SB 133-KATIE JOHN DAY  9:41:47 AM CHAIR DYSON announced that the committee will take up SB 133. 9:42:00 AM JOY DEMMERT, Staff, Senator Olson, Alaska State Legislature, Juneau, Alaska, read a statement as follows: Katie John is an Athabascan icon to Alaska, she is best known for her determination and success in fighting for subsistence rights. Katie John is also known for traditional teachings and way of life, she lived to be 97 years old. Katie John was passionate about preserving the Athabascan culture and language and she also helped to create the alphabet for the Ahtna dialect. In 2011, Katie John received the honorary doctor of laws degree from the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Katie John and her husband raised 14 of their own children and 6 foster children, she left behind more than 250 descendants. When considering this bill, one might ask is it necessary to pass a bill for Katie John's legacy, my answer would be "yes" because by supporting this piece of legislation we are sending a message to Alaska and to the entire world that we love and support our Alaska native cultures and the people. Each year on May 31 all Alaskans can reflect on the cultures and values of Alaska and peoples' connection with the land, be it native and nonnative. MS. DEMMERT thanked the committee for hearing SB 133, a bill that honors the Athabascan icon of Alaska. SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked about the significance of May 31 for Katie John Day. 9:44:15 AM DAVID SCOTT, Staff, Senator Olson, Alaska State Legislature, Juneau, Alaska, explained that May 31 is the date that Katie John passed away. He noted that there was no record of Katie John's actual birthday. 9:44:44 AM CHAIR DYSON announced that the committee will take a brief at ease. 9:44:49 AM CHAIR DYSON stated that he is confident SB 133 is going to pass out of committee and go directly to the Senate Floor through the Rules Committee. He said the committee is very respectful of the testifiers who want to praise Katie John and her impact on Alaska. 9:46:32 AM MAUDE BLAIR, Vice President, Alaska Federation of Natives, Anchorage, Alaska, read a statement in support of SB 133 as follows: There are about 120,000 Alaska native people in the state and the vast majority of them still participate in hunting, fishing, and gathering food during the year. Subsistence is a way of life for us and has been the basis of our cultures for thousands of years. As the state's population has grown, we have had to balance the interests of the different user groups with the need to sustain the resources for future generations. Katie John grew up living a traditional lifestyle at Batzulnetas, a traditional Ahtna village where her family had a fish camp. The state of Alaska closed the subsistence fishery there shortly after statehood. In 1980, Congress passed the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) which provides for a subsistence priority for hunting and fishing on federal public lands in Alaska by rule of residence; it allows state management on federal lands if the state enacts a law that extends the rural priority for subsistence uses to nonfederal lands. The state did enact a rural preference on nonfederal lands following the passage of ANILCA; however the State Board of Fisheries denied a request by Katie John and Doris Charles to reopen the fishery at Batzulnetas. In 1985, Katie John and Doris Charles sued the state of Alaska for not providing a subsistence priority required under ANILCA. What we call the "Katie John Cases" was actually a series of different lawsuits that involved several plaintiffs that had wound through the state and federal court systems. Katie John was the lead plaintiff and very much a leader in the push to preserve the subsistence rights that we native people have enjoyed for thousands of years. The Alaska Supreme Court ruled in 1989 in another case that the rural residency preference the state had adopted to comply with ANILCA and manage federal lands had violated the state's constitution, so the federal government took over management of the federal priority on federal lands, but refused to extend the authority over any fisheries. Katie John and Doris Charles then sued the United States in federal court to protect their fishing rights under ANILCA. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held in 1995 and again in 2001, that the federal priority for rural users applied to Batzulnetas and all other areas where the United States holds reserved water rights; this is good news because it meant that Katie John and other rural residents have a priority for subsistence fishing on federal lands, which make up about 60 percent of the state. As was mentioned already, Katie John didn't get to hear the most recent part of the case, it's still going on and it has been going on for 29 years; she passed away on May 31. May 31 is also significant because it is the day the state of Alaska allowed native people to put their fish-wheels in the water. Each year at our Alaska Federation of Natives (AFN) conventions, we pass resolutions of importance to us and the very first one we passed last October was asking the state of Alaska to name May 31 "Katie John Day." 9:50:16 AM SUSETTNA KING, representative, Alaska Native Sisterhood-Camp 70, Juneau, Alaska, read a statement in support of SB 133 as follows: I am representing the Alaska Native Sisterhood Camp 70. Our mission is to better the lives of native people and their families, to fight for civil rights and the rights of all Alaska native people, to share the cultural knowledge, wisdom, and artistic beauty of native tribal society, and to strive for the spirit of brotherhood and sisterhood among all people. Our ancestors fought for the betterment of Alaska natives, just as our Athabascan sister, Katie John. Katie John belonged to the Athabascan nation, she was important and the key of subsistence fight, and for like many in her time it was a fight for our way of life. Katie John worked for Alaska native because it was right thing to do. Written records shown, 2001, her fight took her to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling stating that subsistence fishery protection provided under Title 8 of Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) did in fact to all navigable waters in which the federal government own reserved water rights, effectively allowing subsistence fishing to continue unrestricted in those areas. The Alaska Native Sisterhood-Camp 70 stands with our brothers and sisters from the northern part of the state of Alaska in honoring Katie John, the subsistence fight she fought not only benefited the northern, but us in the Southeast Panhandle. We support SB 133 to establish Katie John's Day each year on May 31. Katie John was an Alaska native woman we all strive to live like. Katie John was celebrated and honored in the Alaska Federation of Natives (AFN) in 2003; we celebrate her by gathering of many. The Alaska Native Sisterhood- Camp 70 encourages enacting SB 133 and honoring Dr. Katie John. CHAIR DYSON remarked that SB 133 will pass out of committee today. He stated that testimony is not needed to get SB 133 out of committee. He encouraged testifiers, if possible, not to repeat what was said by previous individuals. 9:53:17 AM KATHRYN MARTIN, Senior Vice President, Ahtna, Inc., Glennallen, Alaska, thanked Senator Olson and Senator Ellis for introducing SB 133 for consideration. She noted that she is the granddaughter of Katie John. [She provided testimony that concurred with previous witnesses in support of SB 133.] She summarized that naming May 31 as Katie John Day would be an incredible honor and a show of respect for a woman who lived her whole life taking care of others. 9:56:09 AM FRED JOHN, representing himself, Delta Junction, Alaska, said he is the son of Katie John. [He provided testimony that concurred with previous witnesses in support of SB 133.] He set forth that Katie John taught her children to profess that native Alaskans' ways are not a threat to the state of Alaska. CHAIR DYSON stated that the committee is honored to move SB 133 forward. 9:58:15 AM HAVEN HARRIS, representing himself, Anchorage, Alaska, said he supports SB 133. He asserted that Katie John's contribution to all of Alaska is something that should be shared in our history books. He said it would be a tremendous honor for Katie John to be recognized every year on the day of her passing. 9:58:55 AM JULIE ROBERTS-HYSLOP, Vice President, Tanana Chiefs Conference, Tanana, Alaska, said she supports the passing of SB 133 [and provided testimony that concurred with previous witnesses.] She summarized that the state of Alaska has an opportunity to honor and acknowledge a woman of strength and courage, a woman that fought hard for a way of life that cannot be forgotten. 10:00:35 AM CHAIR DYSON asked if there is anyone in the committee room that wants to testify on SB 133. He announced seeing none, public testimony is closed. 10:00:51 AM SENATOR GIESSEL moved SB 133, labeled 28-LS1288\A from committee with zero fiscal note and attached individual recommendations. 10:01:06 AM CHAIR DYSON announced that without objection, SB 133 moved out of the Senate State Affairs Standing Committee.