does not work in the rural viii~ 

of Alaska. The reason why they do not work has become self-evident, they do little 

or nothing to validate, emoower or incorporate our Native village people's lifeways, 

customs or traditional values." 

1bis underscores most, if not all, of the underlying theme ridcfied throughout tbe findings and 

recommendations of tbe Alaska Natives Commission Report. The report, again, significantly 

underscores that a huge gap exists in the need for culturally relevant, or contemporary, approaches 

in dealing with the pervasive socio-economic and judicial problems Alaska Natives face. 

In an effort to provide "culturally relevant" approaches. at least in dealing wifh/ substance abuse 

prevention, the AFN/SM, with the sponsorship of ARCO of Alaska, the Aiasb Native Health 
194 

Board and the Indian Health Service (IRS), produced and published a manual in September, 1994, 

called, "Helping Sobriety Happen." From this manual, I would like to share the following: 

"For at least a decade, Alaska Natives have lamented the lack of information and 

materials that 'culturally and philosophically' approach the prevention of 

substance abuse. The purpose of HELPING SOBRIElY HAPPEN is to fill this 

gap. The manual is designed with village-based service providers in mind, 

recognizing that Alaska Natives respond better to prevention models ·which reflect 

their cultural mores and traditions. It is hoped that. anned with this manual, 

Native and non-Native providers serving Native oommunities will increase their 

knowledge of methods and models that can be successfully applied to Alaska 

Natives, whether they are in treatmerl centers. in neighbolhoods, or in villages." 

Messr. Chairmen, here is a copy of the manual for anyone who may be interested in reviewing its 

contents. 

In summation, Messr. Olairmen, the Alaska Natives Commission Report, is a historic and 

phenomenal document Before this three volume repon. we, Alaska Natives, have had to bear with 

dealing and viewing ourselves through the eyes of ethnocenlric interpretations, studies, and 

diagnoses, of an alien culture, whose social structure and government - well founded in the 

perpetuity of human rights and US Constitution -- has inadvertently, in some areas, been worlcing 

contrary to, and to the demise, of Alaska Natives. Through the Alaska Native Commission's 

Report, Alaska Natives, for perhaps the first time, have had the collective owortunity to document. 

take inventory, and share their own prospecti-..e on what historically has occurred and been 

effecting them ever since the first contact was made with the western wodd. 

This report pays homage to the perseverance, oollective spirit, tolerance, and gentle demeanor of 

Alaska's Native People. Notwithstanding, it should serve as notice to all policy makers in 

govenunent, that Alaska's Native people cannot oontinue to tolerate any further injustice or 
195 

inequality, when it comes to their beirig "managed" by the duties, services and trust responsibilities 

of govenunent 

Recently, the delegates to the 29th Annual Alaska Federation of Natives Convention. passed 

anolher resolution (95-36) asking "that the State of Alaska make it an illunediate priority to 

augment the recommendations of the Alaska Natives Commission (Report) as outlined in its First 

Vobane ... to reduce the causes and obstacles in preventing alcohol and drug abuse ... • " A copy of 

this resolution can be foWld in the packet of information on AFNJSM. along wilh another 

resolution (95-55) proclaiming the month of"Man:h 1996" as Sobriety Awareness Monlh (SAM). 

Messr. Olainnen. it has been an honor for me to make this teslimony before you here today. On 

behalf of the Alaska Federation of Natives, the AFN Sobriety Movement Council, and the 

lhousands of men, women and children, whose signatures will ttavel 1.049 miles on Alaska's own 

historic lditarod trail, I thank you all for your time and attention. 

Attachment: 
196 

ALASKA FEDERATION OF NATIVES, INC. 

SOBRIETY MOVEMENT 

NARRATIVE 

Campaign 

The AFN/SM is a self-supporting campaign whose mission is to encoorage and support the 

growing sobriety movement in Alaska. 

Charter Groups & Honor Societies 

Becoming an AFN/SM Charttr Group -or- Honor Socitty is easy, e.g., any student council, 

village council, business, corporation, city, etc.,~ All any group has to do is pass a 

resolution, which adoptS: a) AFN/SM's goals; b) AJ'NJSM's definition of~; and c) 

pledges to host "at least" one armual sober (drug-me) celebration. and tum it into AFN/SM. 

Sobriety Pledge Signatures: 50,000 in 1995/96 

Once a group has become an Owter Group -or- Honor Society, the biggest and most important 

job they will do, is help AFN/SM ronect signatures for sobriety (i.e., tluough AFN/SM's Sobriety 

Pledge) using a petition like sign-up sheet; mailing lhem to AJ'NJSM before the end of the third 

week in the month of February .. 

The lditapledge: AFN/SM's Largest Fund-raiser 

One of the benefits of being (or becoming) an AFN/SM Owter Group -or- Honor Society 

(CG/HS) is participating in one of AFN/SM's largest annual fund-raisers, i.e., the lditapledge for 

Sobriety. The process is, again, easy. The only requirements• fordoing so, are the following: 

1. Collect sobriety pledge signatures from individuals in your respective rommunity; 

2. Mail or fax signatures to AFNSM Headquutels, 011 or before the third weekend in February, so 

that they can be put on to micro-film and gi~ to a drug-me Alaska Native, who will then take 

up to Nome-- 1,049 miles-- in the annuallditarod Sled Dog Race; 

3. Invite local and regional~ (e.g .• who signed the sobriety pledge tluough your group) to 

pledge a penny (.Ole) for every mile their signature will be carried on the lditarod trail; extend 

an invitation to all of your local and regional businesses* to show their support by pledging a 

ilickel (.05c), up to a dollar. for every mile the signatures collected by your group get carried on 

the lditarod trail (again, that is 1,049 miles x $0.00:); 

•FUNDS ACCEPTANCE POUCY SfATEMENT: AFNSM's o-:il fimcl-noiaao& policy tiMz-iltdMd< «c•pti., any 

oonaibuliona,~.-lheiiq.--.-y,i.e.,bon,lilp>c--or-UIOCiaDanl. lheAFNSMCouDcil 

believes Chis is self-4dc:oline -...sasts .... all CGIIS's -Chis policy sod follow suilc." 

4. Report the total amount of contributiom received (I.e., including those not yet received, but 

pledged) to AFN/SM Headquarters. On a sliding scale: Share a minimum of ten percent 

(10%). to a maximum of twenty-five pen:eDl (25%) of the funds your respective group 

generates from using AFN/SM's lditapltdgefor Sobriety fund-raising campaign. 

1 1\fPORTANJ: AFN/SM Is orpn- ullder ... Al..U Fodondon oflolatht:s Fouodalloa, a 501(<)3 DOD·profit Ol'laalzlltloa, 

all coatrlbutioos made tow.rd tbe APNSM. !!!d. !l!lr the Af'NISM.. •e tax deductible. AD CGHSs, 001. ora:anized. undec a non-profit 

(tax exempt) organizarioo, arc~ ID ~ea~~~: lbr: -wort and coopamaa of ooc tu receive coauibWcm oa. their bdWf. so lhat, my 

contributions m::eivcd can have the bc:nefil: ofbeinc IU: . 
197 

Alaska Federation of Natives 

*Sobriety Movemen~ 

*SOBRIETY PLEDGE 

As an ,A~pska Nati):e or Concenzed:lndivi,dual,,.., . do hereby 

~::n:ui~~ ~ .~:~~::;;Z(fi;~ Native famffi~s;~ 2) To encourage the pr~ctice of t~aditi~gaf'Nati~~ 

values and activities;,;> 3) To cooperilteand support existing groups 

working to prO:fu~~:'sogriety amqng Alaska ~~Natives; 4) To 

encourage 

Individuals, 

~tr~reu1~~ in~~~~~~ka Native 

..,,,,..,""rt so~r OOaslfu Native -->> :: --_. -~~--~ ~~:_-'- , _::~:~: 

.... , ... , ... .," .... Nati~es or Concerned ' ).- . .. 

distinct .nation it will be . t'· 

because I the elementS lich w~n and 

~ ·:t~-::: ·<:.· ;,r •-- ~- .,.. 

destroy our values, mrr languages and our spirits~ If our spi,pts are 

to remain strong and sober, it has to begin somewhere. 

LET IT BEGIN WITH ME!! 

• 50SRJCTY · .A POSI11V£. HE.ALTHr AND I'RODtLTJV[ WAY OF UF£. FJ(£E f'lfCW nl£ DlVASTAn.M: EFfECTS OF ~ ~ DRUCS". 

1577 "C" Street, Suite 100 • Anchorage, Alaska 99501 • Phone (907) 274-3611 Fax (907) 276-7989 
198 

A F N SOBRIETY MOVEMENT 

SOBRIETY PLEDGE SIG!f-UP SHEET 

ADDRESS 
199 

ALASKA FEDERATION OF NATIVES, INC. 

SOBRIETY MOVEMENT 

Events & Current Sobriety Pledge Count 

I. Annual School of Addiction Studies (Anch.) 

2. Northern Lights Recovery Center Staff (Nome) 

3. Drug Enforcement Adrninstration & 

110 

6 

National Coaches - Athletic Association Conf. (Tucson, AZ) 40 

4. Rural Providers Conf./World Eskimo-Indian Olympics (Bthl/Fbks) 404 

5. NSHC Youth Rally on Prevention (Nome) 94 

6. National Indian Child Care Development Conf. (Seattle) 152 

7. National Council on Alcoholism Conf. (Anch.: Aug '95) 44 

8. North Slope Borough Tour (8 Villages- Sept. 13 to 20) 444 

9. AFN Convention 1786 

TOTAL 3,082 
200 

AFNISM CHARTER GROUPfi.IONOR SOCIETY 

MEMBERSHIP RESOLUTION 

Rf:soluticn # __ 

TITLED: Name ofOrganizaticn pledges to the sua::ess cf AFN Solriecy Movement (AFN!SM) and its missicn 

to restae the spirit and hcnoc arncng Alaska Natives weakened by suhstance arose. 

WHEREAS: Suhstance aWs<: (alcOOolldrugs) bas becane the gateway to the myriad social health problems facing 

Alaska Natives, and ochers oona:rnal. <1isrup1int families and <XIlUilunities; and 

WHEREAS: The social scrvioe'S indusay bas expanded re9:)UJ:O:S in Alaska to help Alaska Natives, and others 

cmremed. to cope with and allcYiare the problems and symptans of suhstance ahJse, yet the problems 

and symptoms are still widcoprcad; and 

WHEREAS: lluwgh AFN's Ccnvmtion rcsolulim process, bJaska Nati...:s have recognized. time and again. that 

alodial and drug abuse is a pcnasive and immo1ialc health~ AFNs Board established the AFN 

Sobricly MoYcnau as a permanc:m. !df~ progllllll.IO encaJrli8C and suppcn the grassmxs 

sotxiecy movement growing among Alaska Nativ:s; and -

WHEREAS: Go=noc Tcny Knowles, the 19dt Alaska StaUo l..egislalure and the AFN Board of Dira:fors, have 

declared the mcnth of March as "Solriely Awareness Mcnlh . AFN/SM qJenly invites all AFN 

member ocganizaticns, and third pany ocganizalioos, 10 suppcn AFN!SM in pmnoting sotxiecy as a 

lifestyle woolly of pursuit and pradic:c by beaming a Owtc" <:irouj:VHcnoc Society of AFN!SM; and 

WHEREAS: Over 50 AFN!SM 01arter ~ Societi:s already exist, the cnly requimnents foc heame an 

AFN!SM Olarter Groop'Hm<r Sociecy are ta: i) ~ AFN/SM's galls, ii) AFN!SM's definiticn of 

sotxiecy, iii) host at least one annualmocling, frstival or cdc:bratioo, in any respective <XIlUilunity oc 

regicn, which focuses oc campaigns on the merits of sobriely; and 

WHEREAS: The AFN!SM Coonci1 have fuund the merils of sobriety 10 be the following, it: a) Improves the quality 

of life and health of individuals, famili<s and canmunitics; b) Roducts the incidence of aloOOal and 

drug relaled aimes; c) Reduces the burden on !l'JYCIIIIIICIIl to exhaust its ~ m the problems 

and symptoms of suhstance abuse. 

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED That the Board of Diro:urs d Name d Or!!il!!ization hereby ~ the 

gcals of AFN!SM: 1) To cncwrage and support alalbol-free and drug-free Alaska Native families; 2) To enCIJUillge the 

JDC!ice of lraditimal Native values and activities; 3) To suppan e.isting llJWil" working to JX001«C solxiety amcng 

Alaska Natives; 4) To enCIJUillge the li:nnatim d sdri<ly llJWil" :n evr:cy Alaska Native <XIlllllunity; 5) To enCIJUillge 

and suppcn sober Alaska Native lead= and role models; and be it 

FlNALL Y RESOLVED That Name d Organizalim ~ AFI/ISM's dc:tinition of sotxiety; a positive, hM/thy and 

productiw way of life, free from tilL dewutating effects of alcoltol or dnlgs; pledge to host at least one annual meeting, 

festival oc celchaticn which fOCIICS oc campaigns m the merits d !Obriety lQ Chat the peqlle ~respect and hm<rably 

st:r\'e in our (chose cne) a:mmunity/rqim{oorporati wiliiDISidcr sotxiety as a lifeslyle woohy d pursuit and p-actice. 

Enacted by lhe (Name) Board of Directo<s in (City) by a _to __ ve~e, lhis _day of_, 199 _. 

PRESIDENT 

A~T:. ~--------------~ SECRETARY 
201 

AFN Sobriety Movement 

Charter Groups & Honor Societies* 

I. Alaska Native Health Board 

2. Alaska Statewide Native Youth Leadership Conference 

3. Alaska Village Electric Co-operative 

4. Ambler Advisory School Board 

5. Anchorage Assembly 

6. Arctic Slope Regional Corporation 

7. Arctic Winter Games Corporation of Alaska (Team Alaska) 

8. Anvil Mt. Correctional Center (Native Culture Club) 

9. Alaskans for Drug-Free Youth Statewide Board 

lO.Bristol Bay Na~ive Association 

ll.Bristol Bay Native Corporation 

12. Bristol Bay Area Health Corporation 

13.Central Council - Tlingit & Haida Tribes of Alaska 

14.Partnership for a Health Community (Anch.) 

15.Chilkoot Indian Association (IRA) 

16.Cook Inlet Tribal Council 

17.Cook Inlet Pre-Trial Facility (Native Culture Club) 

18.Dillingham Beaver Round-Up Festival Association 

19.Eiim ffi.A Council 

20.Eyak Tribal Council 

21. The Eskimo-lndian-Aieut Publishing Co. (Tundra Times) 

22.Fairbanks Native Association 

23.Fairbanks Correctional Center 

24.Golovin Native Corporation 

25.Govemor's Advisory Board on Alcohol & Other Drugs 

26.Heartbeat Alaska 

27.Highland Mt./Meadow Creek Correction Center (Native Culture Club) 

28.Kawerak, Inc. 

29.Kodiak Tribal Council 

30.Ketchikan Correctional Center (Native Culture Club) 

•Passed AFNISM's Resolution "Draft" for become a O!arter Group or Honor Society. 
202 

3l.Levelock Village Council 

32.Lemon Creek Con·ectional Center (Nc.tive Culture Clu b) 

33.M1NT Limited 

34.Maniilaq Association 

35.National Family Partnership for Drug-Free Youth 

36.NANA Regional Corporation 

37 .Nome Native Youth Leadership Council 

38.Norton Sound Health Corporation 

39.New Stuyakhok Traditional Council 

40.North Slope Celebration of Sober Life Movement 

41. Old Harbor Tribal Council 

42.0uzinkie Tribal Council 

43.Pt. MacKenzie Rehabilitation Center (Native Culture Club) 

44.Palmer Correctional Center (Native Culture Club) 

45.Qinarmiut Corporation 

46.Qawalangin -Tribe of Unalaska 

47.Safe & Fear Free Envirorunent (S.A.F.E.) 

48.Sitka Natives for Sobriety (Alaska Native Brotherhood Camp #1) 

49.Spirit Days, Incorporated 

50.Sitka Alliance for Health 

5l.Shishrnaref Sobriety Club 

52. Spring Creek Correctional Center (Native Culture Club) 

53.St. Paul Island High School Student Omncil 

54. Tanana Chiefs Conference, Incorporated 

55. Wildwood Correctional Center (Native: Culture Club) 

56. World Eskimo-Indian Olympics 

57. Yukon-Kuskokwim Correctional Center (Native Culture Club) 

58. Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation 
203 

PROJECTED 1996-97 AFN/SM "CAMPAIGN" BUDGET* 

Fiscal Year Startin April 1, 1996 to March 31, 1997) 

mrn&~u Projected Budget Targct ................................ (for 12 month period) ..•.....................•................... $104,900.00' 

Fixed Salary Expenses (65%1 

Salary( I): $30.000.00@ est. 

Salary(2): $25,000.00@ est. 

Benefits( I): $7,200.00@ est 

Benefits(2): $6,000.00@ est 

Sub-Total: ~ 

$2,500.00 a month 

$2,083.33 a month 

$600 a month ($7 .200 annual@ 24% of Gross Salary) 

$500 a month ($6,000 annual@ 24% of Gross Salary) 

Balance ............................................................................. $36,700.00 

Fixed Office Expenses (8%1 

Rent: $2,640.00 

Accounting: $480.00 

Postage : $2,700.00 

Ph/Fax: $2,400.00 

Sub-Total: ~ 

@est 

@est 

@est. 

@est. 

$220 a month 

$40 a month 

$225 a month 

$200 a month 

Balance .................................................................... ....... $28,480.00 

Elastic Printing Expenses (3%)2 

Ltrhead/Env.: $1.500.00 

Brochures: $1,000.00 (AFN/SM) 

Brochures: $1,000.00 (''T/ Iditapledge for Sobriety Campaign) 

Bus. Cards: $300.00 

Sub-Total: ~ 

Balance ....................................... , .................................... $24,680.00 

Elastic Advertising & Novelty Item Expenses (24%)3 

Newsprint $3,000.00 (average. $250 a month, e.g., rural newspapers, i.e .. Tundra Times & ANI.) 

PSA Dvlpt. $2,000.00 (Sound-bites for major holidays. e.g., Easter, July 4th, Thx Giving, Christmas, etc.,.) 

Video DvlpL $5,000.00 (e.g., welcoming de1gts. '96 AFN Convention, '97 SAM) 

Spirit "Pins": $7,500.00 

Ribbons: $2,500.00 

Sobriety Pens: $2,500.00 (souvenir for sobriety pledge signatures at '96 AFN Convention) 

Misc.: 52.180.00 

Sub-Total: ~ 

Balance ............................................................................ $0 

Projected Grand Total of Expenses ................. (for 12 month period) ............................................ $104,900.00 

1 E"ftl~ dc4umWd b)·fte apiriac&OIII flf xawWt; IOOprivtk lll'CtOrt-illcun (in·IUil~." wrlJ as 01& ollll&t) 10pwtic:ipMe ia AfNISM' ' ldiiftykdtlfor Sobr•tl)' 

C.~" (U..pkdctSl.OOII!u!Jo...mlls.tipllum fottobrietytm'd in the si.t\1 of• SdWudSkd 0os Mrtasbef.IJM9mtlcs.to Nome. Aluka). 

•wiMincruseo.-~conlinf.r:~~~upoareYCniiC'S&~ 

1 s-e .. .tloYe (TOOWMoe Z) 
204 

ALASKA FEDERATION OF NATIVES 

SOBRIETY MOVEMENT 

COUNCIL MEMBER LIST* 

WlLSOI\' JUSTI:'\'

1 

AFN Solmctv MO\"<" rtot nt 

SR,\ 13:55 . 

Sbna. Alul.;a 995~ 

822-5399. h. 5810.c.cll. ph. 2-U- 5607 

JESLif. KALEAK 2 

Arctic Slore Region:ll Corpora1ion 

P.O. Box 129 

Barrow, Aluka 99723 

852-8633es.I.SI43, b 5133 

LT. COL MILTON R. CROSS' 

AJ&Sb A:tmy National GUild 

ISJO E 27th Avuaue (Residence) 

And>o<o ... AluU. 99508 428-690016901, (1. 6909 

GEN. JOHN SCHAEFFER (Rt.) 

AFNSM Coww:il Mcmbc:J 

P.O. Box 1036 

Kon~buc. Absb 997Sl 

VHF C42-600S, fx c/0 NANA 442-2863 

GENE I'EL TOlA . Director 

Yukon-Kusk.olr:,.im Hulth Ccrponaion 

P.O. Box 528 

Bethel, AlaskA 99559 

543-3321. fx 5277 

SAM D£MIEN11Eff. Du<e~or 

Bwuu of Indian Aff1an {Fbb) 

101 12th Avenue , Bolt 16 

Fairbanks, Alaska 99701 

456-0229, fx 022S 

ARNOLD 1t0LE" OLSEN, President 

Afognak NativeCorponlion 

P.O. Box 1277 (~:~r of Au.~ . 14. 199.S) 

Kodi~k. Aluh 9961~ 

486-6014 , h. 25!4 

TONY DROWN, Vid«l Ptodoction Specialiu 

Alub Na1ivc Me-dical Cen1er 

205 G~mbel StrC"tl 

Anchou.ce. Alask.a 99501 

257-1110, b 1835 

nM LA IJELLF.. RuraJ Affairs Coord. 

{Whttl l.AgiJitlfliU is i1f S~nil>lt) 

Dcpanment of Cont.c1ion.s 

240 Main~. Suite 700 

Juneau, Al&$b 99801. 

465-3307, fl. )390 

(l.AgiJlol~r~ Not in S~Hittn) 

Dtpartmenl of Corrections 

4500 Diplomacy Drive, Suite 207 

An<:hor.ase. AJasb 99508-5918 

269:1391 . rx 7390. c~u . ph. 24~·5245 

1 AFNSM CHAIRMAN 

'AFNSM VICE CHAIRMAN , AfNSM lR.EA.SIJRER 

•RftittdOaoberll, \99.5 

.JUliE KITKA , President 

Al.ub f<dcra tion o( N;ni\'U. Inc. 

J511C SLrut, Suite 201 

Anchhouge,Ail!Sb 99501 

:m-3611. fi276-79S9 

11f£RESA "Tin~ ': DEVLIN 

An:h Dioccsc of Anchorage 

22S Cordova Street 

Aochon&c, Alasb 99501 

258· 7898, c... 279-3885 

ERMALEE HICKEL 

AFNSM CouDciJ Mwr.bu 

1905 l.ousuc: Drive 

A""""'&<. AluP 99!17 24&-0013. b.lSS-48S7 (Hictd btvc~t~DetUCo.) 

MARY MILLER, SupetVisor 

SEARHC • Cbemiulllq>mdooey U.W 

221 Toncus Drive 

Sitka. Alaska 99135 

966-8373, r .. 8300. hm 747-6368 

MIKE WILLIAMS 

Af'tlSM CooociJ Mcmbt.t 

P.O. Bo~t 126 

Aba.i.. Alasb 995$2 

76S-7755 or 7426. b 7901 

ESTHER COMBS 

11061 Boulder Cirde 

Ant;horac.e, Ala.sk:a 99516 

346-3006. ~ 322~ 

EX·OffiCIO MD18ERS' 

HAROLD NA.POLEO:'\ 

P.O. Bo~t 100193 

Anchofqe. Aluh 99~10.0193 

ANNE wALKER. EnNDve DiR~Ctor 

A.Juh N1liYC Heakh 80Atd 

13~5 Rl»lkofCirdc ,Scile 206 

Anmora:e. Alu.b 99~0S 

338-0028, b 333-2001 

YURJ PETROV,IteJi«<al Coord. 

Nonhc:m Fonm · Office ollht SoclmW\U 

4101 lJnivtni1)" Ori•·r, Suitt lll 

.And\onge. AJub 99~ 

561·3210.h6645 

AFNISM STAFf, 

GREG L NOlliSTlh'E. Coordin..-or 

AFN Sobritly Movcmrnt 

1~77 C Str«<, Suil~ 201 

Anmora&e. Alaska 99501 

274-361 1. rx 7'989. tunJrx 522--5899 

ceU. ph. 244·8964 
205 

/-.LASKA FEDERATION OF N.~.TIVES 

1995 />.NNUAL CO!'<"VENT~ON 

RESOLUTION 95 - 36 

TITLE: KEEPING SOBRIETY IN THE PUBLIC 001-!AIN; 

INTO ACTION THE ALASKA NATIVES 

RECOMMENDATIONS 

I11PLEMENTING 

COI·!MISSION' S 

WHEREAS: The Alaska Federation of Natives (AFN) created the AFN 

Sobriety Movement (AFN/SM), its council, whose mission 

is • .. to encourage and support the growing sobriety 

movement in Alaska ••• •; and, 

WHEREAS: the cornerstone of AFN/ SM' s success is its Council's 

definition of the term, sobriety, i.e., a positive 

healthy and productive way of life, free from the 

devastating effects of alcohol and drugs; and, 

WHEREAS: the Court system is burdened ~ith dealing with alcohol 

and drug abuse related cases has, time and again, 

remanded problem drinkers and drug abusers to 

rehabilitation treatment programs, . and sentenced many 

into mandatory attendance of Alcoholics Anonymous or 

Narcotics Anonymous meetings, as a means of introducing 

same to the "lifestyle" or "concept " of sobriety; and, 

WHEREAS: the State of Alaska has received millions of dollars 

for the PUrPose of preventing alcohol and drug abuse, 

its programs have not been effective in reducing 

alcohol and drug abuse among Alaska Natives, e.g., 

Alaska Natives make up one-third of the State's prison 

population, and unfortunately, s tatistically lead in 

other areas and social ills related to alcohol and drug 

abuse; and, 

WHEREAS: it has been the determination and summation of the 

Alaska Natives Commission that "Alaska Natives are the 

only ones who can {should) facilitate and solve their 

O"''Il problems" . 

NOl-l THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED by the delegates to the 1995 Annual 

Convention of the Alaska Federation of Natives, Inc , 

that the State of Alaska make it an immediate priority 

to augment the recommendations of the Alaska Natives 

Commission as outlined in its First Volume, i.e., 1) 

Heeting Basic Social Needs; 2) Heeting Basic Law 

Enforcement & Judicial Needs; 3) Meeting Basic Physical 

& Behavioral P-ealth Needs, to reduce the causes and 

obstacles in preventing alcohol and drug abuse; and, 
206 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the State of Alaska adopt and 

publicly acknowledge th~t the concept and lifestyle of 

sobriety (as defined t ·y J-.F N/S!-1) is in the public· s 

interest and belongs i n the public domain of the 

stat e's responsibi lity to educate and p r omote t he 

soc i a l wel l - being of i t£ c i tizens; and, 

BE IT FINALLY R E SOLVED that the Di~ LE ATE S to t he 1 99 5 Annua l AFN 

Convent ion ma ke it t;heir respec tive and mutua l 

responsibility to implement into action thos e 

activities which further the cause of educati ng and 

promoting sobriety (as defined by AFN/SM) to their 

constituents, with or without government subsidies, for 

the purposes of augmenting those respective 

recommendation's outlined above, under the Alaska 

Native Commission' s repor t. 

SUBMITTED BY: Alaska Federation o f Native Sobriety Movement 

Council 

COMHITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS: Do Pasu 

CONVENTION ACTION : PASSED 
TITLE : 

207 

ALASKA FEDERATION OF NATIVES 

1995 ANNUAL CONVENTION 

RESOLUTION 95 - 55 

RESTORING THE SHARED STRENGTH OF SPIRIT AMONG ALASKA 

NATIVES, ALASKA'S CITIZENS 

WHEREAS : The SPIRIT of a individual, a family, and a community, 

is a summation of respective virtues, loyalties and 

sacred traditional rites, SPIRIT adds meaning to life 

and sustains the solidarity "of a respective culture or 

society; and, 

WHEREAS: the SPIRIT of Alaska Natives has long been strong and 

unique, supported by deeply rooted cultural ties to the 

land, air, water, and animals, has and continues to 

keep Alaska Native individuals, families, and 

communities, healthy, happy and whole; and, 

WHEREAS: the SPIRIT of Alaska Natives has been crippled, wounded 

and battered by disease, forced acculturation, 

government dependency, and the abuse of alcohol and 

drugs, has left generations of Alaska Native people 

feeling physically and emotionally traumatized; and, 

WHEREAS: the ·AFN Sobriety Movement (AFN/SM) recognizes its been 

the resilient SPIRIT of Alaska Natives that has 

sustained and shaped their respective cultures, are the 

only ones who can heal the scars left by the multiple 

trauma experiences they have endured; and, 

WHEREAS : the AFN/SM Council recognizes the biggest obstacle in 

the way of Alaska Natives• healing their respective and 

collective strength of SPIRIT is the abuse of alcohol 

and drugs ; and, 

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, by the delegates to the 1995 Annual 

Convention of the Alaska Federation of Natives, Inc., 

for all AFN member organizations make a priority to 

perpetually educate and promote sobriety to their 

constituents, highlighting sobriety's merits: 

a) improves the quality of life and health of 

individuals, families and communities; b) reduces the 

incidence of alcohol and drug related crimes and 

problems; c) helps to reduce the burden on 

government (a) to exhaust their resources on having to 

pay for the pervasive social ills and problems caused 

by alcohol and drug abuse; and , 
208 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the delegates to the 1995 Annual AFN 

Convention proclaim "!1arch 1956" as Sobriety Awareness 

Honth (S ... H) and invite Governor Tony Knowles and the 

19th Alaska State Legislature to, again, do the same, 

in honor of the thousandn of Alaskan's (Native and NonNative) whose sobriety p 1.edge signatures will travel on 

the Iditarod trail in the sled of Athabascan Iditarod 

Musher Raruy Brooks in March 1996; and be it, 

FINALLY RESOLVED that supportive individuals, families and 

communities, public and private agencies, plan and hold 

activities of their own choosing, in recognition of the 

month of SAM and in honor to the thousands of men, 

women and children who a r e doing their part to support 

the above mentioned merits of sobriety, and celebrate 

the healing and restorati on of the collective strength 

of SPIRIT of Alaska's first people. 

SUBMITTED BY: Alaska Federation of Natives Sobriety Movement 

Council 

COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS: Do Pass 

CONVENTION ACTION: PASSED 
209 

SUMMARY 

of 

AFN S M's 

1994 FINAL REPORT 

(ALASKA STATE GRANT 94-10-F-1-14) 

& 

LONG RANGE PLAN 

BY 

GREG L. NOTHSTINE 

AFNSM COORDINATOR 
210 

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

Table of Contents •.••••••• -....................... - •.•••.•••• page 2 

Forward .............................................................. page 3 

Numerical Bullet Summary (l tl\rough lS) ..... pages 4 • 7 

Conclusion ..................................... -....... _ .......... page 7 

Attachment(s) i. AFN Resolution 94·29 

ii. Alaska Native Commission Report Recommendations 

iii. Message to AFN Convention and AK Native People 

"A Call to Action: Taking Community Responsibility" 

iv. Final Report: "A Call to Action ... " 

2 
211·' 

AFN SOBRIETY MOVEMENT SUMMARY 

of 1994 FINAL REPORT: 

The AFN Sobriety Movement (AFNSM) has successfully maintained its mission from the 

seed money grant which it received from the State of Alaska; developing a simple, duplicable and 

self-sustainable program-skeleton which, e.g., villages, school boards & student councils, profit & 

non-profit corporations and boroughs, etc., can engage in and support those who are either~ 

or becoming ready to do their part through sobriety, and conducive to the following ABC's: 

a) Improve the quality of life and health for individuals, families and communities; 

b) Reduce the incidences of alcohol and drug related crimes by living a life of sobriety; 

c) Reduce the burden on local, state and federal governments in exhausting their resources 

by paying for the symptoms which are caused by alcohol and drug abuse. 

This success has led to a more serious undeistanding to the inheR:nt. yet developing. role 

for which AFNSM will ultimately be involved, that is: 

1) to alter the consumer behavior of Alaska Natives, as it relates to alcohol and{or drugs; 

2) to decrease the demand for alcohol/drugs among Alaska Natives; 

3) to reinforce changes in consumer behavior, i.e., decreased demand for alcohol/drugs, by 

citing culturally relevant activities conducive to sobriety: ~A positive, healthy and 

productive way of life,freefrom the devastating effects of alcohol and drugs." 

The sobriety movement, as we know it, is not limited to just AFNSM. It is by far much 

bigger and broader than perhaps what "anyone envisioned. The sobriety movement, per say, can be 

construed as the embodiment of millions of men, women and children, lhroughout the US, Canada 

and Russia, who enjoy living free from the devastating effects of alcohol and drugs, and who 

exercise, by their own volition, every prerogative to sustain a lifestyle conducive to what AFNSM 

refers to as -Sobriety. 

A great deal of credit must be given to the Alaska Federation of Natives, Inc., for being the 

very first private organization in the nation to name a program after the solution. i.e., sobriety 

movement, with sobriety being the optimum word giving reference to a particular lifestyle! Having 

a program named after the solution has empowered AFNSM, its <llarterGroups & Honor 

Societies, to maimain a unified focus-- WE KNOW WHAT niE PROBLEM IS- only by 

focusing on the solution (positive), and encouraging and supporting those who are already, or 

getting ready, to live a life of sobriety, can we overcome the pervasive and symptomatic problems 

of substance abuse. 
212 

The AFNSM 1994 Final Report raises some very poigiWlt poilUS which cannot fully be 

described or appreciated in this summary. However. 1 have numerically bulletined some points of 

the report which I hope can easily serve, not only ~ pos!Ulates, but capture the reports essence: 

I. The "sobriety movement" is the embodiment of the collective efforts of every 

prevention program, public or private, working toward the goal of eliminating substance abuse. 1n this united effort they stand, encouraging and challenging people to 

care enough about themselves, their families and their communities, to live a positive, 

healthy and productive way of life, free from the devastating effects of alcohol/drugs. 

2. Challenging the principles and integrity of Alaska Natives' leadership to alter their 

comuming behavior - as it relates to alcohol - is nothing short of political suicide, and 

is not to be taken lightly; nor, are the consequences if their comuming behavior is not 

confronted. (The essence of servant leadership is humility. not lwmiliation. Humility 

is knowing your place ht the world; humiliation is havhtg someone else put you there. 

3. The existence of AFNSM is justified and necessary. it is vitally important! This could 

not have been proven more true than when the Alaska Natives' Commission Report 

(ANCR) was released ht May of 1994 (equally true when AFN delegates passed 

resolution 94-29). There are several recommendations in Volume I of the ANCR 

which justify the existence and activities of AFNSM under: Muting Basic Social 

Needs- Recomm. 2, 3 & 4; Meeting Basic lAw Enforcement & Judicial NeedsRecomm. 5; Meeting Basic Physical & Behavior Health Needs - Recomm. 2 & 5. 

4. After readhtg Volume I, of the ANCR. it becomes a foregone conclusion that 

consuming alcohol is a learned behavior, one which Alaska Natives have had the 

misfortune of assimilating themselves into these last 200 years. ... Where it was once 

common place for Alaska Natives to use their own customs and traditions to celebrate. 

or cope, with life's daily ups and downs. e.g., recreation & social settings, holidays. 

weddings, hunter success or death, etc.,. Consuming alcohol (or drugs), and the 

subsequent related activities (and behaviors) related to its consumption, has become 

the cultural medium for these eveniS. Anymore, events like these are gradually 

becomhtg mere excuses to consume alcohol (drugs) to "enhance" or "cope" with 

whatever situation is at hand; this has led to the omnipresent social drama of 

compoWided problems presently played out in Native peoples lives today. 

5. By virtue of the gross statistics and circumstances outlined ht the ANCR. relating to 

alcohol abuse, infers that we, Alaska Natives, are abusive "comumus" of a 

commodity made and sold by the liquor industry. It cannot be overemphasized. here, 

that we are "comumers" of alcoholic beverages, and that we are responsible for the 

perpetuation of a sub-culture (at the expense of our own culture) driven by alcohol 

conswnpdon; prospectively. we exhibit distinct and predictable behavioral 

characteristics as conswners of this commodity (alcohol). 

6. Through historical analysis, it can be deduced that two complimentary growth 

industries are thriving off of the abusive (alcohol) consuming behavior of Alaska 

Natives: 1) the Health & Social Services Industry and 2) the Corrections lndustry. 

Through no fault of their own. these industries are complimentary because a 

proportional relationship exists between the ainount of alcohol abused by Alaslca 

4 
213 

Natives to the amount of se!Vices administered by them to Alaska Natives -- the more 

alcohol is abused by Alaska Natives, the more seiVices they administer. 

