AFN 2009: “We Have No Business Bickering Amongst Ourselves”

Starting from the end of AFN on Saturday Oct. 24 and going backwards to the beginning on Thursday Oct. 22…
The resolutions process Saturday morning proved to be trying in achieving concesus between regions (maybe even within regions), with three or four regions out of a total of thirteen dominating the proceedings of pulling resolutions and discussing resolutions and amending resolutions. The AFN resolutions committee members even pulled a few underhand tactics and pushed voting through several resolutions before the general delegation realized what even happened. A CITC delegate, CIRI delegate and CEO Gloria O’Neill, and Sealaska delegate and board president Rosita Worl expressed disappointment in the committee’s actions before the convention. Usually Trefon Angasan, the resolutions process chair from Bristol Bay, provides witty humor to the process, but this year laughs and good natured fun were few and far between. A delegate from Bristol Bay became fed up with the bad atmosphere and addressed the resolutions process and convention with: “We have no business bickering amongst ourselves.”

Friday evening Oct. 23 packed the house for Quyana Night II with many different dance groups performing at least a half-hour each. I remember as a child spending half the night watching all the dance groups and seeing many hundreds of people swarm around the stage. There aren’t as many dance groups these days, but Quyana Night is still very important for the convention I would think. I have a lot of respect for people who can sing and dance in their traditional ways in front of the whole convention and state and even world thanks to live internet streams. An AFN board member reported thousands and thousands of hits from around the world on the AFN website.

Friday afternoon stole the show when former state Senator Kim Elton, now a policy advisor to Department of Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, presented video addresses by both the Secretary and Assistant Secretary of the BIA Larry Echohawk. All three Department of Interior officials addressed necessary policy and regulations changes to Alaska subsistance laws, coming by at least February 2010. I do have to admit I did not pay attention to the presenations, as I was expecting the same old same old! But I do have a pretty good understanding of the framework and background of Alaska subsistence laws and policies and issues, and even I can say I saw these changes coming. What I am concerned with is how Alaska Natives, whether through tribal IRAs or through AFN as a whole or by region to region, are going to influence these policy and regulations reformation and/or overhaul of subsistence in Alaska. An undercurrent to the topic of subsistence defenitely provided a feeling of impetus throughout the whole convention, but no one really got up and stated how exactly these changes are going to be addressed, from any Alaska Native or non-Native official or semi-official entity. I’ll be watching intently for any whiff of news and development regarding the new changes coming in late winter next year…

To no suprise then when state Senator and AFN Co-Chair Mr. Albert Kookesh was awarded with the AFN Citizen of the Year Award Thursday afternoon Oct. 22. Senator Kookesh was cited by the State of Alaska in early August of this year for taking too many fish in Admiralty Bay in Southeast Alaska near the village of Angoon. Senator Kookesh has vowed to fight the citation to bring about a new contemporary court ruling regarding subsistence policy and regulation and law in Alaska, divided between Federal enforcement and State of Alaska enforcement. The basis of Senator Kookesh’s legal battle has been stated as the State having no legal basis behind the citation, since Senator Kookesh was practicing subsistence on lands and waterways mangaged by the Federal government, not by the state government. I can take up the rest of this post over subsistence alone, so I will stop writing about it now. Nevertheless, AFN came out with a very strong political statement in awarding Senator Kookesh with the Citizen of the Year Award, voted on by the members of the AFN board of directors.

The tone of the whole 2009 AFN Convention was firmly and emphatically set by the keynote speakers Thursday morning Oct. 22. Mr. Willie Hensley of Kotzebue and his daughter Elizabeth Hensley were fitting speakers representing the old and new guard of the Alaska Federation of Natives and Alaska Native peoples as a whole. Mr. Hensley provided a knowing speech and Ms. Hensley provided an open and very welcome speech. Many convention delegates and attendees know and understand the background of Alaska Native social and political affairs without having them aired and brought out for the convention, but this is exactly what Ms. Hensley did for her keynote speech. Having the old and stale background information brought out for everyone to regard gave new light, at least I would think, to the fast coming future of Alaska Native peoples…

The 2009 Convention of the Alaska Federation of Natives proved undoubtedly to be important.

