Legislature(2023 - 2024)DAVIS 106
03/06/2024 03:30 PM House TRIBAL AFFAIRS
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HJR17 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| += | HJR 17 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
HJR 17-SUPPORT FED TRUTH AND HEALING COMMISSION
3:38:36 PM
CHAIR MCCORMICK announced that the only order of business would
be HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 17, Urging the United States
Congress to pass the Truth and Healing Commission on Indian
Boarding School Policies Act.
3:39:45 PM
The committee took a brief at-ease.
3:40:14 PM
CHAIR MCCORMICK introduced his staff to provide a brief overview
of HJR 17.
3:40:29 PM
CALLAN CHYTHLOOK-SIFSOF, Staff, Representative CJ McCormick,
Alaska State Legislature, on behalf of Representative McCormick,
prime sponsor, provided a recap of HJR 17. She said that HJR 17
urges the U.S. Congress to pass the Truth and Healing Commission
on the Indian Boarding School Policies Act. She explained that
the resolution is in support of U.S. Senate Bill 1723. The
resolution refers to the 2022 Federal Indian Boarding School
Initiative Investigative Report findings. She explained that
there is ample data to be compiled to account for the abuse and
trauma that Native children experienced from the boarding school
era in Alaska. The intent of the legislation is to acknowledge
the harm from the assimilation and elimination of culture that
occurred. The aim is to also compile records to validate first
person accounts across Alaska and recognize these atrocities to
heal and move forward.
MS. CHYTHLOOK-SIFSOF provided a personal anecdote about
unaddressed trauma in her own family. Supporting this
resolution would help to validate the experiences of elders from
the era of assimilative boarding schools.
3:46:27 PM
EMILY EDENSHAW, President, Alaska Native Heritage Center, shared
her background studying generational trauma among Alaska Native
people who have traumatic boarding school experiences for her
doctoral dissertation through the University of Alaska,
Fairbanks. She shared a personal story about her grandfather
who attended boarding school. She noted that her mother was
forcibly adopted and met her biological family at age 18. Her
biological grandfather refused to speak in his Native language
because of his experiences at boarding school. She noted that
healing is at the center of her work. She said, "When I heal
myself, I heal my ancestors who have come before me."
3:51:14 PM
MS. EDENSHAW expressed her support for HJR 17, which would
champion the well-being of Alaska's first peoples. She thanked
the committee.
3:52:04 PM
BENJAMIN JACUK, Indigenous Researcher, Alaska Native Heritage
Center, emphasized that every Alaska Native person knows someone
who has a story about boarding schools. He explained that
throughout his upbringing, the topic of assimilative boarding
schools were "unspoken stories." His experiences at the
Princeton Theological Seminary helped him to realize how much is
left to learn about the experiences of Alaska Native peoples.
He recollected his realization that no other Alaska Native
person other than himself had graduated or attended the
Princeton Theological Seminary because it was the alma mater of
Sheldon Jackson. He mentioned "historical amnesia" and
explained that stories of Alaska Native assimilation have been
forgotten on purpose.
MR. JACUK described the archives from the last 100 years that
have yet to be interpreted and may be used to better understand
the impacts on Native Alaskans. He offered to discuss
structural violence and peace research and offered his
understanding about how structures negatively affected Alaska
Native peoples because of boarding schools. Primary source
material has verified 100 stories throughout the United States
so far. He mentioned that the Alaska Native Heritage Center is
working with the National Native American Boarding School
Healing Coalition and hopes to publish its work later this year.
3:58:18 PM
MS. EDENSHAW discussed how the Alaska Federation of Natives
unanimously passed a resolution. She described a healing pole
that was constructed and raised with 1,000 people in attendance.
She explained that this is a resolution around healing and is
not meant to create blame or vilify any organizations, in fact,
there are partnerships with churches and universities. Raising
the healing pole was historic and signified positive healing
energy. She explained that Alaska Natives and all Alaskans have
the right to know what happened during the boarding school era.
She added that since raising the healing pole, the Alaska Native
Heritage Center was invited to apply for $3.5 million in funding
to raise 10 more healing monuments. She urged the committee to
champion the legislature to continue helping Native communities
to heal.
4:02:07 PM
CHAIR MCCORMICK thanked the presenters and opened the floor for
questions.
4:02:36 PM
REPRESENTATIVE ALLARD asked when the last boarding school was
open.
4:02:54 PM
MR. JACUK answered that with the New Deal in 1932, the Bureau of
Indian Affairs took over boarding schools. He explained that
Mt. Edgecombe school is still around but has since transitioned
away from being an assimilative institution. He said that
several institutions are still standing, but there were
significant policy changes that came into effect in 1969 and
1970.
4:05:01 PM
REPRESENTATIVE ALLARD sought to clarify if 1932 was the last
year of assimilative boarding schools before the Bureau of
Indian Affairs took over.
MR. JACUK answered yes and explained that independent ecclesial
schools still received federal funding. He exemplified the
Wrangell Institute which was a boarding school that was operated
by the Bureau of Indian Affairs after 1932.