7. In a hearing in May of 1994 before the US Consumer Subcommittee- Committee on 

Commerce, Science, and Transponation (a committee Senator Ted Stevens sat on) 

Cornell University Law Professor Steven H. Shiffin gave a written testimony on 

Senate Bill674, "The Sensible Advertising and Family Act." In Professor Shiffin's 

written testimony he provides a simple supposition which merits attention, that is, "It 

is entitled to assume that if fewer people consume alcohol.fewer people will abuse 

alcohol." 

8. AFNSM's mission is to encourage Alaska Natives to consume less alcohol, and to do 

so, AFNSM has had to undeiStand the perimeters of the simple economics equation of 

the law of Supply & Demand, and to debate both sides of the issue. Based on the laws 

of "supply" and "demand," and the law of averages in consumer behavior, it is 

presumed that if there is a decrease in consumer demand for a commodity (alcohol), 

incentives to supply that commodity will correlatively decrease. However, if consumer 

demand for a commodity is high (even if it is illegal) an "economy of scale" will 

develop -- whereby anyone willing to take the economic risk (legal or illegal) of 

supplying said commodity will do so in order to satisfy and meet the consumer demand 

for that commodity -- and so supply will either increase, remain constant or decrease, 

pending the behavior of consumers' demand for said commodity. 

9. Any approach which attempts to regulate or limit the supply of alcohol through, e.g., 

taxation, ordinance or severe penalty, are necessary first steps which Native 

communities need take heed of and consider implementing (with extreme prejudice) 

where alcohol abuse is a severe problem. However, it can be argued that, although 

these approaches produce positive and immediate results, they are merely shon-term 

social Band-Aids to a long-term problem because alcohol is a commodity that is not 

necessary driven by limited and regulating its supply, but by consumer demand. 

Case in point: "Dry" villages still exhibit problems associated to alcohol abuse. 

NOTE: Native communities have to prudently weigh the long-term consequences of 

regulating and limiting the supply of alcohol. Being mindful that such approaches can 

create situations where more Alaska Natives will become criminalized, when already a 

disproportionate amount of Alaska Natives are filling the states prison system because of 

alcohol related offenses. 

10. The process of altering and decreasing the demand for alcohol among Alaska Natives 

soWJds simple. However, this process is compounded when several generations of 

Alaska Natives have become accustomed to being avid consumers of alcohol; who by 

their own volition (and conswner behavior) have created, and are the driving force 

behind, the market for the commodity in question -alcohol. (All the while, those in the 

business of supplying alcohol (legal or illegal), and those employed within the two 

complementary indusaies mentioned previously, balance their bank accounts. read the 

newspaper, listen to the news on TV or radio, and say to themselves, "tsk-tsk-tsk, 

those poor Natives really ought to do something about their drinking habits.") 

11. Understanding and taking ownership of the reason(s) why Alaska Natives have such a 

high demand for the conswnption of alcohol is paramoWJt. To do. this AFNSM 

collaborated with the Department of Corrections and Harold Napoleon to begin 

5 
214 

brainstorming ways in which Native people could begin taking ownership of the 

reason(s) why they found Utemselves on a self-destructive paUl of alcohol abuse, and 

to identify the circumstances which fuel their demand to use alcohol to deal wiUt their 

problems. What resulted was AFN's Pre-Conference, "A Call To Action: Taking 

Community Responsibility." Out ofthi~ conference came ten (10) recommendations, 

Ute first of which states: "We, as Alaska Native people, although we did nor create 

the many problems that face us,find th.11 we are responsible for solving them and the 

first step has to be in achieving sobriety, as indi1•iduals and communities;" 

12. Judging from the status quo of contemporary prevention meUtods ··which are for the 

most part, cookie cutter approaches coming out of the suburban cities of the Lower 

'48 ··it does not look like things wiD change anytime soon. This is because these 

prevention meUtods, although well intentioned, are not made with Alaska Natives' 

distinct cultural values, perceptions or mores in mind. Until the time they do, Utey wiD 

continue to fail. Presently, AFNSM is on the cutting edge of promoting substance 

abuse prevention through culturally relevant means. Already AFNSM, in cooperation 

with other agencies, i.e., ARCO of Al&ka, Alaska Native Health Board, Indian 

Health Service and the Alaska Council on Prevention of Alcohol and Drug Abuse, has 

released a resource manual- "Helping 5obriety Happen" -citing culturally relevant 

approaches to substance abuse prevention. 

NOTE: Again, the operative word here is, sobriety, and it refers to a liftstyle; prevention, 

on the other hand, is used in the context of 1 task or tasks with which to attain or maintain 

sobriety. Some confusion has erupted in trying to use these tenns as synonyms for the other. 

Let it be known that there is a vast difference between the two. Sobriety is a!.i/nJ:tk. 

Prevention is a ~Qi}f. 

13. Before the AFNSM Council begin its worlc:, it had to go through a series of processes 

which helped it to develop and take OWil<!rship of its role. The first of which was to 

acknowledge that Alaska Natives are in a constant process of assimilation. Secondly. 

Utat Alaska Natives generally worlc: by consensus as a general rule, incumbent upon 

Ute survival of the family or community. 'Thirdly. it was not until the advent of the 

ANCSA, that Alaska Natives were catapulted into the western society and really 

began to practice documenting Uteir consensus -via- resolution. Anymore, Utese 

resolutions have become the medium Utrough which various coalitions, groups or other 

forms of government communicate. 

In an effort to create greater unanimity of purpose, not only did AFNSM utilize the 

Sobriety Pledge as means to measure individual suppon for its goals, it utilized the 

resolution format to get the suppon of Native coalitions and other non-Native entities. 

Currently, 54 organizations, i.e., student bodies, profit & non-profit corporations, 

Native Inmate Councils, the Governor's Advisory Board on Alc.ohol and Other Drugs, 

and the National Family Partnership (the parent organization which orchestrates the 

red ribbon campaign in October in schools across the nation) have passed AFNSM's 

draft resolution and become AFNSM Charter Group Members & Honor Societies. 

14. If Native people are really serious about breaking the cycle of dependency on government subsidies, they can show it by rallying behind AFNSM's "Iditapledge for 

Sobriety" fund-raising carqpaign. This fund-raising format can champion the effon 

and break Ute mind-set that Native people need to depend on "grants" or "grant 

writers" to accomplish what they want. when it comes to achieving sobriety. 

6 
215 

15. All things being equal, one thing remains constant. If we, Alaska Natives (and nonNatives), are not Wlited in taking ownership of a common solution, as much as we are 

wlited in identifying a common problem, the results can be expected to mixed at best. 

We can expect to be no closer in solving our common problem, than when we only 

identified and agreed to what our common problem was. And, we can blame everyone and everything, who we believe is responsible (excluding ourselves) for the lack of 

progress made on our common problem. 

CONCLUSION: 

The beauty and mysticism of the AFNSM program with its, e.g., mission, goals, definition 

on sobriety, sobriety pledge, draft resolution for chaner group & honor society membership and its 

"Iditapledge for Sobriety" fund-raising campaign is that, not only is it simple, but it is duplicable. 

The AFNSM is people tested, by that I mean. it has a track record of support; a solid foundation 

for perpetual existence. It has within it the potential to be the spring board to create the paradigm 

shift that is so badly needed within the discipline of substance abuse prevention among Alaska 

Natives. 

Although AFNSM holds great promise, it is limited by our own bias'. Tune and again, I 

have been told by a colleague of mine that the word "sobriety" is a red flag! That is, it evokes 

resistance from the very Native leaders we need to appeal support from. My colleague's point is 

well taken. Sobriety is a "red flag" from the stand point that it immediately confronts the openmindedness of anyone who would rather not look at their own (alcohol) consuming behavior. This 

is unfortunate! Helbert Spencer perhaps described it best when he stated, "There is a principle 

which is a bar against all information, which is proof against all arguments and which cannot fail 

to keep man in everlasting ignorance - that principle is contempt prior to investigation." 

For AFNSM, sobriety is a "white flag"-- a reprieve from trying to change everybody else 

but ourselves; does not AFNSM's sobriety pledge state," ... If our spirits our to remain strong 

and sober, it has to begin somewhere. LET IT BEGIN Willi ME!!" 

Sobriety is a banner term under which thousands, if not millions of Americans, relate and 

can unite under. We do not hear of anyone being incarcerated because they wanted to stay sober. 

We do not see Native children going to foster homes because their parents wanted to practice a life 

of sobriety or use their time more productively. 

AFN is the first organization to change its course from focusing only on the problem by 

identifying the problem, identifying a common solution to the problem, and then maintaining a 

candid emphasis on the solution. Trying to solve the problem by focusing only on the problem is 

like trying to do the same thing over and over again, expecting different results- it doesn't work. 

What AFNSM has in its favor is the reputation of Alaska's diverse Native cultures, all of 

which have deep roots in respecting action and examples ... not empty words. 

As Alaska Native people, our traditional ways of life may be limited. However, we need not limit 

our understanding to the underlying principles of our heritage. Because these principles are just as 

applicable now, as they were then; only our bias' stands in the way of seeing their usefulness. 

1 
216 

ATTACHMENT ONE (i) 

ALASKA FEDERJ,TION OF NJ..TIVES 

1994 ANNUPL CONVENTION 

RESOLUTION 94-29 

TITLE: RECOGNIZING AND SUPPORTING THE AFN SOBRIETY MOVEMENT 

(AFNSM) AND ITS CHARTf~ GROUPS AS MODELS DESIGNED FOR 

ALASKA NATIVES, BY ALASKA NATIVES 

WHEREAS: the AFNSM is a model-designed by Alaska Natives and 

adopted ~ the AFN Board of Directors to promote 

sobriety as •a positive, healthy and productive way of 

life, free from the devastating effects of alcohol and 

drugs•; and 

WHEREAS: sixteen thousand Native and non-Native signatures have 

been collected throughout Alaska and the Lower '48 in 

AFNSM's Sobriety Pledge the last three years and 

carried to Nome by Mike Williams in the Iditarod Sled 

Dog Race; and 

WHEREAS: fifty organizations, Le., Native profit/nonprofit ·corporations, boroughs, village councils, city 

councils, youth councils, Native prison inmate 

councils, non-Native substance abuse prevention 

coalitions, treatment centers, have become AFNSM 

charter group members by respectively passing 

resolutions to adopt: a ) AFNSH' s goals, b) definition on sobriety and c) celE,brate sobriety as they see fit 

in their respective conrounities on an annual basis; and 

WHEREAS: the statewide Native cc-rnmunity has collectively chosen 

and taken ownership of a common solution, uniting under 

the banner of sobriety and under AFNSM's goals as a principle means of restoring pride and honor among 

Alaska Natives, their families and their communities 

from the devastating effects of alcohol and drugs; and 

WHEREAS: the recently released Alaska Native Commission Report 

states that •only Alaska Natives• can help solve the 

myriad problems they face and have made numerous recommendations on issues of government policy; and 
217 

h"HEREAS: one such recommendation made in the Comruission · s report, under l'l:EETING BASIC SOCIAL NEEDS - Recommendation No . 2, states: "The federal gove rnment 

and the State of Alaska should institute a moratorium on development of new non-Native agency programs that 

deal with the problems of alcohol (abuse) ... in 

predominantly Native areas of the state . ·Included in 

such a moratorium would be studies, seminars , conferences and other agency initiatives now in place or in the planning stages that have not originated from 

Alaska Native villages or organizations.• 

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the delegates to the 1994 

Annual Convention of the Alaska Federation of Natives 

that AFN recognizes the AFN Sobriety Movement as solution emanating from the statewide Native community 

by the AFN membership and their delegates to the 

Convention, the federal government and the State of 

Alaska; and 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the AFN membership seek out those 

respective AFNSM charter groups within their regional 

boundaries and provide them with the financial resources and in-kind contributions to help them carryout and meet their AFNSM charter; and 

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that the federal government and the State 

of Alaska be invited to the process .of offering 

whatever financial support they would deem appropriate 

to help keep the AFNSM office open so that it can provide follow-up support services to all AFNSM charter 

groups and continue with its mission and goals. 

SUBMITTED BY: AFN Sobriety Movement Council 

COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS: DO PASS 

CONVENTION ACTION: PASSED 
218 

ATTACHMENT TWO (ii) 

T H I A F N s 0 B R IE T ~ M 0 v EM EN T (AFNSM) 

THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE ALASKA NATIVE COMMISSION'S 

REPORT (VoL 1): 

MEETING BASIC SOCIAL NEEDS (pages 27, 28, 30): 

RecomJendatjon Two: "The federal government and the State of Alaska should 

instiMe a moratorium on development of new non-Native agency programs that 

deal wi~ problems of Alcohol Abuse.... Included in such a moratorium would be 

studies, seminars, conferences and other agency initiatives now in place or in 

the planhing stages that have not aiginatsd from Alaska Native villages or organizations.· 

I 

D~ssion: AFNSM is a model designed. by Alaska Natives, for Alaska 

Natives. I See AFN Convention Resolution 94-29, under section- Health, Safety 

& Welfare. 

Recommendation Three: "Alaska Native villages, with assistance from their 

organizations (see Recommendation #4, below), should establish plans for 

beginniog a healing and recovery process for their families and communities. 

Native organizations not locally based, and federal and state agencies should 

not initiate any new social programs in a village wi!hout the village tal<ing the 

initial stJp to plan for its recovery.· 

I 

Discussion: A direction of healing and recovery that some Alaska Native 

village c:Ouncils, Native inmate councils, Native student councils, (Statewide) 

Native Youth Leadership Councils, Village IRA's, have chosen has come in the 

form of passing resolutions to become an AFNSM Charter Group/Honor Society. 

The onlY. requirements of becoming an AFNSM Charter Group/Honor Society are 

to adopt! 1) AFNSM's goals, 2) its definition on Sobriety and 3) pledge to hold at 

least one annual celebration that highlights the merits of sobriety. Councils that 

have beeome AFNSM Charter Groups and/or Honor Societies initially have done 

so in support of those among them within their community that have taken the 

AFNSM j"Sobriety Pledge." 

Recommend~tion Four: "Federal and state appropriations for social programs . 

in predominantly Native areas of the state should bypass governmental agencies 

and be redirected as grants to Alaska Native villages and village consortia that 

have developed, or are developing, projects aimed at lessening substance abuse, 

social pathologies, violence and criminality in the villages.· I . . 

Discussion: AFNSM is a model designed by Alaska Natives, for Alaska 

Natives (see Discussion under Recommendation #3, above), also, see AFN 

Convention Resolution 94-29, under section - Health, Safety & Welfare. 

~ W~ds and phrases itafcized for ef11)hasis. 
219 

Recommendation five : (Discussion Continued) 

The purpose of the manual is to fill a gap in the way substance abuse prevention 

is approached among Alaska Natives. Designed with the village-based service 

provider in mind, the manual cites materials and methods which reflect the 

cultural mores and traditions of Alaska Native people, recognizing Alaska 

Natives respond better to these types of prevention strategies, as opposed to the 

confrontational approach and dictum of western societies approach to substance 

abuse treatment. It is hoped that, armed with this manual, service providers 

serving Alaska Native communities will increase their knowledge of prevention 

methods and models which can successfully be applied to Alaska Natives, 

whether :they are in treatment centers, in neighborhoods, or in villages. 

It is AFNSM's hope that its charter groups/honor societies will police themselves, 

espouse to the themes of self-determination and community responsibility in 

creating support fortheir respective charter groups/honor societies; redaim their 

respective spiritual and cultural activities which have remained dormant or 

suppressed by surrogate institutions ... ; fosters respect, confidence, pride and 

the traditional societal roles of family and community members. 

3 

21-794 - 96 - 8 
220 

MEETING BASIC PHYSICAL 

& 

BEHAVIORAL HEALTH NEEDS (pages 55 &59): 

Recommendation Two : 'The entire health care system for Ala.ska Natives 

should be shifted toward health education and primary prevention, with communitybased activities that inform, change attitudes and enrourage healthy lifestyles; both 

federal and state governments need-to provide funding to support these efforts --

and the resource allocation of the Indian Health Service should simultaneously 

be revised to reinforce effective primary prevention and health promotion rather than 

orientating its funding only toward the provision of secondary and tertiary care.· 

I 

Discussion: The mission of the AFN Sobriety Movement is to 

support lind encourage the grassroots sobriely movement growing among ' .. Alaska Natives; candidly focus on and promote sobriety as •A Positive, 

H9althy And Productive Way Of Ufe, Free From The Devastating Effects Of Alcohol I And Drugs: collaborate with local organizations and other statewide 

agencies and service providers in the area of alcohol and drug abuse 

prevention; monitor and evaluate the sobriety movement growing in 

Alaska. 

Recom~endation Five:. ·Approaches to substance abuse treatment for Alaska 

Natives inust be reconstructed to emphasize community-based, family-oriented · 

and culturally relevant strategies developed at the village level where maximum 

desecration with respect to regulation of program designs and outcomes is 

fundamental to new treatment strategies. To this end, federal and state 

appropriations for alcohol programs in predominantly Native areas of the state, 

where feasible and appropriate, should bypass governmental agencies and 

instead be redirected as grants to Alaska Native organizations and village 

councils that have developed, or are developing, projects aimed at lessening alcohol abuse 

and its resultant Native criminality and social pathologies." 

j . 

Discussion: The AFNSM has, in cooperation with ARGO Alaska, Alaska 

Native Health Board, Indian Health Service and The Alaska Council on 

Prevention of Alcohol and Substance Abuse, just recently released a resource 

manual, "HELPING SOBRIETY HAPPEN." For at last decade, Alaska Natives 

have lamented the lack of information and materials that culturally and philosophically 

approached the prevention of substance abuse; that, there where no support 

systems' or autonomous programs in village:; for Alaska Natives, who have 

received alcohol treatment, and who travel t'ack to their respective villages. 
221 

ATTACHMENT THREE (iii) 

A MESSAGE TO TI-lE AFN CONVENTION 

ANDTIIE 

ALASKA NATIVE PEOPLE 

From: The "Call to Action: Taking Community Responsibility" Conference 

Date: October 11,1994 

We, the conferees, composed of village representatives from throughout the state, 

having been called together for the purpose of: 

"identifying those things Native Cowteils, families, and individuals, can do 

to improve life for their people, without the necessity of first asking 

permission from government to do so, and second, without waiting for 

government to fund the initiatives we might decide to take;" 

having met for that purpose, forward these fmdings and reconunendations to you: 

l We, as Alaska Native people, although we did not create the many problems 

that face us, find that we are responsible for solving them and the first step 

has to be in achieving sobriety, as individuals and as communities; 

2. We find that alcohol and drugs to pose an intimate and immediate threat 

to Alaska Native lives and well-being wherever they are found; we 

therefore recommend that village tribal governments ban their sale and 

importation, and further reconunend barming the manufacture of 

"homebrew" in our communities; 

3. We recommend that village tribal councils, and their membership, 

enforce these bans to the fullest extent possible, using Native-traditional, 

state, or Federal Indian Jaws; 

4. We recommend that village tribal councils pass ordinances making 

bootleggers and drug dealers accessories to crimes committed by people 

to whom they were proven to have given or sold liquor or drugs to; at 

the same time it is recommended that they lobby the state legislature 

to pass legislation accomplishing the same; 

.5. We recommend that village tribal councils, as a way of saving lives and 

protecting the innocent from violence, enact ordinances granting the 

councils authority to remove inebriates from homes and public places 
222 

and placing them in "protective custody" until such time as they no 

longer pose a threat to rJ1emselves or others; 

6. We recorrunend mat village tribal councils pass ordinances protecting women, 

childcen, and others, from neglect. and physical and sexual abuse, and 

that tribal, state, and federal courts be used to enforce these ordinances; 

7. We recorrunend that village tribal COW1Cils and families work together to 

stem the rise of cancer, diabetes, AIDS, other sexually transmitted diseases, 

teen pregnancy, and other preventable illnesses, through education and 

preventive medicine, and by the development of tribal health ordinances; 

8. We recommend that village tribal cowtcils and families work: together to 

provide meaningful work: for the youth, and provide healthy educational, 

cultural, and recreational activities for them; 

9. We recommend that village governments, regional corporations, and the 

Alaska Federation of Natives, pursue "'trading off' food stamps, AFDC, 

general assistance, and other welfare programs, for "village economic 

support grants;" these grants would not only provide work: for the 

Wlemployed but would improve the quality of life in the village by 

getting needed work: done in, and aroW1d, the corrununity, by people 

who would otherwise be idly recieving welfare payments from government; 

10. Having foWJd dependency to be destructive to our societies, we recommend 

that village governments, regional corporations, and the Alask:a Federation of 

Natives, work with State and Federal goverrunents in changing the way 

government " invests" in Village, Alaska; what people need are jobs, not 

food stamps or AFDC; government and Native people must work together 

to create the oppurtunity; 

Passed and approved this 11th day of October, 1994, by me Alaska Federation of Natives 

Conference on "Taking Community ResponsibilirJ." 

Respectfully Submitted, 

Gen. John Schaeffer, Jr.(ret) 

Conference Chairman 
223 

ATTACHMENT FOUR (iv) 

A CALL TO ACTION: 

TAKING COMMUNITY RESPONSIBILITY 

THE ALASKA FEDERATION OF NATIVES 

DECEMBER, 1994 
224 

INTRODUCTION 

The AFN conference, • A Call to Action: Taking Community Responsibility," was 

called in response to the report by the Alaska Natives Commission which affirmed what 

the Native community has known for some time - that only Alaska Natives can solve the 

social, cultural, and spiritual problems that have plagued them for the last 30 years. 

Called to "identify those things village governments, families, and individuals can 

do to improve life for themselves," the village l~aders who attended met for two days, 

but first, they had to answer one question: • Whose responsibility is it to end the 

alcohol:related violence and death,~ and by extension, the sociaVcultural/ and spiritual 

problems that lie at the root of these tragedies. 

The answer was unanimous, the conferees agreed it was their (the Native 

people's) responsibility. And whether they knew it or not, meeting in this obscure 

conference, the representatives of the Native villages present, quietly signalled a 

change of historic proportions. 

The tone for the conference had been set by the opening statement of AFN 

President Julie Kitka, who had asked the delegates to ·send a clear message, to our 

people and government alike, that we - as Alaska Natives - intend to reclaim control 

over our lives." 

Saying that the problems facing Natives had multiplied over the years, becoming 

more serious in scope, ·she told the conferees t~ at they had to •confront and overcome~ 

these challenges as the "will to take hold of our future was slipping away ... one village 

at a time ... one family at a .time ... one person at a time." The alternative she said, was 
225 

to "do nothing," to "resign ourselves to our present circumstances." This-alternative, 

she told the conferees, "was not acceptable." 

The guidelines set in the search for solutions were that they be ones Native 

villages could implement on their own without the need for new authorization from state 

or federal authorities, and further, that they not require the creation of new government 

programs. Government, Kitka said, had spent billions of dollars creating a •foresr of 

programs designed to keep Native people alive and to solve their growing social 

problems. But, she said, the well-intentioned programs have not worked, they have 

instead, brought Alaska Natives to the brink of becoming "prisoners of dependency." 

Saying that government has a critical and positive role to play in the lives of 

Alaska Natives, Kitka called for a "new partnership" with government, where it becomes 

an "investor" in the economic development of rural and village Alaska; trading welfare 

programs, hopelessness and depression for jobs, hope and a new lease on life . She 

also asked that government and Native people together examine how the ever 

dwindling monetary resources are being appropriated in rural Alaska, to see if they are 

going where they are most needed. 

As reflected by the agenda, the conferees were asked to concentrate on the 

most basic issues facing Alaska Native communities: the alcohol fueled suffering; 

physical and mental health; joblessness; and dependency on government. The 

conferees were also asked to take a look at the spending patterns of government, to 

see how closely these parallelled the true needs and priorities of villages. 
226 

PLANNERS 

The planners for the conference were: 

Julie Kitka, President, AFN 

General John Schaeffer, NANA Regional Corporation 

Emil Notti, President of the Alaska Native Foundation 

Mike Irwin, former Executive Director of the Alaska Natives Commission 

Ann Walker, Executive Director of the Alaska Native Health Board 

George Owletuck, Office of US Senator Ted Stevens 

Gerald Ward, Department of Correctiom; 

Gregory Nothstine, AFN Sobriety Movement 

Margaret Olsen Knowles, Kodiak 

Dr. Matthew Berman, Institute of Social, Economic, Research, UAA 

Dr. Robert Alberts, MD 

Major funding for the conference was provided by the Alaska State departments 

of Health and Social Services and Corrections. 

The Department of Community and Regi,>nal Affairs provided funding for the 

composition and distribution of this report. 

Malcolm Roberts, special assistant to Governor Walter J. Hickel, co-Drdinated 

with AFN in the planning and financing of this c:mference. 

MARKAIR provided special conference r3tes for delegates traveling from the 

many villages they serve. 
227 

TOWARD ENDING ALCOHOL-RELATED VIOLENCE AND DEATH 

Michael Irwin, former Executive Director of the Alaska Natives Commission 

introduced the issue of alcohol control in Native villages as an issue that has escaped 

successful resolution by the various governments under which Native ·people have 

fallen since contact with the West; •successful resolution" being defined as keeping it 

out of the village. 

From the beginning he said, alcohol has presented a threat to the health and 

well-being of Alaska Natives, bringing death, violence and sorrow wherever it was 

introduced. As an example, he cited the first homicide reported in the North Slope; a 

murder committed by a drunk man in 1836. In the same period, he said, the Nunamuit, 

going to what is now Barrow, traded all they owned for liquor and molasses only to 

starve, or die of exposure, on the way home. 

There are many other examples, historical and current, of the tragic 

consequences of alcohol use by Alaska Natives. The ethnographer, Edward William 

Nelson, on arriving on St. Lawrence Island aboard the Revenue Cutter Corwin, in the 

spring of 1875, recorded how they had found dead villages with bodies strewn all over; 

of a once healthy population of 4000, only 200 were found to have survived. Nelson 

attributed the deaths directly to alcohol abuse. As with the Nunamuit, it appeared that 

the St. Lawrence Islanders had starved to death after neglecting the hunt due to 

drinking, but it is possible that disease was an added factor. 

Another constant, Irvin pointed out, was that in spite of repeated requests from 

villagers for stricter control of alcohol flowing into their communities, Federal, territorial 

and state governments have never been able to do so. At the same time, Irvin said, 

Federal, territorial, and State authorities have never been willing to turn over control of 

alcohol to the Native people themselves for legal, jurisdictional and other reasons. 

Commenting on the intractability of the problem, he said that the comments 

made by Native villagers before the Alaska Native's Commission regarding alcohol 

echoed the very same comments that have been made before. government bodies since 

intercourse between Native people and the US.government began: 
228 

Following Irwin, Dr. Matthew Berman of the the University of Alaska's Institute of 

Social Economic Research, presented the conference with the statistics on violent 

deaths, most of which are alcohol related. And , as he correctly pointed out, as 

distressing as the numbers might be, they did not represent the true costs of alcohol 

abuse on Naska Native communities, families and individuals. (Berman's statement 

·Alaska Natives Dying from Injuries and Violence"and accompanying graphs are 

attached to this report.) 

"Alaska Natives are more likely to die violently than any other group In 

America (italics added)." 

"The deaths themselves are only many of the symptoms that something is 

seriously wrong in Native communities. For every person who is murdered 

or dies by accident, many more are seriously injured. Hundreds of people 

are beaten or raped, or sit in jail for violent crimes. Many more people 

attempt suicide than actually kill thems•~ lves, and even more are so 

depressed that they think seriously about ending their lives." 

" ... the number of people dying adds up to an epedemic of staggering 

proportions. From 1980-1991,396 Alaska Native men committed suicide, 

173 were murdered, 862 died from accidents. All these deaths could 

have been prevented." 

" The total number of [violent] deaths betNeen 1980-1991 add up to 1,431 men 

and 410 women- nearly 2,000 Native people in just 12 years." 

" Alcohol is involved In most accidental deaths, suicides, and murders." 

" If the deaths continue at their current rates, violence will take an 

enormous toll on the population of the village." 

Matthew Berman, ISER 
229 

Unmeasured is the damage alcohol abuse has infliced on the will and the spririt 

of Alaska Native families and communities who have had to live through repeated 

episodes of traumatic events, especially the children, many of whom are now scarred 

for life. 

Through alcohol, the "cycle" of violence, trauma, and death, that began with the 

massacring of Aleuts by the Russians, and carried on by disease, church, and state, 

continues today; but now it is Alaska Natives who are hurting themselves, it is as if 

they have turned on themselves. 

Indicators of the damage can be found in the rising outmigration of the young 

from villages to hub communities and the cities; the continuing poor performance of 

children in school; the break-up of families; the number of young Alaska Natives in the 

juvenile ~nd correctional systems of the state; the fall in the age of alcohol, drug, and 

inhalant abusers (youngest known is 2 years old); the falling age of suicides ( a 

12 year old committed suicide this fall in one of the villages, leaving a suicide note 

behind; reason given for taking her life was her parent's drinking); teen pregnancy; etc. 

The presentations by lwin and Berman drove home three points to the 

conferees: 

1. Alcohol poses an Intimate and Imminent threat to villages, families, and 

individuals who use it, as well as for those around whom it is being 

used; it's very presence in a village or home making the likelihood of 

violence, accident, or death very high; 

2. In spite of "local option laws" and the "sobriety movement," alcohol use 

and abuse has not been significantly reduced, especially among the 

young; 

3. While local option laws have slowed the flow of liquor Into communities 

that have enacted them, they have not been effective, and this, because 

most communities rely on state troopers and distant state courts to 

enforce them; trooper involvement Is mostly been one of arresting 

Individuals who have committed alcohol-related crimes; hence, as the 

figures show, alcohol abuse and the incidences of violence, accidents 

and death, remain constant in spite of state sanctioned and enforced 

"local option laws." 
230 

PROGNOSIS 

Unless urgently needed reforms and improvements are made in the societies, 

economies, and governments of Alaska Native villages, the prognosis for seeing a 

lessening of alcohol abuse and related social pathologies is poor. 

In fact, if there are no immediate improvements made, alcohol abuse, drug 

abuse, inhalant abuse, and related tragedies, will remain constant, and will most likely 

rise, as the group identified as being most •at risk,• presently comprises over half 

the Native population, and is growing. 

ALASKA NA llVE POPULATION CHARACTERISTICS 

Alaska Native population 90,000 

Average Age 22 

Most numerous group 5 and under 

18 and under 40% of total 

Rural 66% 

Urban 34% 

Growth rate 3% annually 

(Source: Alaska Native Health Board) 

Note: This •at risk" group of Alaska Native children and youth is already exhibiting 

behaviour which should be of concern to tribal, state and national leaders: 

* 15-20% of Alaska Native rural 12th grade students admit to regular alcohol use 

* Inhalant abuse (gas sniffing) is a rapidly growing problem in the 7-13 age range 
231 

RECOMMENDATIONS 

Faced with this poor outlook for the future of many Alaska Natives, the planners 

and the conferees decided to recommend a number of immediate and long-term steps 

to village, state and federal governments. 

The first body of recommendations are contained in this section and they are 

proposed primarily to village councils; to control, or end, the flow of alcohol into their 

communities, and taking immediate steps to end the violence and deaths. 

The other recommendations contained in other sections of this report, while not 

directly related to alcohol abuse, are aimed at addressing some of the social, cultural, 

economic, and spiritual causes of the abuse. 

Concurring with AFN President Julie Kitka, who had issued a proclamation 

declaring alcohol Ma clear and imminent health risk" to Alaska Native's wherever it is 

found, the conference, in order to save lives, and to regain the peace and harmony of 

their villages, made the following recommendations: 

I. That Village tribal governments enact and enforce ordinances 

banning the importation, sale, and the manufacturing of alcohol in 

their communities as a public health measure; 

2. That village councils enact protective custody ordinances, giving 

themselves the authority to take into custody any inebriate, from 

homes and public places, until such time as the inebriates no longer 

pose a threat to themselves, their families, and others in the 

community. 

The conference participants understood, in forwarding this recommendation, 

that it is not against state law to be drunk, and that the constitution protects what a 

person does in the privacy of his own home. But seeing that in most villages alcohol 

related crimes of violence are committed in the home, and usually against friends or 

family members, they decided that the need to protect lives far outweighed any 

constitutional protections to privacy; hence the recommendation to take drunk people 

even out of their own homes. 
232 

The conferees believe that protective custody ordinances, tirelessly and 

patiently enforced by village governments, wil: cut down dramalically the number of 

deaths related to accidents, drownings, homicides and suicide. They also believe that 

such ordinances would significantly reduce violence in the home and restore peace to 

the village. 

They also wanted it clearly understood that protectivive custody was not being 

proposed as a punitive measure, but as an act to protect the community from further 

violence and death. 

3. That bootleggers and homebrewets be charged as accessories to 

crimes committed by people to whom they sold or gave liquor. 

This recommendation is based on the fao:t that over 90% of all violent crimes in 

Alaska Native villages are alcohol-related; that 53% of Alaska Natives incarcerated are 

being held for crimes that have been categoriwd as the "most violent." lnupiaq elder 

Rachel Craig pointed out that these tragic facts are well known to bootleggers, who still 

choose to profit by selling alcohol where it has been banned. She, and an 

overwhelming majority of conference participants, felt that such people should be held 

responsible for the violence and suffering caust!d by their clients 

The conferees further recommended th<1t village councils, AFN, and legislators 

representing Alaska Native communities, lobby· the Alaska State legislature for the 

enactment of laws making bootleggers accessories to crimes committed by their 

clients. 

4. That village councils provide healthy cultural, social and recreational 

activities for the whole community, especially the young, who 

ottentime~ co rrectly complain about having "nothing to do; "the 

result Is boredom which then elevates the likelihood of alcohol and 

drug abuse. (15-20% of Alaska Native rural 12th graders admit to 

regular alcohol use: Source: Ak Native Health Board) 
233 

Underlying the discussion around alcohol was the urgency, the rieed to do 

"something" now to save a whole new generation of Native children from the ravages of 

alcohol, drug, and inhalant abuse, along with the certainty that if they truly wanted to, 

vi!!age councils and their communities could end the alcohol related violence and 

deaths. 

It was the consensus of the conferees that vi!!ages should enact, implement, 

and enforce their alcohol control ordinances without waiting for state or federal 

approval. 

It was also the consensus of the conference that village tribal governments (the 

IRA's and traditional councils) were best able to pass and enforce such ordinances as 

they had a greater variety of options under Federal Indian law than the vi!!age 

municipal governments (2nd Class cities) did under the state's municipal code, Title 29. 
IMPROVING THE PHYSICAL AND MENTAL HEALTH OF ALASKA NATIVE 

VILLAGES, FAMILIES AND INDIVIDUALS 

The discussion around physical and mental health centered around the Alaska 

Native Commission's assertion that, because of depression, Alaska Natives were not 

taking care of themselves; that they were suffering from illnesses that they could 

prevent; and that they had •turned over- to the !ndian Health Service the responsibility 

of taking care of their health in much the same way that they had turned over other 

responsiblilites to other branches of government. 

Dr. Robert Alberts, in his presentation to the conference on the •Anatomy of a 

dysfunctioning village/ identified the depression as one of the lingering afteraffects of 

the collapse of Alaska Native cultures and soci ies after repeated attacks by disease, 

missionaries, and government, as represented in early territorial days by the school 

teachers. 

Echoing the Alaska Natives Commission'~; SociaVCultural Task Force, he told 

the conference that this psychological, or •spiritual," illness, aggravated today by 

joblessness, poverty, dependency and a growir-g sense of helplessness and 

powerlessness, was one only the Native people themselves could heal by re-<Jpening 

the broken lines of communication between fam:Jies and by reestablishing the bonds of 

kinship, culture, language, and traditional values. 

Anne Walker, Executive Director of the Alaska Native Health Board, agreeing 

with Alberts, told the conference that regardless of who was responsible for creating 

the problems Alaska Natives face today, they still needed to take •ownership", then do 

whatever was necessary to solve them . 

She said that while the Federal governme1t's legal and other responsibilities for 

ensuring the health care of Alaska Natives remains clear, there was only so much the 

Indian Health Service could do; that because of the limitations of staff, facilitities, 

equipment. money, time, and distances separating villages from the hub communities 

.and Anchorage, the IHS continues to spend its resources in treatment and not in 

prevention. 
235 

Walker said that the same limitations also applied to the regional health 

corporations which have contracted many of the Indian Health Service's programs 

including the running of several hospitals. Here again, Walker said, preventive 

medicine has not been a priority, nor has it been integtrated into the workings. of these 

corporations on the village level. 