Alaska Senate Energy Policy Group Recommendations

http://www.aksenate.org/energy/101909_Draft_E_policies_summary.pdf

Compiled By Senator Bill Wielechowski and Senator Lesil McGuire,
Chairs of the Alaska State Senate Resources and Energy Committees
State Energy Policy and Program Recommendations
Energy Goals:
Goal 1: Ensure all Alaskans have access to reliable energy supplies at the lowest cost over the long‐term.
Goal 2: Develop Alaska’s energy resources in a responsible manner to sustain Alaska’s economy and provide for the growth of Alaska’s communities and industries.
Goal 3: Ensure continued responsible exploration and development of Alaska’s oil and gas resources and manage these resources for the maximum long‐term benefit of all Alaskans.
Goal 4: Reduce the dependence of Alaskan communities on fossil fuels for electricity and heat by developing our renewable and alternative energy resources and by promoting energy efficiency and conservation.
Goal 5: Strive to produce 50% renewable energy by 2025 and to increase energy efficiency by 10% by 2015.
Goal 6: Maintain a commitment to environmental stewardship and responsible resource development, anticipating the environmental effects of and regulatory response to climate change.
Goal 7: Promote energy research at Alaska’s universities, energy education in our public schools, and workforce development programs at our post‐secondary institutions and vocational schools.

AFN 2009

Tomorrow I will be on my way to Anchorage, Alaska for the 2009 Convention of the Alaska Federation of Natives starting Thursday morning. A lot of hype and talk this year from a lot of different people, even starting way back in August! I may or may not have time to post developments during the convention, but after a state of normalcy returns at the end of the week I will have my synopsis posted!

Juneau Empire: Alaska Native Leadership

My turn: Integrity lost in tribal politicsBy P.J. Smith | Juneau Empire
October 18, 2009
Did anyone notice who was in the background of the picture that was sprawled across the front page of the Oct. 11 Empire? Andy Ebona, the same guy who was featured on the front of the previous Sunday newspaper, featuring a story about a bankrupt ANB Camp 2, which is facing foreclosure because it hasn’t paid its taxes in quite some time. Ironic that he stands in the foreground, as we have two Alaska Native politicians in the photo who are struggling to clean up the mess they have put themselves in.

I read the comments to that article, which very quickly transformed into an issue of race and rights for our “first Alaskans.” Comments flew back and forth about Native rights and fighting for what is best for Native people. And again, as in recent years, we continue to see the fingers pointing away from our self-interest leaders and back to the “enemies” that keep our people from realizing their potential.

To make it clear up front, I am an enrolled tribal member who grew up in Southeast Alaska, and I am appalled at our Native leadership and their absence of ethics and fairness in every aspect of politics and tribal government. I am not a disgruntled TANF recipient or ex-employee of a tribal organization, and I hold no ulterior motives in my actions. I just cannot stand this anymore and feel the need to voice my disgust.

These past few weeks, and previous months referencing back to Sealaska term limits and the question of nepotism and unfair hiring practice at Tlingit and Haida, has left me both angry and puzzled. Who are these people and what are their motives? How can they continue to accommodate their own interests and push ethics aside so that certain individuals benefit? Where is the accountability in our tribal governments and programs? And what gives them the right as individuals to claim that they speak for all Native people and hold our best interest at heart?

How could a senior senator claim that the state of Alaska is “not our friend,” and then adequately represent the state? Again, the irony rears its ugly head in the fact that the torch exploding in his hand is only ignited following his own efforts to avoid a slap on the wrist for knowingly violating the laws, the same laws which he has had influence on during his years of service afforded by the enemy.

As we continue to segregate as a tribe and point fingers as we spit back in the faces of our perceived “enemies,” we must be mindful that those people are the allies of tomorrow. It saddens me to think that our grandchildren will have to suffer the consequences of the shortsighted and ill-informed leadership of today.

Please stop claiming that you speak for all of us. Some of us tribal members have ethics and intellectual abilities to be appreciated by the state of Alaska. Or at least leave us something to salvage when your days of glory and self-serving politics are finally over.

• P.J. Smith is a tribal citizen who lives in Juneau.

UN Conference on Climate Change (COP 15)

The UN Conference on Climate Change in Copenhagen, Denmark, or COP 15, will take place from December 7-18, 2009. A majority of member nations are scheduled to take part of the conference, with many hundreds of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) also scheduled to observe the proceedings.
I have recently received word that I and about 15 other students of Rural Development at the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) and the College of Rural and Community Development (CRCD) of greater Alaska will be attending the conference through the Arctic Athabaskan Council based in Whitehorse, Yukon Territories, an approved NGO by the UN.
In preparation for the conference and for a study/travel grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF), the students will meet by teleconference for a weekly seminar focusing on contemporary climate change issues and studies. Yet more books and articles and scholarly debate to dig in to…

From ADN: Kookesh and Subsistence

http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/rural/southeast/story/970340.html

JUNEAU — State Sen. Albert Kookesh believes Alaska Natives may be forced to file a class action lawsuit against the federal government to restore subsistence rights secured under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act.

