03/26/2021 01:00 PM House RESOURCES

         HB 10-FUNTER BAY MARINE PARK: UNANGAN CEMETERY                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
2:05:32 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR PATKOTAK announced  that the final order  of business would                                                               
be HOUSE BILL  NO. 10, "An Act relating to  the Funter Bay marine                                                               
park unit  of the  state park system;  relating to  protection of                                                               
the social  and historical significance  of the  Unangax cemetery                                                               
located  in  Funter  Bay;  providing for  the  amendment  of  the                                                               
management  plan  for  the  Funter  Bay  marine  park  unit;  and                                                               
providing for an effective date."                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
2:05:47 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE SARA  HANNAN, Alaska  State Legislature,  as prime                                                               
sponsor, introduced HB  10.  She described  Funter Bay's location                                                               
west of  Juneau and  its history  of being  populated in  1942 by                                                               
forcibly  relocating the  Unangax of  the Pribolofs,  whose homes                                                               
were  occupied  by  the  U.S.  military  following  the  Japanese                                                               
invasion of the Aleutian Islands.   The Unangax were abandoned in                                                               
old  cannery  bunkhouses,   with  unsanitary  living  conditions,                                                               
inadequate food supply and no  medical care.  Later, under threat                                                               
of not being allowed to return  to their homes after the war, the                                                               
men were  returned to the Pribilofs  to harvest seal as  a source                                                               
of  revenue for  the federal  government.   The Unangax  suffered                                                               
needlessly in the camp for two  years after it was deemed safe to                                                               
return home,  and many died  and were  interred in a  cemetery in                                                               
Funter Bay.                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
2:10:33 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE HANNAN  continued her introduction by  saying that                                                               
the proposed legislation  would move 251 acres  into the existing                                                               
Funter  Bay State  Marine Park,  which has  been established  for                                                               
approximately 30  years.  It  would transfer the  land management                                                               
of the  parcel in question from  the Division of Mining  Land and                                                               
Water to  the Division  of Parks  and Outdoor  Recreation (Alaska                                                               
State Parks)  within the Department  of Natural  Resources (DNR).                                                               
She  said  that it  would  "protect,  permanently, the  cultural,                                                               
social, and historical  significance of the cemetery."   She said                                                               
that  the descendants  of the  survivors of  the relocation  camp                                                               
have continued  to visit  the location  and tend  the gravesites,                                                               
and  many  of  the  Unangax  remained  in  southeast  Alaska  and                                                               
developed  close ties  with the  Tlingit.   Representative Hannan                                                               
noted  that  the  push  to   give  the  Funter  Bay  parcel  this                                                               
protection began about  10 years ago, when the new  owners of the                                                               
cemetery  for  another  relocation  camp  at  Killisnoo  cut  off                                                               
visitation  to the  cemetery.    As the  Funter  Bay cemetery  is                                                               
surrounded  by private,  national  forest  and national  monument                                                               
lands, the descendants wanted to  ensure that the graves were not                                                               
disturbed, as well as to  enshrine the historical significance of                                                               
the area.                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
2:14:14 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
TIM  CLARK,  Staff,  Representative  Sara  Hannan,  Alaska  State                                                               
Legislature, presented  a PowerPoint showing pictures  of housing                                                               
ruins, the cemetery,  and a close-up of a gravestone,  as well as                                                               
a map showing  the existing Funter Bay State Marine  Park and the                                                               
addition of the land.  He noted  that the addition of the land to                                                               
the existing  state park  would connect  two separate  parcels of                                                               
land and  would make management of  the land more efficient.   He                                                               
read from  the slide titled "HB  10 will:" which read  as follows                                                               
[original punctuation provided]:                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
     ? Provide protection of the Unangan Cemetery in Funter                                                                     
     Bay for future generations;                                                                                                
       ? Transfer cemetery site and surrounding area from                                                                       
        Division of Mining, Land and Water (DNR) to the                                                                         
     Division of Parks and Recreation (DNR);                                                                                    
      ? Transferred land will become part of, and continue                                                                      
       to be maintained, as part of the Funter Bay Marine                                                                       
     Park.                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
[During the  PowerPoint presentation,  Chair Patkotak  handed the                                                               
gavel to Vice Chair Hopkins.]                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
2:18:54 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE RAUSCHER  stated support for  HB 10.  He  asked if                                                               
this  is  the exact  same  legislation  was  heard in  the  House                                                               
Resources  Standing Committee  in the  Thirty-First Alaska  State                                                               
Legislature, and what, if any, changes have been made.                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE HANNAN  said that there have  been acreage changes                                                               
and wording changes in the bill,  and referred to land surveys in                                                               
the former  and current bills.   She said that when  the previous                                                               
bill left  the House Resources  Standing Committee last  year the                                                               
language in  it included several  acres that were already  in the                                                               
existing state park, and the  Senate Resources Standing Committee                                                               
corrected that error.                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
MR.  CLARK  added that  HB  10  is  identical  to the  bill  that                                                               
previously  passed the  House, after  amendment,  in the  Thirty-                                                               
First Alaska State Legislature.                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE RAUSCHER  asked whether  the "changes  happened in                                                               
the Senate."                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  HANNAN  clarified  that this  bill  reflects  the                                                               
final  survey   looked  at  by  the   Senate  Resources  Standing                                                               
Committee  [during review  of the  former bill  considered during                                                               
the Thirty-First  Alaska State Legislature],  and that  the error                                                               
in the survey was caught by DNR in the process.                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
2:22:43 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
PRESTON  KROES,  Superintendent,  Southeast Region,  Division  of                                                               
Parks and Outdoor Recreation (Alaska  State Parks), Department of                                                               