Village governments, families, schools and churches, she said, need to fill this 

gap, begin working together to improve the mental, physical, and spiritual health of 

their members through education and preventive programs. 

Native people, she said, are no longer dying from infections and respiratory 

diseases like they did only 40 years ago; they are dying from preventable diseases like 

cancer and heart disease; and from accidents, homicide and suicide, most, if not all of 

which, be prevented. 

Causes of Death, 1950, 1988, by Percent 

(Source: Alaska Native Health Board) 

CAUSES 1950 1988 

Infections 45.8% 1.3% 

Respiratory 13.2% 7.2% 

Accidents 9.6% 21.7% 

Heart Disease 5.3% 16.2% 

Congenital 3.0% 6.0% 

Cancer 2.4% 15.7% 

Homicide/Suicide 1.7% 11.1% 

· Stroke 1.4% 3.6% 

Other 17.6% 17.~k 
236 

RECOMMENDATIONS: PHYSICAL AND MENTAL HEALTH 

1. Village Councils need to educate their members to the dangers of 

tobacco, alcohol, inhalant and drug abuse ; they could do this 

through the schools, churches, community functions, etc.; the besf 

targets would be the children in the schools who had not yet begun 

to smoke, chew, drink or use other chemicals and inhalants; they 

must also practice sobriety as leaders and role models, especially 

at this critical stage in the history of their people. 

In her report to the conference, Anne Walker told the participants that "tobacco 

offers the largest singe opportunity to reduce cancer and heart disease and improving 

the overall physical health of Alaska Natives. • Not only is tobacco affecting the health 

of adults, it is also a definite health risk to children and Alaska Native youth. 

Tobacco abuse by Alaska Native Children and Youth 

- 16% of rural4 and 5 year old children in NW Alaska are regular users of 

smokeless tobacco (S.T.). 

- 30% of 7-12 year olds in Western Alaska are regular users of S.T. 

·- 40-50% of Alaska Native 12th graders use some form of tobacco. 

(Source: Ak Native Health Board) 

2. Village Councils should pass ordinances making community halls, 

schools, and other public places oft limits to smoking; they should 

also pass ordinances making the sale of tobacco products illegal to 

all village members under the age of 18 and penalizing those 

businesses that do; 

While village councils can pass ordinances making smoking illegal in public 

places, and while they might make it illegal to sell tobacco products to children, it is an 

unfortunate fact that some Native parents actually allow their children to chew tobacco, 

some even buy it for them. They do not seem to understand that tobacco, smoked or 

chewed, poses a risk to the long-term health end well-being of their children. 
237 

- By grade 12, 81% of Alaska Native females and 68% of Alaska Native males 

have had sexual intercourse. 

- The same statistic tor American Indian females is 59%, and 66% for males. 

{Source: Ak Native Health Board) 

3. Village Councils , parents and youth, must address the issues of 

sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancy by unwed teens; 

like communities and families everywhere, Alaska Natives have not been able 

to bring themselves to openly discuss ,between themselves, matters relating to sex, like 

sexually transmitted diseases and teen pregnancy. It is as if by mutual silent consent, 

they have decided not to Mtalk about ir in the same way that they choose not to talk 

about other troubling aspects of their existence. 

In the meantime, as Joe Cantil of the Alaska Native Health Baord Aids Project 

told the conference, there is a real danger of an AIDS epedemic in Alaska Native 

villages; a totally avoidable epedemic made possible by the silence of denial in Native 

villages, churches, and families on matters of sex. 

This unwillingness or aversion to openly discussing matters of sex is wrapped up 

in a relegious/moral blanket of •sin" · but underneath the blanket is an apparent 

erosion of traditional Native values and mores which has resulted in an explosion of 

teen pregnancy and other sexual abuses - also ignored and covered up by silence and 

denial. 

In communities where 81% of all 12th grade girls have admitted to having had 

sexual intercourse, as had 68% of the boys , Cantil and others say it is imperative that 

everyone in the community,even the churches, begin working to addres the very real 

risks of unprotected sex, both physical, spiritual and social. 

4. Village councils must pass and enforce ordinances against domestic 

violenc~. sexual abuse, and incest. 
238 

The recommend2tion on domestic violf!nce, sexual abuse and incest touches on 

one of the most tragic and sensitive of problems facing Alaska Natives societies today; 

tragic because it is most often than not, family on family violence committed in the 

usafety" of perpetrator and victim's home; sensitive, because it has been hidden for so 

long in silent shame and fear in the uprivacy" of many Alaska Native homes. 

Although no specific numbers were given, it was the consensus of the 

presenters that violence against Alaska Native women was greater than reported; that 

many cases go unreported and perpetrators go unpunished. As in the accidendal 

deaths, homicides and suicides, a lot of this violence is committed with alcohol being 

the triggering factor. 

It was made clear to the conference by Dillingham Tribal Judge Sally Floresta 

Smith, Municipality of Anchorage researcher Charmaine Ramos, and a young lnupiaq 

survivor of incest, that the victims of this violence are many, and the effects destructive 

and far reaching. 

Identified as "victims" were the village itself, the families, the abused women 

(oftentimes mothers, daughers), children, and other innocent observers, who become 

just as traumatized as their mothers, especially if the abuse is open, violent, and lasts 

over a long period of time. 

The long term affects are just as tragic as the abuse itself. Charmaine Ramos, 

told the conference that many victims of abuSE! in the village leave there to escape, only 

to fall victim to alcohol abuse and more violence in the City of Anchorage; victims to the 

cycle of violence which started at home in the village. Children of abused mothers also 

become abusers themselvers; become alcohol and drug abusers, get into abusive 

relationships; many of the sons end up in prison. . 

The conference participants in passing the recommendation to village councils 

to pass ordinances protecting women and children did so because ultimately it is the 

responsibility of the Native people to protect their members from violence, not the state 

troopers, state welfare agencies, or anyone else • They also wanted to send .a very 

clear message to the Native community that this type of behaviour against women, 
239 

children and other vulnerable members of the village cannot, and should not, be 

toler2ted. 

They also wanted to reinforce and support existing state and federal laws 

against domestic violence and make it incumbent on Alaska Native governments to 

arrest and bring to prosecution, tribal members who have been accused of committing 

these crimes. 

5. Alaska Native tribal councils must pass ordinances protecting 

children from parental neglect, sexual, and other abuses, and they 

must enforce such ordinances. 

Considering that over 40 % of the Native population is 22 years old and 

younger, and considering that the largest age group of the total Native population is 

under 5 years of age, this recommendation by the conference is probably one of the 

most significant. If village governments to !low this recommendation and move to protect 

their children it would correct one of the most tragic breakdowns in Alaska Native 

societies. 

- In 1991, Alaska Native children comprised 30% of reported Native 

American child abuse cases in the US while comprising only 9% 

of the total Native American child population. 

- In 1992, Alaska Native children experienced 35% of all confirmed child 

abuse in Alaska 

~ 25% of 12th grade Native girts and 4% of 12th grade boys report to having 

been sexually abused. 

(Source: Ak Native Health Board) 

At present, most Native councils and communities do not "interfere• witb the 

inner workings of families, even when abuses are known to be occurring in a 

household; the leave it to State welfare agencies like DFYS to do "something." 

Unfortunately, and tragically, many children suffer neglect and abuse lol)g before they 
240 

catch the attention of a social worker, and usually through a concerned school teacher, 

and very rarely through the village council. 

The effects of such cummunal and parental neglect of children is already 

evident in the number of Alaska Native juveniles under protection and supervision of 

the state and in the young Alaska Native men in prison. It is also a factor in the falling 

age of young Alaska Native suicides, and in the rising alcohol, drug, and inhalant 

abuse by Native children. The conferees in recommending such ordinances protecting 

children recognize that they are the future and that Native villages need to take back 

the responsibility of protecting and nurturing them. 

PROVIDING MEANINGFUL WORK FOR ALL SEGMENTS OF VILLAGE 

SOCIETY 

Dr. Robert Alberts, in his presentation to the conference on the '"anatomy of a 

dysfunctioning village," pointed to dependency as the most destructive and disabling 

symptom of a village that had lost control of itself. In the case of Alaska Natives, after 

over a century of rule by federal, territorial and state authorities, coupled with the many 

programs fostered by the War on Poverty, dependency has come to pervade all 

segments of Alaska Native society. From birtll to death, Alaska Natives now rely on 

government to provide for their health, educational, governmental, social, and 

economic needs. 

As AFN President Julie Kitka said in her opening statement, Native people now 

watch as someone else feeds, medicates, houses, clothes, and educates, their 

children, while on the other hand, following government directives in running every 

aspect of their existence. And having become frozen into this culture of dependency, 

she says, Native people now stand helplessly oy as the "flower of our youth" self· 

destruct through alcohol and drug abuse born of the hopelessness and 

discouragement endemic to a dependent society. 
241 

SOLUTIONS 

Long term solutions to dependency, as AFN President Kitka pointed out, will 

have to come through a "new partnership" between Alaska Natives and the Federal 

and state governments. While the AFN call for a a new partnership covered all aspects 

of Federal/State/Native relations, implicit in her comments was the need for 

"meaningful work" now, and the need to establish a lasting economic base for Alaska 

Natives living in villages, for the future. 

Rather than continuing to prop up the artificial and unproductive welfare 

economy that it has created for Native villages, Kitka called on government to change 

the way it "invests" in Native people. 

In place of food stamps, AFDC, General Assistance, and other programs, she 

asked that village councils be given grants with which they could hire unemployed 

village residents to do needed work in, and around, the community. She also said 

that government must make long-term· ·investments in the economies of rural and 

Village, Alaska, while at the same time, removing statutory and regulatory "obstacles• 

now standing in the way of " Native participation in the development of [Alaska's] 

renewable and non-renewable resources." 

These comments of Kitka's on "new partnerships," "investments," and removing 

"obstacles" can best be understood only when it is seen that the economic depression 

in Native communities today is largely the result of Federal/State land and resource 

management policies followed since the purchase of Alaska by the United States in 

1867. Those policies, General John Schaeffer of Kotzebue said, "ignored the existence 

of Alaska Natives," and brushed them aside as "inconsequential non-entities• when it 

came time to distribute Alaska's wealth. 

As put by one of the conference participants, there is something "terribly wrong" 

when Alaska Natives, once the sole owners of the state, live on food stamps and 

AFDC "while someone else pumps oil out from under their feet." It is equally wrong, he 

said "when Alaska Natives literally stand on the banks of their rivers and bays, 

watching, as others from far off towns, states, and countries, haul in their fish" for 

commercial sales because they had been frozen out by the state's "limited entry" 

commercial fishery system. 

In calling for a "new partnership• Kitka was asking for a redefinition of the 

governmental and economic relationships between Alaska Natives, the Federal 

government and the State of Alaska. She was also saying that it was no longer good 

enough for government to feed, house, medicate, and educate Alaska Natives, that 

some of what they had lost to government and other parties had to be returned in the 

form of jobs and a better economic future. 1 

The following recommendations of the conference, like the recommendations on 

alcohol abuse, try to address the problems of a lack of meaningful work and 

dependency on two levels: the short term and the long term. 

·On the short term, the conference asks the village councils to address the 

problem of idleness, of "having nothing to do," especially among the young. On the · 

long term, the conference recommended changes in the way welfare is being given to 
242 

~ative families. The conferees also called for a concerted effort on the part of Native 

Village councils, corporations, and Government, to solve the economic depression that 

has become a part of village life. 

The conferees, in making the recommendations, recognized that achieving a 

turnaround in the dismal social conditions of Native villages hinged on solving the 

problems of unemployment and the lack of economic opportunity available to them; 

that as long as Native people remain dependant on government to live; that any 

progress they might make in other areas of their lives would continue to be 

undermined. 

These are the recommendations of the conference on the issues of "meaningful 

work, • unemployment, and economic development: 

1. That village councils provide meaningful work (voluntary if necessary} 

for the yocth and other unemployed in their communities; 

The conferees attributed a lot of the social problems to unemployment 

and "idleness" on the part of many Natives. Of special concern to the 

conferees and the Natives Commission were the young men whose 

traditional role as hunter and provider for the family has been undermined by the welfare economy. With no job, besides hunting and 

fishing for subsistence, many young men today not only have a lot of 

idle time, but depend on their parents and other close relatives to 

provide for their other needs. Hence, their recommendation that 

village councils find the means to provide "meaningful work" for the 

young, even if the work is voluntary. 

There is a lot in the history and traditions of all Alaska Native tribes 

extolling the work ethic, of helping others, of contributing to the 

welfare of the "people." This ethic, many conferees feel, is one of the 

casualties of the welfare economy, and the results have been 

tragic. Julie Kitka, in her opening comments, decried the "waste" of 

Native youth, who, because of having "nothing to do,• turn to alcohol 

and drugs for relief. 

2. That village tribal governments, regional corporations, and the Alaska 

Federation of Natives, pursue "trading off" food stamps, AFDC, 

General Assistance, and other welfare programs, for "village 

economic support grants;" the grants to be used by village councils 

in hiring unemployed heads of households to work on needed projects 

in the community. 

There is already some precedence for "workfare" as proposed by the 

conference in Alaska and other states. The Tanana Chiefs Conference, 

although the practice was later questioned by the BIA, used their 

"general assistance• program funds to hire unemployed village people. 
The program was a very popular one and recieved widespread support 

in the communities where it was tried, especially by the participants. 

3. That the regional corporations and the Alaska Federation of Natives 

work with State and Federal governments for the development of a 

long term economic recovery plan tor Alaska Native communities. 

Some of the recommended courses of action include: 

@ amending the state commerical fisheries limited entry program to allow 

the issuance of inalienable •tocal access permits" for Alaska Native 

families IMng in fishery sites like Bristol Bay, YK, etc; 

@ enacting and enforcing sbict local hire laws for any projects funded by 

state and federal governments to include planning and construction of 

schools, housing, roads, airports, etc. 

@creating an Alaska Native Development Trust, (as recommended by the 

Alaska Natives Commission) the principle to be used as loan quarantees 

for businesses being developed locally by Native village corporations, 

governments, & individuals 

RETHINKING OUR PRIORITIES 

The last issue taken up by the conference was the question of priorities, 

whether spending by government reflected the true needs of Alaska Natives. As Gen. 

John Schaeffer (ret.) put it, • Why is it , that after an expenditure by Federal and State 

governments, of literally billions of dollars on Alaska Natives, are they in such bad 

shape?" Answering his own question, he said that perhaps the money ha4 been 

"Waylaid" before it got to the Native people, or that it had been spent by agencies for 

Natives paying for programs and things of no lasting value to the Native people other 

than to make dependants of them. 

Comparing government programs, services and Mhandouts" to addictive drugs, 

he said that rather than freeing Natives, government had separated them from their 

lands, cultures, resources, and independence, then chained them into a perpetual 

state of dependency. 

This loss of land, resources, and freedom, he said, was too high a price to pay 

for the types of government services Native people were recieving. That instead of 

continually pouring money into well-meaning, ineffecient,. and self-perpetuating 

agency programs, government should fund Native designed and staffed initiatives 

instead. Government, he said, has been paying non-Natives a lot of mon~y to fail 
trying to "help" Native people. "It is time, he said, "for Native people to be given that 

chance." 

Schaeffer went on to say that Native ~~eople must carry some of the 

responsibility for this state of affairs. He said Natives had become used to depending 

on non-Natives to do the work they themselves could do. In fact. he said, Natives seem 

to have more faith in non-Natives than they did their own people. Like the 

government, he said, Native organizations have taken to hiring non-Natives, not 

trusting their own people to do a job. Uke the government he said, Natives have 

learned to pay non-Natives to fail. "VVhy, "he said," can't Natives hire Natives to make 

the same mistakes?" At least they would learn from the experience and the money 

would go to the Native community. 

Decrying the "forest of programs• referred to by AFN President Julie Kitka, 

Schaeffer said government would save a lot of money, not to mention lives, if it would 

only enable Alaska Natives to help themselves. Even the most well-intentioned 

program, staffed by the most caring no~ative, while meeting an immediate unmet 

need, harmed the people in the long run "because it represented one more 

responsibility given away, one new dependency created." 

For this reason, Schaeffer supports placing a moratorium on "Native programs• 

being run by, and through, state and federal agencies, and a review conducted to 

determine their cost and programatic effectiveness. Those programs determined not to 

be cost effective or which would tend to deepen the dependency of Native people, 

should be cut. 

. The priority for Federal and State governments, Schaeffer said, should be the 

"empowering" of Native governments so they can begin, in earnest, the process of 

regaining control over their lives, and in improving living conditions for them: not by 

giving them food stamps and building new houses for them, but by creating jobs and a 

better economic future for them so they could buy their own food and build their own 

houses for themselves. 

Saying that no one had ever become d:unk or committed suicide because he 

lacked a flush toilet, one participant, agreeing with Schaeffer, said that government 

should concentrate its efforts and dwindling monetary resources on building a firm 

economic base for Alaska Natives rather than in constructing costly water and sewer 

systems for them. He also said that Native people themselves, on the village; regional, 

and the statewide level, need to talk about their priorities, and come up with their own 

social, cultural, and economic recovery plans, not leave it to government and its 

agencies to plan their recovery for them. 

RECOMMENDATIONS 

It is recommended that the Alaska Federation of Natives, as representative of 

Alaska Natives statewide, work with the State of Alaska and the Federal 

government, in gaining a moratorium on all "native" programs being run 

through state and federal agencies and that it work with both in determining 

which programs should be cut. and which should be granted, or contracted, to 

Native village councils or regional and statewide Native organizations. 
245 

While dependency pervades all segments of Alaska Native societies, it is · 

perhaps most obvious in the economy of Native villages where food stamps, AFDC, 

and other "welfare" programs have become the foundation. 

The conferees agreed with Dr. Alberts and the AFN President that Alaska 

Natives had become a dependent people. Yet, they also agreed, that because of the 

continuing economic depression in rural Alaska, economic assistance will continue to 

be needed. 
246 

AFN/SM JOURNAL 

Volume 1 Issue 5 April - August 1995 

"PRIVATE SECTOR" INVESTS IN AFNISM MISSION & MESSAGE 

IDIT APLEDGE 1995 AFN/SM Coins DeftNETS $27,000 IN 

CONTRIBUTIONS 

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nition for Sobriety 

Movement; Modifies 

Mission Statement 

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.--.,.,~~o~J;-.w-,c.~~ 4 Sobriety: ... A Paradigm Shift 

ouuwr: S.:.,.Soba-...l.olll..,.._Mo. S Editorials, Events & Highlights 
247 

Alaska Federation of Natives Convention 

_____ Special ResolutionL-.-----

TITLE: STOPPING THE SELF-DESTRUCTION • BY REMOVING ALCOHOL 

AND ILUCrT DRUGS FROM OUR COMMUNmES 

WHEREAS: every modem stUdy of Native problems documents the epidemic of 

alcohol and drug abuse that is destroying our communities and killing 

our people; and 

WHEREAS: the report of the Alaska Natives Commission, a document written by 

Natives to Natives, presents a stark picture of • ..• an entire popullltlon 

lit rlak. •• ot being lmprl8oned In Amerlca'a undercla.., mired In 

both phyalcal and aplrltual poverty ••• leadlng llvea, generlltlon to 

generation, cheract.-lzed by violence, alcohol abuae and cyclea of 

l*"aonal; and aoclal destruction ••. "; and 

WHEREAS: the Commission's statistics on Native suffering and death due to chemical abuse are worse than anyone had anticipated; and 

WHEREAS: the situation is now so serious that little progress on rural economic 

development. village self-governance, educational reform or cultural 

preservation can be expected until our people STOP DRINKING; and 

WHEREAS: every recovering alcoholic knows that there are only two options: to 

continue drinking or to stop completely; and 

WHEREAS: we as Native people, have come to a point where we must take drastic 

steps to eradicate alcohol and drug abuse in our villages and are ready 

to stand up to the resistance and criticism that this effort will elicit from 

some of our own people, as well as outsiders: and 

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the delegates of the Convention of the 

Alaska Federation of Natives urge every Native village to use every means available in 

municipal, state, tribal, and/or federal laws to pursue a policy of •zero tolerance· of 

alcohol and/or drug use in the community; and 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Convention urges every village to take the following steps to begin the process: 
248 

--enactment and enforcement of an absolute ban on the importation, manufacture, sale, and possession of any amount of alcohol or illicit drug by any person 

within the community's jurisdiction, with appropriate penalties of community 

service, monetary fines, and/or incarceration for all violations thereof; and 

--enactment and enforcement of a program of ~e intervention and "protectlive custody" for any person who is intoxicat~ or under the influence of an illicit drug within the community's jurisdiction; and 

-funding through any available combination of State, federal, community and private resources, of a comprehensive village program of family-based substance 

abuse prevention and treatment; and 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED ttult, If enactment and .nforcernent of auch mea- aures ahould, be blocked by exlatlng atate lewa, the Convention urges esch village to enact· and enforce auch ordlnancea through Ita tribal council and that the 

Native community exert fNetr'/ financial and political resource to aaaure that f~ 

•al law makes the option of tribal alcohol control available to ev.-y village In 

Alaska; and 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Convention urges the voters of every village, 

whether organized as tribes, municipalities or both, to elect to all community offices only 

those qualified leaders who do not abuse alcohol or use illicit drugs. 
249 

Alaska Natives Dying From Injuries 

Accident. Suicide, or Homicide 

1 . How high are the risks? 

About 40 Alaska Natives kill themselves each year, about 25 are murdered, 

and over 100 die by accident. 

Natives are 3 . 7 times as likely to die by accident as the U.S. average, are 3 .5 

times as likely to commit suicide, and 3.2 times as likely to be homicide 

victims. 

2. Who is most likely to die from injuries? 

Native men are 3.3 times more likely to die by accident than native women, 7 

times as likely to commit suicide, and 2.3 times as likely to be murdered. 

Accident. death risks are 70 percent higher in small communities than in urban 

areas, and suicide risks are more than twice as high. 

Suicide rates are very high -- at least 4 times the national average -- in all parts 

of rural Alaska . 

Young adults are the most at risk for suicides and homicides. Accidents kill 

adults of all ages. 

Married people of all ages have much lower death risks, except that married 

women are just as likely as unmarried women to be murdered. 

3. If they persist, how much will the current death rates affect the population? 

Out of 1 00 15-year-old Native boys living in villages, 22 will die from 

accidents, suicide, or homicide before they reach age 60 (if they do not die of 

other causes first). Seven out of 1 00 girls in villages will also die of injuries. 

Native teens who will never marry have an even greater likelihood of dying of 

violence before age 60. 

4. How long have injury death rates been so high? 

In 1950. suicide rates were much lower than today. Homicide rates were 

lower, too. Deaths from accidents were even more common, but mainly due to 

lack of medical care in rural Alaska (non-Native accident rates were also high). 

Suicides and homicides grew rapidly in the 1960s. Suicide rates continued to 

increase until leveling off in the 1980s. 

Before the 1960s. most sui¢ides were older adults. Suicide rates have climbed 

in the past 30 years because more young people are killing themselves. 

5. What can be done? 

Suicide rates have been high for only the past 30 years -- within lifetime of 

most of you. Your knowledge of how things worked before is needed. 

In 24 Native villages scattered throughout Alaska with 100 or more residents. 

no one has died from suicide or murder in at least 11 years. These villages may 

not just be lucky. and can perhaps share their suc:cess. with other communities. 
250 

FINDINGS AND DATA 

Social/Cultural Status 

--Native annual birthrate = 36.5 per 1,000, creating large demand for village child 

development, education, health programs. 

--Effective Native public education = bi-cultural (skills and values). 

--Native annual death rate = more than three times national average, much of it 

alcohol-related. 

--Native infant mortality and Fetal Alcohol Syndrome rates = more than twice 

national averages. 

--1988, birth rate to Native girls 15-19 = 2-1/2 times national average. 

--1988, one of every 11 Native children received child protection 

services. 

-1992, 30% of DH&SS child abuse/neglect/injury reports= Native children (94 

per 1,000 Native children, 55 per 1,000 non-Native Alaskan children, 39 

per 1,000 children nationwide). 

--1992, almost one of every eight Native males 14-17 spent time in juvenile 

detention. 

--April, 1993, over 27% of Native inmate population had sexually abused a child 

or other adult. 

--Nearly 1/2 all Natives currently incarcerated for sexual crimes victimized 

children. 

Economics 

-Village costs of living .. exorbitant; village economies= precariously 

dependent on public expenditures. 

--1990, over 20% of enumerated Native workforce= unemployed, compared to 

8.8% of total Alaskan workforce. (Actual Native unemployrl)ent rates = 

much higher, due to uncounted workforce dropouts.) 

--In 113 of villages, male unemployment = 32% (four times statewide average); 

in 1/8 of villages, male unemployment = more than 50%. 

-About 42% of 16,000 Native males in Alaska's employed civilian workforce= in 

crafts, trades, service sectors. 

--Almost 113 of all employed Native women= secretaries or clerks; 114 =in 

service sector (mainly food preparation, custodial). 

-Native women = about 60010 more likely to work in managerial and professional 

fields than Native men. 

--Alaska's federal agency workforce (except BIA and IHS, with congressional 

Native preference) = 5.6% Native/Ameriean Indian. 

--1992, 4.8% of State of Alaska executive branch workforce= Natives 

(e.g., law = 3.8%, DNA = 2.1 %, ADF&G = 1.6%). 

--21.5% of Native families= below official poverty income line, compared 

to 6.8% of all Alaskan families. 

--Native families and individuals= increasingly welfare-dependent. 
251 

Justice and Corrections 

--Non-Native assumption that only "western" justice =justice impedes culturally 

appropriate village alternatives for dispute resolution. 

--April, 1993, Natives= 16% of Alaska's population, 13.5% of its 

prison-age-eligible population, and 32% of its inmates. 

--Natives = 59% of Alaska's violent-crime inmates and 38% of its sex-offense 

inmates. 

--Most Native crime = alcohol-related; percentages of Native crime that are 

violent or sexual = far higher than state/national averages. 

--53% of all Native inmates = incarcerated for "most violent• crimes 

(assault =14%, sexual assault= 14%, sexual abuse of minor 13%, 

murder/manslaughter= 12%}. 

-1992, about 27% of aU Native males 14-17 years old = referred to state juvenile 

intake system. 

--Native murder rate = four times r.ational average. 

--Natives = 43% of Alaska's misdemeanor inmates, 39% of its sex offenders, and 

41% of its parolees/probationers. 

--1990, Natives= 112 cf Alaska's second-degree murder convictions, and only 

8% of its drug offenders. 

--"Charge bargaining• practices, coupled with Native cultural avoidance of 

confrontation (trials), may contribute to high conviction rates. 

Education 

--1981-89, Native FAS rate= 5.1 per 1,000 live births (almost 2-1/2 times North 

American average). 

--60% of Native students entering urban Alaska high schools do not-graduate, 

compared to 12-15% Native attrition rate in rural high schools; but rural 

graduates have much lower average achievement levels. 

--1989, Native ACT scores = about 40% lower than non-Native scores; 

--Rural schools= 14,000 Native students {7% Native instructors); urban schools 

= 9,500 Native students (less than 2% Native instructors). 

--Rural Alaska students below academic level for age group= above 12%; 

urban Alaska students below academic level for age group = below 4%. 

--one advantage of rural schools = low student-teacher ratios (better chances for 

instructional impacts). 

--53% of all Alaska students (but 11% of Native students} took Algebra II; 

48% of all Alaska students (but 8% of Native students} took chemistry. 

--3/4 of all Alaska students (but 2/3 of Native students) complete high school. 

--In some districts, 30% of Native elementary students and 40% of Native 

secondary students = below grade level. 

--Replacing boarding schools with village schools increased graduation rates -

but with lower achievement scores than statewide. 

--1980, % of adult non-Native Alaskans with college degrees = five times % of 

adult Natives with degrees. 

21-794 - 96 - 9 
252 

Physical/Behavioral Health 

--Lack of adequate village sanitation/water systems = primary cause of many 

Native health problems (e.g. , Al aska ~; highest incidence of Hepatitis 8 = 

in southwestern villages). 

--Despite $1.3 billion public investment, many villages have onl y rudimentary 

water/sewage utilities. 

--Heart disease = 16% of all Native deaths in 1994 (5% in 1950). 

--Natives = more vulnerable to serious injury and infectious disease than 

non-Native Alaskans. 

--Formerly low Native cancer rates =steadily increasing. 

--1985-89, Native diabetes rose from 15.7 to 18.2 per 1 ,000. 

--Formerly epidemic TB = no longer prevalent, but far from eradicated. 

--Individual substance abuse and other health problems= closely related to 

dysfunctionality of whole communities (must be addressed together). 

--39.% of Natives smoke tobacco (compared to 26% of all Alaskan adults); some 

Native villages = 60% smoking rates. 

--1980-89 = average of one Native suicide every ten days, reaching 1989 

annual rate of 69 per 1 00,000; preliminary 1990-93 data indicate 

continuing increase. 

--Almost 1/2 of Native suicides = 15-24 year olds, compared to 1/4 of non-Native 

suicides. 

--1964-1989, Native suicide rate increased 500%. 

--1980-89, 86% of all Native suicides = males. 

--Late 1980's, suicide rate of Native males 20-24 year old = more than 30 times 

national suicide rate for all age groups. 

--61% of Natives live in rural Alaska, but more than 2/3 of 1980-89 Native 

suicides occurred there. 

--1980-89, 305 Natives (173 males, 132 females)= killed by direct effects of 

alcohol or other drugs (average= one every 12 days); this Native 

substance abuse mortality rate {4.1 pm 10,000) = 3-1/2 times non-Native 

rate {1.2 per 1,000). 

--1980-89, cumulative Native "Years of Potential Ute Lost" (i.e., number of years 

individual dies before 65th birthday) attributable to alcohol = 6,607 years 

(almost five times non-Native rate). 

--Native rate of fatal injuries caused by alcohol = nearly three times non-Native 

rate. 

--Native per capita deaths by fire= twice nor.-Native rate; about 1/2 =attributable 

to alcohol. 

--79% of all Native suicides = detectable blood alcohol levels. 

--Alcohol abuse and criminal acts correlate significantly, particularly in rural 

Alaska and among Natives throughout state. 
253 

CENTRAL THEMES 

---"Whatever words are chosen to depict the situation of Alaska's Native 

people, there can be little doubt that an entire population is at risk ... of being 

permanently imprisoned in America's underclass, mired in ... physical and spiritual 

poverty; .. . of leading lives, generation to generation, characterized by violence, 

alcohol abuse and cycles of personal and social destruction; ... of losing, 

irretrievably, the cultural strengths ... essential for the building of a new and 

workable social and economic order; ... of permanently losing the capacity to selfgovern, ... to make considered and appropriate decisions about how life in Native 

communities should be lived. 

-"This lack of well-being, or 'dysfunction,' ... was precipitated by a centurylong policy of cultural, social and economic assimilation. Rampant 

unemployment and the virtual non-existence of other economic 

opportunities, ... together with the spiritually and psychologically debilitating 

intervention of governmental services ..• has created a culture of dependency. If 

one theme can be identified as having emerged during the course of the · 

Commission's work, it is Alaska Natives' seeming inability to take responsibility 

for local economies, governments, schools and other social institutions." 

---· ... the impact of government on the villages during the past quartercentury, while often materially beneficial..., has been destructive in process. 

The federal government appears to have believed that "development" .. .is 

something that can be done to one group of people by another •... The result of 

this systematic assumption of responsibility and control by outsiders is that 

village people lost hold of their communities and their children's lives. That is a 

fundamental fact underlying the contemporary Native ... crisis." 

---" ... There is no end of the downward social and economic spiral in sight. 

Natives are still the poorest of Alaska's citizens .... There has been little, if any, 

return on the billions of dollars that governments have expended over the past 

30 years on what has become, quite literally, a growth industry revolving around 

problems in the Native community." 

··-''The true nature of the sickness ... throughout the Native villages is the 

state of dependency which has led to the loss of direction and self-esteem. 

Everything else is of a secondary nature - merely symptoms of the underlying 

disease. Programs which are aimed at relieving the symptoms but refuse to 

relate to the sickness are doomed to fail and may even make things worse." 

·--· ... unhealthy dependence ... on outside decision makers and service 

providers ... serve(s] to displace the village councils, natural leaders and extended 

families. Rather than having to face, acknowledge and deal with problems, the 

community can turn those problems over to someone else." 

-"It is time to accept that the past policy of assimilation has not worked. 

The federal government and the State of Alaska have repeatedly chosen to 

ignore this fact. But it is one clearly understood by Alaska Natives. Natives 

must ... approach the future with the certain knowledge that their world views, 

their traditional methods of solving problems, their ways of thinking and 

doing ... will be given respect and precedence." 
254 

---'The issues confronting Alaska Natives are compounded by their 

interrel ationship: 

--Reversal of the cultural and social decay in which Natives are 

enmeshed seems impossible without improvement in their 

economic condition. Individuals who believe themselves doomed 

to an unending future of economic dependency are in such 

psychological despair that little energy is left for understanding and 

valuing their heritage. 

--Improvement in their economic condition seems unlikely 

without. .. an educational system that works ... Children and young 

adults who are deprived of self-respect by a culturally alien school 

system and then sent into society as functional illiterates without 

marketable skills cannot improve their economic status. 

-An education system that works for Alaska Natives seems out of 

reach so long as public health problems, family dysfunction, and 

alcohol and sexual abuse are prevalent. Children suffering from 

chronic diseases brought on by exposure to raw sewage or Fetal 

Alcohol Syndrome, children from families in which one or both 

parents are absent or abusive, and children who must live in 

communities in which the society ... has failed, are ill-equipped to 

succeed in school, even if school is reformed to accommodate 

ways of learning particular to ... Native cultures." 

---"The answer ... is not surrender to this multitude of problems, but greater 

efforts to address all concurrently. Progress in reversing cultural and social 

erosion will be rewarded by gains in other areas .... The forward movement of an 

empowered Native community ... will go far in promoting substantive advances .. ." 

---" ... there needs to be a comprehensive approach by the federal and 

state governments and Alaska Native people themselves ... [A]ny piecemeal 

attempts at reform will fail... The success or failure of one initiative hinges on the 

success or failure of others. Such a multi-taceted approach ... would be a 

positive ... departure from present governmental policy making which is issue· 

specific and political in approach." 

OVERARCHING PRINCIPLES: 

-Self-Reliance: • ... using the rights they have .. .from the special 

relationship of Native Americans with the federal government and ... as 

citizens of the United States and Alaska, ... the acceptance of responsibility 

tor individual and community actions ... is the key to Alaska Natives' future 

well-being ... " 

--Self-Determination: " ... policies and programs must, to the largest 

extent possible, be conceived, developed and carried out by Alaska 

Natives.· 

--lnteQrity of Native Cultures: "Policias and programs ... must recognize, 

take advantage of, and maintain and enhance the traditional values of 

Alaska Native cultures." 
255 

TESTIMONY FOR 1HE UNITED STATES CONGRESS 

Congressional Hear1ng 

November 16, 1995 

Written Testimony Prepared and Submitted by 

Calista Corporation 

Calista Corporation is respectfully submitting the following testimony for the 

Congressional hea.rtng held on November 16, 1995, in Washington DC. 

concerning the Alaska Native Commission Report. 

INTRODUCTION 

Calista Corporation has long been concerned with the economic and social 

well-being of the Yup'l.k people residing in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta of 

Southwestern Alaska. Almost ten years ago, Calista Corporation prepared 

the first comprehensive written report documenting the deplorable 

economic and social conditions being experienced by the people of the 

Calista region. Our report, The Calista Region: A Qent!e People. A Harsh 

Jdk., became the foundation for the statistics used in the Alaska Federation 

of Natives' report, A Call to Action. which was released to the publ1c and 

submitted to Congress in 1988. As a result of these reports, attention was finally directed to understanding the various economic, social, and political 

problems of the Alaska Native people and their cultures. In response to 

Congressional interest in these issues the United States Congress passed 

legislation in 1989 which lead to the formation of the Alaska Native 

Commission (•Commission·). 

Congress is now at a critical jnncture for addressing and finding solutions to 

the problems which continue to hannt the Alaska Natives. A balanced and 

focused approach is required to ensure that the problems confronting us now will not face us 20 or 50 years down the road. 

