02/23/2017 03:30 PM Senate COMMUNITY & REGIONAL AFFAIRS

                 HB  78-INDIGENOUS PEOPLES DAY                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
3:41:50 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR  BISHOP called  the  meeting back  to  order and  announced                                                               
consideration of HB 78.                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE DAVID WESTLAKE,  Alaska State Legislature, sponsor                                                               
of  HB 78,  said this  measure establishes  the second  Monday of                                                               
October each year - the same  day as Columbus Day - as Indigenous                                                               
Peoples Day.  He added  that while  it is  not recognized  by the                                                               
state of  Alaska as an  official holiday,  it is recognized  as a                                                               
federal  one.  This  bill is  not  about  destroying  Christopher                                                               
Columbus' reputation  and tearing down the  holiday. Rather, this                                                               
bill is  about unification  and about  the diversity  that Alaska                                                               
has. It  recognizes the first  Europeans in the Americas  on this                                                               
day and the people who were  already living here. Alaska has more                                                               
federally  recognized  tribes  than   all  the  Lower  48  states                                                               
combined, and Alaska has the  highest percentage of Native people                                                               
in the nation living here.                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
For the last two years  Governor Walker has proclaimed the second                                                               
Monday  in October  as  Indigenous Peoples  Day  in Alaska.  Some                                                               
other states and  municipalities recognize this day,  as well. It                                                               
does not  create a  new state  holiday; but it  creates a  day of                                                               
honor, recognizing Native peoples, and  places it on the same day                                                               
as Columbus  Day, which recognizes the  intermingling of cultures                                                               
that help make Alaska such a great state.                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR BISHOP  remarked that the  Alaska Native population  is the                                                               
fastest growing population, also.                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR BISHOP  stated that he  would hold  HB 78 in  committee for                                                               
future consideration.