Natural Resources, said  that he is also unclear as  to where the                                                               
bill was previously amended.                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
2:23:11 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  RAUSCHER  asked  whether  all  relevant  agencies                                                               
support this bill.                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
MR. CLARK  assured the committee  that the only amendment  to the                                                               
bill in  the Thirty-First  Alaska State  Legislature was  the one                                                               
that corrected the acreage discrepancy,  and it took place on the                                                               
House floor on the day of  passage, after which the bill was left                                                               
unamended following passage of the House.                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
2:24:11 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE GILLHAM noted that there  are 23 gravesites in the                                                               
cemetery over  less than  an acre,  and asked  why 251  acres are                                                               
needed.                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  HANNAN  clarified  that, according  to  Admiralty                                                               
Island National Monument,  there are 23 gravestones  but 32 known                                                               
burials.  She  said that the acreage specification is  due to the                                                               
recommendation by  DNR to  combine the  lands for  more efficient                                                               
land  management,   which  would   also  nullify  the   need  for                                                               
additional surveys.                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  GILLHAM asked,  "There  are 10  private areas  in                                                               
that cove, is that correct?  Have you spoken to those people?"                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE HANNAN replied  that Funter Bay in  total has more                                                               
than  10 parcels,  that the  residents adjacent  to the  cemetery                                                               
area have  actively engaged in  this process, and that  they have                                                               
not expressed any opposition.                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
2:26:39 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  MCKAY   asked  whether  there  are   any  Unangax                                                               
descendants remaining in the area.                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  HANNAN replied  that  there  are descendants  who                                                               
stayed local, and said that  a constituent and descendant of camp                                                               
survivors is waiting to testify.                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE MCKAY asked  if the title to the land  is clear as                                                               
far as mining easements or rights-of-way.                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE HANNAN  said that  to her  knowledge there  are no                                                               
title  or access  issues, but  that DNR  is available  to address                                                               
that question.                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
2:28:27 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
MR. KROES  said that no mining  claims are in the  251 acres that                                                               
would be added to the Funter  Bay State Marine Park; the area had                                                               
been  categorized  by  Mining  Land  and  Water  as  recreational                                                               
property   with  little   to  no   natural  resource   extraction                                                               
possibilities.                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
2:29:49 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  HOPKINS  referred  to   page  2  of  the  sponsor                                                               
statement  where it  discussed the  removal of  the men  from the                                                               
camp each  summer to harvest  seal for the government,  and noted                                                               
the importance of this bill.                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  HANNAN  replied that  it's  the  activism of  the                                                               
affected citizens that made this legislation possible.                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
2:33:33 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR PATKOTAK opened public testimony on HB 10.                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
2:33:57 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
MARTIN  STEPETIN,  Friends  of  Admiralty  Island,  testified  in                                                               
support of HB  10.  He said that his  grandparents were survivors                                                               
of the  Funter Bay camp;  his grandmother  was 16 years  old, and                                                               
his grandfather was sent back  to the Pribilof Islands to harvest                                                               
seal, which was  the main economic driver at the  time.  He noted                                                               
that Alaska was  a territory and that he doesn't  blame the state                                                               
for what  happened; he said that  it was solely the  fault of the                                                               
federal government,  which the Aleut people,  along with interned                                                               
Japanese  American citizens,  successfully sued.   Now,  he said,                                                               
the opportunity  to protect Funter  Bay and the graves  lies with                                                               
the state.                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
2:38:43 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
OKALENAY PATRICIA-GREGORY,  Administrator, Aleutian  and Pribilof                                                               
Islands Restitution  Trust, testified in  support of HB 10.   She                                                               
identified herself  as an  Aleut descendant.   She  described the                                                               
importance of recognizing these sites.   She listed the number of                                                               
deaths  in each  camp  and  gave special  recognition  to the  42                                                               
Aleuts who were taken to Japan, over half of whom died.                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
2:42:07 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
JOEL BENNETT,  Friends of Admiralty Island,  testified in support                                                               
of HB 10.  He said that he  has been a Juneau resident since 1968                                                               
and that he  wanted to speak from the perspective  of a landowner                                                               
adjacent to  the cemetery.   He  said that  several of  the local                                                               
residents  have  been  acting as  unofficial  caretakers  of  the                                                               
cemetery and spoke about the  lack of commercial resources in the                                                               
area, describing the land as  being used primarily for recreation                                                               
and  hunting.     He  also   described  the  activities   of  the                                                               
organization Friends of Admiralty Island  and said that the group                                                               
supports HB 10.                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
2:46:07 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR PATKOTAK,  after ascertaining  that no  one else  wished to                                                               
testify, closed public testimony on HB 10.                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
2:46:34 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
MR. KROES said that the  Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation                                                               
would  be honored  to accept  the parcel  specified in  HB 10  to                                                               
protect the cemetery.   He noted that the exact  number of graves                                                               
in the area is still unclear,  but that it appears that 49 people                                                               
died, with  some buried in  Juneau but others returned  to Funter                                                               
Bay for  burial.   He also said  that the total  of 251  acres is                                                               
because of simplicity; that the  parcel is currently DNR land and                                                               
would remain so, changing hands  from the Division of Mining Land                                                               
and Water to Alaska State Parks.                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
2:50:23 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR PATKOTAK announced that HB 10 would be held over.