ALASKA NATIVE COMMISSION 

The Commission was establ1shed to identify and recommend solutions 

which are creative. reasonable and doable. While the Commission's report of 

recommendations does identify strategies and ideas for beg1nn1ng to address 

the health and social well-being problems of Alaska Natives, we feel the 

recommendations are inadequate to ensure lasting resolution of those and 

other problems. Any effort to alleviate the problems faced by the Alaska 

Natives must include addressing the heart of those problems - the lack of 

strong local economies and the lack of employment opportunities in the 

villages. Solutions to these problems will provide long term if not 

permanent improvements to the Alaska Native 11festyle. Health and social 

problems are more ll.kely to be resolved as a result of solving the economic 

and unemployment problems rather than vise versa. Consequently Congress 

should approach all these problems from a new angle. It should promote 
25fi 

strong self supporting economies in rural Alaska as a more lasting approach 

to solving the unforgiveable conditions in many native communities. We 

must quit trying to cure the symptoms of our problems and address the 

underlying problem whlch is the pervasive poverty. 

During the tenure of the Commission, Calista Corporation testified at numerous hearings and prepared detailed reports on the condition of the 

Yup'ik people living in the Calista region. Calista staff worked closely with 

Commission member Martin B. Moore to identify means of promoting and 

nuturing economic development in Rural Alaska whlch would result in the 

creation of jobs for Alaska Natives. When we reviewed the fmal solutions 

recommended by the Commission we were saddened to see that almost all 

of the ideas that Calista Corporation a..•d Commission member Mr. Moore 

had developed were absent from the find commission report. 

At this time, Calista Corporation would like to submit as part of the 

Congressional record for tWs hearing a report we prepared and submitted to 

the Alaska Native Commission in January 12, 1993. We are submitting the 

report and this testimony, not as an alternative to the recommended 

solutions, but to offer a balanced and focused approach. 

Calista Corporation sincerely hopes Congress will take the time to review our recommendations. lf implemented, these recommendations will greatly 

benefit both the Yup'ik people and other Alaska Natives. 

GREATEST AREAS OF NEED 

Alaska Natives face a wide range of problems and the culture is under a tremendous amount of stress and pressure to change. However, the 

problems and pressures are much greater in some regions of the state. For 

example, in Anchorage, most Alaska Natives live in homes with running 

water and sewer; health care services are within a cab ride away at the 

Alaska Native Medical Center; and the .1\nchorage School District is one of 

the best funded school districts in the country. Although finding a job may 

take a bit of effort, the opportunities for acquiring one are there. In 

contrast, Alaska Natives living in most villages in Southwestern Alaska and 

the Calista region do not have any of these services or opportunities. Sewer 

disposal is often honey bucket haul systems if that; health care comes from a community health aide, if there is one cr else it is a plane ride away; there are no jobs, unless you are one of the few Native school teachers or the 

village store clerk; and the school sy·stems are unable to provide an education comparable in quality to Anchorage's schools. 

While tws nation races toward new technological heights, the Calista region 

villages are struggling to obtain the most basic needs and services for the 

Yup'ik people. One need not be a scholar to sense the bitterness created by 

joblessness or from smelling the stench of the honey bucket lagoon during 

spring breakup. Yet these are conditions the people of the Calista region 

2 
257 

live with day In and day out. It was not just a coincidence that the examples 

and statistics cited in the Commission reports and findings focused on villages In the Calista region. These communities became evidence of the 

problems facing Alaska Native villages because they are the communities 

experiencing the greatest problems. The extremely poor living conditions 

and high levels of unemployment simply do not occur elsewhere. It is for 

this reason alone, Calista Corporation is stressing that the actions adopted or legislation enacted by Congress must focus on the areas with the greatest 

problems. 

Historically, this area of the state has been ignored when it comes to 

recelvlng federal and state money to build infrastructure systems such as roads, sewer and water systems or Implementing economic development 

programs. It is a rather sad commentary on the plight of the YupUt when 

statistics show that when the United States enters the 21st century, most of 

the villages In Southwest Alaska still will not have running water or flush 

toilets. 

Calista Corporation knows this Is a reiteration of the litany of problems 

facing Alaska Natives, but there is a point to be made here. Congress' 

actions must focus on and target the areas of the state with the greatest 

needs and must be designed to benefit the Alaska Natives most In need. It 

should be a goal of Congress to recommend program and policy changes 

which will ensure that all Alaska Natives are able to live without fear of their 

health, safety and economic well-being. Because of the extreme gravity of 

the problems facing the people and villages In the Calista region, we urge 

Congress to give this region extra consideration when making 

recommendations and proposing solutions for remedying the problems now factng Alaska Natives. 

SOLt.mONS MUSf BE FOCUSED 

Generic, broad-range programs addressing no longer are the answer. In this 

time of limited funding and tight financial budgets, programs and monies 

must be targeted to areas and people where they do the most good and are most needed. Priorities for implementing programs and providing funding 

must be based on need, not on which region or entity has the greatest 

political clout. 

The Calista region has over 25 percent of the state's Native villages located 

within its boundaries. It also has close to the same percentage of the state's 

Native population living In these villages, yet the region does not receive 25 

percent of the money for programs and projects for Alaska Native people. In 

fact, state operating and capital expenditures In the Calista region are the 

lowest per capita anywhere In the state. For example, of the communities 

lacking sewer and water facilities more than half of the village are In the 

Calista region. And it is the Calista region which has the highest Incidence 

rate for hepatitis In the state. 

3 
258 

If history Is any lndfcatlon. a package of overly broad, statewide pollcies and 

programs affecting all Alaska Natives wt11 not be effective for the Yup'ik 

people. In most cases, the funding and programs go to the more aftluent, 

better-off regions of the state which do not have as great of a need as the 

Calista Region. 

The Callsta region is In economic and social distress. The people In the 

region are having to cope wtth the rapid t.railsition from a traditional 

subsistence-based culture to a way of Ufe that combines cash and subsistence 

economies. This change Is impacting every facet of Ufe In the region 

including the growth of vtllages, population patterns, the environment. 

education, development of Infrastructure systems, employment 

opportunities and the social well-being of the Yup'lk people. Even though 

the Yup'lk people have made social and economic gains, they st111 have not 

caught up with the rest of the state and the disproportionate problems 

confronting the Yup'lk people persist. There are no quick or easy solutions 

to the problems facing the Yup'ik people. 

In recent years. the Yup'lk people have been plagued by alcohollsm. suicide. 

domestic violence and ch1ld abuse. Now drug abuse. murder and assault are common events In the villages. These are all signs of a culture under 

extreme stress and In dire need of help. Much of the social and cultural 

disintegration now occurrtng In the villages is the result of a lack of jobs. 

lack of resources to compete In today's world, and the publlc's Inadequate 

understanding of what it Is really like to live In a village. 

Subsistence remains at the center of the Yup'ik culture and society. As a result, it must be protected. In the villages. more and more of the young 

people leave to never come back. The reason - there are no jobs to sustain 

them and there Is no housing for them to Uve In to start their own families. 

The one thing st111 sustaining most Yup'ik people Is their ability to continue 

living a subsistence llfestyle. Hc;nvever, even that Is being threatened by 

polltical disputes over who has the right to practice subsistence and where can it occur. Natural resources found in the Calista region are not easlly 

developed because they are far from · roads or ports. Consequently, there ts 

llttle economic development occurrtng In the region so people are stlll very 

dependent on subsistence for food. 

Although subsistence provides a basts for l1v1ng and survtvlng In a vtllage, the 

rest of the necessary goods and services must be obtained wtth cash. For 

the Yup'lk people, publlc assistance. food stamps, permanent fund 

dividends, Income from commerdal ftshlng and the occasional construction 

job are the sources of cash In the Calista regton. In Southwest Alaska. there 

ts no Red Dog mine or world-class commercial fishing such as that found In 

the Bristol Bay area. Because of that. programs and Incentives must be 

implemented by the federal and state government which encourage 

economic development In depressed areas of the state. 

4 
259 

Ftnally, while other vtllages and areas of the state are also limtted In their 

opportunities for economic and natural resource development, the 

opportunities are virtually non-exiStent In the Calista region. The Ume has come to take acuon to change the economic and social conditions of the 

Calista region. An effort must be made to encourage economic development 

and attract industries and businesses which can bring jobs to rural Alaska so that problems do not conUnue to get worse while the Yup'ik people work 

toward improving their lives. It must be recognized that the Calista region 

does not have the same level of resources to deal with its problems. There are no tax revenues coming In from property taxes or taxes on the on industry. No matter how hard this region tries, unless policies and 

programs change drastically, there wlll never be the same level of 

community enhancement as that which occurs In Barrow or other North 

Slope villages. 

LACK OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT 

During this hearing, Congress has heard from Alaska's Governor, the 

Honorable Tony Knowles, that Alaska Natives are in need of jobs and 

opportunities to develop their local village economies, Native corporations 

and Native-owned businesses. Calista Corporation fully agrees with the 

Governor of Alaska and all those who say economic development and jobs are the keys to helping Alaska Natives. Jobs and economic development wlll 

allow commun1Ues to step Into the modern world, rather than conUnually 

being viewed as areas comparable to third world countries. It is beyond 

time for words, both state and federal need to follow through and take 

positive steps addressing these problems. 

The areas of concern (i.e. social, health and education problems) addressed 

by the Alaska Native CoDUDis8ion are the ones currently most commonly 

funded and provided for by federal and state entities. Little attention or assistance. with the exception of the passage of ANCSA. has been directed to 

the economic problems factng Alaska Natives. However, all the problems are interrelated. The introduction of sewer and water facllities alone 1n the 

villages in the Calista region wOuld have a monumental impact on encouraging busmess to come to the region, also improving health and living conditions in the vtllages. Problems associated with any one of the areas feed off of the impacts created by the other problems being faced by the 

Yup'ik people. Without improvements to the deplorable economic 

conditions in the region, it wlll be necessary to contlnually provide large 

infusions of cash to subsldfze social programs and try to maintain the status 

quo in terms of life in the villages which ls already substandard when 

compared to the rest of the Alaska. 

Unless things change dramatically, the Calista region 1s likely to contlnue to 

experience severe economic. difficulties while the rest of Alaska begins a gradual recovery. The net result wlll be continued unemployment, with 

5 
260 

little or no gain in personal income. and continued decline of the social 

well-being of the Calista region. There are no easy answers to the problems, 

especially those involving economic development. Profitable resource 

development has been an elusive goal in the Calista region. even when the 

State of Alaska was wealthier. If programs and funding are not targeted to 

the Calista region, there will be more unemployment, lower incomes, and a 

continual decline in the quality of life in most of the villages. 

The recommendations the Calista Corporation is submitting to this 

Committee outlines actions which can be taken to improve income levels 

and employment opportunities in the Calista region and throughout rural 

Alaska as a whole. The development of a strong regional economy. when 

coupled with other improvements related to education and health, can lead 

to significant improvements in the qu~iLlity of life for Alaska Natives. in 

particular the Yup'lk people. 

In the future, the plight of the villages will only get worse in the absence of 

systematic efforts to address the problems. Over time there will be even 

more people competing for the same few jobs because the population and 

labor force continue to grow. A major obstacle to grappling with the plight 

of the Alaska Native people is that no one quite knows what to do or what 

will work. Because Calista Corporation is a regional Native corporation, 

corporate staff and the Calista Board of Directors are famlllar with the Yupik 

people and Calista region; we know what will work in the Calista region. With that in mind, we ask that Congress seriously consider the actions 

Calista Corporation is suggesting to this Committee and Congress in the 

recommendations proposed for the Commission. 

A long term commitment to the development of a comprehensive economic 

development program addressing the creation of jobs in rural Alaska and 

attracting business to rural areas is needed to make a noticeable change. A 

solution to many of the region's social, health and economic problems will 

not be found, until efforts are made to focus on and specifically help the 

Yuplk people develop strong local economies and create jobs in the villages. 

Some power or powers greater than Calista Corporation must make a commitment to help the region and the Yuplk people. Without 

Congressional assistance few. If any, changes will be made. A 

comprehensive, long-term cooperative effort by Congress. other Native 

entities, and the state and federal government is necessary to deal with the 

overwhelming conditions in the Calista region and other villages in Alaska. 

CONCLUSION 

To reiterate, a balanced approach including provision for the creation of jobs 

and greater economic activity in depressed areas is essential to resolving the 

type of social statistics regarding the Alaska Natives. Without a focused 

approach, the problems will persevere well into the next century. 

6 
261 

Calista Corporation will continue to take an active role in terms of 

identifying possible solutions to the problems facing the Yup'ik people and we are w1lling to work wtth this committee to help develop solutions. Calista Corporation would like to thank this Committee for taking the time 

and focusing attention on dealing wtth the problems facing all Alaska 

Natives. Calista Corporation sincerely hopes this Committee wtll think about 

what we have said today and act on it. Congress is one of the last sources of 

hope for the Yupik people in terms of finding solutions and gaining support 

for helping the Yupik people survive into the next century. 

7 
262 

FINAL RECOMMENDATIONS 

FOR ACTION 

SUBMl'I'TED TO THE 

ALASKA NATIVES COMMISSION 

JANUARY 12, 1993 

PREPARED BY: 

CALISTA CORPORATION 

LAND &: NATURAL RESOURCES DEPARTMENT 

ANCHORAGE. AlASKA 

JANUAR!' 1993 
263 

rDL\L DCOIIIDl'fDA11QIII8 roa AC1'IDll 

IUBIIITl'I:D TO 11S AUIKA l'IATIVBII COMIIIMtOif 

nn'llODUCTIOK 

Over the lut twenty years. tlle Calista Corporation hu dutlfully trted to 

llnplemenc the A1uka Nattve Cla1ma Settlement Act IANC!Al to ensure that 

Calista Carporatsan and the Yuptk people of the Cal1sta Re&toa recetve the full 

value of tlleir settleme:nt aranted under ANCSA. 1'bJII battle baa been lOD& and 

cxpenave. Caliata CorporatiOn and the vt11qe corpon.Uoaa na•e fated obttaclc 

upon obatade In th1a proceaa. Today. - are not a1!t'f cloeer to solvtDC the 

problem.s or the Yuplk people than we wue twt:my yean aao. 

In tbe lut four yean. Callata Corporation hu advocated ldenttfytna aDd 

Lmplemenq solutima to the problema factng the Yuptk people and other AlaMa Nattv~. Callata Corporation took thla adwcacy role hecauae the Callata Re&&an 

and Yuplk people ltvtng tn the regton are most affected by the problema endcmj.C 

to Alukll Nattves. No other area of AJaaka auffera from auch exuc:me llvtnc and 

economu: cond1t1ona a1 those found tn the Callsta Region. 

Hlstonca.Uy. V\llasea 1n westem Al..U depended upon a subsatence llfeatyl& 

There wen few teclmolo81cal need11 and few problema. "The Nauve lifestyle wu 

not Ued. to the cub economy and jot» were 110t a n.eeMtty. OunAg tbc 1ut 25 

years. the Yup&lr. world baa changed. Today'a vt11qe eeallODUea an! b&Mci oa • T"lll!f 

of cas.b IDd aub111teace. AI the yoUiller. poat·AN~~hfcenerauon eaten tile 

worldon:e. they muat compete for the haDdtu1 of Jobl a ln the V!ll.laeL Ja are scarce lll ma.t Callata Vl.llages and uucmployment runa u h1&tl as 90 pcn:ent. 

wtth moat employment beU1g seucmal. In 1968. the Bureau of lndlal1 Atla1rs 111 

their repon. NG£tonaL .P1tJgrnm 1~ and Ne«Js to Sfttllr s.rv. Rural and 

Nazw. Alasm reported the follow1n&: 

'Recent years bave brought many new ageneses and proamns ta A1uka With 

more tool&. penoMeL a.nd other reeourcea for dGYelopmcnt. Proaram- U'C 

spectf1cally aimed toward the ellminaUOa of depruaecl arc:u. poverty, 

unemployment and wuieremploymcDL and unequal economiC opport1ml&y. 

all charactertauc of rural Aluka. 'I'he need to Alaaka IS to d1rect tt1eu 

proiJr.UD.II toward the charactensuca they were desl.gD.ed to elim1Date IJid 

llltearate them el!k:tently and e.!fect:tvely wtth on&OiDI program~. · 

After t"lreDtY·tbree years. little hal cb.ansed. The AlUka Federauaa or NaUvo 

collftrtl1ed tbla tn their report. 11w AFN R.,ott on w Sl4!uS of Alaska NatJJJa: A 

C4U /Or' Ad»n. by ltadDg! 

·over the put two dec«dea. w federal aDd state gOfti'Nilell.ta be-.. 

Invested mtlllona of dollars ln rural Aluka. Althou&h tmportaat 

lmprovaaenta have been made (e.g .. public 9!0rial and Improved delivery of 

gCI\'enlllleDt servtcesl the l1lft11tment hu not estabU.ahc:d aD econollll.c: bue ~umcscat to enable NatlVH ttvtna Ill run!. vtJJaa- to bWid an ecoaoaucally 

self·•u•taiD1Jll future or to prevcuc UJc acce.lerawcl cllalat.c&nUOD of 

traclitiaaa1 cu1turea. • • . 
264 

The absence of jobs in the cash economy ts a chronic problem In rural 

communities where unemployment rates far outstrtp the state and national 

averages. . . For two decades the federal and state governments invested 

substantial amounts oi money in rural Alaska. building houses. water and sewer systems. rurstnps. eiectrtcal systems. and other Infrastructure. 

Government also made capital investutents in community schools intended. 

in part. to Improve the quality of the rural workforce. The purpose of the 

investments was to stimulate self-sustaining economic growth. . .. 

Despite Investment In Infrastructure and education, In most Native 

communities. the Increase in self-sustaining economic growth has been 

mtn1mal . . . To date. the private sector component of the rural economy ts 

skeletal. . . In western Alaska. as eaeh decade succeeds the last. the idea 

that private sector economic development Is merely a matter of time and 

capital becomes increasingly tmplausthle. Villages in the region are remote 

from markets: are saddled With high labor. energy. transportation, and 

communication costs and must contend With a dearth of local markets and 

scarcity of Investment capital. . . The absence of entrepreneurial 

opportunity In westem Alaska has frustrated the efforts of ANCSA corporations in the area to develop new local industry and commerce. . . There Is no posslbUity that ANCSA corporations revenues Will ever be large 

enough to replace '.,the role of federal and state spending In the rural 

economy ... ," · 

How well Alaska's villages surv1ve the coming years concerns Native leaders, 

including those at Calista Corporation. Careful research and analysts by Calista 

Corporation indicates that. if the vtllages in the Calista Region are to survive, they 

will need Viable economies. In addition. the Native corporations Will also need to 

be strong and financially stable. The corporations and villages must have access to the necessary resources -- human. financial, and natural -- to pursue 

development opportunities. Implement programs. and establish policies to 

mitigate the problems afflicting Alaska NatiVes. If the Yupik people of the Calista 

Regton are to overcome the diiDculttes they are now facing, they must have 

assistance and be given the opportunity to improve their social and economiC 

well-being. They will need tools and resources to develop communities free from 

the harsh economic and liVing conditions now experienced by the Yupik people. 

Federal and state programs. for which funding Is declining. attempt to reduce 

social and health problems. but have had only a marginal success rate. No 

program has been able to mtn1mtze joblessness in the vtllages. Studies over the 

last twenty years show that social change. ht:alth problems. and meager economiC 

opportunities have a feedback effect. wtth each problem exacerbating the others. 

There Is a great need for increased opportunities in economic development. To 

counteract dismal economic trends. the state and federal governments must 

explore new and innovative ways to improve the economic climate of the villages. 

Action must be taken to reduce the Impact of declining funding for programs 

which benefit the Yupik people and other Alaska Natives. In the Calista RegiOn. 

the most pressing need ts for jobs and t-conomtc stability. This need was 

reaffirmed in 1989. In their report. A Call to Action. AFN concluded: 

"Every effort to take advantage of llmited opportunities for private economiC 

development should be encouraged. and Native access to employment 

2 
265 

oppart\IDIUCI czpanded. . . POI!da and 11U11al1ves tbat tarpt eeoDOIIdCall)' 

rea1iaUc lmpnmmema m the pbyuca.l qual.tty ot commUDtty life and do aat 

uDde1'111lJDe opttona for reetde.ata who wmt to pursue ecollOID1C 

opportunsUee a-y from their home communtues are needed.· 

CalJ.ata COI"POJ't10a concurs wtth the abcWe AfN rec:vmmcn4aaon. How-eta", we feel there ue other act10n.1 wbldl snoutd be wen to address the problema ~"ada& 

Alaslca NaUYH today. Tbe follOWUll Ill a scrica of ac:tlOD& 1dent11led by CaliMa 

CorporatlOD wtw:h could sumulate vtJ.1aie economies and amc11orate many of tbe 

probleml plquula A1uka NaUva. We bo-pe the Coiii.IDiUioll wt1l rec:ommcad 

these acuona or S1m1Jar ones to Conare•• and the State of Aluka u wa,. to 

remedy the problema !aetna the Yuptk people and Alalka Nat:tvel. Some of tbe 

reeommendattona an very stmple and wt11 requtre min1mal ft.uldJn& or pracnm 

chan.les. Othen. however. wt11 requtre the renmp1n1 of CXIIUDI proarama &ad funct1ria sourea or the development and tmplementauon of new onea. Tbe raDf1 

oi acuona Is broad md. In many casea. tnletde-pendent upon oM another. Waft 

wW have a tnc.lde-down efl"ect. For example. by prDYtd1n& sate sewer and waur 

system• IQ tbe Ylllqea. many health problema W111 be bl"ou&ht Wll1er tOiltrol. 

The stakes are h1&h mc1 the challenges are great. However, there muat be a cooperatiVe elfon to ulllt the areu and people tn greateSt need. The Aluka 

Nauves CoiDIIII.II1on. the federal and state &ovemmentl. and A1uka Nauveamuc 

JoiDtly wqrk toaether and commit themaelvea to tak1ng acuoa. developtn1 aDd 

tmplemenana new polides and proarama to addrcu today' a problema. If aucla 

aaton 11 talrell. the cWBculues Cacmc A1aab Nauvea can be overcome. Ufe ID tb.e 

vallagea cu be made bearable. and the MaUVe culture wt11 be 1n a poiUioa to 

tbrtvc. 

IIBCOIIIIENDATIO- AJm ACnOh 

The fallowtnt reeommelldatsona tdentdy acUona wtucb wtU create self·aualdaat 

vWaae CCOilOIIIiel. praerve the suba11teDCe seetor. expand market and resaun:e 

development ad!Y\uea, and gave tbe Nathe corporauon.s a cbance to became 

strong, VIable. compeuuve buii.Desa orpD~Z&UOna. Under each general poUcy 

recoiiliiiC!Idat1on. we have tdenufted sC"IU'al aped&: acuona wh1ch c:a.n be talmD 

to mlt!pte tJ2e problema decnna AJuJra Mauve&. tr act11m 11 not taJiea IIOOil tD 

help me 'fuP* people aJid other vt11qe ruadenta. tt 11 very probable tb&t Alulra 

Nauves Will lea.Ve the vtllqu md the ~ oi the rciiUUIWJI vlllqe reatdema 

w1ll decl1ne.. 

., I --

Ill the CaUata Re&Jon. vtnaae economtca are bued oil thn:e related econamac elements: suballtmce, cUh from emp!Gymeat. aDd tranalu payments. Rec:cat 

growtll Of Joc:al vtllqe CCOIIOal1H II prtmal1ly 1iAUd to ezpiDI'OD oi Uic aauflr 

ecano!DJ (t.e.. wellare paYJIIenta. penDIIIII:Ilt fund ciMcleDda. aDd otbcr roraaa of 

government ua&atanc:e). Spe.adtnl by bath the state and rederal SCM!~ 

creates Jobl IDd IDcl'eaael tm:cmc 1D the 'll11qeL !!lut u IGftrlliDIIlt lpead1DI 

decilnea. so does tha Vlllqe economy. P'or maay Calllta 1rtllqa. tbe traati 

economy 11 VUtuaJiy t12e sole source ot IDI:Ome aad local reorawc. u~. 

wlth projected dec.I.IDea 1n federal llDd atata apeDdlq. tbe YOJ.qa Ill tha CIIU8Ca 

Rqloll wtll be hard bit u lesa money ta apeat !or captta1 proJecta IIIII Nl'll 

dm:Aopmeat til AlMira. 

3 
266 

Government monies support the vast number of wage paytng Jobs In western 

Alaska. According to 1991 figures from the State of Alaska. Department of Labor. federal. state. and local governments accounted for 68 percent of the jobs In the 

Wade Hampton census area (Lower Yukon Region) and 53 percent of the jobs In 

the Bethel census area (lower and upper Kuskokwim rtver areas). After 

government. services and retail trade proVIde the most jobs With the reiJlain1DA 

jobs being related to seasonal work such as commerctal fishing. construction. and 

fire fighting. 

Due to decllnes In state and federal spending. it is imperative that V!llage economies become self·susta!n1ng. Self-sufllctency can be achieved by preserving 

the subsistence sector and expanding the market and natural resource sectors. If 

economic growth In western Alaska is to occ:ur, constraints llmtt!ng the economic 

growth. such as high development costs. little local control over resources. and 

lack of Infrastructure. must be removed. 

Village economies in western Alaska are very closely tied to subsistence. As a result. the importance of the non-cash economy to the Yupik people cannot be 

overstated. Various surveys estimate that between 45 percent and 70 percent of 

VIllage residents In the Calista Region rely on subsistence hunung and fishing 

(Alaska Business Monthly. September 1992). Other important sources of cash 

Income are welfare, social security, longeVIty bonus and Alaska Permanent Fund 

d!vtdend checks. Residents of western Alaska. especially those In the Calista 

Region. fall far below the state average for per capita Income. The Wade H3mpton 

. and Bethel census areas are ranked 1n last and second-to-last place. respecUVely. 

In 1989. Alaska's per capita average was $20.609.00: In contrast. the average for 

the Wade Hampton district was $9.548.00 and for the Bethel area It was $12.820.00 (Alaska Dept. of Labor). 

There is no doubt V!llages In western Alaska are economically disadvantaged. 

Because of the region's economic disadvantages. the V!llage economies are not 

attractiVe to buSinesses for economic development. Job creation and economiC 

development must be based on a region's comparative advantages. A VIllage has a comparative advantage only if it can produce something at a lower cost than 

compeung regtons. In general. economic development In the Calista Region 1s 

llmited for the followtng reasons: . 

• VIllages are small and remote: 

llmited technical knowledge: 

• scardty of Investment capital and money; 

remoteness from basic markets: 

• VIllagers have limited access to and •:ontrol over local resources: 

• not all areas have commerdal resources: 

relatiVely few projects 1n rural Alaska can meet market tests: 

• a stgn!ftcant share of exiSting Jobs go to non-residents: and 

4 
267 

• lack oiiD!rutnlc:tUre de9elopment. 

For vtllage resulcam to bc:ndlt from econo1111c a&:Uvtty In the viJlagea. tbcy mu.t 

be aole to take advantase of Jobe created. Durtng the econowc boom of the 

1980's. moet Joba created 1n tne v1111Cea were taken by naa·reatdente. 1'2da 

pattern conUnuea today as teachers. admiDistrauve otlldala. h.ealth can professtonalll. and govemment employees lDCift to the vtUqea to talrc jobl. Jot. 

ill the Yli1qa are attracUVe to non·Na~s because of tbe salaries and uDJ.qull 

expenenee of wcddD8 ID the vtilage settm&· 1'h1a patten~ of emP.loyment belt 

relllaiD 

erpl.alna 

unemployed. 

wby non-Na~1 continue to mcwe tnto the vtllqa and VU!aCe ~ 

Recent studlel have fOUDd that over half the employment oppol'ti.I.D1ttes created b1 

public projecta 1D V1.llages went to nOD·realdeau. wtth more thaD 10 pen:at of 

those 

occurs jobs In part 

&OIDI 

becauao 

to workers 

villqe 

who 

reSidents were not often 

even do resldenta 

not have 

of 

the 

A1aaka. 

llcWa necesu.y 

Thla ~ 

to 

fill avatlabJe poesucms. For example. few A1aalra Natlftl hold teachlDg cert111cata, 

yet many of the jobe aVIISlable tn the vtllqes an: teac:h1q postUons or educa.tSaD 

related. Increaaed local traiDiDg. spectaUzed educauon and ceruflcaucm 

program& and adaptatiOn of Jobs to tne subaSateDCe IJ!eatyle would lncreaae local 

hire. Ratea ol unempJayment at eo pen:mt are common and Nn as high 11 90 

percent 1:1 some vtllaaea ID the Calista Rq1oD (IlKS, l9i2). 

tn the March 1992 report. The £alnt:lrn!l of VlllaQe Amta. it wu atatecl: 

•. • . tbc vtiJqel alone tbe wat cout aDd ID tbe SDta10I' tum: a much lela 

scc:ure economJc future. Develapment opportun1tla are Umstecl In tbM 

reaaon. aad tm econouuc wdl·beUif dep~ on traDifen from federal aDd 

state goverument. 1'b1l rqJon best llluatrates tbe ec:anom.k: problema of 

tbc V1llqee.. 

Furthermore. the report went on to state: 

1n 1989. per capita tncome tn weat.em coutal A1aaka wu jult 62 peftlalt 

af tbe stateMde aftr&p. Slllee 1985, waempl.oylunt hu averqed 17 

pen:cDt above tbe state rate. and would be much JU1bU tf dlac:ourqld 

wortun wwe c:auated. • • Ill maay vlllqca a maall number of IIGD·N....,. 

prateulonala •• wsely teacben •• eam a dJaproparUonar.e sb.are ot totlll 

vUiap I.DCDDia. • • AdJUidlll the elti:alated regSonal UDaDplgyiDeDt. rate to 

accouDt for dJieaurqCcl woricera IUOtetl the real uuemploymmt ram iD 

weatcm c:auta1 AliWra may be aver 55"' pcn:ent hip' than ~ state ram. • 

.\lthou&ll tbll 011 baolll of the 1980'1 led to new schoola llld CCDUDunlty bUildiDp 

and an tna'eae tn the cub economy tn the vWac•· tbe toq ~ ecaiUIIIIIC 

oenefl~ to=relllienta hU been nesll&tble. 1bc growtb wu oat eaouctL Ill 

close thent Japa between tbe we1!an of vWqe raidlnf- aad -othr:r 

Alaaka.as. AM:eat evidence ptbered by ec:GIIOIDWII suc&eltl tba& th6 pawdl bu 

dcme tittle to Nduc:e JIG"ftY tn water~~ AlulaL 

A secoacl factor 11mlda& eeanolllie dC'ftlopmeln Ia tbe YIDagea ta .cc:esa to Uld 

conuol <ml' IGca1 ...-an:ea. n. !liCk o1 c:oGIZ'Ol UmSta the ..Ucy of ·'9dlqen ID 

!!lake tba maec of local reaowee prac1uc:UoB. 1.a wtw:A tbey baYe a campuaUft 

5 
268 

advantage. For example. although the Calista Region Is largely dependent on commercial f1Shtng for Its economic bas~. fishermen tn the region have Uttle 

control over the salmon resources. The fishery Is subject to numerous problems. 

in particular; interception of the runs. In recent years. commercial fisheries have 

been declining. The declines appear to be linked to interception of the salmon 

dunng migration by the fishermen 1.11. False Pass. The fishermen on the Yukon 

and Kuskokwtm rivers have no way to stop this interception. Consequently. 

commere1al dsh1ng Is becoming increasingly unpredictable in the Ca11Sta Region. 

While harvest llm1ts are necessary to protect fish and game stocks. restr1ctton on village residents' access to the allowable harvest prevents many Alaska Nattves 

from making the most productive use of those resources. Access may be Um1tecl 

because of externally Imposed regulations. Laws such as the federal Manne 

Mammal Protection Act allow Alaska Natives to take manne mammals for 

personal use. but It severely limits the ability of the Alaska Natives to market 

products of the hunt, thereby remoVing an economically feasible actiVIty for vtllage 

residents. It has been suggested that an economy based on resource harvesting 

acttvtties. With fewer Umttattons on access and control. could support a slgniftcant population in rural Alaska USER 1992). 

In contrast to the boom which many believed would follow the passage of the 

Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, resource development in the Calista Region 

has remained at a low level. This Is due primarily to the economic environment 

and lack of knowledge about the region's resource base. Not every region of the 

state has economically feasible resource bases. such as a Red Dog mine or a Prudhoe Bay to support local residents. Local resource development Is 

economically feasible only If resources can be produced and dellvered to market 

at a cost at or below the current market price. The total cost of produc:tng a resource Is Influenced by the cost of labor. development capital. transportation. 

infrastructure, and the quality and quan1jty of the resource being produced. 

Resources may exist. but wtll remain undeveloped so long as development costs are greater than potential market prices. If development of resources IS to occur in areas such as the Cal1Sta Regton. econonuc incentiVes must be Implemented to 

attract exploration and development interests to rural areas of the state. 

The lack of capital and tax structure in rural Alaska 1S frequently mentioned as a constraint to development. There are no tax Incentives for businesses and 

companies taking financial risks to develop resources in rural areas. But above all. 

the cost of ventures in rural areas of the state ts high. Few projects in rural 

Alaska can meet the market test of eamtng a rate of return comparable to market 

costs. unless some form of economic assiStance or incentiVe 1S offered. The future 

of the vtllage market economy depends on the future of the natural resource base. 

The Department of Community and Regional Affair's Rural Economic 

Development Initiative (RED!) staff has estimated that capitalization needs in 

rural Alaska over the next ten years will be $2.2 btWon for capital projects 

(Infrastructure), $400 million for economic development. and $150 mtWon for 

planning and technical assistance. The grand total of estimated development 

needs in rural Alaska through the year 2000 comes to $2.725 bill1on. This stands 

in contrast to an estimated ten-year total of $554 mtWon likely to be spent In 

rural Alaska. based on recent spending tr-ends. thereby leavtng a gap of $2.2 

bdlion for rural needs (DCRA. 1991). 

6 
269 

If a reaton Ia to be vtable. 1t muat have an eccmoauc baH. AI of today. the CaJ11ta 

Rqton lS Wltbout such a base. Tboae resson• of A1aaka wtuch are ~ aDd 

h.ave few SOdal. or ecaaomu: problema are those that have •IrOnS local ecaDOI:II* 

and re~~oun:e deftlopment potmt1al. baaed on ttmber. ftahertes. and oil llld ... fields. lbe cammiUdtSee and NatiVe corporattons wtt.h access to these resourca arc t:c: !:.::=! 7-1th nearly u many economic and 50dal problems u the ~ 

Region. Tbe Caliata Repm hu had to play a conttnuous game of catch-up IUICe 

ANCSA wu pulled llld. as of today, the re(llon has not cauant up With any other 

part of Aluka. Without the development and Implementation of cconouw: development proanma and tncenttves, the Calista Regton wtU not haYe the 

necesaary cOD41t1ona for sust&lned, dtversdled economiC growth aa tradit1oDally 

defined. A n:pma1 economy cannot be built on a few vtllage storu aDd an occasional CODalrUCtlOD project. 

Amon& the m~or t.aaues betna addresaed by the Alaska Natives CQmmtiiiOD. the 

two moat commonly addressed by federal and state enutiea are SOC1al and health 

problems. Little attention has been pau1 to the economic problema fac~D& the 

Villages. CaUata's attention. therefore. hu been on economic problema and 

solut1ona. Althcugb lt may appear to be an overstmpllftcatton of the problema 

faC1nS Alaska Na~. much can be done to allevtate soda! and health problazla by 

tncrea.S1ng employment and econoauc: development opportunittes. Without 

lmprcvemenm to tbe deplorable economiC condltiona In the villages of watem 

Alaska. It wU1 be necessary to conunually proVIde larae Infusions of c:ub to 

subSUUze CUiftl1t PfOIJ'IIIU and maintain cunent sodal aDd health Ieveli, wbtda 

are far below aeceptable IeYda and standards few allY Amer1Nlrl. 111e !oiJawiD& lll'll 

recommended act10D8 wb1ch should be taken to promote and enhanca thlt ecoaonuc IDdcpaldence of Alaska Nattves. 

