Legislature(2023 - 2024)BARNES 124
03/20/2024 01:00 PM House RESOURCES
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Department of Environmental Conservation | |
| HB295 | |
| HJR22 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| + | HB 295 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HJR 22 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | HB 388 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
HJR 22-RESIDENT SUBSISTENCE USE OF FISH/GAME
1:40:40 PM
CHAIR MCKAY announced that the next order of business would be
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 22, Proposing an amendment to the
Constitution of the State of Alaska relating to subsistence use
of replenishable natural resources by state residents; and
providing for an effective date for the amendment.
1:41:14 PM
REPRESENATIVE BAKER introduced Ms. Kitka and Dr. Rosita Worl.
1:42:06 PM
JULIE KITKA, President, Alaska Federation of Natives, explained
the history of the constitutional amendment to subsistence
rights. She said that this issue has been in front of the
legislature since 1990. She continued on the history of
constitutional amendments in the Alaska Legislature. She said
that the Alaska Federation of Natives (AFN) has been working at
this issue and gave up after determining that the legislature
had no interest in working on this issue. She recommended that
the legislature take its time in introducing a constitutional
amendment. She explained common themes in policy debate on this
issue, and advised the committee to keep in mind that
subsistence is an Alaska Native issue, that it was offensive
that the amendment did not include language acknowledging them.
She said the current system of dual management is a direct
result of the failure of the state to engage with local Native
groups and communities. She said her second recommendation is to
get rid of the non-subsistence use areas.
1:51:48 PM
MS. KITKA continued with her third recommendation, telling the
committee members to scope out the best system to manage
subsistence rights, considering all things that may affect them.
She added that the legislature should consider court cases that
affect subsistence rights. She said the other area that she
thinks the state should look at is the Alaska National Interest
Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) amendments. She emphasized that
subsistence is not just a choice, but a way of life, and
culture. She urged the legislature to explore the history of
relations between the federal government and Native Americans
before moving forward on any legislation. She said to approach
this legislation with concrete goals, to be experts on the
issue.
1:57:20 PM
REPRESENTATIVE MCKAY added that he remembers the debate in 1990,
that it was a sad time in Alaska's history.
1:57:51 PM
ROSITA WORL, PhD, President, Sealaska Heritage Institute, read
from prepared remarks[included in the committee packet, which
read as follows [original punctuation provided]:
Mr. Chair and Honorable Members of the Alaska State
Legislature House Resources Committee:
For the record, I am Rosita Kaahni Worl, and I am a
member of the Alaska Federation of Natives Subsistence
Committee.
Thank you for allowing us to comment on HJR 22, which
embodies an issue of great significance to Alaskans
and, notably, to the Alaska Native Community.
Thank you for also bringing this issue, which has
divided the state for decades, to an open forum.
Hopefully, through rational, honest, and sincere
dialogue with all stakeholders at the table, we may be
able to formulate a unified position.
If I may, I would like to introduce myself in
accordance with our cultural protocols. My
introduction will also reveal the spiritual
interrelationships that we maintain with our animals,
birds, and fish. It will also demonstrate the cultural
dimensions of subsistence that are rarely known or
understood outside of the subsistence community.
Yeidiklas'akw ka Kaaháni yóo xát duwasáak
Cháak' naa áyá x
Shungukeidí naax xt sitee
Kaawdliyaay Hit dáx x
Jilkaat kwyá x
Lukaax.ádi yadi áyá x
My Tlingit name is Yeidiklas'skw. It is an ancient
name whose meaning has been lost in antiquity.
My ceremonial name is Kaaháni, which refers to the
stature or status of an individual. In the ceremony in
which I received this name, our clan leader said that
my stature was "Woman Who Stands in the Place of a
Man."
I Am an Eagle of The Thunderbird Clan and the House
Lowered from the Sun from Klukwan in the Chilkat
region.
I am also a Child of the sockeye Clan.
My identity is also intertwined with our clan crests-
the Eagle, Thunderbird, and Sun.
We, of our clan, are spiritually strengthened by the
Eagle, Thunderbird, Sun, and Sockeye, but also by our
clan spirits, the White Bear, Shark, and Killer Whale.
In addition, Our clan is entitled to wear the US Naval
uniform and to use the name Schwatga as payment for
the failure of Lt Schwatga, of the US Navy, to pay a
debt to my great, great clan grandfather during the
Klondike Gold Rush era.
In attempting to address and resolve the subsistence
issue or, more specifically, the dual management
regime between the federal and state governments and
in proposing the developing solutions including a
constitutional amendment that provides for the
protection of subsistence, it will be necessary to
understand the multiple elements affecting
subsistence.
Many changes have occurred in the thirty-four years
since the federal government took over subsistence
management authority on federal lands. We-Natives- for
one, gave up trying to amend the state constitution.
We have citizens who grew up living with dual
management and have grown accustomed to this system.
We have tribal members who now favor working with and
through the federal subsistence board. We also have a
growing insistence that Indigenous knowledge, science,
and language be incorporated into resource management
regimes and decisions. These changes will have to be
considered as we assess proposed constitutional
amendments and a possible unified management regime.
