04/14/2011 08:00 AM House STATE AFFAIRS

           SB  94-SECOND VERSE OF ALASKA'S STATE SONG                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR LYNN announced that the  first order of business was SENATE                                                               
BILL  NO. 94,  "An  Act adding  a second  verse  to the  official                                                               
Alaska state song."                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
8:08:15 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR BETTYE DAVIS, Alaska State  Legislature, as prime sponsor                                                               
of  SB 94,  noted that  the proposed  legislation has  passed the                                                               
House  on  several occasions,  but  had  not passed  through  the                                                               
Senate until last  year.  She said the legislation  last year ran                                                               
out of  time, and she  expressed her hope  that SB 94  would pass                                                               
both houses by the end of session.                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
8:09:23 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR ALBERT  KOOKESH, Alaska State Legislature,  as co-sponsor                                                               
of SB 94,  said last year he never went  to committee hearings on                                                               
this  legislation, and  he said  he  thinks that  was a  mistake,                                                               
because a Native  perspective needed to be heard.   He said he is                                                               
an Alaska Native who served in  the House for eight years and has                                                               
finished a second  term in the Senate.  He  said after reflection                                                               
he has  concluded that the  bill is  labored because of  the word                                                               
"Native"  in  its  language.   He  said  historically  the  words                                                               
"tribe"  and "Native"  are not  found in  House legislation,  and                                                               
those words have been absent  Senate legislation until the Senate                                                               
recently formed a coalition.                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
8:11:57 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR KOOKESH  opined that another  reason the  legislation has                                                               
not been supported is that people  do not want change.  He talked                                                               
about making  history through  adopting the  second verse  of the                                                               
Alaska Flag song.   He noted that none of  the former sponsors of                                                               
this  legislation  have been  Alaska  Native.   He  related  that                                                               
Alaska Natives are taught not to  talk about themselves.  He said                                                               
that by keeping  quiet, the Alaska Native community  has lost out                                                               
on  a lot  over the  years.   For example,  he said  there is  no                                                               
representation  of  Alaska  Natives  on the  Alaska  State  Seal.                                                               
Senator Kookesh  said Alaska Natives  have been around  the state                                                               
for  10,000 years  and  have contributed  to  the state  greatly,                                                               
including over $4  billion through the Native  corporations and a                                                               
recent  win of  the Iditarod  by  an Alaska  Native.   He said  a                                                               
Native  lad did,  in  fact, design  the  Alaska Flag;  therefore,                                                               
people should  not be ashamed  to recognize  that.  He  said that                                                               
acknowledgement  would not  give sovereignty  to Alaska  Natives,                                                               
but it would help them lift their faces just a little bit.                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR KOOKESH said his purpose is  not to criticize, but to ask                                                               
for help.   He said the  Alaska Natives are an  intrinsic part of                                                               
the state, but cannot get  the second verse adopted without help.                                                               
He expressed  his hope  that the legislature  will support  SB 94                                                               
and not oppose it because of the word "Native".                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
8:19:35 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR LYNN expressed his support of SB 94.                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
8:19:40 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE P. WILSON  said it hurts her to  hear that Senator                                                               
Kookesh  would  say she  would  not  vote  for the  second  verse                                                               
because of the word "Native".                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR  KOOKESH emphasized  that he  was relating  an historical                                                               
aspect.   He related that  as an  Alaska Native he  has witnessed                                                               
prejudices  in history  books, and  the  prejudice still  exists.                                                               
However, he  said he would  not come  before the committee  if he                                                               
thought its  members would vote  against the bill because  of the                                                               
word "Native".                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE P.  WILSON said  she has had  Natives come  to her                                                               
and ask her  not to support this legislation.   She expressed her                                                               
wish for the future to be the focus, not the past.                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
KOOKESH responded  that Representative Wilson's past  and his own                                                               
are not  the same,  and it would  be wrong of  him to  forget the                                                               
past  through which  he has  lived.   He acknowledged  that there                                                               
will always be  those who do not agree -  for example, the Native                                                               
people  of  Alaska do  not  agree  unanimously  on the  issue  of                                                               
subsistence  - but  there are  some  Natives who  do support  the                                                               
bill.                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
8:24:14 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  JOHANSEN relayed  that  in  Ketchikan there  were                                                               
bars where Natives and non-Natives  could not drink together, and                                                               
those  people are  still alive  and remember  that.   He said  he                                                               
thinks that  is what Senator Kookesh  is talking about.   He said                                                               
that he was ambivalent about SB  94 when he arrived this morning,                                                               
but  was moved  by Senator  Kookesh's  testimony.   He related  a                                                               
story from his youth where inequality was pointed out to him.                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
8:28:24 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON  talked about his involvement  with coastal                                                               
use and  subsistence, a lot  of which is  Native use.   He stated                                                               
that  the House  has been  actively  engaged in  issues that  are                                                               
vital to rural Alaskans, so that  those who live on local lands -                                                               
mostly but not  exclusively Alaska Natives - have a  voice in the                                                               
impact of development  in their communities.   He emphasized that                                                               
although everyone is not always  in agreement, that does not mean                                                               