1. LOWD UJiaiiii.OnaftT RATU Jllt' 'nD VILI..AOa BY Bl'fCO'I:J1tAimlo 

LOCAL mm. OJ' ALAIKA !'fATIVU · Jobs are very scan:e In vt.Uqa: 

consequently. IW1nl juet one or two peCJple from outside the vtUaae may mea.& 

that vtlla&e reeldents go Without jobs. 1be l&c:k of employment opportuD1Uea hal a stgnt!cant n~ tmpact on a V1llage. UDder the cunent labor lawa. empJayas 

have no lnceDCWe or requuemcnt to lUre Alallta ~auvea. Local hire lawa w.:n: commonplace durin~ tbe construcuon of the Trami-Aiaska plpc11ne aDd pnwed to oe both neceuuy and Instrumental In enaurtn~ tbat Al.uka resulents were bind 

for jobs on the pipeline proJecu. The follo1rtq act1ona could be ta.ka to 

encCJUr8&c the pracace of binng Alulra Nattva: 

• Enatt raw. wldeh require ~ 10 gw. Alci.slal NatWa pre.fcrmca for 

Jobll tn I1W UfiiGcJa. For aample. PL 93-638 pi'OYtdc:a for Nattv'e p~ 

wben fDJtq po.tt~ona funded under PL 93·638. nua type of pnmaiOil c:oWd 

be IDCarporated intO Other federal and State programs benefl~ .Alulla Native~~. If t.be state consutuaon pi"'hibita Nattf'e preference •llere state 

funda an CODCensed. then tha.c state projecta tbat are part1ally 1)r fuJ1y 

federally f\mded should be subJect to the same types of preferential tw'tal -reqUiremenu. 

• Deo8top a bcJrau. SIJ•r.m to reward cornpcanta or~ wlto hint 

Alaalcr& ~ to work 011 prqjctl In I1W u&U.ciQa. 11le bGaUI could be 

Slm1lar to tha cub bonus aWIU'ded wbea a project 11 completed abeed of 

sdleduJe by a c:aaU'adiDr' or tt c:ouJd be tsaued u ~ tbaf tbt contrllCalr 

c:ouJd Ule Ill b1a nat bJd OD a public proJect. 

7 
270 

• Implement regula.tiDns which would. require state and federal contracts 

to contain a provisiDn requiring that contractors and businesses who work 

in rural Alaska hire Alaska Natives for state or federally fWld.ed projects, !f 

qualified Alaska Natives are available to work on the project. 

• Implement a rat!Tig system for state and federal jobs · which gives Alaska 

Natives living in economically disadvantaged areas a preference for htrtng. 

The rating system could be modeled after veteran's preference ratings or special preferences given to individuals with handicaps. 

• Require Nattve preference on resource development and constnu:tfbn 

projects occurring on public lands in the state. This preference right could 

be modeled on Alaska hire provisions Implemented during construction of 

the Trans-Alaska pipeline. 

• Establish a policy to encourage Native hire in state and federal 

government positions throughoUL Alaska_ 

• Provide training in how ro apply for federal or state j obs. 11te paperwork 

involved in getring on stare and f ederal registers is overwhelming and 

diffu:ult to Wld.erstand f or many people. panicutarly those with little or rw experie.nce in dealing with bureaucratic paperwork. Simplified forms and 

information booklets geared to the education levels and cultural 

perspectives of Alaska Natives would make applying for federal and state 

jobs less intlm1dattng to Alaska Natives. 

• Establish state and federal. personnel oJftces in regwnal. centers easUy 

accessed by village residents to provide assistaru:e to Alaska Nattves in 

applying and qualifying for j obs. gett111g job training, and qualifying for 

unemployment benefits. Provide financial assistance to municipality or traditional governments that are Willing to act as village liaisons for these 

regional centers In collecting unemployment figures or dlssemtnatlng 

employment Information/ assistance. 

• Require that a percentage of the labor force on state and federal.ly funded. 

capital projects in the villages be Alaska Natives living in the village. 

Policies and regulations promoting local hire must be implemented to ensure that Alaska Natives are given priortty In filling jobs in the villages. 

• Give special Incentives (e.g .• staff training. fwvi.tng for on·the job tratntng, 

and technical assistance) to agencies c.nd private businesses which h1re 

Alaska Nattves. 

• Implement a policy requiring federal and state government agenctes to 

hire a specified number of Alaska Natives over the next ten years. The 

policy could be modelled after the quota systems used by uniVersities and 

colleges to recruit and admit minority students. 

• Provide incentives to employers to hire and bring in workers from 

economicaLly depressed regiDns of the state. If jobs cannot be created in 

the vtllages. then village residents must be taken to the jobs. Nowhere are there better opportunities than In the natural resource and fishing 

8 
271 

IDduatna. Work scbedules In these lndu101e1 aR fu'1y dcxtblc and ll1mSiar 

empJorment pracdees are already being used wtth succesa. Far aample. fl.ah proceaaana sh1pa commonly h1n worken from outlllde the state &ad 

brtnl them to Aluka to worlr. on factory I procesams slUpa. 'l1leM 

bullnCSaes could be tra1rWIC and h.lrln& Aluka ~atm:t . If they had I.DCeDUft 

to do ao. 

DufU18 conatruc:uon o! the Trans Alaska ptpeJtne. and 111 I!X1atlnll otl add 

act!Vttiee. workers are brought to Pnadhoe from other commun1ue. to work 

on rotaUDC shifts of twa weeka on &Dd two weekt off. Flezl.ble SChedull:a 

and sb1fta would allow workers to return to tbe V\llage to talr.e care of 

families and do subatstence acttvtttee, wbile providing them wtth tbe 

opportuu1ty to 10 wor:lr. In areu of tbe ltata where there are jobe. 

2. GIVE PUOJUT!' TO Al'ID TAJlOBT PllOOaAIIII Al'f]) rmiDil'fG TO AaUa 0. 

nm STAT& WJDCB AJlB TBB IIIOST ECOifOIIICAI.LT DVIIUID oa IK TD 

GR&.\TBaT l'fUD - ln today·s world of s.tu1n1Dn8 money for capital projeca. 

lnfr.utruc:ture. and economu: development. tt Is Important to put maney IDd 

programs where there Is the greatest need and they can do the mo.t 100<1. It 18 no longer feaalble to operate and fund large general programs In education, hcaltb care or capttal speJldlng. Recently. the Anchorage Daily News pubUsheQ a sene. 

of a.rttcles on the sewer and water cr1118 1D weetem Alaaka. Because of the graft 

danger to pubUe health and safety, future fund1n& for sewer and water projec:ta 

should be W'leted to those areu whScb hAM! ehronlca1ly unaa!e cODdttiooa. 

Then: mqt be a reco1Jllt10n 1D these progama that tb.er'e are different lC"tebl at 

need a.crou the state. lbe foUoWlnl potidee sbould be implemented to foc:ua 

attent1Dn and IUlStaDCe on commua1Ues and reasana moat tn need of ausataDocc 

• Dewlap and lmp~nl a suatem for ~ communuv rtHd r.ewu 

for programs and capuaL projet:t jU1111111g. A ran1c1ng system would rank 

commwUtics from least to greateSt need bued on unemployment rata. sUldde ratee. homldde and accu1enta1 death rates. health statllt1c:s. aDd 

Income 1~ In the commU!Utiea. 

• Creata s•parar. progratra. q~n Cl"itcU2. and jurv111lf1 sowc:a for 

iJdl4ga and regiOns with crtt1a1t MGWt. soaat. and eamornM: ~lo,PIMIU 

~. Ec:onomtcally diSadVantaged Vllla&et abDUid DOt have to compete 

wtth urbaD commua11:1es for fwu1lnC and propaau provldln& scmcea aw:b aa sewv and water factUtiea. P'\mcUII8 should automatiCally fOCUI oa commwuues With the greatest ldeati8ed neede for tntnuauc:ture sucb aa aewer aDd water systems. health cllnlca. and houatng. 

• T~ a standan:t po11q, ~ program.s and assurance be gw.n 

to regmna and gm~ ~ fn r1ftiL AreU In crtt1ca1 need. such u w..ccm 

A1U1aL sbOu1d recc1ve lint prtortty far fund.m& na:esury to ralle lMnl Ul&l ecoaoaw: standan:la to companble IC'Iela 111 other puu of the state. 

• UI'IIIMtab a contpn!tvnsu.. staM-w* sWdy to d.ramun. tlw n..ta of 

rural COIIVnW\iaa In Ala.slcG. The object ot the stucly would be to tdCD.UfJ 

wblch 

~ 

commwutlee an ID tbe a;reateat need and establieb pnonuee tar 

ar.NtaDce and proii'UUI to bnal tbeae areu up to lllUWDWII 

l1na& stuldardl. 

g 
272 

• Promote the use and establishment of guaranteed quotas and aa:ess to 

natural resources and resource related indusutes. In recent months. the 

North Paeiftc Fisheries Management Council has established a quota system 

for pollock caught off the coast of Alaska. VIllages 1n western Alaska have 

been given the rights. to harvest 7.5 percent of the total Bertng Sea pollock 

harvest. At current prices and harvest levels the CDQ (community 

development quota) fishery allocation could be worth more than $20 

mtlllon to the coastal villages parttdpattng 1n the program. Projects funded 

through profits from a village's CDQ allocation must help that community 

become economically self-sufllcient. Communities will work with busineSS 

partners to harvest the pollock. This type of program has helped br1Dg 

economic development Into communities which were In desperate need of 

develop1ng an economic base. 

• Expand CDQ program to include species other than poUock. The CDQ 

program has the potential of becom1ng a major impetus for economic 

development for villages on the coast of western Alaska. As the bottomtlsh 

industry expands to Include other species and quotas are set for these 

spedes. CDQ for coastal villages should be established so that the villages 

may continue developing their role In the bottomflshing Industry. 

Commercial flsh1ng Is one of the few Industries which Is adaptable to the 

Native llfestyle. It also Involves the harvesttng of a resource which Is readily 

available · 1n western Alaska. Already, processors Involved In the pollock 

fishery are providing job tra1n1ng to Natives. Part1ctpatlng CDQ villages 

have been able to negotiate contracts with processors which ensure a certa1n level of NatiVe hire on the process1ng ships. 

• Grant exclusive rights to Alaslca Nat!ues to engage in certain industrtes 

and businesses, simUar to those rights which allow only Alaska Nattves to 

herd reindeer. Exclusive rights and programs could be directed at 

Industries such as reindeer herding, martculture. and finfish fanning. 

Assistance In developing these 1ndustries Is also needed. For example, 

Alaska Natives' legal right to be the sole owners of reindeer herds must be 

reaffirmed and any loopholes In the law removed. Martculture and flnftsh 

faimmg are new Industries which could be conducted In the villages 

successfully If the villages are given the opportunity and protections 

necessary to develop them 1nto ·competitive bus1ness enterprises. FJ.n.fish 

farmtng ls Illegal in Alaska currently. Legallzlng It on. or adjacent to ANCSA 

land would provide an exclusive opportunity to Alaska Natives without 

lnterfertng with established business ventures. Through the use of 

licensing. quotas. or permitting, Alaska Natives and villages could be 

granted preference over other groups for developing natural resources and 

related busmesses. 

3. PROMOTE AND ENCOURAGE MINERAL EXPLORATION IN REMOTE AlU) 

UNDEVELOPED AREAS OF ALASKA - Current public policy prohibits the 

expenditure of public dollars to do mineral t'.xploration on private lands. Th1s 

policy. does not benefit the Native people of Alaska. Large tracts of ANCSA land 

which may have developable deposits are going unexplored. The Native 

corporations often do not have the cash reserves and expertiSe needed to pursue 

exploration and there are few Incentives that encourage private Industry to 

explore on these lands. The lack of Interest !n western Alaska is due largely to 

10 
273 

the d1f&:ull¥ aDd bfCil COIU UIOd&ted With dOUll explaradem ID Ul UDdeftloped. 

under·expiorcd. mmtmaUy mapped. and aeograpbJcally l.lolaled reJS0D. 

Vtrtually all of tbe land In the prozsmtty of vtUa&ea neecllzlC eC01101111e and CDer1J' 

assutance Ia OWDCCl by AHCSA corporawma. 1be di8CaYer'y of ID1neral dcpolda Cll' 

ell and gu on ANCSA l.nda could pnMde econouuc oppamm1Ue1, jobe. Uld scarce enet1f resourees tbat do not eJdlt praendy, but an: attSca11y aeecled ID 

these reiPOns of the state. Due to tlJe l.uld selccUon patrem~ under ANCSA. tile 

vtU1.4es are now surrounded by prtvate land (Le .• NattYe t:0r110rat1on laada). 

Normally, a:plorauon uausc federal and state money 11 coaduc:teci oa pubUc 1aad: 

therefore, llttlc ~dOn work occurs near collllllUDlttea sUJTIIWldcd by pnyare lands. althoup these are the commuruues that need tbe bme1lta tba.t can be 

dertveti from tJlJI ezploradon. Funbermore. In recent yean. the USCS bu ~ 

IJI1lllima of dollan claiDC explorauon work In southeast A1uka. but comparaltNIJ 

llttle on ezploratloa work In the Yukon·Kualrokwtm Reston. lbe rt!IIODI wblcb 

need exploration work to encourage ee01101Die deftlopawtt arc beln& onrlooked 

beeause they are domuwea by pnvate corporauoa laadl. 

A new penpecuve 1.1 needed -· one wbich reaUzea that e~Uon work oa 

~auve·owned land benetlts all Alas!Wla If a wwld claN ID1I1era1 depos1t or ad reserve u CCIUD.d. A &ood example t.s tbe Red DOC MlDe wbl.ch 11 pi'OYld1n& Joba. 

contrtbuttna money to the state's coffers. putting Alaska on the map u a wadiS 

class IDUleral producer. and hel'PlDC llii'PI'O'nl 1111: Cor people llnn& In westl:nl 

Alaska. More projects and Joint cooperattft ventures like Red COS are needed Ill 

rural AlUira. 

The pt1mary foc:ua aboulc1 be the rae~ tba.t such a prosrua mspt result 1ll tbe 

creation of numerous loa&·term jobl Ill areu that lack them or In tile 

dC9elopmaat ol a Jacal enerv source. If apiordoD adMUM UUIC public ~ 

were to lead to the cnatton of one mtac ID western AJulal. tbe 1DGneJ wtl1 batoe 

been wen spem. A s&~~.ate mine. a.s we have IceD at Red Dog caD make a 

substanaal tmpa&:t 011 employment 1eve1e aDd help esWll1sb an eamomsc bale IJ! a 

re~on. thereby redudzl& the need for &CMniiDeat a.sa1sllulee. 

Tilere 11 a crttlca.l need for I.IU:rel.led m1Der2l explorauon ID rural AJulra. alld 

plll't1cUJarl1, ID .....um Aluka. For eamplc, vut area of the Callata ReglaD 

remaan laz1ely UDCiqllared for h&l'drodr. lldDaU and oil IDC1 cu- lll tbe CdMa 

Recton alone. t:brw major ot1 aDd gas bUSU are VUtUaUy unexplored. In a geoarapb.lcal area COIDJ!Uabie 111 siZe to tbe stMe of Oklahoma. oo1y cxu: test bale 

ror oil bu beeD drllled. In addition. then bas beeD oa1y UIDlted seWiliC or reeo:ma11uace wom completed tn aay of the three buiDI wtthiD the eau.ta Rc~ton. 

The followtac acuans lbould be c-.&dered for eDCoura&IDC mm..l ezplorai1GQ ana derdopalr::< oa NGlft owned laDde tn order to promote btoMer public pill 

1ll rural N-*Sft C01IIalUIIil1el · 

• .Maw pubUc ClflmC(a. .such as ctw tr.KiS. Swwcw of Alina. and Stale 

!Jepr<!Mnt of· Natural Raowcn. to condw:t miMJ'II! aploratfOn anr:t 

I'UIIal"dl ort Naaw-owNct laiW 11t AlaMa. Sl.ace NaUft corporauoaa owa 

+t tldllaDD aa'll of laDd (l2 perceGt ol the laad iD Alasira}, It 11 lA tile 

pllbllc's beet tmla'elt to not wnaa theM areas oil for eapJ.andaD IDplJ 

bleala. - ... prtNady OWIIId laDda. 

" 
274 

• Provide tncenttues through tax breaks for mineral and oU and gas 

exploratton and development acttutttes in economiCally depressed areas. 

Prtuare compantes need incenttue to invest money in h.tgh-rtsk areas wtth 

little known mineral potentiaL Without a financial incent1ve they wtll Invest 

In more accessible areas With better known potential. and fewer 

environmental constraints. Currently, natural resource development 

companies are more Ukely to explore in Russia than they are In Alaska 

because of the state's envtronmental regulations. high tax rates on oil 

production laclt of ftnanctal suppon for tnfrastructure. or for loans to 

develop natural resources in econom1Cally depressed areas of the state. 

• Implement a state and federal policy requirtng federal and state agencfeS 

to focus a ponton of their mtneral e.xploratton. · research and rno.pptng 

budgets on those areas of Alaska whiCh have been poorly explored and anr 

economfalfly depressed. It would greatly benefit western Alaaka If the 

Bureau of Mines and U.S. Geological Survey invested more work In tb1a part 

of the state. UnUI there Is a good body of knowledge about the resource potenUal of the more undeveloped areas of Alaska. there wtll be very l1tt!e 

natural resource development act1vtty in those pans of the state. Because of 

market conditions and high cost of exploration. private industry Is less 

willing to Invest large amounts of ttme and money in conducttng exploration 

work in unknown. unexplored areas. 

• Implement federal and/ or state programs which allow public jund.s to be 

used by agencfes such as the Department of NaturaL Resources. USGS and 

Bureau of Mines to conduct exploration acttvtttes on ANCSA lands In 

economfCaUy depressed regtons. 'Ibis fund should be acceSSible dJrectly to 

NaUve corporauons. as wen. for them to conduct exploration or to hire 

consultants dtrect.ly. 

4. PROVIDB JOB TRAINING TO ALASKA NATIVBS SO THAT 'l'HB'l' IIAY 

COIIPBTB D1 TODAY'& WORBPLACZ Am RZCElVZ l1SBrUL SKIUS • A vanety of job t:rammg and apprenticeship programs are already tn place. However. tbey 

are not meeting the needs of Alaaka NatiVes because they focus on traiDiDg 

lndl.vtduals for jobs tn the urban areas or in trades and industries not located In 

the vtllages. It doesn't help to train a man to be a crane operator If there ISn't a crane in the village for him to operate. It Is unrealistic to expect people In the 

vtllages to leave their famllies. change their cultural values. and forsake the Nataw; 

Ufestyle so they can move to Anchorage or Fa1rbanka for a job or to get job 

training. 'Ibe followtng acuons should be taken to improve job traSDblg 

opportunities for Alaska Natives: 

• Proutde fwu1fng and tratntng for jobs in the viLlages. !.e., power plllnt 

operatton. carpentry, plwnbtng, elecu1caL work. jlshertes-related sldlls 

such as hangtng ners and buUdlng boats. butldtng repair and rnatnt.entznce. 

small engine mechanics, cannery and fish processtng sktlls, teacher's o.tde. 

booldceeptng, health aides. chtld care specitiU.sts. elderly care spedaU.sts. 

teachers and school admintstn:ltDIS. dlettdanS. to l'lGI'M a few. Empbasia on tec:ha1cal training should begin In the high schools in the region. People 

often don't leave the vtllage for tra1n1ng because the traU1Ing they rec:ene 

wW not qualify them for a job In the village. Simply sending people to voc12 
275 

• ~ jT1vJnt;fDJ. lnamltua to corttradDrs and businesses whO proufde 

on·the-job 

~ 

tnllnfnQ to uiUllge residentS on con.strua~Dn proJa:tl ~ 

in tn. ~- f"or example. an cmploymc:nt proarua lD1Ibt pq 

part of a worker'a wqet (siDUI.ar to JTPA or on-the-Job ~ p:o&JU181. 

• Pl'ovfM uaautonat and Clppnmtt.oal\tp pqnuns tn area. aa:asfb&e to 

the ul!laga. P'or eAmple. a Job tnJn1ng center could be establ1abec11D 

Bethel Dt111DSham· eu:. SIDee many people have fam11y and fr1eDda ID 

n:JIODal cmterl. the mOYe for traiJUD& wouldn't be nearly u apezu1tre or stresllul aa &OUll to Aru:horqe or Sewald. It ts we!7 coady fur people to 10 

to the Sldll Center tn Seward. cODRquently many people do noc ao fiar 

tnlniDI. 

• .e:stabll.sll a post SIICOndary uoc:acY,nat edw:atMJn faJ:.I/.tbJ 111 tiW CaUIUI 

Regton. The Untverlity of Alaska'l Kualcoll::wtm campua II undcruUII&ed. 

'Ibts factUty could be uaeQ to conduct vocauonaJ tnW:Ung-cluaea aDd 

deYel.op work-study or job t:raSzUnf1 programa that teach students sldlla tbat can be uUU.d lA Joba aVtilablc lA the vtUqea. 

• Proula empioyers and Akulca NGttua wfth crosa-cultwu.l tra11UnQ CO 

.ftuntUtuUe tMm with. job expecratt.ona and wiW ft: talcel CO suc:ceer1 1ft tltll 

WOI'It ,/t1lf& \Vbere appropriate. pmDOte tbe 11M of two-week OD./nro-w.k 

oil wade Kbedula: ai1Dtr t1111e oil Cor tradlUODal actMt1ea aucll u fuaenla ror exteDded family memben IUid subelatence hunuq aJld ~; all.cPir 

lla1ble work hours whkb permat ID.dtltduala to care m cb11drm or eJderty 

fam!Jy memben (many people live tn e:zte'Dded family sltuaUonll. or taJie 

cluaea wtucb ~Job skll1a or educaaoa level. 

5.. F081'D IIA'I'lft co.JIOitA'DOI'f PAit'nCIPA1'tOIIII'f PaOGIIAIIII AI'RCiiAG 

1'liE SOCIAL AJIID 8COIIOMIC wa.L-DIXG OJ' Aun• 1'1Ann8 • 'Ille ANCSA 

vtllaCe and. reaJaaal corporaltona are m exaatmc veblcle lA rural Alaalra c:a~=n~ fostertna ec:anoadC and IOdal procraau II pa the opportuJW:1 and 

needed to llllplanent pntlr&lll8. scmcea. aDd lltaft up buallleM ventura. nasa 

wu the goal ol Coqrea wbm they pueed ANCSA c:rauna corpora1e eiiiUkL 

We muat remember the corporaaoaa are tba creauana of conar-. '11aiJ wen establlabed b ecnnamlc aDd lOCUli dneJopaaent reuona. h~. tbcr wen Dllt 

J1ven the pmper toola or fulldiDC to aucceed ID tbia ga.L 1'bla abort faJ1 c:a be 

amended: bawenr. and tbe goala that were emtaloned for theae c~ 

may sUll be _......ptebeQ by tUm& UJ& fo1JowU1C acuona: 

• SflaM and fedMo£ ~ shGclld be requ.Cred rx ~ fD 11M UW 

econarrdC 

,ValiJM CDrpDftldllna 

~ 

a.s and tJw condub 

a.uwr ~ 

t1wv u.-

to ~ 

IIUn.dM ~. to be ro ~ 

11U c:a 

be 

ta acbDiDiater 

dcme by bro..teruna 

PM&rUDS· 

1.a1n 

n:cetYe 

aad pniJI"&&U 

aranca. and 

to allow 

provide 

t1u 

aemcea 

NaUft ~ 

c:ilauDalll)' 

;ac!mtnwered bJ' ltat.e and federal qeiiCia or DGG•proJlt c:oqiOr&UGaa. 

• 

~ 

Alad4lil grant and pl"'fram regukatiDns to a.IIDul ftlt'"projtt NGUDe 

ro r«efW gtanU and ./tiNlJtttl for Job tr'lllnUif and ~ 

13 
276 

development. Currently. most programs require funding to go through a non-profit orgaruzatlon. Tills Isn't always efficient because the emphasis of 

the non-profits tends to be on social services (education, health care, child 

welfare etc). Non-profits usually don't have staff trained In business 

decision-making and Investments. Tile ANCSA corporations were created 

to function as businesses and provide economic development opportunities 

to Alaska Natives. However. their for-profit status prohibits use of state and 

federal grant montes earmarked for t-conomic development programs and 

projects. 

• Provide low-interest loans. tax incentives, and loan forgiveness programs 

for creating pilot programs. investing in developing technologtes, or starting businesses in rural areas of Alaska. Financial Incentives must be 

provtded to corporations. private businesses, and Industries to encourage 

investment In the villages. Because oi the high tlnanctal risk and start-up 

costs associated With business ventures and development In rural Alaaka. 

companies are not willing to Invest or risk large sums of capital In Native 

vtllages. Under the present system. Native corporations are llmtted In their 

ability to finance business ventures or participate in the development of 

fledgling Industries. Native corporations have fiduciary responsibility to 

shareholders to pursue business Investments and projects which are profitmaking; therefore. they must minimize their Involvement In high-riSk 

business ventures even 1n their own villages. These finanCial Incentives 

could be the difference between business profltabillty or loss or even whether a business Is started. 

• Include the Nattve corporations In the development of state-wtde 

economic development plans. State agencies do not always sollcit 

comments or participation by Native corporations on these Issues. even 

though they may have valuable Insights and knowledge. Typically, projects 

go to consultants or non-profit groups who lack experience, knowledge and 

expertise 1n the area of business or general economic development. For 

example. the regional Native corporations. from Calista's experience, have 

had virtually no role in the development of the ARDORs In the Calista 

Region whUe non-profits have dominated these programs. Since the 

ANCSA corporations are regional entitles whose primary mission Is to 

undertake business ventures, encourage economic development and 

function 1n the world of business and development. they have much to offer 

these programs. 

• Implement target programs with ANCSA corporations that focus on economically depressed areas in order to improve the standard of living and 

provide economic development assistance to communities developing locaL 

industries such as bottomfcshing, jlsh processing, boat buildlng, cottage 

industries, tourism. light manufacturtng, etc. Recent studies have shown 

that economic development can be st1Inulated by focussing on developing 

local natural resources and adding value to eXiSting products. Typically, value-added products such as agricultural. fishery, forestry and antmal 

products are natural resource derived. Related development opportunities 

are small-scale processing plants; specl.alty food processJng fac111t1es: and 

exclusive agricultural production facilities. such as ftnftsh farms or oyster 

farms. 

14 
277 

~ 

o Pnlm.ofAJ the p~ of gl.vUI.g prefemta and awan11ng serut.c:w and 

c:rmaacu UJ Ataskcl Ncmv.-own.ct and openz~M bualnaue jw 

proj«U !rWolulng eN consuuetiDn. open:ueon. and ~ qf scm. 

and Jedltra.t ]acdlttes. Whenever poaatble. goods and semcea 11hould be 

purc&ued from Natlve·owned bustneues. Tb1a will enaure that tbCIIc enterpr~an reeetve cnousb bu111Acaa to stay In operaUon and &row mto 

strona buatnes~a. In many cues, ll goods are pun:hued lA a V1Jlaie. tbeM 

typca of deals wtU brtng a much needed tnfu.aton of cash Into tJ:Ie 

COIDDNIUty. 

6. PROVID& LOW-COaT, EKVtR0101B1'fT.ALLT SAI'B EKUGT A1'ID POWR 1'0 

VILLAGES - Enerv 1a one of the biggest barnen to new tn.duaay tn rural Aluii:L 

I! the product taka power to manufactUre, or to ship to markets, tha COft 

becomes ~ for many areas. Run.1 A1aaka needs mon: economiCal CDalr sources. Fuel coau muat be brought under controL. Supplytag electriCal power to 

VIllages lA Nnl1 Alaska 111 very expenasve due to the high co.ta of sbipp&na bulk 

fuel to remote areas to operate diesel ac:nerators. Power plants requtre conanua1 

maintenance. and repall' costs are hl3b: fuel spl.lla are common: fuel atonp 

facillUes are outdated and unsafe: and the eoet of prociuc1n1 electrtdtJ 11 

expenSive. It 1S not uncommon for V1llage ut111t1es to be running 1n the red llld 

constantly on the verae of breakdown. 

fnadequate 8lld envtroiUilentally unaouad power system& provtde e1ectttdty aad 

heat to homes, tu!a.lth cl1nlcs. waahetertu. and other pubUc factl1U-. 

Unfcmmate!J, vtUaae residents have no choiCe but to rely en diesel-&enfl1'811ed 

el.ectnctty &Dc1 dJae1 fuel for heat1n& eYeJl though the costa lDCre&8e With each 

JWIStna yeaz. M atatc revenues decllne. lt la hllblY probable that the states pG'IIIIIIr 

cost equt;llptloll (PCE) wt1l be abandon.ecl EDdlnC of thiS ualatance Wll1 IUU 

most fam1Ua Will not be ab.lc to afford cleetndty. Exp.JortD& tbe ua of altenlaaft 

energy power generauna systems and tmprovtn& the ef!lctenc::y of power 

distrtbutJon u:& rural AJaUa Is required so that village reSidents can ccntlnue to 

ha•1e elec1rtca.l power. 

Energy lS one of the peatest bunen to new Indue~ In null! A1aalca. II pciWa' II 

:1eeded to manufacture a product. or to !l.b1p lt to marketa. the coat of pracludllc 

that product becomes problb.tUYe lA rural Aluka wtu:n compared wltb urtwl &11M 

of the st&te or otber' reg&oas of the eouaay. Run! Alaaka need& a !DON 

·~nomleal eaargy sowee tban the system of tnclMdual generators In vtllqeL 

The follOWIJII are acttODS wtuc:h may be taken to brtng more affordable alld 

dft.ctent power to we.rem Alaska: 

o IrwaUQ1118 ttw use of Cllt.ll!mad&le en.ervt~ s11~tems and ./IJtlb In uCUGQe 

AlGalaz. Pilat praJa:tS uiiUilocall"'!!ICJWeH euch as hydro. coal. aad IWural 

pa sbauld be tnect In c:ommunlua adjKeat to aucb reaoun:a. Fwlda lll1l8l 

be aJioca1e4 ta lean:b Car theae CDer&Y re.un:s. 'Ibe c:oft of UISIII cu..l 

fuellS bel:amtlla ememely I1Sky to the eD'fU'aDDient aDd ~- Soe lt 

r;uy be llllPQaalhJe to proYide non-subeacUxd ela:tndty to the vUJae• 

• I~ Cl SCud¥ 1D ~ tlw triM CIOR of procridlng JI(JCftT to Mal 

comrrwnttla uslnQ e.asung power gerwrrzUDn suscems. 1be uac of dlclel 

aeneramn .. coatly. emlrOiuDentally umouad. aa4 ,........,t.. 1be tuB ca.t 

at tblS eaerv IOW'ce 1n nua.t Alulla hu Dn'a' been ae1equ.ate1r c1oc:uiMDtlld 

SIDCC ~ c:oaa an htddea Ul4 u yet \IDIIUUiuaed. A ICJOd aaqlle llfbd 

15 
278 

leakage. Without monitonng and enforcement of hazardous matertal laws 

regarding these sptlls. the costs to 1hese communities In the future to 

remediate the problems often associated wtth fuel spills Is unknown. 

• Develop regwnaL power generatwn and distrtbutwn facUULes in ruraL 

Alaska tn order to improve the level. quality and elftcLency of providing 

power to villages. Power generation facilities and Unes which Interconnect 

and proVide power to many communities from a single source should be 

encouraged and funded because such systems are more etDdent. reliable 

and cost-effeettve than separate diesel-fired generators In each village. 

Regional power systems are commonplace In southcentral and Interior 

Alaska. but little has been done to develop these systems In western Alaska. 

Interconnecting lines between Villages from a larger central generating 

fadlity would ellmlnate the need for Individual generating fadlities In each 

village thereby reducing maintenance costs. ensuring the provtston of 

power from a reliable. energy-etDdent central utlllty and provtdlng a way to 

keep the cost of power to Village consumers affordable. Numerous 

hazardous waste problems would be mtnlm1zed as well. 

• Study the feasibility of u.sing regwrull utiLities in ruraL ALaska. similar to 

Chugach. ELectriC. Alaska Village ELectric Cooperatiue. or the Tiingit Hatda 

RegwnaL ELectriCal Authority. A regional utility or electric cooperative has 

the potential of providing more efficient electrical service In terms of 

mamtenance. production. and operation. than the small. IndiVidual systems presently being used In Villages. With the ever Increasing cost of cltesel fuel. 

high liability rtsks related to fuel spills and compliance wtth enVironmental 

laws. and potential ellmlnation of the state power cost equallzation (PCEJ 

program. there Is a need to ldenttfy the best method of ensuring that 

villages get affordable power. The current system. In which a village, 

traditional government or some other local entity runs the electrical plant 

In the village Is not efficient or cost-effective. Every process or action Is 

done on a piece-meal basts and there ts a tremendous duplication of 

servtces and expenses for collecting utility bills and operating the generator 

plants. If feasible. a funding program using loans. grants and joint-ventures 

should be established to assist In the development of regional utlllty 

companies In rural Alaska. 

• Develop a statewide program promoting research. development and use 

of locaL alternative energy systems, including but T!Dt Limited. to: small coal 

fiTed plants: ron-of-the rtver hyd.ro: shaUow gas exploration: and. grant 

programs supporting research and development. Without Incentives, 

companies have little reason to pursue new technologies that could provtde 

affordable power to rural Alaska. Affordable power would help make 

houstng more affordable. proVide jobs and encourage development of resources tn remote areas of Alaska. It would also continue delivery of . electricity to many communities after power cost equallzat1on ceases to 

exist and Clean Air Act requirements and shipping liability laws close small 

diesel plants. 

• Provide fund.ing to study the potentiaL of locaL altematwe energy 

resources (geothermaL. low-head. hydroeLectrtc. run·of-the-rtver 

hyd.roelecrTtc. solar. wood. coaL natural gas. and wtndl to produce power tn 

remote areas of ALaska. F'wltilng should be made avaUabLe for impLementing 

16 
279 

pUot_ projects u.Uig cUwlopiniJ t~ aru:J./or cdternattvc eMJW rnource•. Development of new technoioliea and a!teraaUve eJSel1r 

n:aourca Ia the IU:y to p1"0YYd1Dg loW-coat power to rural areu of Alalka. 

' Conaoltctat.. exisUIIg e!«trrcal LlliUtil d.ellwlnj SJimaM. Cunwrllfv, ~ 

atW r.lll."tfl sm4ll ~ ~ Uv:U emt In eadl uillqe ~ tM 

Y·K delta. TheSe ut1W1es serve Just one village and are able to ~ aa1y 

because of subaldiea recC1Ved from tba state or Alaall:a u put of the atatll'a 

power coat cqual11&11on provam and contmued support from AlA rOI' 

acqwaiUOn of capital lt.ema. These systems are espawve to opera~~~. 

subjeec to frequmt breakdowna. emuoameatally WJ.80UDd, and tnefftctent 

In terma or maDqement and pnmdinC power. Coaaol1dat1ou could be 

a.ccomplsabed by provtdJng fundlng aDd teduUc:al Ulllatance to create ami 

operate a reiJ.OIW uttllty managemem enuty wh1cb would take OYer the 

operat:ton. ID&iDtenanc:e an4 man,aaemmt of the varsoua ut111ty opcntlona 

being operated tndcpendcntJy throughout the Yukon and Kuakokwlm rtver 

area&. 

• E~ th6 power T1Hd.s of ulllaQa 41111 reatTW:tur• w runzL 'J1fiW' 

system in AlaSka to be$t meet th.l! ~ so that power cxzn be pro~ to 

rite uiUtlga at an alford.o.bl.e leuel u..Cn.g locaL resources. tnr.ertt.s. aruJ 

modem t«~. 

7. PLA11 ARD IIIPI.aiB1'IT A 8TATZW!DS PllOGilAK FOR BUILDDIG A 

JmetOIL\L TIIAifUO&TATIOl'f tmiTDI (L&., ~ Amii'1'1UP8. POilTI) Dr 

ECONOIIICAU'I' Da'II&8UD A11U8 or !!AU• • 1be state ol AJuka lllUit b:ua on bUildlziC a traaapOrtaUOD system wtudl l1Dka ecoaolll.lcally depreucd rqs.aaa 

of the state to more proaperoua areaa ol the state or eYeD wtthiD a rei&ODConnc:cuna vtUqea to one another provtdea the opportunities of ezpudecl 

mareets created by united villages. 1be state's preamt traoaportaUon sr-tem 1.1 

woefully ~~~adequate bec&uae 1t does not facilitate the movement of gOOda aDd 

provtde eaay. safer and conveiUent acc:e.. to remote aaaa wttb resource development potential. 