4:06:16 PM
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE commented that HJR 17 appears to be a
straight-forward piece of legislation. She noted that the
testimony she heard alluded to relatively short timeframes of
attendance at the boarding schools. She asked how long children
were proposed to attend the boarding schools.
4:07:27 PM
MS. EDENSHAW referenced Dianne Hirshberg who was one of the
first academics who interviewed boarding school survivors. She
explained that the time spent at boarding schools varied. Some
accounts involved children as young as 4 or 5, and some children
attended until they were 18. She explained that just because
the testifiers were there for one to five years, boarding school
experiences were still traumatic. She mentioned that one of the
interviewees from her research was away from their family from
ages 8-18. She described how she would feel if her child was
taken by the government or church at such a young age with
limited communication. She offered to follow up with primary
source documents. She emphasized the importance of continuing
the research to record more experiences. She sought to not
diminish the experiences of those who may have spent less time
at boarding schools compared to others.
4:10:42 PM
MR. JACUK said in 1885 Sheldon Jackson was actively taking
children from their homes. He described a U.S. Supreme Court
case, which ruled on the side of the parents. In the 1887
Boarding School Report on Education in Alaska, Sheldon Jackson
defied the ruling and defined an orphan as a child with one
parent or, by his own definition, parents who are unable to care
for their child, which opened the door for any child to be taken
away. He explained that dog tags were used to identify children
if they ran away.
MR. JACUK told a story of his great uncle and aunt who were
taken to a boarding school. He said that his great grandfather
attempted to retrieve his children from boarding school.
4:14:14 PM
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE said that she didn't want to minimize the
impacts of the trauma and abuse. She noted lawlessness that was
perpetuated through time and thanked them for the clarification.
4:15:08 PM
MR. JACUK explained how Sheldon Jackson, through the doctrines
of predestination and discovery forcibly assimilated Alaska
Natives. He said that at the time, Americanization and
Christianity were one in the same and the laws of the period
reflected the views of Christians.
4:16:58 PM
MS. CHYTHLOOK-SIFSOF thanked the presenters for their expertise.
She acknowledged the difficulties of comprehending the mindsets
of leaders from the boarding school era. She stated that as she
learns more about what is being uncovered through the research
accomplished by the Alaska Native Heritage Center, the easier it
is for her to find clarity and healing.
4:17:57 PM
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE asked about the global impacts of the
British Empire and how religious aspects are intertwined with
many other cultures around the world.
4:19:10 PM
MR. JACUK said that reformational theology is highlighted in
theologian Charles Hodge's "Systematic Theology Volume II." He
discussed the comity plan, which was the first time where
ecclesial institutions came together. He described efforts from
the comity plan spreading though mission groups throughout
Canada, Korea, New Zealand, Australia, and other countries.
4:22:10 PM
MS. EDENSHAW emphasized that history has many "aha moments."
There are certain parts of history that are recently being
uncovered. She explained that as she continues to learn, she
feels a sense of responsibility to ensure that accurate
information is available for all Alaskans. She discussed how
Sheldon Jackson's assimilation tactics had lasting impacts that
are still felt today. She mentioned the loss of languages. She
emphasized the importance of continuing research.
4:25:18 PM
CHAIR MCCORMICK opened public testimony on HJR 17, and after
ascertaining that no one wished to testify, he closed public
testimony.
4:26:24 PM
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE said she appreciated the sponsor for
bringing forward the resolution and the discussion. She said
that she resonated with the feelings of sending her children off
to school. She noted the difficulty in admitting that our own
government and churches participated in assimilative boarding
schools for such a long time. She noted that having difficult
conversations about history is important. She noted the
challenge in hearing what Christian churches had done to Alaska
Natives.
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE said that she was recently referred to as a
"Christian Nationalist." She said that she loves her nation,
and she loves Jesus. She explained that during the presentation
she learned of a deep history that has created hardship that she
was previously unaware of. This realization has helped her to
understand that the label "Christian Nationalist" is used in
fear and concern that the same actions could happen again. She
noted the heavy topics that are discussed in committee meetings
and that she does not condone the actions of the past. She
stated that she wants to be a part of the healing process.
Talking about difficult topics and finding solutions will help
to transform the next generation.
4:29:55 PM
CHAIR MCCORMICK added that he feels he is "standing on the
shoulders of the work of others." He highlighted the strength
and courage of the presenters for telling their personal
stories. He thanked the presenters for their research.
4:31:28 PM
MS. CHYTHLOOK-SIFSOF thanked the committee and presenters for
their eloquent words.
4:31:49 PM
REPRESENTATIVE DIBERT moved to report HJR 17 from committee with
individual recommendations and the accompanying fiscal notes.
There being no objection, HJR 17 was reported from the House
Special Committee on Tribal Affairs.
4:32:28 PM
The committee took an at-ease from 4:32 p.m. to 4:36 p.m.
4:36:46 PM
MS. EDENSHAW provided closing remarks and thanked the committee
and presenters for taking a collective step forward in terms of
healing. She thanked Representative Vance for her comments.
4:38:16 PM
MR. JACUK thanked the committee for the opportunity to tell
these stories.