"we don't  agree on  things."   He pointed out  that many  of his                                                               
constituents live in  Native communities, and he  related that he                                                               
has been contacted  by Native Alaskans who are opposed  to SB 94,                                                               
but not by any who support it.   He said he does not know if that                                                               
is because  of the issue of  not talking about oneself.   Whether                                                               
or not legislators  support SB 94 has nothing to  do with whether                                                               
they support one  Native voice or another, he stated.   He opined                                                               
that the House and the  House Resources Standing Committee, which                                                               
he co-chairs,  is working  strongly to  ensure that  all Alaskans                                                               
have opportunities.                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
8:31:39 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR KOOKESH  acknowledged that  things have changed;  he said                                                               
he no  longer feels  animosity within the  walls of  the Capitol,                                                               
but said it  was not that way  when he first arrived.   He agreed                                                               
that the legislature makes decisions to benefit all Alaskans.                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
8:33:01 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  PETERSEN talked  about  the  unique struggles  in                                                               
America and  the progress that has  been made.  He  said he voted                                                               
in favor of the  legislation in its last run, and  plans to do so                                                               
again.                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR  KOOKESH  stated  for  the   record  that  the  following                                                               
entities support  SB 94:   the Federation of Alaska  Natives; the                                                               
Alaska Native Brotherhood; and the Alaska Native Sisterhood.                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR LYNN talked about his  experience as a non-Hispanic growing                                                               
up in a predominately Hispanic community.                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
8:35:48 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  KELLER emphasized  that he  believes everyone  in                                                               
Alaska is  Alaskan, no matter  his/her ethnicity, and he  said he                                                               
does not  see that value  of Alaskans  being as one  reflected in                                                               
the second verse of the Alaska Flag song.                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR KOOKESH said  he likes the part of the  second verse that                                                               
states "there be no bars among  our cultures", and he offered his                                                           
understanding  that   that  underlines   Representative  Keller's                                                               
remarks.                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  KELLER said  he agrees  that there  should be  no                                                               
bars, but opined that there should  be no distinction in terms of                                                               
"how we view each other."                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR  KOOKESH  said  he  wishes  that was  true,  but  he  has                                                               
experienced a different reality as an Alaska Native.                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
8:38:21 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
LORRAINE  HAUSMAN  stated that  she  opposes  the addition  of  a                                                               
second verse to  the Alaska Flag song because "it's  fine the way                                                               
it is."   She said her  opinion has "nothing to  do with anything                                                               
other than I love the song and the intent of it."                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
8:40:17 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CONNIE  DAVIS, testifying  in support  of SB  94, noted  that her                                                               
mother, Carol  B. Davis, was  a good  friend of Marie  Drake, who                                                               
wrote  the first  verse  of  the Alaska  Flag  song, with  school                                                               
children in mind.  She said  the words of this verse describe the                                                               
meaning of the  flag, as described by Bennie Benson,  the boy who                                                               
designed the  flag.   The second verse,  she said,  continues the                                                               
thoughts  of unity  and progress.    She said  many new  Alaskans                                                               
don't know the state song, and  "the adoption of the second verse                                                               
might  be a  starting point."   She  stated that  all disciplines                                                               
learn  something from  the past,  and  she said  she thinks  both                                                               
verses are  acceptable.   Ms. Davis said  she has  observed about                                                               
two-thirds  of an  Alaskan audience  not  know the  words to  the                                                               
Alaska Flag song,  and she surmised that adding  the second verse                                                               
may generate renewed interest in the state's song.                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
8:42:58 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
PAMELA  MARSCH,   Staff,  Senator  Bettye  Davis,   Alaska  State                                                               
Legislature, on behalf  of Senator Davis, sponsor of  SB 94, read                                                               
the sponsor statement:                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
     Senate  Bill  94  would  add  a  second  verse  to  The                                                                    
     Alaska's Flag Song.   The late Carol  Beery Davis wrote                                                                    
     a beautiful  second verse,  which gives  recognition to                                                                    
     Alaska Natives  and to Benny  Benson, who  designed the                                                                    
     Alaskan flag.                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
     Similar bills have  been introduced in the  past.  Last                                                                    
     year  The Alaska's  Flag Song  was performed  with both                                                                    
     verses as  the Senate  gaveled in on  the first  day of                                                                    
     session.  Also  last year, the Senator  from District G                                                                    
     introduced SB  43.  It  passed the Senate,  but stalled                                                                    
     in the House.                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
     This year is  the year to join me in  supporting a long                                                                    
     overdue  addition to  the second  verse  to the  Alaska                                                                    
     Flag  Song.     By  passing  this  bill   you  will  be                                                                    
     recognizing history,  our progress  as a state  and our                                                                    
     first people.                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
8:44:22 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR LYNN,  after ascertaining  that there was  no one  else who                                                               
wished to testify, closed public testimony.                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
8:44:37 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG moved  to report SB 94  out of committee                                                               
with  individual  recommendations  and  the  accompanying  fiscal                                                               
notes.  There  being no objection, SB 94 was  reported out of the                                                               
House State Affairs Standing Committee.