In genera!. the tnmsportation t.ntrutruc:ture and !acilitlea 1n the Callata Re&fCil arc subetmtlally belaw acceptable staDCiarda. 1be remoteaeu of the Vllll&a· 

coupled wtth the lack of econoauc acuYity ud enVIronmental conatraUlta. 

contribute to tbe hJCb ca.t of conatNcdon Uld J:D&mteDaaal of illlraawc:nu-e ID. 

rural Alaaka. I~UIICDta to tba C&Jiata Ret~GD'• tranaponatson nct'WQrk 1.1 

clearly needed. Not SUJ'llrtalD&IY. the l&ck of au. !Dterconnec:ted rciJOD·Wide 

traruportatSaa .,ate~~~ baa atrected the Callata Re&JDD'I abiUty to attrut ouutde econoaue cleftlopmcnt. capectally ID the areal at IIUD.cral ezploraUon aDd 

tounsa~. [t'l ddlleult to operate tour tnaa- when tbeR are 110 roads. or to IDG"C 

ore to baJ'IC:S If there are 110 roads or loadiDC doeu ID plaeL 

The traDipOrtadclo. needs of VIllage and rural Alulra are very cWrtrmt frulll the 

needs of Ral.lbelt tawna orAl:'J~ dtla UJu: Ancllorqe. Juneau and Fll1rbaa.lcl. 

VUlages and rural uaa or abDul4 not haft to compete fix' tbe same pat ot 

IIIDI.ley u these otber parta of tbe 8taiL 1D thl future. J! tbe stare Ia to lfO"· It 

mutt begin to cq,andltl Nn1 traDapOrtaaaG ayllteiiL loA lmprcwed t:nDaportaCkiD 

!IYStem would aMI re80Un:C dtftlopmcat Ull1 help reduce trmaportaaon CCMta Uld 

17 
280 

reliance on atr services for movtng people and goods between vtllages and to and 

from other parts of the state. 

Specific actions which should be taken to Improve the state's Infrastructure 

system In undeveioped areas of Alaska Include: 

• Prepare and. implemeru a statewide rransportatiDn plan for econorrUcaUy 

depressed areas of Alaska which fdemifies priorities and provides for 

development and. conscructiDn for roads, landing scrips. ports, and. loading 

faciLities within or near communities which have commerciaL. industrtal. 

recreatiDnaL or resource development potenciaL 

• Construct a road between the Yukon and Kuskokwim rivers to open 

transportatiDn from owside the Calista Region. By ll.nk1ng these two rtvers. 

goods and services could be brought Into the Kuskokwim Region for less 

cost. and the season for transporting goods would be lengthened. 

• Build local interconnecting roads between villages. For example. vtlla&es 

along the middle Kuskokwim could be connected by a local road system 

from Aniak. Such a system would allow goods and heavy freight to be 

brought Into Aniak by barge and then transported by local vehicles to nearby 

villages. A road system would reduce the need for these villages to Import 

everything they need by atr freight and would be the most direct means of 

reducing transportation costs for goods Into these communities. 

• Revise federal regulations applying to the Bureau of Indian Affairs which 

preclude them from using funds to build roads for projects other thlJn 

access for housing. woodcUJ.ting sites and for traditiDnaL subsistence 

acttuittes. The BIA Is one of the few agencies which can directly fund and 

assist Alaska Natives. Because of the: serious lack of InfrastrUcture In the 

villages, the BIA should be allowed to build roads for any purpose benefitting 

the community. The current policy Is too narrow and does not provide a full range of benefits to Alaska Natives. 

8. STIMULATE VILLAGE ECONOMIES AND PROMOTE ECONOMIC 

DEVELOPMENT IN ECONOMICALLY DEPRESSED REGIONS OF THE STATE -

Attracting Industry and economic development Into economically depressed areas such as western Alaska should be a primary goal of both the state and federal 

government as a means of creating Jobs. Creative. innovative. and long term 

programs are needed to attract private Industry Into these areas of the state. 

Private Industry and development businesses must have a reason to come to these areas. Their economic rtsks In Investing In rural communities must be 

minimized. 

Mining Is an Industry that can be adaptable to the lifestyle of the Alaska NatiVe 

because work Is done outdoors and jobs can be scheduled on a rotating baSSS, 

thereby allowing Individuals to continue subsistence activities but also have a 

rewarding and meaningful job which can support a family. This type of work 

addresses the needs of young men In the Calista Regton. They suffer the most 

tragic problems because of the lack of economy In our villages. 

18 
281 

~ oi IDfrutruc:tun syamaa for weateru Aluk& can be pbaaed In Dftl' a penod of time so tbat the coats are tru:remental and not e=esltVely bunleuame 

to the state or federal government. A commitment by the state W'OU1d 

demonatratAI tbe state's s.lncenty tn supporun11 the development of natural 

reeourcea m ttua an:a oC the state. In tum. ll:!.frutruc:tUre ayfte1U aid tbe N&Uft 

corporauoae ID atttactinl tnveston tnto rura1 ~u of the state. A cooperaUYe 

etron 11 needed If natural re.ourcea 1n weatem Alu.U are to be succeutullJ 

developed. So lone u the costa of infn.etructure deYelopmcnt and Site 

preparauon remain UDeconomtcal. there wt.ll be Uttle czplorat1on or dC"'elopmeut 

of natural raourcea ID remote areas such as the Call.ata Regson by the pmatc 

sector. 

IncentiVes which have been succeufully u.ed tn other st&t81 or ID the put In 

Aluka tDClude: tu tnc:endves. such u redueed capital piDa taxes: tncreued tax 

deauc:uona for lllftstment tn tn!rastrueture or natural resource aplaraUoD 

actiVtt!ea: loa&-term, low-uuerest development loans: aceeler:ated amortlllal:&aD 

zones: 

schedules; 

and Investment 

state fuDdln& 

eredtts 

for roada. 

for aur: attsa:tpa purpo-. 

and 

Theae 

other same !Dtrutructure: 

tncenliva ~ aboulcl be 

con!lldend for encouragin~ econoauc growth and development In rural Alaall:a. 

AlL fr.cervtua should ~ desjgi'U!d to encotu"rJge lndu.stna CUII1 busllles•a to budd. 

joU!t veruur.. support or do bu.sinas with udlagc busuwssa. Na.tWe ~. 

and ~ I"'JJfdMMS. Propama and LnceDUftll wbac:h are lmplemmtcd lhould do 

the fallowmc: 

• iclcuuty the moet depresaed vtlla&ea and concentrate on pl'O'ftdlllt 

IDCeDtlfta ta make these vtlla&es attracuve to outa1de Lnduatry uil ......... '*: 

• make ez1at1D1 vtllage reaoun:ea attrac:UYe (I.e.. Improve sewer and waUl' 

syetema Ill coastal Villages so flab proceauns facllltiea can be butlt aDd 

capltaliR on the lfDWIIll bortomt!shtn&ID.C1uauyt: 

• use IIIIUlpower an1lable ID tbe vdla&ea leaeure that loc:a1 rcstdenta baft 

adequate aldiJa and educaliOD to work In loc:.al lnduacnal: 

• mae loc:ally produced products compeUttre; 

• il'" sole 110\U'Ce conuaaa on state uu1 federal projecu to bu~ 

baaed lD tbe YiJiqet: 

• reduce apenae ta developenl ol proJeCta by fuDciiDC road c:outrudfea ar 

~ 

bu1Jcllq of traaapon.auon fadl1ttea sucll as docka. lirltnpe aDd lalldbiC 

to haul goode UIIIDd out ot a c:omm11111t;r. 

• pnmde low·lntereat loans. wtth fCWiiftlleas bmefl.ta tl the projeet 

succceda. for development or hl&h nalc lnduaa:tea such as m.J.ataC. 

COIIUDerdal ftaldDc Of ll&ht maDuladwtJia: 

• pruttde lous auaram.ea on. pmJccta In 1"\1181 AlulaL. so tD&t baDJm Uld 

odJen may be lllOI'I! wtWnc to loUl IIIOMf lor cScmapmalt proJec:ta m nan& 

arcu:a.d 

11 
282 

• restructure tax laws to provtde tax breaks to businesses and companies 

investing or engaging in business in economically depressed areas. Tax 

Incentives are a proven way to aid Alaska Natives. The NOL tax provts1oo.s 

saved several Native corporations from bankruptcy and gave others much 

needed cash to keep operating or invest in profitable business ventures. 

Specific actions which could be taken to promote economic development and 

assist economtcally depressed areas of Alaska include the folloWing: 

• Promote and support the creatton of service related Industries and light 

manufacturing businesses In Alaskan villages on a scale suitable or compaUble for each community. The state of Alaska. vta the Department of 

Commerce and Economic Development. should educate the bustneaa 

community about the untapped potenUal and the benefits of encouraging 

buSiness and economic development in rural Alaska. 

• Implement programs and poLicies to encourage deuelopment by usUig 

economiC development grants: long·tenn. low-Interest Loans: long-tenn 

purchase agreements for goods and commodities produced In econonuauJy. 

depressea areas: service conrracts: tax iru:eiUtues and moratOriums: ut1lUy 

subsidies: and assistance widt !njrasrrucrure costs through the sale of bonds or other jlna.nctng. Assistance and incenttves would have to be long term to 

give businesses an opportunity to amortize their investment. recapture 

start-up costs. establish a solld market, or learn the business operation. 

• Deuelop a federal and state supportea Infrastructure plan to build roads 

and transportation llnlcs between communities and provide clean water. 

ajfordllble power and safe sanitation fcu:UJttes In vtllages In rural Ala.slln thDt are without such fadltttes and serviCes. Safe. reliable infrastructure systems are necessary lf industries are to be attracted to rural Alaska. F'Sah 

process1ng plants need a reliable, safe. clean water supply to process flsh. 

M1n1ng companies need roads tnto mlntng areas so that they can transport 

supplies, move equipment. and move the product to market. Currently, areas of Alaska with sizable m1neral deposits go undeveloped because there 

are no power grtds. airstrips. ports, roads or other means of access into the area. 

• Deuelop spectaL loan. grant and reuolv!ng fund programs for funding 

lnjrasuucture. pilot projects, and business ventures In severely depressed 

areas, such as the CaUsta Region. Entities such as the Alaska Energy 

Authority, Alaska Industrial Development Authority, or and the Small 

Bustness Admin1strat1on could act as the admin1strattve agendes for such 

programs. Assistance could be in the form of grants. long-term, lowInterest loans, utillty or lnfrastructure subS1d1es. techn1cal asststance and 

other services to companies and businesses wiUI:h pursue economtc 

development tn economtcally disadvantaged regions of Alaska. It must be 

recogntzed that businesses and companies will need flnandal support 

and/or 1Jlcenttves to go to remote or depressed areas of the state. 

• Promote ncuw-aL resource exploraUDn on federaL. state and priVate lands. 

Much of the state of Alaska sUll remains unexplored or untested 1n terms of 

mineral and oil and gas potenUal. Private businesses need a recepttve 

poUt1cal cUmate lf they are to be attracted to the state to do exploraUOD 

20 
283 

worL A1uka llal the reputation of betnc and-dllftlopmczn. rr aatwal reaowce development 11 to eontlnue lJl the futunr. tbiA Image 111uat be 

dl.IJIIlled. Polidca that encourage rather than d.lacoUJ'Il&t expior&UGD or devdopment are ncc:euuy. 

• Ffn4ncc uplDrtJ.tlon on fea.ral, st4~. and NCIUN-owMd land.l. By ~ruifl/lnQ and nrablCstung 1M quaUqf and q&GIUtt!l of .Aiaslca'~ rrurwat 

~ 

rtsourca it wi.U be 4!411er to aurae~ l'7ltMrCt comp.ulla IIUD lh8 1tat.e to 

tJw IWCIUI"Cft, Explor"at10D OD ltat.e aDd federal laDd8 baa a "apll· 

over" e&ct oa adjacent Natlve corporation J.anda. wbidl may aJao became 

attrlctlw for m1Daa1 aplorauon If t.bey are of IUmlar &eolOIIC charai:Uir or pramnal to ma,~or depoetw. Natunl reeource dewelopmeDt can lead to well 

p&yiDC joba ncar vtllqes. HDWnU", If there 1a to be ruourcc deveklpment 

In ueu such aa tbc Caliata Rel10n. action muat be ta.lren to liiUe 

eKpJoraaoa UJd developmczn attracuve to pmue lllduat:ry. 

• Promcr. and encouraQe tlw development and apanalon of u:r.un, 

indu.stna. ".:tt aa 1M bottomJt-h lndumy, in ecxmolftlcaJiv a.p...c 

area.: in ponla<lr. wes~m All:ulca. nua can be aecompllabecl by: 

mauataiJ:IiDC tbe use of spec:lal caa:h quotas (acluatvc ll.sblDg rl&bta aDd 

quotul: gMDg tax·breaks/mcenUftl to proccasi.Dg faclUUes Locauq ID 

these areaa: grantlnl low-Interest Loan prolr:;a' to bulbleu•. 

corporaaona and liultvtduall for boeta. Ptoceai1DI UH, eqwpaunt aDd 

swt·up coeu. 1bese polldes are already bepmlag to 'lllariE aaxt need to be 

continued and ~ed. 

Ym.ca ID watem AlaMa. Which have been auanateect n,bta to a apedle 

amount of tbe po11ock cau:h (CDQ'aJ. haw bccoGie ~ UII'Udft pllaa tar 

IDveauna lD the bottomtlab ~IUIC lnduagy. MaJor tra..uq aad 

proceaaag ecmpanlea b.aYc developed partDerSbl..,_ wttb weltem ~ to 

ha!vest and proceu the Bah JnDted to tbae eommWI1UCI. under the uw 

aJioc:aaon ayatem for boaom1lah. Prior to the eatabUihmeat of tbe qucaa. 

these eommuD1Uel preytou&ly bad Uttlo or no econoauc bue. 11acy now 

haw a commodity to sell and denlop. Commerclal fl.lhJq 11 a aatunl 

lneluttry for V1IJqea because aaauy V1l1qe restdmta are alreaGy c:omiUI'I:ial 

and subaatence ftahermen. 1be COIIIIIIerdal ftabiDC ID.duauy &lao ICDda 

Itself to tradltiiDDal llfe.ty~ of Al.l.aka KaUfta. Ttda alqle propam bu dl8 

potenaal to brm&IDJ.IIIoal ot dollan IDtD Y1A1qa tbaC cmly a year qo ball DO 

bope of ecouomJc developmem. 5aDdar procrama Cor hallbuc. COd. bema~. 

crab aa.cl other flab specsa shouJd be eoaDiered. 

• l'rllrlll* and ~ ttw ~pnwru qJ mancuuww and aquacuUuN 

In AlaMa. 7lleM ~ 1'14uc t1w pac.naai to proviM boch n..a.t )Om 

and 4 MIU prat.W\ .ICIUICe CO tfw &lillaQa. 

• Expand tM Umu.ci entrv pn~gram for COtrUrWrdtl! sabnon ~ltllw to 

aLlow JUaabl Nt.ttWe jlsh.ennen to ...,.,. ttw conurwda.l sabnon. lwrfnQ. or I14Ubut ftshlng indwltrv. Commercial lllh1DI 1a one of rew pro4table eeonoiiiJC: acuvttlH tbat lndtvtdu.la locued ID rural AlUU easa enu:r. 

Mwner, tJ1e pnlbiblt1ve COM ol 8ibm& pmDlta aep. 11W17 AJuka N..,_ 

OUC. 11Jey c:aaDOt dbrd to buy a per1D1.t aad a-r. aaxt tbcy haft Uttle _. 

ot ObiiUIWII ftnanctna for JIUI'CbUIDC a penaat. 

21 

21-794 - 96 - 10 
284 

• Provide financiaL incentives or creare financing programs which can be 

used by village and regionaL corporations w invest and undertake busineSs 

IJentures and develop resources on Native-owned lands. With the recent 

failure of many banks. most Alaskan banks have withdrawn from commerdal 

lending, despite the fact that rural commercial portfolios have been good 

performers. h1 March 1991 . the State of Alaska Department of Community 

and Regional Affairs reaffirmed that even with the presence of rural loan 

programs and strong Community Reinvestment Act regulations. the debt 

capital shortage remains critical In rural Alaska. Income tax provtstons 

which allowed Native corporations to sell their net operating losses (NOL's) 

brought much needed cash to the Native corporations. In fact. the money 

received from NOL sales saved several regional corporations from 

bankruptcy. The Income from these sales has been used to pay off debts, 

start-up businesses, and set aside fo1· future use or to pay shareholder - dlvtdends. 

Restructure gram and economic development programs so that the 

Native corporations can more f ully participate in the planning and 

management of economic development in ruraL Alaska_ For example, the 

establishment of local economic development councils under the Alaska 

Regional Development Organizations (ARDOR) program was implemented 

and organiZed through non-profit groups. such as the Association of Village 

Council Presidents (AVCP) and Kuskokwim Native Association (KNA). 

These organizations are typically geared more towards working with social. 

health and education problems than economic development. Because the 

village and regional corporations were created to function as business 

corporations. they should be the lead entitles for programs such as the 

ARDOR's. The Native corporations are experienced with operating 

businesses. they have a legal mandate to be profit-making, and they are the 

entity most likely to be able to undertake a business venture or secure financing for a project. Agencies must give the Native corporations the 

necessary tools and an opportunity to fully participate In the growth and 

development of rural Alaska 

• Restructure existing business-and-de!!elopmem loan and grant programs 

so that they maximize the availability of state and federaL grants and loans 

pertaining to community and economic development projects. Establish 

revolving loan funds which can be used only for projects and business 

ventures In rural Alaska. The State of Alaska should support the Small 

Business Investment Corporations (SBIC), Minority Small Business 

Investment Corporations (MSBIC), Business Investment and Development 

Corporations (BIDCO), or other equity facilities usually found in the public 

capital environment. There Is a need for an imaginative risk pooling 

approach to underwrite risk gaps such as rate of return gaps (DCRA. 1991). 

Emphasize research, planning, and technical assistance in economic 

development in villages in Alaska_ The State of Alaska. in conjunction with 

the University of Alaska and the Institute of Social and Economic Research. 

should develop a program which encourages universities and foundations 

nation-wide to study the problems of Alaska Natives and develop trm.ovattve 

solutions. Universities look for new areas In which to do projects. case studies, and research. For example, the Harvard Graduate School of Destgn 

studios work on projects relating to economtc development. Un!verstttes. 

22 
285 

sudl u Hanvd miltlt be IDtarated ID researchl.n& aDd cieYeloiiiJIC 

lrmotdft metbodl for tt1mUJ&IIDa rural vtl1qe emnom••. Aaodw opaaa 

wvWd ~uu. tbc Untvcrslty of AiaUa m:uity to act u &dmon to nn1 

ctereJopmeut projects wtth studmu funcuomnc u local retevcb .... 

Already ISER baa contnbuted valuable studlca and reeommeDdaaau 

addreaa&n& problema ladlll Alulla Nauwa. 'nUl relaUOIWISp a!IDuld be 

DlaintaD1cd md ulled to the fu1leat lllDIIDt pollible. 

• Implflrrwnt more low-uu.rnt loan and rftiOW(nQ loan ./WIIJ IJf'Off'GlU 

whleh 41W tcug«C s~ to prollldlnQ capual for prqJ.a.t In rural 

AlcWca. Sucb laaft proiJam• could IAClude spec:sal !orpeacaa baldta oa loaaa for tbc eatabllahment of buaaaeaea &ad lnduaa1Ca ID v111qea. P'al' 

example. a porUoD of a loan could be fOJ'&lVal 1f the buamca wu lD 

operaUOD Cor flvc yean and pnmdc a specl4ed number of jo!M lD a commUDSty. If buiSDesaea are aoiDI to be attracted to rural AlaUa wblft 

rtUa are blitlo tbey muer be llveD some sort of flnUidal ~nea~ave '0 ~ 

there. aa oppoled to lnveaana ID urban an:u where there an: luJcr 

IIIIU'bul &ad ln·p!Ke supply sysb!IDL 

• 

e~ 

Hf(lhl41ht s~ssjul bu.suwss•• 4S I'T10dAs for ci'IDM wilLing co t4Jal 

rtsb rD develop n.w bueinasa in th.8 Uillaga. and praviM 

w.ruwea whlt:n encourage th.eae ouatnes••• to follow chrougl\ wfltl 

conunurnenu whfdl crmre .conom~ dwersuv tn rural areru. Tlc 

!eonolllle DiverSity Prolfllll 11 PrG'V1diDI a 1tudy to detename wbat 

altemame economiC opportwUUea an avUlable to southeaat A1uD 

c:oiDIDUD&tla.. SbD1W ttudlca muec be coaducted 1n western A1uJia. 

FUncUat couJd be federal. state. IDduauy, prtTate, or any combiD&Uaa 

tbereot. '11le foc:ua of the studieS abould be 011 value added products (I.e •• feutbdlty of apectalty proeesa&nc ol wmoa or marketiDS of reiDdea' 

producta). 

9. DIJIUialn' A POUC!' OF JODIT COOPI:aAT!Ol'f DIW&&N t1D ITATJI AliD 

FEDD.AL G0VaJr111:N'i'8 AND A1.A11KA l'CAftVD TO RBIOLft COJIJLic:TI Cit 

INCD A11D Dam.OJIIII:lll'i' IIIUZ8 • 1be state ot AJaaka baa had •ioat·tt.uldJzlc 

hl.story of comuct wttb the Alaska NaUYe Cor1)0ratlDnS on land ana dCftl.opmac 

lsluea. Over tbc yan the corponaaou haft aoac to court repeatedly to prota:t 

Alalka Nattre IDtercsta. Recently, uu,aaon lmOlved subsiateuce nfhU Uld 

reapportionment of elecUoD diltrtCU. In Use put. UUfaUoD concemea navtgabWty of nven and lUes on NatsTe-owned lmc1a &Dd eaaementa aero. 

ANCSA lal1da, and ....._ procau ol Nauve AJJDtment c1aima tbroupout Use ...._ 

which 

Na~ ~ 

deMne the same 

lbould 

treatment 

aot be treaa:d 

and ~ 

u ..m:nanea. 

that 111 &1ftD 

but ratbcr 

to otber 

u 

laDdaWIIIIrl 

~ 

In Alaska. 

• 'Norte COGpii'CilWefy w&Ul Alaslca NGIIJ1a ID daelop poUt:ta whtdl .toetcoopenlltue managenwnr of land Gild raaun:a on sr.u.. fetWal and NcBDqwrwld Ianda. There arc mmy unreaoiYecl con11Jcta bet'fteD awaqeaaem pl:Uioeaphlea. poll£1ea. and needa ol adjacent luldownen &Dd maaqen. -nwre Ill no fonam 1hort of UUCaUOD to ubttrate or coopcradwely to Ibid 

!Oluttoaa tO tbae cOD1llc:tl. 

• HI•IDbllah andfurwJ ajolntfeUIDJ. stat& NGibJe land~ lll'taiU 

sUrUIGr to tiW Joint l"ecteral srm. lAN1 uu PraniUIII ComrniUfGn (UJ10 .., 

23 
286 

address and coordinate research and policy developmeru on issues affecttrlg 

the use and management of land and natural resources in Alaska. 

• Improve interagency communication with Alaska Nattve Corporations and 

uillage governments. There is a lack of good lmera~ency communication: 

each appears to operate independently and too often the Issues become 

jurtsdlcttonal battles. There Is no comprehensive long range planning for 

rural development for Alaska. There are pieces of long range plans for 

spectftc Interests. but necessarv coordtnatton has not occurred. nor do 

these efforts really focus on the· problems facing Alaska Natives and rural 

residents. There is a lack of agreement or understanding between urban 

factions and rural factions. Most Issues end tn a we/they adversartal 

confrontation, wtth little wtn/wtn opportunity. This factionalism must be 

minimized. 

• Establish a policy chat state agencies. such as the Department of 

n-ansponation and Public Facilities, must compensate Native landowners 

for the use of land and natural resources used for public projects. All too 

often. agencies ask the !'Jattve corporations to provide free land or sand and 

gravel for construction projects tn the villa~e. The explanation offered for 

these requests is that the proJects benefit the community. In urban areas 

these requests are not made of prtvate landowners. Instead. the landowner 

Is compensated for any taking of his land or natural resources trom his land. 

It Is unfair to threaten cancellation of a vtllage project if the corporation 

does not donate the land. 

10. SIMPLIFY STATE AND FEDERAL GRANT APPLICATION AND 

ADMINISTRATION PROCESSES AND PROGRAMS • Although the state of Alaska 

and the federal government both have a wide vartety of grant programs which 

could benefit Alaska Natives. much of these funds never reach Alaska Natives that 

have the greatest need. Many Native organizations do not get grants because they 

do not have staff expertenced In completing grant applications or administertng 

grants. The bureaucratic red tape tnvolved 1n the vartous grant programs simply 

overwhelms most Native orgamzattons or traditional governments. Because 

grants are an important source of money for health and soctal services. bU1ld1ng 

and matntaJning commUnity facilities. job tratning programs. and other act1V1t1es, 

the state and federal governments have an ob!Jgatton to ensure that Alaska NatiVeS 

and their organizations have the skllls to apply for. manage and fully use available 

grant and funding programs. In essence. greater flexibility Is needed tn grant 

programs directed at Alaska Natives. To prOvide this flexibility the followtng 

actions can be taken: 

• Provide training and techniCaL assistance in grant writing and 

management to Native organiZations and IRA and trad.it1Dnal governments. 

• Amend grant reguLations so that NatiVe corporations can apply for grants 

to implement programs they might not otherwise get inoolved in. such as 

job tratntng or setting up a pilot program for industries in a village. As forprofit businesses. Native corporations are well suited to undertake 

economiC development projects. make Investments tn buSiness ventures or act as buSiness partners. It has been said ANCSA was a "grand expertment.• 

Lets experiment more wtth the "child" created by ANCSA and see if tt can be the proper vehicle for postttve change tn the villages. 

24 
287 

• EnmuraQe !he u.N of grunt morwy a. Ned tnONIII for lq-r.rm ecGnllrltC 

d.euelopnen.t. Non·prodt corparauou typleally !oc:ua on IOda1. ed\lcadaD 

aDd health related prosrama. Non·prodta have sometimes supported th8 

aaopUGD of polidea that make It very d.tmcult aad cumbersome to IDIUate 

econoaw: development In a repon. AlthouSIL on the surface theN polldel 

!Day appear to provtde beneAtl by protectm& the enVU'Oilmellt. tbly &C'tUally 

harm vtUace reslcienta because they tmpede natural resource d~ 

thereby cUacoUJ"allll& lnc:tuacry or buaaneaaea from ccnzuna Into the rei!JID. 

• s~ m. graru appltauJDn proclt .. for progrcliM berwftU'"f AlaMG 

NCUW.. L•.. popen.uorlc rectw:Uon. mGrW Ulldcr3tandabr. appllaufOna, !.- ~me requuements for admentlr.er111Q r/w grunt. greaur ecue Ill 

fm~ aa:oiUI%ing and reportlnQ requtnrrrwnt.s. and mo~ ftecibCWV 

for gWU!g grunts to jlrst-tfmAI reeipWnts. 

• ~h a program co resean:h C1l1d ~ prtvat.e joundG!ton rnorwv 

that could be u.s«f b!l Ala.slc4 NatbJft for ftlllnorrw: dAnH!iDpiiWIU p."qjec&& 

and addressing uar1ou.s problems fat:trw .r\Wkrl Nattva. 'nle program could 

Include e1tabl1ahin• an offtce wiUc:h provtdes grant and propoaal wnuna 

aaalaWlee and actS aa an advocate for appiJcanta. 

Aln" "ad!' me•• "tt'rnmt fMCMlJMw 

Implemeatatson oC ANCSA hu placed lar(e demmcl8 on both Cal~Q corporaacm 

and vtllqc c:orporaa.ooa. Secuon 21b1 and 2(c) o£ AHCSA atate that "ttie 

settleiiiCDC abau1d be aa:ompilabed... In coaforuuty wttb the real ecoMIIUC aad 

sodal needa of NaUYea... no prcmason of thJa Act shall replace or dliiWUab UJ'f 

rtght. prtvtlega. or obltgaa.on of the Umted States or of the State of AluJia to 

protect and promote the rtghtl or welfare of Natives aa cttizenl of the UDitecl 

States or of Alalka. .. • The terms of the settlement were bued on caaaderadcla ol 

the e.~me poverty and underprMlegec1 status of .Alaaka Natm!e generally. 'l1le 

Intent of the Act wu to provtde Alulal Nauva W1th ac1eqUaU resourta tD penlllt 

them to compete wtth non-Nauves md to 11ft them the means to raiSe tbclr 

stadard of ltvtna through their owa eRona. Althousb there hu beCil 

tmprovement ID some regtona of A1uka IJl llvta& atandarda. ANCSA. wu &CDcrdJ 

not the reuoa for the cban&C· In actua.Uty, state and oU mdultry speDdlzll.,.. 

the catalyst for Improvement of lMnl staDdarda 1D Aluka. wttb moet Ol tile 

beneilta soma tD the urblul aDd ra&lbe1t areal of tbe sta1L 

At the tfme of ANCSA'a pauaae. Conlfe•• aDd !nd1vtdua.la expected that the 

corpont:IGDII wuu.ld adDdDllter the settlement tb&t would aerve aa the veAicle !ar 

achievmg far.l"'lllliill goa1a related to 50da1 aDd economiC d=. t. ANCSA was m be tbe ve.btcle by whldl Alaak& NUIYce wvWd n:a1lzc a staDdanl of 

IJvtni 

efforts 

mel 

IJUtlated leU'~. by the vtllqe 

both 

and throup reaJOO&t 

dlnct 

eorporaacaa. 

settlcmeat 

The ccwporatlaDA 

ta IZid ~ 

-. to proVIde IIDd promote aca.vtues and program• whtcb would eahaDce tbe bealtla, 

educat!OD. IOda1. aDd economle welfare of dlelr sllardlo1den. ~ bcltft'ld 

the la:ad aDd c:ab settlements would be uaed to IDlU&te a procna of ec:aaoadl: 

development ID rural A1uka which. by the "biddc-dowa cl&c:t", would bc:acGt 

Aluka Natma. IDib!ad. the cub hal bel!ll UMd to pay lDGr'cliDUe IIDCNDtll ofllpl reea: aw1y corpon.u.oa. are sUU Wllif:llla to recelft t!IGr fullllllld entSdeaiA!III: aDd 

languqe SUctl U Sect1on 2211)of AHCSA. hu bem 111cd by :ltiWI aad !cdenl 

25 
288 

agencies to limit the use, economic value. and development potential of Native- owned lands. 

In sum, Calista Corporation and the village corporations in the Calista Region have 

not been able to fulfill the range of high e."qlectatlons placed on them by Congress, 

their shareholders. the public and government oill.cials. It is highly unlikely that 

the Native corporations wtll ever be able >:o do so given the current situation. 

ANCSA was expected to play a role in the social and economic betterment of 

Alaska Natives, but 1t was never intended for ANCSA to replace the state and 

federal governments in terms of proViding assistance to Alaska Natives. It was generally expected that the Native corporations would create an economic base 

sufficient to stimulate rural development. The public and government agencies 

have Long held that Native corporations would generate job opportunities, spur 

natural resource development. proVide job tratning to shareholders. and be the 

foundation of Viable village economies. These expectations are not realistic in 

light of the current terms and conditions of ANCSA and the implementation 

process now in place. 

Without legal and policy changes to ANCSA. the Native corporations will never be able to proVide for the needs of their shareholders. Under existing laws. 

programs. and policies the Native corporations can not undertake projects or use 

their ANCSA settlement to the full benefit. As a result, there has been no diversified, sustained economic growth. as traditionally defined, in areas such as the Calista Region. Public perception and treatment of the corporations by 

government entitles has been a curious blend. The corporations are e."qlected to serve as privately endowed "entitles" which proVide social serVices. while at the same time they are to function as profit-making business corporations. These two 

objectives are contradictory and cannot be accomplished together. under the 

present Native corporation structure and laws concerning Native corporations. 

Under present conditions. Calista Corporation cannot fully engage in the mainstream of Alaskan economic activity and, at the same time, fully meet the 

aspirations of over 13,300 shareholders (most of whom believe that the corporation must. in no uncertain terms. preserve the traditional Native way of 

life). The specific promises of ANCSA remaJn unfulfilled. Economic development 

In the Calista Region has never materialized. Unless there are changes to ANCSA. 

Calista Corporation and the V!llage corporati(>ns 1n the Calista Regton will see on.ly 

modest development of the region's natural resources due to hlgh production 

costs, generally wlfavorable enVironmental policies. and public attitudes opposing 

natural resource development. 

The Calista Corporation urV!ved its first 20 years, but just barely. A big part of 

the corporation's financial success or failure can be traced to its resource endowment Calista's natural resource base is small in comparison to the other 

regional corporations, and to date. Calista Corporation has not been able to secure rich resource contracts through negotlatlc>ns and exchanges. The following 

actions should be taken to remove some of the barriers now facing Alaska Native corporations in max1m1z1ng the benefits they were to have received under the 

Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. 

1. ENSURE THAT ALASKA NATIVES RECEIVE FUU. ECONOMIC VALUE FOR 

nmm lANDS RECEIVED UNDER ANCSA: There are 22 vtllage corporations, 16 

of which are in the Calista Region, affected by SeCtion 22(g) of the Alaska Native 

26 
289 

Clalma Settlement Act {AHCSA). SeetiOD 22(1) requ1rea aB Nauve-a.nec~ ludl 

wtthln the bcnmdartes of a pre-eztaUDI nadonal wtldW'e refuse to remam subjeCt 

to tile inl a.ad rqwauons govem111g uac aDd development of the rdtJte. 'I1Ie 

221g) laquqc 1.1 used to protect refUge t.nteresu at the expenae of tbe Natlft 

corporattoaa' rtgbt to freely develop their IIIDdl and rec:etve full eeoaoaw: ...uue 

for ~he land. 'nua language g1ve1 the USFt!tWS w.t1mate control Oftf NatiVeowned Ianda aDd II used u a tool to depredate the Yllue of the Nattve !aDd. Far 

inatance, when these lands are appniKd to eatabllah a laDd·value for lalld 

elCChatl&e purpoecs. Seettan 22{8) 11 conatdered an eru:umbrulce on the land. 

'Ib1ll J)nM8IoD of ANCSA baa been used by USF&WS to subltanttally dec:reue the 

value of Nattve-owned Ianda wtthlA refu&e boundanel. 1'bl: USP'ct.WS appntlen 

have assiCJled lower fair market valuea to Ianda subject to 2211) bued on prohibtttoa on land use and development actl'lttlel on 2211) Ianda wtthout pnor 

approval from the USF&WS. Although t.hele laDda are cOIWdered pmate 1aDda. 

t.'u! Nauve corporauon. are not allowed to develop and uae the lanci u the, see tlt Typtc:ally, lands appra1ae<1 by the USF&WS not subjeet to Secuoa 22f&l haft hi~her fail' market values than lauds subject to Scct10D 22(&1 requimDCDIL '1bla 

practice by the USF&WS resulta tn the aceacy as~JCDJD~ "dtac:ounteQ• vaNes to :-.arn-e Ianda encumbered by Secuon 22(8) In laDc1 adwl&ea aud acqutaWODa of 

A."JCSA land. 

Another cateaory of land whieh ts devalued dunnc the apprasaai process Ia laada 

lcientifted u ·m·lleu • seJecttona. Many vtJla&e corporattoaa throu&bout AIUira were not able to select their enure AHCSA mutlemcat wtthSu thet:r nngblu 

Section ll(a)(l) withdrawal area. Vlllale selccUona made outatde tbe SecUGa 

ll(a)(l) wtthdrnral AJC& ~re made ?rom areu Withdrawn under SecUaD 

11(al(3) of ANCSA. Theae ue the dekimey laude or ·~n-IJ.cu" lana T!laM 

vtUagea wbl.ch have t.n·l1eu seleettoaa Include: al vtllqe corpocauoaa Wltbta 

established aaaon&l wUcW!e refuges and para wtw:.b were lim1ted by 9ecUGa 

l21a) of ANCSA. to select only 69,120 aue1 of 1aXId WllbSD the Secttoa ll(a)(l) 

wtthdrawal area surT'OUI1dllll the vtllqe. altlloUgh tbdr eDl:ltleiDenta were aaacb 

laqer; bl Y1llqe eorpnttaaa wlUch did noc have CJlOU&b unappropnated laDd ID 

their Withdrawal area from whic:h to aelect: aad c) vtllqc corpanat~ana wtth amall 

Withdrawal ana reawtsua from their proDIDtty to a mertciJaa or the coat. 

thereby reduc:IDC the amount of lana a~ tor aelecttoD. 