It will also be necessary to understand the legal and
political history that gave rise to the situation in
which we find ourselves today. This context is complex
and subject to differing interpretations and
orientations, making our task more difficult. Native
People both revere and utilize the land and its
resources. Thus, it will be imperative to have a clear
understanding of cultural significance of subsistence.
This dimension has given Native people the stamina to
fight for our basic cultural survival, identity, and
subsistence rights, which are all intertwined with our
physical and spiritual relationship to the land,
resources, and subsistence.
Native people will insist that these cultural values
and practices are considered and integrated into
subsistence management regimes. Knowledge about the
dual economies that characterize rural communities,
integrating both subsistence and cash economies, is
another important consideration.
Native people must also be engaged in discussions and
have a place at the table in addressing a unified
management regime.
Thank you for the opportunity to present our
preliminary assessment of the elements that we believe
are necessary to consider in developing a
constitutional amendment that can bring a state-level
unified management regime that includes subsistence
protection.
Gunalchéesh
2:04:29 PM
GAYLA HOSETH, Director, Natural Resources Program, Bristol Bay
Native Corporation, mentioned that the theme of the 2023 AFN
convention was "our way of life." Subsistence life has sustained
Native Peoples of Alaska for thousands of years; it is a way of
life. She said it is important to understand the cultural
implications of Subsistence rights. She said a good
consideration for the legislators would be to travel to each
community and village to see and learn about subsistence rights.
She said it is also important for Alaskans to understand and
learn and be involved in the process of creating legislation.
2:08:32 PM
REPRESENTATIVE MCKAY asked for the dates of the AFN convention.
MS. KITKA said that it is the third week of October, and that
there was no consideration of a constitutional amendment.
2:09:22 PM
REPRESENATIVE BAKER, as prime sponsor of HJR22, added that he
was fortunate enough to be allowed to speak at the AFN
convention. He said that though this legislation was introduced
late, he appreciates the folks from AFN for giving their
testimony on HJR22.
2:10:30 PM
DOUG VINCENT-LANG, Commissioner, Alaska Department of Fish &
Game, added to the previous testimony, explaining that the dual
management system is not working, and that subsistence is
priority under state statute. He gave examples of the federal
closure of lands using Southeast Alaska and the Mulchatna
Caribou Herd. He cited Berners's Bay and the introduced moose
population, and how the federal government's oversight is
affecting its management. He mentioned the Yukon River and the
Nelchina Caribou Hunt, and how both are affected by the Federal
Subsistence Board Management's decisions. He said dual
management is impacting subsistence negatively, and that HJR22
is the first step of many in the right direction.
2:17:15 PM
REPRESENTATIVE MCKAY asked Representative Edgemon to come up and
give some advice.
2:17:48 PM
REPRESENTATIVE BRYCE EDGMON, Alaska State Legislature,
emphasized the importance of understanding the issue and
explained his memories of subsistence issues in Alaska politics.
He thanked committee members for their comments.
2:19:59 PM
REPRESENTATIVE MEARS commented that this is an issue that needs
to be discussed and decided beyond the walls of this committee
room.
2:20:34 PM
REPRESENTATIVE DIBERT thanked the invited testifiers, and asked
if any of them feel that federal protections defined in ANILCA
are currently sufficient for subsistence rights.
2:21:35 PM
MS. KITKA answered that Native Alaskans have an inherent right
to their lands and food, and there are many political rights
defined in federal law. She said that Natives want to run their
lives themselves and not to have to look to the federal
government for guidance and management. She said to trust the
Native community to manage itself. She said times and
circumstances change.
2:23:51 PM
REPRESENTATIVE DIBERT said that things have changed on the Yukon
River and quoted her mother saying "at least we have the memory
of the taste of [salmon]"
2:24:29 PM
DR. WORL said that there have been good changes in the State,
such as the recognition for Native Alaskans. She said that more
needs to be done.
[HJR 22 was held over.]
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| HB295 Transmittal Letter.pdf |
HRES 3/20/2024 1:00:00 PM |
HB 295 |
| HB295 Version B.pdf |
HRES 3/20/2024 1:00:00 PM |
HB 295 |
| HB295 Sectional Analysis Version B.pdf |
HRES 3/20/2024 1:00:00 PM |
HB 295 |
| HB295 Summary of Changes Version A to B.pdf |
HRES 3/20/2024 1:00:00 PM |
HB 295 |
| HB295 Supporting Document Statutes and Regulations.pdf |
HRES 3/20/2024 1:00:00 PM |
HB 295 |
| HB295 Supporting Document ADFG Lake Stocking Policy.pdf |
HRES 3/20/2024 1:00:00 PM |
HB 295 |
| Pokon Resume 2023_Redacted.pdf |
HRES 3/20/2024 1:00:00 PM |
|
| HJR22 Response to (H)RES Member Questions.pdf |
HRES 3/20/2024 1:00:00 PM |
HJR 22 |