The Angoon Democrat is facing trial over a $500 state subsistence fishing citation. He gave a video statement Friday to the Alaska Native Brotherhood and Alaska Native Sisterhood 97th Grand Camp Convention in which he criticized the state for its handling of subsistence rights.

Kookesh was in Washington, D.C., for much of the five-day convention.

Alaska Natives own 45.5 million acres of land and should not be subject to state law because of the federal government’s commitment through the ANCSA agreement, Kookesh said.

“We need to get away from the state as much as we can,” he said. “They are not our friend. They’ve proven that time and time again. Let’s make the federal government responsible and sue them if we have to.”

The majority of Friday was spent discussing subsistence issues, something Grand Camp leaders said has not been a focus at the convention for a while. The delegates passed numerous resolutions at the end of the day related to subsistence and Native rights.

Kookesh said he is fervently fighting for subsistence rights and federal rights to be recognized, not just because he got cited for overfishing.

“We have to band together to get our subsistence rights back,” he said. “We’ve lost it somewhere along the way.”

Kookesh, Stanley D. Johnson, Rocky L. Estrada Sr., and Scott T. Hunter were cited for illegally harvesting 73 sockeye on July 12 in Kanalku Bay near Angoon.

There are as many as 3,000 to 5,000 citations in Alaska out there right now against people just because they were trying to subsist, Kookesh said.

Tanana, Alaska

Nuchuleghoye, Koyukon Athabascan for “Where the Two Rivers Meet” for the Yukon River and the Tanana River, has been a meeting place since time immemorial. Modern Tanana was established in the early 20th century after the establishment and closing of U.S. Army base Fort Gibbon.

I am always glad to be there, even for short visits lasting no longer than a weekend.

News-Miner: UAF ANLC Lands Yup’ik Language Grant

http://www.newsminer.com/news/2009/oct/08/uaf-lands-grant-help-desigh-yupik-language-lessons/

The University of Alaska Fairbanks has landed a $1.7 million federal grant to help design Yupik-language lessons for schools in southwest Alaska.

The U.S. Department of Education is supplying the three-year grant, which will pay for the work of 12 teachers, eight aides and classroom materials that include laptops, software and other equipment. Schools in the Lower Kuskokwim School District and Lower Yukon School District are working with UAF on the project.

Schools in communities such as Bethel, Kwethluk, Hooper Bay and Toksook Bay have immersion programs for elementary school students in the indigenous Yupik language. But that comes with a problem — there just aren’t many educational products available for such a curriculum.

“They’re struggling because there’s a lack of materials that are appropriate for their kids,” said Sabine Seikmann, an assistant linguistics professor at UAF. “How do you find a science book in Yupik?”

Seikmann pursued the federal grant to help with that problem. During the next three years, she’ll work with teachers in the districts to develop nine educational units for kindergarten through fifth grade. The lessons will feature Yupik language learning with a culturally relevant theme — fish camps and winter survival are among the topics — infused with math, science and reading lessons.

It’s an effort the districts couldn’t have undertaken without the grant, said Gayle Miller, the curriculum director for the Lower Kuskokwim School District.

“I am so grateful to the university for being willing to work with us,” Miller said.

The immersion programs in the region began to blossom in the 1990s and are designed to both educate in a familiar language and preserve culture through the use of Yupik. Through the years, Miller said teachers had gradually come up with lesson plans that incorporate the language.

“We have, over the course of the last 30 years, written some Yupik curriculum materials, but there are never enough,” Miller said.

When the state changed its education standards earlier this decade, it became clear that the districts needed to revamp their plans.

Under normal circumstances, Miller said, the district would just order a new batch of textbooks, but it didn’t have that luxury in this case. The only alternative was to create a new standards-based Yupik program, using both original material and modifying some existing lesson plans.

“We are working with an existing framework,” Seikmann said. “Those are the skeletons; we just need to flesh them out.”

The new lessons will be put together with a “backwards design,” Miller said, so they start by incorporating state education standards. They’ll also include technology that will allow Yupik-speaking classes to communicate with each other and share information.

Once the lessons are completed, they’ll be shared with schools in the other 52 Yupik-speaking villages in the region.

“It’ll kind of give them a whole new horizon,” Seikmann said. “They’ll know it’s not just (them).”