For e."CCJDl)le. the vtnqe ol Tobook Bay, loc:atcd In the Calllta RqtoD. ~ a.aiKDd 

by all of the above c:oadiUona. It 11 a 22(j) vtllqe becauac It was located wU:bJil 

the boUDdc1a ol the former Clarence RboCia Natt.anal WUdUie RaDae- About 1/3 

of tts ortDQal wttbdnnral area ls Ia. the water and Ita proximity to other Ydlape 

restricted tbe IUDOWit of W1Selectea l.aDd In ita Wltlldrawal area. c~. 

about half' of lta selecUana were made ID SecaaD 11(&1(3) ddlcimey aelel:aGa areu maay DUiea frum tbe vt.llap. lD nc:eat appniaala. laDd selec:tiGaa Ill 

deftdency ucu haft been aaaa,ned lower valuee on tbe bMaa dl&t they are lar 

&om the vtllqe: tberdore their eCOilOIIUC value 11 not u arne aa tiiOM l.aadt 

tmmecUatcly adJacmt to the vtlla1e. Tbta vtllqe did oat request to maJia Us 

seleettoDI 1D a ddldeacy area far from the vtllqe sate: It...,.. reqwred to do 10 

under tbc terms aad CODdltlona of ANCSA. '1"be vt.Uaae eorponUOD ta p..--. 

because ita laDQ Ia located Within a dekleacy area. No otber place 1D the stUB 

hal there so mcy vtllqca stmtlariy pmaUzed by the selec:ttaa reqwremiDia of 

ANCSA u cloa die Calllta Region. 

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290 

The followtng actions should be taken to ensure that the economic value of land 

received under ANCSA Is not diminished because of unfair appraisal practtces: 

• Repeal or Amend Section 22fg) of ANCSA so that the language remoues federal agency control over the use and deveLopment of corporation Lands 

t.::~thtn nattDnal wildlife refuges. The language should restore to the 

corporattons their rtght to use their land as they prefer or to compensate 

them for the loss of their development rtghts. Such an amendment would 

enhance the usefulness of Native-owned land and Increase Native control over the lands they own. 

• Establish a policy to prohibit the practice of discounting Land values for 

land subject to the provisions of Section 22(g) of ANCSA. Corporations 

seeking to exchange or sell lands afft!Cted by Section 22(g) should not have 

the fair market value oi their lands reduced because they are subject to 

Section 22(g) of ANCSA. It Is uilfair to maintain that 22(g) lands are less 

valuable for economic development or other actiVities In order to lower the 

fair market value for exchan'le or acquisitlon purposes. The economic and resource values of the land remain the same whether or not the land ts 

subject to Section 22(JO. The current practice of "discounting" 22(g) lands 

in exchange should be stopped Immediately as It Is a gross Violation of the 

congressional purpose behind the passage of the land claims act. 

• Enact Legislation which establishes the fair market value for "in-Lieu" 

ANCSA Lands to be equaL to the vatu.~ of lands within the original townsh1p 

withdrawal area. when iJlcluded as p::trt of a land exchange or sale with the 

federal government. The practice of discounting In-lieu lands significantly 

dim1nished the real value of a corpor~ttion's land settlement. 

2. ASSURE THAT THE VALUE AND IN'!EGRITY OF THE ALASKA NATIVE 

CLAIMS SETTLEMENT ACT IS MAINTAINED - The Alaska Native Claims 

Settlement Act was meant to be the verJcle bv which Alaska Natives would 

become economicallv self-sufficient. Its success' has been ltm1ted. The Native 

corporations have spent years and m11llons of dollars trying to Implement the 

settlement act and obtain their entitlements under the terms of the settlement. 

The money given to the Native corporations under the settlement was used 

prtmartly for Implementing the settlement and correcting Inconsistencies and 

Inequities resulting from the language Incorporated Into the Alaska Native Claims 

Settlement Act. This Is espectally true tor village corporations. The Alaska 

Federation of Natives and Individual Na1jve corporations have had to go to 

Congress to obtain legislative changes to /.NCSA to make It more equitable and 

ensure that Alaska Nattves would receive what was promised to them under 

ANCSA. These same parties have found themselves In court numerous times 

defining vartous prOVisions of ANCSA at great expense. 

Once again. the settlement act must be e:cam.tned and amended so that Nativ•~ 

corporations can achieve the greatest benefit and control of their lands received 

under the settlement act. The followtng technical changes should be made to 

ANCSA: 

• Allow village and regional corpomtlOns which are underselected to select 

lands outstde of their original withdrawal areas so ttuu they I7UlY select lands 

28 
291 

needed ./Or .subststence or which. mav have resoi.II'Ce deuelapment .P0(8ndaL 

The Bweau of Laud Mana&ement Just approved an action to aiiGw the vm.p 

of Al1alduvulr. Pau to make und~ to fulfill their eat:ttlemeot uad• 

J\NCSA. Other 'Yllla&es and regiOnal corporauons shcrUld be gtYal the ume 

opponumty JlftD to Anaktuvuk Pall. 

• Amend sectiOn 14ld of ANCSA so ttwu ttw burden of eo~ w 

The 

I 4fd 

proceq 

recon~ 

of reeonveytng 

process 

land 

IS placed WldCI' on 

seeuon 

w stats 

14(cl 

and 

1.1 

fed6rtJJ. 

both very ~ c:xpeDitft 

and teebiUca.lly beyond the capadty of moat vtllqe eorporauoaa. Most 

vtUaae corporat10118 have not completed their 14(c) rct:OilVeyaDC:ea. Ita a result. a cloud remains on the Utle to botb the corporauon·s Uld the 14(cl 

clalmant'a land. malung 1t dtmcult for buatnesses to acqWre ftnancma for 

build1DI IJ1 the Villages. The c:outnac:uon of community projects ta often 

delayed becauac the Local government doea not bave clear tUle to the !aDd on wtm:h the project Will be located. IC the government w1l1 not auume tbc 

responiiSbWty of compleung the 14lcl proceaa. then. at a ID.JDSmWD, 

adequate funding and teclul1cal aqtataiJCe must be provtded to the vtllap 

corporatiOnS to complete the reCQDVc:yance process. 

• CondUCt a studJI to ewluau w equity of ttw A!Gakct Native Ctaun.s 

.seat.ment A.ct betwetn the uano11.1 Nau.v. c:orporcui«W. OVer the 1UC :n 

yean, it haa become apparent that some of the carporatioaa have proapend more than others. Slnc:e ANCSA wu meant to be a fa1r and eqwtabl.l 

settlement for aD Alaalca NaUvea. an effort sbculd be made to dctenDIDa 

what led to the suc:cesaea and Ca1lurea of the ANCSA corporaUODI. For 

!Dmple. Cook Inlet Regton. Inc. (CIIU), beneftted much man from MOL 

W.. than did SUU&&llng c~ like Calista. Ber1nl Sl:ralta. an4 Aleut. 

CIRI collected 113.272.00 per sbueboldCI' from NOL sales. wb1le Cal1ata 

collected 11.347.00. Benna Straits 115,601.00. and Aleut $940.00. MOL 

salea made Doyon and Sealaalca amona the moat proJltable corporauoa. 

throup 1990. or the .112 mtllioa no,on produced 1n real net ll:l.alme. 70 

percent was from NOL sales. Of the •te m1l11aD Sealaska produced. almOM 

all wu from NOL sales. IISER. December 19911. 

Acuon should be taken to remove t.nequtUea and cnaure that all 

c:orporaUou continue to thnVe and beaeflt under the tcrma of ANCSA. 

Posatble changes to ANCSA augbt tae!ude provtdtnS new surface land 

select1ona to thoae regional corporactoaa w.tuch dtd not rece1n: laad 

selectmaa under secuan 12(cl of ANCSA: estabblhlnl a proc:eu wbicb wtl1 

allow !aDd c:I:ICtlaD&ea to be completed wtdlout Conpallona! appronl: or prOYtdiDI 

settled aa Car +6 

a 

miJiloQ 

stmpllfled ac:rea proc:es1 

u the 

for 

llDal 

ammdlna 

acttlemcDt 

ANCSA. 

of A1uU 

A1tboup 

Natlft ~ C1aiiDa ; acurea raaamc from 100.000 to 60 IIISilion aaa wen cauldered. Judtlq on 21 years of the lmplementatton of ANCSA. 44 ID1Won acra wu DOC 

eaougb lalld to accomplish the purpoee of ANCSA. Slzty mi1IIDD ru:re~~ uaq have bem the proper acreaae necesaary to provtde botll the equity aad 

opportunt.ty lnteDded In the scttleiiiCDt. A l'l:91eW of the generoua CalllldiiD 

Nauve lancl sett1emenu mtght be adYtaable to dctei1DUUI wby tbaM 

settlementa tend to be much more geuroua thaD ANCSA wb!ch wu 

percetftd by 1IWly at tbe time or Its pu~qe to be Just and fair. It wun't m equal settlement for all Prav1diq addlUoaal acnqe m.y belp pnMdc 

equal opportun1Uel to all rq10111. 

a 
292 

• Re-examine the ANCSA 1985 Study prepared by ESG for the Depamnent 

of Imerior and make policy and technical changes to ANCSA recommended 

by the study. The study prepared an extensive list of technical changes to 

be tmpiemented to facilitate the :.mplementaUon of ANCSA. These 

recommendations were shelved and have never been considered for 

adoption. Til1s study should be reviewed and updated. if necessary, so that 

appropriate changes can be made to ANCSA to ensure that Alaska Nattves do 

continue to receive full benefit of the Alaska NaUVe Claims Settlement Act. 

• Reopen the 14(h}{l) selection prOCf.'ss so that regional corporations may 

select historical and cemetery sites which were located and identtj!ed qJter 

the ortgtnal selection period was closed. Numerous sites have been foundi on federal lands and there is great concern that the various federal agendes 

Will not be able to adequately protect and manage these sites from 

development actiVities. trespass. and looting. In several cases. a federal 

agency has disturbed a known site, because proper care was not taken to 

vertfy whether an area had 14(h)(l) selections pending. Due to 

construction activltles by the agency involved. several sites were sigruflcantly damaged by agency personnel. 

Implement an equitable process for mitigating conflicting land selections 

and mineral claims. Where state selections or m!n1ng claims conflict With 

Native selections. circumstances make 1t almost impossible to determine 

claim validity wtthout going through a lengthy litigation and adjudic.."ltton 

process, which may not ensure a fair settlement of the dispute. For 

example, in the Calista Region. the Native group Nogamutt is still without 

title to any land because their selection was conveyed to the State of Alaska. 

To date. effons to relocate or identify a new selection area for this group 

have been unsuccessful. 

3. USE LAND EXCHANGES TO ENCOURAGE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ON 

NATIVE-OWNED LANDS - Land exchanges proVIde two types of benefits. Flrst 

they proVide an affordable means to federal acquisition of Native-owned 

inholdings within national wtldllfe refuges. parks and wtlderness areas. Exchanges allow the Native corporations ':O select land wtth more immediate 

development potential or land that could be used to generate cash for the 

corporations. In turn, revenue earned from these lands could be reinvested by 

the corporations or be used to create jobs or business ventures in industries such as commercial fishing. mining, or real estate development within their region. 

Land exchanges have been a very effective tool for helping some regional 

corporations become more financially stable. For example. lands received by 

Cook Inlet Region. Inc. have been leased and are now producing natural gas. 

Arctic Slope Regional Corporation leases the oil and gas rights on lands they 

received as part of a land exchange. The importance of land exchanges should 

not be overlooked because they benefit not only Alaska Natives. but all residents of 

."'--aska and the nation. They g1ve the government a method for acquiring 

privately-owned lands needed to protect valuable wildllfe resources and help 

their public pollcy by proVIding economic opponuntties for Alaska NaUves. In 

tum, lands are made available for development that might not otherwise be 

developed. The folloWing actions should be taken to encourage land exchanges 

between Native corporations and the federal government: 

30 
293 

• PrcJmoM the UN of land eJCidtlJrlga to fuiffll the r.nn.s of ANC.s.t and ei1SUIW !hal Aluk.a Na.twa g« ct jQi.r and JU$t !.and Sea/.ernent Man, 1aDd 

exrh•np are pendlnl and shDuld be approved or at leut elcftted to a lcNI 

lnlurlDi that the !SlUe of land ca:baqtS Ia ODCC a&alD re'llewecl. Keepllll 

iJ1 miDd the or-c&r.al pwpote of ANCSA. tlJeee adlaqes shcN.Id be \1iWal aa an opuan or opportunity to meet these ortclnal a<W.. 1'be Wul 

settlement hu proven co be leu thaD equitable for a ~ oC reuana dUd 

in earlier cesumony and the 198!5 1tudy em ANCSA. L.md ezchantea c:a be 

uled to realiCJl ANCSA land scla:Uoaa so Nau.e corporauoaa recene 1.u1 more suitable far 1ub.tatenee acuvttlel aDd/or economiC dCYdupm.ect. 

• AUow Natrv. corponttiDns to ~ NCIUue-oulned l.a.nd.l for l4l1d.s ,_. 

uu}Ul jot' su.t.tstence aawwa and wl&ll grwaut ~pnwru pot..IDIIL 

The lmd selection process created aD ut1f1dal pattem of laDd uae ud 

ownenhlp that docan t retlcc:c the true needa of A1uka Nauvea. VUiate 

corporations had to select IIUids far from area. of tn.d.1Uoual usc:. 1bae 

IIUida are of Uttle use for subSiltmee becauae they are too far aw.y to be ol 

value to vtllqc: residents: they have ltttle subatatence ~ue: aDd they uauaDy have Uttle or no natural resource potent1al. In euence. the land Ia of 

mtnimum value. yet i t is supposed to be the corner.~tone for econolllic 

development for Nattve corporationa. 

A aec:ond inequny in tei"UUI of the ANCSA IaDet aelec:Uou II th.t arUidal 

bouadanes aacl barrier.~ atrecu:d lmd 8e1ecUon patterns. Ia some placiL 

wttbdrawal ueu for vtllaSe aelec:aoaa were reduced by cout l1Del. or l%1e11dlaD bouDdar1ea reduced the me ol a towDahtp from 38 scct10Da to lill: 

ICCUoDa. Some Calllca vllla&e corponttoaa ~ smaller -.ttbdrawal area 

than otber v1lla&ea In other re&U~nt. VUlaita were Umsted to teleetm& 

laDda oDly wtthm a deftned area arOUDd the Vlllqe. yet the normal paltml 

of l.lSC alaft8 rtvers was contrary to the r~uirement to make sc:JecUaDa 

Within the wttbdrawal areas. VUJa&el own land Inland from the nvcn aad 

coutbnes wbU:h IS not eaally accnalble or of areat value to the vtl1qe. lA ~nore developed areas of the state wttll road cODneCUcna. this wu DOt u great a problem because the 1aDI1 IS accesatble IUid haa dnelopaaat 

pounuaL Hcnmoer, in the Calilta Aepm these J.a.nGs are of little value 

czept for subldatence acUvtUes lmd lA some 8I'CIU may be doubtful that tbe 

laDda ~any subl<enc:e value. 

Vllla&e corporationa such as Ekluma.. NiD11cbJk. Hoonab. SeldOYta.. IOukwU. 

Kotzebue. aDd other more urban VI1Jqca haft heeD mucb more sua:eaf\11 

because of theaJ' pi'Olllmlty to traaaponaaon fadlltsea: tbetr Ianda bae biCb ec:onoauc de'l'dopment potendal; oc they owu sublblml&l •urface raoun:e. 

ruch u Wilber. 'lbe beneflta of luld elll:ban&a CUl be qwta areac to • 

corporadoa. For example. CIR eanaecl tbRe Ullles tlle net InCOme of ~ 

atber COilJOI'&UoD tbrougb 1990. Mudl ol that net lnCOale wu !'rom sale ol 

oil and IU leasa on la.n41 It acquin!d througb a la.Dci trade wttb tbc atate 

and federal aovemments USER. December 19911. 1be small rural vUl.IIM 

cyplc:al ol westem Aluka are flowldeJ1DC and. If poUdel aDd ~ _.. n.ct lmplemCDted to make manaalftC their Ianda IUid corporauoaa eutar. 

baDllrupa:y wUl be !Devttable. 

31 
294 

• Promote use of land exchanges to encourage economic development 

Encouraging and supporting land exchanges In western Alaska Is espectally 

critical for the Native corporations In this region. since few opportunities 

for economic development exist presently. Land exchanges are one way 

that corporations may obtain lands more suitable for economic 

development. 

AUow acre for acre land exchanges on lands selected by the village 

corporations so chat village corporations may realign their selections to more realisttcaUy reflect their actual use and occupancy of lands arouru:t the 

village and also facilitate management of lands owned by the uillage 

corporation. VIllages were limited to selecting lands from a 25 township 

Withdrawal area. The lands selected may not have been lands that were traditionally used by the villages. As a result of the selection llmttatton, 

villages were often forced select lands which were of little use or value to 

the village, except that they were wtthtn the ll(a) Withdrawal area. 

• Simplify the land exchange process so that land exchanges between the 

Native corporatiOns and federal government may be negotiated directly with 

the Secretary of Intenor or other appropriate agencies. Under the present 

system. federal land exchanges Involving ANCSA lands typically require 

Congressional approval. By gtvtng the Secretary of Interior clearer and more direct authortty to do exchanges. the cost and amount of time 

Involved In completing a land exchange could be substantially reduced. So 

long as exchanges require Congressional approval. they will be subject to 

politics. delays, and being over-ridden by other issues or Interests. 

In the next few years. village residents tn the Calista Region face an ever Increasing student-age population. Parents and education professionals will have 

to decide the focus and direction of the village education system. I.e .. do the schools teach children skills which will allow them to compete In college and the 

urban job market. or do they teach students the skills necessary for survival and coping wtth village life? Schools In the Calista Region are once again becoming 

the focal point of community attention. The Molly Hootch decision. which 

resulted In education coming to the villa ~es. has not produced the favorable 

results hoped for by its proponents. Schools In the regton are proVing to be 

Inefficient. and they isolate students from experiences needed to cope In the 

modem world. Test scores for Alaska NatlYe students In urban areas are higher 

than those for students In the vtllages. Unless change occurs In the village 

schools. students from the Calista Region cannot depend on the present 

educational system to teach them life skills or act as a springboard for opportunity. Neither a high school education nor a colleg~ diploma guarantees 

that an lndlvtdual will find and secure a job tn the village. 

The distances between rural villages and the lack of roads make tt difficult to 

provide a well rounded educational opportunity to all of the youth of Alaska. 

Students that remain In the villages for educational tratntng through high school 

flnd tt dlfficult to communtcate due to differences In educational experiences and use of language. Moreover. the cumculum often does not relate to the rural 

environment, consequently students tn the villages find tt difficult to learn 

Without the benefit of direct experience or parttdpatton. 

32 
295 

l"or those students not tracked Into colleae. rural educauon c:umculum o1teD 

does not prepare students to make a succeuful tranii.UOn from school to work. 

'.1llage sc:tLoola graduate students With low bul.c siUlll In readilllo math. aDd 

communkaUOoa, and lltUe relevant wori: matunty sk111a. Oenerallv, studenu '!av~ limited awareness of career opportun1Ues and optiooa ail4 lack the 

prerequ1a1te s.kWa and trauuna necessary to enter and succeed ll1 vanaua occupauou.. 

Students CODdnC from vtll&ge high schools have great dlmculty competm& at the 

college level due to inadequate baai.C sk1lle. such u readinJ comprebenslGD. 

wrtt!ng, aDd lanauage. Very few students from the calllta Reg1oD make It throuib 

four yean of eolfeae. and II they clo. there usually are no jobe for them back In the 

VIllage. Coauequently, for young adults wiMID8 to stay In the vtllage, there 11 little 

Lncenttve to get a collcSe cducauon. 

Other problems aaaoctated wtth vtllage education are that schools an: often 

understa.tfed and the teachers expectattons for students are low. .Recent naJ:1oDal 

studies In education have shown that. if a teacher hal low expectatiooa of 

students' ablllttes. the students W\ll normally perform at lower levela tbaD 

studenu who have teachers that have hllb expectations. VIllage schooll are not 

able to offer a c:umculum as broad ancf diverse as reponal or urban sc:hooJa. 

consequently, students wtth specta.l leam1n!J needs do not receive proper 

teachln& and tralninl- In addition. vocational programs are VIrtually nou-asatmt 

In VIllage scboola. Low academu: standards pervade them. Aa a g~neral rule, It 

hu been fOUild that educatiOn 1n the V1llqea In the caliata Rqjon II sublt&Ddard 

by St:ate standania (MI.IS, 1992), 

Unlesa circumstances and vtllage economJel change In the yean ahead, molt 

young N&Uft adulta who want work wUl have to move from theb' Villa&• tO 

locations w~ jobs exist. If the move Is to urban areaa of the state, these 

tndtvtdua.la wtll find themselves at a tremendous disadvantage because tlleSJ' 

education has not properly prepared tbem to coml)ete In the labor market Wltb 

indMdual from urban areas. Compet!nt In Alaalul'a labor market requlrea more educauon than compettna In labor mar.IU:tS elsewhere In the nation. 11le Aluka 

work force Ls more profess1on-ortented and techn1cally eqwpped thaD the 

natiOnal work force (AFN, 1989). 

Most lssua coucernma Native educal1oa do not lnapll'e 1m•11n•ttve raeudl or program dnelopment. EducatJonal dedaSOR·maldlll lD AJaai:a 11 locaUieel In 

or 

most 

!echnlcal 

school 

expcrt1M 

dlatncta, aacl 

to mount 

small new rural 

prop-ama 

acbool dlatl1Ct. 

or to CI'VBluate 

do not have 

pro&raJilS 

the ~ 

ao tbat 

cumulative lalowledJe becomes avaalable. A1ukaD .ulliftrmttee aDd gonrnmcnt 

agendea baYe not developed new approacbea to Nauve educattoa. Crudal aacl 

persistent ilaua lD Native cducauon need to pin an important pJace lD tbe 

publ1c"s eye. WUh re1earch and program deftlopment bued on new tdcu aDd 

technl.ques, subauuusal progress can be made 10 llllprove edtlcattoll In the V111qa. 

Many effectlye proiJ'BDlS have been developed to add.reU the educational Ud 

cultural needs of Aluka Natl\'e studenta. But the small SIZe of maay runl commwuua and sebaol dlatrtcta. the strea c:auMd by rapid cultunl c:11aa1e. and 

the tenaiOD between Native and non-Natlft values sUll ereata problems wbiA:Il 

33 
296 

need attention. The followinl! are actions which should be taken to address 

education related problems factng Alaska Natives. 

l. ESTABLISH AN EDUCATION DELIVERY SYSTEM WHICH MEETS THE 

SPECIFIC NEEDS OF ALASKA NATIVES IN WESTERN ALASKA - The ex1Stlnl! 

··i!lage o::ch.,ol systems. for the most part. do not adequately prepare students for 

the competition and the soctal and cultural lifestyle they will encounter in larger 

communities and urban areas. Nor do they promote pride in the Alaska Native 

cultures. The present educational system locating primary and secondary 

schools In every village ts not working. The quality of education In Village schools 

is declin1ng rather than improVIng, while the cost of providing education in the 

villages Is escalating. The folloWing actions should be considered as a way to 

improve education 1n villag(t Alaska: 

• Evaluate the effectiveness of bush schools to prepare students to compete 

at the college or rmiversily level or in vocatiOnaL training. 

• Continue Head Stan and other eariy chUdhood development programs tn 

elementary schooLs in the ~·illages. Elementary education should continue 

at the local level because children should remaJ.n at home during the 

formative years developing culturally and personally within the family and 

village society. 

• EstabLish a VIsta or Peace Corps .:ype program stmUar to Teachers for 

America now operating in the lower 48 states. The Department of 

Education must look at alternative methods for attracting dedicated 

teachers into the rural communities and provide these teachers With 

Incentives to stay In the communities. One way to do this ts to provide loan 

forgiveness benefits to teachers who stay and teach In the Villages for five 

years or more. Another way ts to recruit teachers from the villages. 

Recruitment can be accomplished by financing, vta a state teachJng 

scholarship fund. the education of students from the villages who WiSh to 

become teachers. 

Provide grants and research money to universities with educatton 

programs to develop curriCuLums. teaching materials. and education 

techniques relevant to rural Alaska. 

• Undertake a study which wUl document the effecl!veness of blculturnt 

and btllnguaL programs in rural schooLs. Current information is needed on the educational nature and quality of bilingual and bicultural programs in 

schools servtng rural students and the extent of community and student 

satiSfaCtion With those programs. 

• Develop a vocatiOnaL educatiOnaL program for rural students with a focus on local tndustry (exiSting and potenttaU. An effective rural resource training system must be developed for villages. if the subsistence lifestyle is 

to surVive and vtllages are to be competitive wtth other areas of the state. as well as economically self-sulftctent. 

Establish summer camps and summer education programs which 

prepare students for the job market and involve students in the sciences at 

an early stage in their educatiOnal experienCe. 

34 
297 

• DeueiDp lnalnUUes for studerus to r.rNW1 in sdiDoi ID complaW ca .ud 

brzslc CfWI::alt.on whldt wiLl open Tnaltfl doors ID tlwlm for ~in(l c:ruwra or go#nQ ro CDilege. For example. In one school. students receiVe pr=a for 

reading a number of bookl eacl:l month. By the end of the proJecc. atudean 

had read ewer 40,000 paaes and were readul& at or above tbe1r aq~eelld 

read1Dilevel. The total cost to tile school wu leu than •10,000 Cor tbe 

project. 

• Inuatlgelte tM use of altemauu. cetu:hi.ng l'11ltiiDds and techn.lqua. 

Studmta could be taught special educatiOn chAea 1D math. sdlllal. or other subjecta vta tc:lmalon. 1be uaiYenlty system h.u successfully UMd 

telecommwucauons systems to teub students outatcle ot the claurooaL 

Another posatbWty Is educattona.l vtdeo recordtnp dtatnbutton to tbo 

schOOIL nu. tecbnJquc: would be good for teaehtn8 students about unSque 

subjecu, such as the Alaska Nauve Clau:aa Settlement Act or natwal 

reiOW'CC manaaemc:nt as It appUa to ci:Uldreo. 

2. PllOGIIAD WBICIII'IlOJIOft OR DIPROVE J:ntTCA'nOJI OUTim& Or 1D 

VILLAGES IIBOtTLD 88 CONUDI&UD FOR TDDl POTEI'ITIAL BDDli. TO 

THE tD11C&TION or OUil NAT&VB STUDICI'ft'l • 

• E.mmirW thAt berw./fU to be gcziMd from cscabU:thlng reg~Dnat jUIIJDt' and 

seniDr high. schools tn r~toruJl centers, rc&tMr than operacc.q, a 

jv.nlllt' I seniDr hiQh l'diDol In a..r,-v uCUGQe. I..ar&er ICboola ean pi'CMd8 awn 

vanety ID c:JasiCI. offer dltferem lnet. or tnatruc:UDn (apectal educadall. 

gsftcd clauea. culturally ada-pted c:luaes), attract bJ&b quality tead!as. aDd 

operate more cost effec:tSvcly. Student& W1ll be su.rro\II1Cied by a 1camlu 

eDvt.nllliDellt tbat wtll prepare them ror the en.vtronmem they wdl 

encounter whe:a they attend college or voc:·teeh schools. 

• Impl6menr a state schDiarstttp or loan program with forgtJJen.aJ bcN!/11 

beil1g gi"GGW!d ro Alaslca Natw. studmtU wi'ID get educmion a.g,.. Clnd 

return to tlv ud~Gges and teach for a mtntnwm of 11»- !1«117· Greater eSoru 

need to be made to get Alaska Nattre studenUI tbrougb eoUe&c and bacle tD 

tbe vtlla&e to teach. In 1991, only ~ percent of the total numbsr or teacb.ena statewide were A1alka NU1Ye. 

' 'l'We!lty·•~n (271 tJ1ba1 colleaca curre:atly exsat on or near IDdJAD 

Reservaaan 1n the United States. Each 11 ettllel' acc:red1tecl or •eeldi!C 

accreditlldoa. ODe such colleae 1n chc state ot A1uka JDilbt pnmde a 1110n 

comfortable or sUitable en'flrOnment wbScb could better meet the specs.l 

:lftda ol A1aUa Natl'le students. Altbauiho tbe e:ldltilll unmnttr P~ 

In Alaall:a may eoaunuc: to be a prderable opt101l Cor IIIUIY Aluka Ratlft 

stude:atl. tbere may be a larp enoulb AJub Native stu.de:at popW&aoa 

Interested tn an A1uka Native Colle&e to JuMtfy ~ exl.lteace ot sucb • lniUtuttOQ. A (eutbWty study to aetenalne fuucllnl sou.rca. potaaal 

enrollmentl and the menta of such a propoul sbau..ld be !un.ded ta 

lnftSttpta UU. pouibWty. 

31 
298 

SOCial/Cultt.qal Issues 

The Calista Region is the poorest region in Alaska as measured by income. 

physical adversities due to geographical ~. solation. and extremes In weather 

iMMS. 1992). The Yupik people ot the Calista Region are experiencing a cultural. 

social. and economic transition marked· by the loss of traditional ways and the 

adoption of new technologies. social forms. knowledge. and Ideas. TIJJ.s transition 

is painful because many persons. bereft of some of the traditional customs and 

habits. have difficulty adjusting to current pressures on family. the need for 

formal education. and the adjustments to government-dependent local 

economies. 

In spite of the cultural upheaval facing the Yupik people. they have demonstrated a substantial commitment to maintaining their traditional subsistence ll!estyle. 

The ability of the Yupik people to maintain a subsistence way of life in 

combination wtth a cash economy depends on several factors, including the 

degree and timtng of resource development. the Immigration of people from 

other areas Into the region. and the a·•allablllty of jobs In the villages. 

Furthermore. the subsistence lifestyle ts very dependent on a continued supply of ·.,ildlife resources which can survwe increasLJ.g consumptive demands. 

People in the villages are trytng to find a balance berween th.e old ways and the new ways. Because full-time wage work Is v•!ry scarce in the villages. residents of 

the Calista Region still have strong cultural and economic ties wtth the 

subsistence way of ll!e and are likely to main.tatn these ties in the n:ture. unless 

their economic well-being Improves dramatically In the next few years. 

The folloWing actions should be taken to address some of the soCial and cultural 

problems facing Alaska Natives. 

l . PROTECT SUBSISTENCE RIGHTS FOR ALASKA NATIVES - The state and 

federal governments must continue to work wtth Alaska Natives to ensure that 

Alaska Natives continue to have the rtght: to practice subsistence activities. 

Subsistence activities are an integral part cf the Alaska Native culture and the 

foundation of the village economic system. Without subsiStence. Native village ll!e as we know It will not survive. In order to er:.sure the continuation of subsistence. 

improved opportunities for rnanagtng subsistence resources must be 

implemented. Village economies. based on resource harvesting activities wtth 

fewer limitations on access. control and commercial use of subsistence resources. could support a significant population in rural Alaska. TIJJ.s may be accomplished 

by taking the folloWing actions: 

• Ensure more participation by Alaskll Nattves in subsiStence management 

decisions and grant more local village control over subsistence activities. 

TIJJ.s may be accomplished by requiring that Alaska Natives be appointed to 

advisory boards and commissions which establish policies. directives and 

regulations affecting subsistence act!vi Jes. 

• Protect subsistence preference rigtls for Alaska Natives by enact!ng 

legislation which continues the protec~ions and provisions established by 

Title VIII of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA}. 

36 
299 

o Cotutnue tlw ruraL prejema for subN~ aatvltta on pubUc Iandi 

asenttal to proteCting tM r'i(lht.s of A.Wka .vattua to pracu.:e w subs~StC~C~t !lfaqjle common rD uLI.IaQe I'Uider!U. 

• Amana tM Mf41rarory Bird 'Trl!atV Aa to aJIDw for spr111g ·~ 

ltunt.t. In the spnns before fta!UnC be&IIY. 111eat ta m very Um1ted aul'lllY. 

ReturnJJ1& lllJCl'&tory blrcll are one of the few proteUl 80\U'CCI a~ 

clw1ng that w:ae of year. 

0 Recwzhor1M th6 Ma.t'tM Mammal ProtactfOn Act so th4t AkukG Nat;tua 

can connnu. 14 /tum l!'l4r'lne rnantiTIGl:l for susurlUUIQt and subs~ 

pwposa. 'tbe act's current prov181.oaa md polides should not be repea1ec1. 

• Imple!Nnt a pulXIc edu.c:I:Won program about subsiSr.enc.. 'tbere mu.t be 

a better WlderaWlding of what a subllateac:e W'eatyle IS. and wb&t lt takel to 

eztst wtttun a subltstence Uleatyle. Th1l understand1n& la needed not oaly 

by all AluUnl. but allo thote Uvtn& outside of Alaalta. whD try to lmpaee 

thelr vtewe on Aluka Nat1Ves. ille Alulca populaUOn 111 a. bJ&hJy UUI.IXDt 

one. A large percentage of that popuJatloa never leaves the road sy~tem. 

They know little about Alaska Nattves or their cwture. Sub!Uateace ID1Ibt 

be an eu&er tdea to lieU t! the stgniAcance of subslltence acuvttlea 'llfla'e 

better understood. 

• I~ Natlull prefere~ legjSkWon for sUWJ and fed.crcl lena. f/ tlw 

state dan nor lmplerMnt a sc.ar. consrttutfOnat amcndlrtent protM:ttn(l 

sub&UtA!nc:e rf4hts for Al4ska Na.tiultfl, U tbc State of AlaU& Will oat act to 

protect Nauve subeteteoce rtgtlta. then Congress shoUld ame.n4 'rule VtU ol 

the Alalka NaUoo.al Interest Landa CoaaernaUoD Act tANlLCAJ to &ram 

subllltence rtghts spectfytn& to Alaska Natives: revoldng the run1 

preference light. Only Alaska Natl:fts would have a rl&ht to contUWe 

substatence acavtues uJU1er ANT1.CA. 

In 1989 and a&al.D 1n 1991. Caliata CorponlUOil found the !llost preslln& needs of 

the region to be 1n beaJth. educatiOn. 11Duesag and fadlluea. and soctal servtas. 

The moat fundamental need. hoWner. IS tile need !or development of local vsl1qc 

ec:onomtes. Economtc development cannot occur unless there are adequate 

housing. johl. and safe and rel.iablc sewu aJlCI water systema. In adc11Uoa. tbe 

Rtgton needs a rdlable tranaportatlon system. Many vt11qe &1J1'0r1: !adlitta are In poor condition and safety and re1labWty are below standania. El.ectrU::.J power 

supplies aDd telephone systems must be made more reliable and afrol'dUI&e. 

Health care !KWtsee aDd scrnce11 need to be expanded and IDodemiZed. 

Housing In tb.e Calista Rqton IS d~lorably IUb-acawiard. Most fiuldUee Uft m crowcted and poor concuuons. ror example. tbe avera11e number of pet*ma per 

houeehold In the Cal1ata VIllages Ia 4.9, compared to tbc natiOnal average at 2.2 

penona. In 191H. the State of Alaeic& Department of Community and~ 

AIIairs reported that 97 percent of Caiiata Rqson had no Indoor plumbiDI- 91 

pereent laclted nmn1n& water. 19 pereem of the houaee n•ded to be n~pkll:al 

because of Ova'C1'1)Wdlzl& and poor condittOD. and the average UVU2S spll':e per 

!louse waa 661 equare feet compared wtth the 11?ft11C far A1uka oll,l62 lqWift 

feet. tMWS. 19931. 

37 
300 

Compared wtth other regions in Alaska. the Calista Region has the largest number 

of villages. the largest Alaska Native population. and one of the highest costs for 

proViding health care. The people of the region experience the highest 

incidence of major diseases when compared wtth any other regton in the United 

States. Tubero.:uioSis. meningitis. and hepatitis occur in the Calista Region in 

trequenctes far exceeding those elsewhere in the nation (MMS. 1992). Outside of 

Bethel there are no pnvate phystctans in the Calista Region. 

The availability of utilities-- electricity. water. sewer. saUd waste disposal, and 

telecommunications-- affects both the quality of life in the villages and the 

potential for economic development in the region. Without these baste semces. which urban residents take ior granted. life in the Calista vtllages Is dtftlcult and 

at times even llfe threatening. 

Safe and reliable water and sewer systems extst in a few vtllages. and even in 

those Villages. the systems are marginal. at best. These systems must be 

upgraded to reduce health hazards and mlnimtze the effort required to haul water 

and safely dispose of wastes. A safe and adequate water supply is cructal to 

support fish processing. the economic mainstay of the Calista Region. It Is also 

needed to proVide saie drtnking water to vtllage residents and reduce the chance 

of infection from diseases. such as hepatitis and meningitis. 

The folloW111g actions should be taken to begin to correct the vartous health 

problems in the vtllages and mtnlml7~ rhe nsk of the problems getting worse. 

1. ENSURE THAT THERE IS SAFE AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING IN '1"'IE 

VILLAGES - Housing IS woefully inadequate in the vt!lages-o{ Alaska. The quality 

of housing Is substandard. Over-crowding Is commonplace. Watttng periods for new housing are dependent on timing of new multiple unit projects and supply 

lags behind need and demand. Even new houses lack rumung water and indoor 

plumblnlJ tf these systems are not present In the Village where they are constructed. Poorly maintained heating systems cause excessive home heating 

costs. .Yiost houses constructed under current programs use matertals from other 

locations. and do not create local jobs. HUD regulations need to be changed to 

recogruze the uniqueness of Alaska. to allow for designs specifically made for 

Alaska. using Alaskan materials where available. and vtllage labor to manufacture 

and construct homes. 

The current programs and policies for providing housing to Alaska Natives in 

rural Alaska are not meeting the needs of the people. The need for houstng in 

rural vtllages Is rapidly increasing. Instead of Importing companies from outside 

the Villages to build houses wtthin the vtllage, programs should focus on ustng resources and people in the "illages to construct homes or make renovations. 

Such an approach would proVide badly needed jobs in the vtllages. promote pride 

In home ownership, and proVide on-the-job training. Housing programs in rural 

Villages. 1f properly Implemented and organiZed. can become a form of economic 

development employing local workers in an on-going project that would include 

both new construction and maintenance of exiSting housing project unl,ts. The 

folloWing actions should be taken to Improve extsttng housing programs: 

• Revise CFR 7(b) laws that require NatLve htre for federaL houstng 

programs to mandate that contractors htre local workers. Construaton jobs 

38 
301 

/M hDuaiJV projects ore unponant sources of emp~Dy!Nrnt ln uCUGQa w-. 

fa» }01» aut. 

• ~n srnau.er. tonger-rerm ~ projects In eadt utllaQe chaz ~ 

~n of fnJU UI\UJ r-r year ouer a fOngfn' projea ttnw span. l"aaalm 

W.. prqJcr.s ajt6r thll regional. houi(MQ cut/IDI1t~S" "bum~UC" pnlfiRIII' 

wlwlre smaU proJ«U .alng locaL b~ or grou,n wor1c on two M CfiNI 

unUs In a ulllaQr eadiiJear. <AmpleUon of a few umta each year over lf:ftnl 

yi!U'I, ID.IteaQ ot up to 24 unltl all at onee. \YOUJd provtde a stable JII'OII'Dl 

ot auar•taed empJoymcnt acb11!YabJe by local conatrueaan crew. wbo woald 

dC9elop a &ood woriWl& lalowledle of their vtllage's houatne constnlc:tiaD. 

• Impiemeru more jleJCiblll bu.ildtng CDdea and .speca for thll ua• Qj 

ll'lllt.frfllb and con.tructlon wlltch aU.Ow for tlw ua• of llviDucltWe 

technologies and ctntgn.S deuefoped ro lllftt thlr cllmcutc condttfMg cnt 

neect.t of dtJTft"ent pcutS of thlr stat& The standard1zed matenal alld delltD 

specs reqWI'ecl by ftnanctal lnsUtuUona for meeuD,I loan reqwremaua aDd 

federal reaulaUons relatinl 10 COn.ltl'UCUOD ancf deaigD IIWl1ZDJZe. aDd 

sometimes even p~nt. the use of alternatiVe matertall or c:onscruc:tiDD 

tedln1quea. More flClQblc specs and buUdln& codes for conscruc:uoa lD 

rural areas woUld make It easter to adapt home destgns and maten&la to 

loca.l ..... 

• IUtM• fedcraJ. and stllU corurcu:MQ proce1w. /M hDwllnf pTOj«<a· so 

UW r~ ~illfl cw.UIDI'UWI c:an c:orura.cx wUh. u~ c:orpGr'IUIDn. IRA 

or tradltiDnal c:Dwu:t.IS. or LndWiduaLI to consaw:t houses In th.e uC11afe. 

Then cntltlea are more llkety to hlre local vtJJace n:stdeata tllaD 

canstrucUOD c:ompansca from outside tbe vtllqe. 'Ibq alao have a paa.r stake tn the tiDal product and have the areatest lnceattve to premiSe tba 

best homes poutble. 

• Bnng housl11(1 wuts in chlr uilkzg.. up to a.ce.ptG.bk M<llth and tcifftu 

st4ndcra. A progam should be eatatJlilhecl wtuc:h allow• lndtvsduala aDd 

the reatoaal hoU8Uif1 authority to get Jnlntl to brtn& homes lllt.O c:ompllaace 

wtth state safety, bealtb. energy and bW1dtD& codee. 

• Inq:Urlwru a h.orrwowners «tl.lalltGn program which. t.ld1a 111d.1Wiua.W 

h.ow to maintAin a h.om11 Cll\d dD sunpte honw nrpcww. MOCUfy HUD aDd 

A1alka State Hou~&~~~ ~ 10 dlat lnd1Ytdua1 hoDieoWDen can pedna 

repm work roUowusg proaram gu&deimee ucl codca. The llea:ultJ' 1br 

lmPQrUDI non-vtUa&e labor for repair work would be ellliUDatecl Uld 

llldMdu&la could obta&D sii1Ua necaa&IT to mamtaD\ their bo-. Sudl a pracram could be coanltDatal throulh 8L\. IHS. ASHA. &ad HUD. 

• Educate tl\8 Ala.aka SUU. Houlltg Auillontu and federal. h.ouan, 

progruma, wUil thll goat qf craru111Q .fl.ct1bdlbJ !n ~en, loan cud JI"GG"C'Cft 

.fundblll crllerfa. to al!Dw for ~mt2tfUe or IMDucut&le fiDutnQ QIRICn.ICCton 

tiChnl:liogC... New eneriJ•MvtAI 11114 coet·etrectlft tec!moloiia wtlb 

demoaatrated appjlcauoo lD Nl'll1 AlaUa an prc-empUd rtom boUiq 

PIVCI'Uia becauae borr'owas cumat &et Joana to build or pun:bUe b.aUaea 

~ U.e tedmalo&IH. 

31 
302 

• Conttnue the furuitng of programs which encourage energy consenxu10n 

and home weatherization so that homes are made energy-e.fjident. tlws 

helping reduce power costs tn the villages both to individuals and to the 

communtty. 

• Glue contractors who build houses in villages under federal and state 

houstng programs a financial incentive co htre locally and. whenever 

possible, buy marerials and supplies from local bustnesses and suppUers. 

Construction jobs for housmg projects can be a very tmponant source of 

local employment In villages that have few jobs available. 

• Promote the use of local contractors and hire village residents to worlc on 

housing projects. If the construction design of a house is labor IntensiVe, it 

should use local labor and materials rather than bringing In materials and 

workers from outside of the region. 

• Implement and furu:J. a nuat home loan program which allows indfvtduals 

living in rural areas w obtatn loans to build homes on thetr own. using thetr 

own designs and local matertals. wUhoUL approval or control by the regtDnal 

housing aULhorutes. Due to Income requirements. building code standards. 

and other criteria more appropriate o urban areas. few if any, rural 

residents are able to quality for home construction loans through the Alaska 

State Hous1ng Loan program or conventional home financing programs 

available at commercial bank and mortgage companies. Consequently, many 

Individuals are unable to secure the necessary financing to build the!:' ow:: home. Instead. they must llve In over-crowded conditions. until the local 

housttlg authonty builds new homes in the village. and even then there ts no guarantee they wtll get a home. 

• Deuelop and implement a homeowru!r public education program. This 

could be a coordinated effort between the Alaska State Housing Authority 

and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Rural 

residents need information on how to obtain a loan. participate in regional 

houstng programs. and matntain or Improve their homes. ~ost vtllage 

residents have d.lfilculty understanding all the quailllcation cntena and red 

tape involved In quallfytng for a home. The home quallflcation process 

needs to be sl.mpllfted. 

• Examtne current home loan program regulations and reulse the 

regulattons to allow for grearer jlextblllty tn butldtng and code standards tn 

rural Alaska. Flexible codes do not Imply mtntmal or unsafe codes and 

construction. instead the codes and programs must be made more 1lexible so that vtllage residents can construct homes more cost effectiVely and more sUited to the rural llfestyle. 

• Implement and furu:J. a program for Individuals so that they may renovate 

or improve owner-occupied homes tn rural Alaska. Rural residents do not 

have the luxury of applytng for home equity loans or other conventiOnal 

financing to fix their homes or Improve them. The state and federal 

houstng programs should include low-cost loans and allow for in-kind 

contributions for labor In exchange for money to renovate, weatheriZe or otherwise Improve an owner-occupied home. 

40 
303 

2. ~ a&n W~ .vm IAIU'fA1'1011-FACII.nDII Dl AU. C:OIIili1JMIIA 

wrru IVBI'I'AIIJLWD oa KOHUillrDr lftftll8 - 1t1e ne.t rar Mit ecwaand water ~ Ill many vtJlqn b.u hit a crtUC&l mel. 'Ibal 11 no Jaacc:r a 

··porv. barrel Nndlaa JUue: it Ia one of life and death. Prot1dJna ufe ..,.. &lid sewer syacema muat become a number one pr!Grity for stat~: aDd federal qeDC~S 

responatblc for provtdlnl such commuruty scn1ca aDd prot.ccana publlc health. 

safety and 'WOI!Ilare. At a IDUiimum. tbe foiJowiD& ac:uoaa mlQl be ta'kCD: 

• Irwttt11t11 cz pnlgi'Qm /OT fi,uvl.lllrg wortcabl8 II1DaQc .!N1W11r and wat.r= ./tlr all ~ whJdi. either diJ not haw cz war. or sammaan ~tam or tlw svar.m 1.1 consflUrwd ·~ttu1d4rd bv tnacMm heaUit. cud sQ/~ Randard.l cznd coda. Federal Qd ltate f'uadiDC aaence• ncecl to 

collaborattvely plan wtth vtlla&es and reatonal enutiea to tc1mafy Uld 

cozatruct coat et!ective syetema aad Implement OIIIOiDg mamteD&D&:e 

programa to keep them operauag salely. 

• lmpl•rrwru a program w/Uch. ensures thAt euetJI communttv 1141 

conttnuoua cznd eonsl.lt.mc acc:aa to tec:nntall a.sscatanca and tn:W\UIQ jar 

utUUy IT1Gna(lers ana operaEOn. FUDdlnl for thae acuvtucs muat be 

provided at rcaliatic and practicalleftla on an on-go&ac buts. 

• ln.unr eontiiW.rlnee of ctw Indian ut-at~ program jor wuteu~C~t~r 

fadUIJ} ~ and reestabltsll ttw sa-ast;W czmounr jbr Alcslca czt n 

prevtaua r.wf qf OM peranL Thia 1DO!M7" spedftcally sbould be dedleabld 

to fundlac projeCts ill Alaska. 

• eonucnc. EPA to maa JU1111ln41 czooGabW jbr fnd~Ufng coct.app,.,. 

health 

wrwrr and 

and .santlatlon 

~ •!Jstems 

coda. 

and upgradf.ng ~ syawms to ~ 

3. PllO'mCT AJ.A8U NATIVB COitPO&AnOif8 J'&OM LlABII.JTr roa 

HAZAitDOU8 WM'I'D Olf CORPO&A'fmli' LAJID8 • Lad ID many vUiqea bM 

been cootamUiated over the yean by fuel OSl SlliJla, &Ubalc dumpa. ....,. lagoons. aullt.ary diapoal 11te1. and otber actlvttlel. fa adihtsaa. some laadl 

transf!!ITI!d by the federal &cwemmeat to NatSVe carporadaaa under AHc:sA hat~ 

been found tD be coatammated wtth huudoua suba~ 'lbese ccm .. rptn•W 

lands preeeat safety, econamu:. lepl. aad lSablllty problellg wtUdl ,:"""•*" ~ermiDe the IDteat of AHCSA. They Jeopu'da tbe bealtb and ·bema o1 

11llqe lftldalca ADd pllce a potentially tmpol&tlle ftnenctaJ burclea OD tile Ndft 

corporattoDa ud Yillqe aovemmeata If tl1ey are he!d rapoaaible (or coadUdlllf 

clean-up opcraaoaa. 

It ls u~ ta a:pec:t the Nadft c:orpcntlaDI ta c:leu UP. Jaada wbich tMr 

had no part 1D "'"temtne-., At the same tuDe. tbey sbauldD t be held liable Cor 

sp11la and buardoua eubetaaca wb&cb oa:aned or were plaCed 011 t.ba lad 

before it waa traaafen'ed ta the Natlft c:Gr1KiftUaaL Oae liab&Jlt)' lawntt or clall• 

up operauoo would banluupt moat Nauve COI1*"&tioaa Ill tbe state. 1"111 

govemmat baa an obl1paon to protect tlul NaUYe c:orporatioaa froaa llabiiU)o 

cla.1ala and UHpttcm atemmln& &om a=naca far wblcll tbcY bad aa llllawledll or d1d not paraetpatc Ill. 

1b1s potma.IIor IS&bWt)' bu caUMd c:arporaaaaa. IDducttac C&lfat& corporaaoa. 

not to accept Utle to laade thq scJectecL For eampJe. Tile ltuakDkwtaa 

41 
304 

Corporation ('I'KCJ and Callsta Corporation are entitled to lands In t.ile Red Devil area. but have refused to take conveyance to these lands In spite of their m1Deral 

potential because of the potential presence of hazardous materials left on the 

lands from historic mining activities. Under the current strict llabillty laws. if 

Native corporations take title to these lands. the corporation could be held liable 

for any future cleanup associated Wlth these lands. A clean-up of this magnitude 

Is beyond the financ1al capabilities of TKC or Callsta Corporation. So long as these 

llablllty laws remain In effect. the Uablllty rtsks are too great for Native 

corporations to accept. 

The followtng actions should be taken to address the problem of hazardous wastes 

on Native-owned lands: 

• Pass and implement legiSlation which requires the government to 

remove hazardous substances from Nattve-owned lands or replace 

contaminated lands transferred by the government to the Nattve 

corporations with land of equal oolue which iS contamtnant free. 

• Pass legiSlation prorecring Native corporations from liability Wlder state 

and federat hazardous waste laws in situations where they are not 

responsible for the activity leadtng to contamination of the land or had. no reason to be knowledgeable about the presence of hazardous wastes on 

corporation lands. 

• Include indemn!fication language in !nterLrn Conveyar..ce [!CJ ar.d patent 

deeds wht.ch protects and indemnifies NatiVe corporations from liabUf.ty for 

hazardous wastes and cleanup on lands conveyed to the corporations by the 

federal government. The deeds and IC's should state that the federal 

government will assume responsibility for clean-up on any lands conveyed 

wtth hazardous wastes. 

Go!mlanc:e Issues 

There Is a high degree of political plurallsm tn the Callsta Region. Pluralism has 

long characteriZed the area and neither Callsta Corporation nor the Association of 

Village Council Presidents has been able to ellmtnate lt. As Is generally true In 

rural Alaska, most of the communities In the Callsta Region are Incorporated as second class clUes. Typical of most villages there are several major declslon- maktn~ bodies tn the village. Including the city council, the village corporation 

board of directors. the school board (only In a few villages), and the traditional or Indian" Reorganization Act (IRA) council. Regional. subregional. and village 

representatives are regularly elected to serve on the boards of Calista CorporatiOn 

(regional ANCSA corporation). the Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation (YKHC), 

the Association of Village Council Presidents AVCP (regional non-profit). 

Although many villages are organized and Incorporated as second class cities. they 

are not "cities" In the traditional sense. With paved streets. shopping malls. and 

suburban neighborhoods. Most villages have only a few hundred residents or less. 

Most of the villages are extremely Isolated. located hundreds of miles from the 

nearest city or regional center and Without road connection to nearby v1llages. 

42 
305 

A recent denlopmeat tn the c.llata Reasoa baa beca tbe flldabHtbmtDt ~ tbl 

YupUt Nation wbk:h oftilnated 1n ,&lc!ec:hak lJl 1i83, u a rau1t ~ dtM!!CWW::aan 

Wltb the City &~t structure. the 9tllqe ~~~ voted to diabuld tbe CUJ 

government and replace It wtth the trtbal gcwemmeat. 1be goal of the YUpdt 

Nation. wbl.d1 hu grown to lnclucle O'I'Cl' a ciORn odlcr vtllqea In tbe Callilta. Region. !: ultSmately man: contrOl over sc:hoola. gcm:rD~~~CDtal runeuoaa. tbe serv~cea oa'ered wtthtn the vtllqea. and the sunoUIIdJDC laDd ID4 reaoun:a. 

Although IDdepeadence Ia deasn:d. the YupUt Nauoa commumuea c~ tD 

depend on state aad federal fundiDI for the lll8Jilteuance of bealtll Uld 

educational 

reqwrea that 

aentces. 

tbey succeutWly 

AI a reawt. comuace tbc CODUDued 

ft1.adJDC ICeadel 

aaatace 

that 

of 

they 

thele 

ban 

~ 

Je&al 

st.aJldlnC, JUndates aDd expensse to rect:m1 Uld manqe auc:ll ~L 

A major factor In tbc future of the tnba1 goyemments tD the 11t1JaCa will be tbCr' 

ab111ty to ccmauue to recetve dniiDdal support In the future. Altbaulb tbe Yl:lpUt 

:-lation haa gown rapidly, It ha.l not obtained UJ~a~WDoua eupport IZI the CaJ.tat& 

Regton. M&ny vtllqera aaree wtth tbe Ofi&IUAUOD'I &Oall, but tbere 11 

dUagreement CODCern111t meana. It 11 u.adear wbctbcr the YupUt N&UOD ID4 tbe 

trtbaJ and IRA goverumente wtJl succeed In regional po11Uca or tn tnhfN""' 

unaestrable 

suc:h u the 

cultural 

Yuplit Nauon. 

cnanaa. 

1be 

but 

reform 

large 

movement 

scale refoim 

repraclC. 

11 clearly 

a mr•~ 

sought lJy 

atampe 

~ 

at pol1t1ca.l uDiScaUOD tn the t'acc of lac:al. state, aad feden! obataclel. Tile 

foll0W11l& ac:doDI may be taken to addresa tbc problclu facUlC All.llta Nau.r. Will 

respect to local &cm!rU.aDCC. theU' govunmeDt·to-&OYerumcnt rdattCIJUlhtpa, ..S 

pantdpaUOD tn the polWca1 Proce5L 

1. STIIDGTBD LOCAL ~· OOVU1'fDIIT • ANCSA cUd not abOIMb 

Indtan Reo&"pDJZ&tson Act (IJW or trad!Hcm,ll cO\&Ddl J0YCft11DCDt1 ID AJua: It 

only settled outllt&DdiDI a.bort&JD&l laDd claims. IRA and tradlUoaal cCNDCII 

govemmenta are recoplU.Ied forma of IDfti'DIIleDt lndigeDOua to Al&lka N.U.. 

and 

these 

other 

government• 

Nattie Amencaaa. or eatabllsh The a state 

goYUD~Dent 

of A1ulra 

to 

haa 

aovemment 

been reluctant 

relatiDDIIdp 

to ~ 

for 

grant iundUia. Jl'&DU!ll poltce pcnn!fW. CODtraA:tiq, or diatr1bUtln8 nlft'DU8 

sbarinf !unda. 

Many vtllaCa would prefer to follow eUbcr m IRA or trad!tloDal cCNDdl fonD til 

government. radlel" thaD the municipal goftn1JDeDt syatl:m tmplemezltlld Ill lade 

law. 1boae vtUqea wb1cb do nat haft • mWUCipal gGftnllllent orala1.Zed ~ 

State lawa an: tncU&tble fOI" rm:nue aiW1al mel recel91Df ftr10UI forma of pliiUa 

from tlle state of Aluka for operat111& a focal JO¥'CrDIDellt. Rl!eopiUOn Of tM 

IRA's and tncfttjonal COWldla u an a.ccepcable form of loCal 1avaDDWU wtlll-.1 

to more efl'ectlft loc:a1 ICM!I'DIIIent. It wtU eltmtnete tbe need for 1110nt tball aaa 

fonD g{ ·~ In tbe vtllqa &Dd tbe ~ compeuuaa aD4 wtU elfm .... confusion u to who hu the authoruy to QGftn! aDd make deciltou tn tile 

'1111ages. It WU1 allo lead to &nata' puUdpatiOn ID loCal ~ aDd waald 

~ vtJla&c reatdeDU a greater sense of cOIIC'Ol ~ dwll' own deatiD1 &ad aAin. 

the membeR of every commUDtty muat hllft rupecc for tbe law aD4 ~ 

Acrvemlnl body. We muat aet rnpec:t for dJe law back iD the comm~. 'l'2ull can be done by plal:lD& all &owanlal aumortty tn oac body. ID tbe cauata ReiiGD 

the tl1ba1 bOdla wark beat. 

Tbe folJ.owiDI acuana alloWd be takm to p. A1uJra Natsftl area= 90ICe ad 

control over local i«n'ermlleDt ID the vtUqa aad eDaiiR that tbe1 I'ICitft 

43 
30{i 

adequate funding to carry on the day-to-day operations of the Village's local 

government: 

• RecogniZe for purposes of contracting, using police powers. applying for 

grants for community projects and panicipating in the local government 

process. !R.A. and traditiOnal councils as a form of local government with the 

same rights and awhorities as cities and municipalities in Alaska. 

• Allow viUages which are organiZed as IRA governments or tradtttonal 

counciLs to receive municipal revenue sharing Jwuis. Most of these villllges 

are very smaU and have no way to generate revenue from a local tax base. 

State revenue sharing monies are greatly needed in these communities to carry out the responsibilities and obligations required of local governments. 

• Establish and fund a state agency to address the needs and roncems of 

Alaska Natives. Currently. there is no single agency or department an indiVidual or group can go to learn about the needs and concerns of Alaska 

Natives. Programs benefitting Alaska Natives are scattered throughout state .agenCies. There Is no way to evaluate how effective these programs are because they are miXed in With other agency programs or they provtde 

servtces and benefits to other user groups beside Alaska Natives. There 

needs to be one single agency or entity in state government which acts as an advocate for Alaska Native needs. concerns. Issues. and programs. In essence. it would be both a clearing house and an adm1n1stratlve entity 

which would ensure that Alaska Natives get the programs and funding 

necessary to prevent the problems now facing Alaska Natives from getttng worse. 

• Resolve the !ssues siJJTounding the sovereignty question and give greater 

local control to local governments using IRA and traditional counciLs as the 

primary form of local government The current system of pluralism In the 

Villages (an IRA Council and second class city or other form of local 

government) is expensive. Ineffective and redundant. It weakens local 

control and authority. results in duplication of authority. and sometimes even causes Villages to mtss out on potentlal sources of funding. The state 

of Alaska must work with the local and tribal governments to develop a form 

of local government acceptable to all parties and which truly meet the 

needs of Village residents. 

• Study and evaluate the effectiveness of local practtces and laws which 

exercise ell:tenslve rontrol over aLcohol ln the romnwnlty. For example. the 

Village of Kipnuk has been doing searches and seizures for alcohol of all 

lndtvtduals entering the village. Although businesses and lndtvtduals 

objected to the searches early on. they are now an accepted part of the 

protocol for Visiting Kipnuk. Because this pollcy has been in effect for 

several years now. it would be possible In such a study to measure the effect 

of the searches on alcoholtsm In th1~ community. If problems such as assaults. fatal accidents. suicides. and fetal alcohol syndrome (FASJ are less 

frequent now than before the searches began. then such laws should be an acceptable form of protecting publlc health and welfare of vtllage residents; 

and other communities may wish to consider Implementing similar 

pollctes. 

44 
307 

• .o.u.loJt a Ust of corrvnwutJ1 Mlds. Tbere an se.era~ IOW'CH of 

lllfonuucm on the needs of rund commWJltleL ·nsese nad to be pulled 

togetber tnto a muter list wtuch wtll be DWnt.aiDed and supported tbnJuCb an lntel'qeucy etfart. and should be usect in ICtUD& pa1ant1el far ua 01 

prliii'UII fuDda to eaaun: that tbe commUDltiel aDd l'eiiOna of tbe 1taee WUb 

the moet Mftn problem• or pwteat need rec:e!ft pnortty lD tenu of 

eapUal project funcliq aad propuD f'uDdiDC aad ~tlaiL Slmpi,'J 

put. Wltb reduced ft.ul.dlna. priDrltfel IDUit be eetab''~bed. 

COJIIa.WIOR 

Rural vtllasn aDd Aluka Nauvea have ao m&Dy problcllla t'acU1c tball. sa little 

lD.OIIeY to work W1th. and have done wtUJaut for 10 Jona. that It II c11mcuJl !or' tbe 

vartcus ageDC~eS wtth rural developmeat proc:rama to identiJY and set pnonaea on th011e projeCts an4 needs wtth wtuch the vtUaan and Alaaka Natsft people 

want a.ullt&Dee. 1b1l CommJaston. hoWe'ftr. can sdenafy aDd set thole prtonae1 

through Ita rec:ommeudatlons to Coll8resl IIDd the State of Alull&. It II dtmcult 

and usually un~uccesllful. for state and federal :ra:es to predkt wbat AlaUa 

NatiVe~=~~~ WilDt to suataln their Ulestyla. '!be Nattvn CODlllliMiaa mut 

make concerm aDd needs known. 

The problema aad ncec1a ol Alulul'a Nadft I*IDie can belt be IWIIDW1Zd lD 1:be 

followlna stat.e:ment I.Dcludtd Ill tbe report Alaba'• .l!:conorruc Chall.mQc 11W 

Leue! of Dlltrea. prepared lD February. 1991 by tba Alulca DtpUUilCIIt ol 

Com=erce aad Economic Oevelopmeat. 1'he foUoWUI.I statemeata clearly 

address the eoncema of Ala.lka Nat1ves IUid villqe remdenta: 

"One o! the man serious ec:ooomle cbaUqa fadnS A1aalca II lD rural 

Alaaka. L.ocatton. trmsportatiOD. lack ot market~. cllma%e. wadE Coree. aDd 

cultural f.actan Um1t the rural areu ln denlop&q my type of ec:oaalllia 

c1e¥elopmezlt bue. 

Unfortuaate.ly, the fact rema111a tbat coadlUoa. In the rural ana an aat 

gettlnl better. The ec:onoauc proaJierlty of the recent pSpcbDe 

con.atruetion era hu had Uttlc 1a.1ttn1 ekt: on aaaay rural area. 'n., 

contmue aa before wtth hip UlleiDplaylllent and low median lJIC'O!Da 

State IDd federal d.Wpute ~ rqWaaall o! NbUUDce. boyeotta on tbe fur 

ID<iv.atzy, lDternadooa1 SCidi:ICCODDIIIICL and (1QieGS of road b1ocka face nJnl 

Alub. n. populatwl conUDues to strugle wttll l1mated resources Cl'7IDC 

to f!Dd a dqree of stability. '!be ud fact 11 that aOCI&l problema ol drup. 

aJc:Dholllgn and dJaeue an: l.fta'euiDI. 

II titate mel federal lmOlvement aDd u.tstmce are not available. the pp 

wtth the l"eelt or tbe srate Uld aauaa wdl oalJ wtdea u tbe state liiOftl IDID 

the twenty-llnt centwy. \Wbout tbe aid aDd ..-t:IU:!I:e ol botb teckn1 aad 

state prop-ama. then wtll be llttJe p~Wara sectOI' dndcpmerlt Oft!' the IH:Itt rew years. Tbere ts 1ttt1e cballce tbe ctre1e of ponny Will be bniJrim 

wtt!saut thla addltSDnal support aDd otbcr outllde berJrftd•l 1Dilumces. • 
308 

Because funding and technical resources are managed by individual agenCies. 

planning and coordination among these groups to address the problems facing 

Alaska Natives 1S piecemeal at best. Add to this the interagency mix of roles and 

responsibillties. the numerous local and regional organiZations that will be 

involved in Alaska Native problems and affairs. and the complexity of the 

coordination Issue and dealing wtth the vartous problems facing Alaska Natives 

becomes staggering. Often more than one local organiZation W1ll be involved in some phase of reaching project Implementation. along wtth part1ctpat1ng state 

and federal agenCies. It takes speCial insight and expertise to focus upon Alaska 

Natives issues. 

Alaska Natives must focus on those areas of the state wtth the greatest problems 

and needs when setting priorities and recommending solutions to the problems 

facing Alaska Natives. State and federal agenCies must be focused to respond to 

these priorities wtth greater efficiency and effectiveness than Is presently being 

exercised. Currently. rural development agencies find themselves responding to 

rural Alaska in one of two ways. neither of which is acceptable. 

rn one approach. agencies try to be a source of assistance to all requesting 

communities. Alternatively, they respond only to those wtth whom they have had 

close contact. In the first case. resources available for Individual projects are spread too thin: In the second case. only a privileged few receive assistance. 

Furthermore. because agencies are not participating In a stateWide rural 

development strategy, planning IS conducted only Within the Individual agency 

itself. based upon the agency's own mission. and its assessment of or a limited 

understanding of community needs or the problems facing Alaska Natives. 

Fundamental changes must occur in the way that agencies do business With Alaska 

Natives. These changes must max1m1ze Native input and guide multi-agency resources to respond to short and long tenn issues and fulil.ll or meet identifled 

goals established by the Alaska Native community. If any of the suggested 

recommendations are to work. state and federal agenCies must adopt a policy of 

working together, wtth Alaska Natives. to remedy and find creative solutions to 

the problems facing Alaska Natives. 

A long term commitment to Implement a comprehensive set of poliCies. 

programs and sources of funding to address the problems factng the Yupik people 

and other Alaska Natives ts necessary to make a noticeable change. A solution to 

many of the Calista Region's social. health and economic problems will not be 

found until efforts are made to focus on and speclflcally help the Yupik people. 

Although Calista Corporation will continue to try to make changes. It will never come close to meeting the region's tremendous needs. Some power or powers 

greater than Calista Corporation must make a commitment to help the region and 

the Yupik people. Without that assiStance few. If any, changes W1ll be made. A 

comprehensive. long-term cooperative effort by the Alaska Natives Commtsston. 

other Native organiZations. and the state and federal governments Is necessary to 

deal wtth the overwhelming conditions In the Calista Region. 

As the Commission prepares Its final recommendations to Congress. we hope the 

Commission will review and consider including the recommendations and actions we have outlined in this report. 1b1s Commtsston ts one of the last sources of 

hope for the Yupik people. In terms of ftnd1ng solutions and gatntng support for 

helping the Yupik people and culture survtve into the next century. We hope the 

46 
309 

CammilliOa wd1 ccmceattate OD maldDC recommmc!at1oaa tG c-.-. wtddl. 

bendt the Aluka Natm people anc1 reatou of tbe 1t1111 w&dl tbe paa. aam.. 

It sboUld be a &oal of thta CoiiUDiMioD to recommead PI'OIIr'Ul• &Del polk:lce 

wbk:l:l wt11 ensure that all Al.uka Nattns are ~ to live . wtthout reu r1l t!ll:lr 

bealth. sdrty aDd eeoDODUe well-bema. lZl a perfect WOiid tha'e would tM raources eaoup to ta11e cue ol all ~.~aka NailY'e need&. fknNofer, It Ia COIIIIIIGil 

lmowleci&e that resaun:e. are l.imlUd. Cauequentty, tbe l""CQCQI!I!G'dattoa• fnD 

the .Aluka Natlfta Commt•on ahDu1d eDIUI'e tbat tbe ~t needy are bn1upt up 

to the SIJDC left1 Wltb the rest of tbc stalL 
310 

ASSOCIATION OF ALASKA HOUSING AUTHORITIES 

Alnnioft 

oaoi "'""'"""~ 

Auocicuio"oJ"'-m"Jl' Gtllfttil Prni.k.w •fi"OMI 

""*'""''" .... ~w:orny 

~liS s. .. ; .. ...,._, H_j,gAuiii<Hir_v 

• rhrl'f B<I) 

""*''"!!""'~""'> 

C* l"kt 

HOIIUioogA.ooiiiDri9' 

lllfll"'ior•fJi-1 

HOM.~i•r""'".,..,,,. 

ICMIWiillJI-d 

tt-Ji•J Aoolltorii_Y 

I\"CW111PtaeifttAi• 

Hotui•s ""' .....-;~-

"''ore1!-0111111piftl 

H""'i"l""'""rity 

T.ji..pilllho 

NuM•illllu (JNHAJ 

ni .. p -Horiolor ... ,._., 

lfotlsU.JA.INrif_v 

520 East 34th • Anchorage, AK 99503 

Phone (907) 562-7119 • Fax (907) 562-7123 

Nov. 22, 1995 

Mr. Chris Kennedy, Chief Clerk 

House Committee on Resources 1324 Longworth House Office Bldg. 

Washington, D.C. 2051 S 

Dear Mr. Kennedy: 

The Association of Alaska Housing Authorities appteciates the 

opportunity to provide comment on the Alaska Natives Commission 

Report. 

We support the "overarching ptinciples" of the report; which focus on selfreliance, self-determination and the integrity of Native cultures. In 

addition, we are supportive of toe central themes and broad (thirty-four) 

recommendations of the report. These policy recommendations clearly 

encourage the self-determination of Alaska Natives. 

The Association of Alaska Hou>ing Authorities' membership consists of 

the executive directors of Alaska's fourteen regional housing authorities 

and the executive director of tht· Alaska Housing Finance Corporation. 

Alaska's tegior-11 housing authorities provide HUD's Indian Housing 

ProgranlS throughout Alaska. 1 he fourteen authorities are the primary 

builders of new housing in rural Alaska Native villages. 

The regional authorities work diligently with a variety offunding sources 

to provide the maximum amount of new and renovated housing in area-; of 

very low income. 

Our primary concern is as folloYvs: 

Over the past few years, HUD's Indian Housing programs (Mutual Help 

and Low Rent) have provided fer the construction of approximately 300 

new homes per year for Alaska residents. This number has never met the 

significant housing need in rural Alaska. A 1991 State of Alaska Housing 

Assessment indicated a need for a minimum of 8,000 units in rural Alaska 

with an additional need for over 4,500 new units to relieve overcrowded 

conditions in rural Alaska The study identified an additional need for 

over 2,000 units for Alaska Nati·tes living in urban areas. 
Mr. Chris Kennedy, Chief Clerk 

House Committee on Resources 

311 

Association of Alaska Housing Authorities Comments 

Nov. 22, 1995 

Page Two 

The study compared this need for over 14,000 units to a need for just over 

3,000 units for low-income non-Native residents in urban Alaska (Please 

note: urban Alaska is home to approximately 64% of Alaska's 

population). 

Altllough we are generally supponive of the new Indian Housing "Block 

Grant" proposals, which provide Alaska's tribes and regional housing 

authorities with more flexibility in the creation of appropriate housing 

programs, we are concerned to see certain proposals which significantly 

reduce funding for Indian Housing. 

Income levels in Alaska Native Villages are very low and conventional 

financing programs are workable in only limited cases. 

For these reasons, the Association of Alaska Housing Authorities is 

supponive of the current FY 1996 Senate proposals for HUD Indian 

Housing new development and operating subsidies. We also suppon 

adequate funding of future Indian Housing "Block Grant" legislative packages. · 

We thank you for the opponunity to comment on this imponant repon and 

ask for your careful consideration of and attention toward the housing 

needs of Native Americans. 

Sincerely, _./ 

/ ' --/. (..? ~ : u < 4 ··-c. . 

Kristian N. Anderson 7 President 

Association of Alaska Housing Authorities 

c: The Honorable Ted Stevens The Honorable Frank Murkowski The Honorable Don Young Mr. John Katz, Special Counsel, Office of Go,•emor Tony Knowles Ms. Julie Kitka, Alaska Federation ofNatives 

Ms. Ruth Jaure, Executive Director, National American lndian Housing Council 

0 


ISBN 0-16-052429-6 

90000 

9 7801