Holding Our Ground Part
3
"Programs are presented as broadcast in 1985
and 1986. Some of the issues may have changed. A new series is
looking at how these issues have changed over time. For more program
information please contact the producer: Jim Sykes, PO Box 696,
Palmer, AK 99645. The address given at the end
of the program is no longer correct."
TapeAlaska Transcripts, PO Box 696, Palmer, AK
99645
HOLDING OUR GROUND
(c) 1985 Western Media Concepts, Inc.
"SUBSISTENCE--A WAY OF LIFE"
(Part 3 of 16)
[Nelson Frank] The relationship between the Native population
and the resource of the land and sea is so close that an entire
culture is reflected.
[Jonathon Solomon] I share what's on my table with you. When I
share with you my heart is happy, so is yours, and this is the
way of subsistence way of life.
[Narrator] 'SUBSISTENCE' MEANS MORE TO ALASKA NATIVES THAN HUNTING
AND HARVESTING. IT IS AN INTRICATE BOND BETWEEN PEOPLE AND THE
LAND THAT CONTINUES TODAY. AS THIS ANCIENT WAY OF LIFE CHANGES,
IT FACES AN UNCERTAIN FUTURE. IN THIS PROGRAM ALASKA NATIVES TELL
WHAT SUBSISTENCE MEANS TO THEM AND WHY IT IS ESSENTIAL. THIS IS
HOLDING OUR GROUND.
FUNDING FOR "HOLDING OUR GROUND" IS PROVIDED BY THE
ALASKA HUMANITIES FORUM, THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES,
RURAL ALASKA COMMUNITY ACTION PROGRAM, THE NORTH SLOPE BOROUGH,
AND ZIONTZ-PIRTLE LAW FIRM.
I never heard the word subsistence until l97l under the Native
Land Claims Act. Before that time, when I was brought up in the
culture of my people, it's always been our culture and our land.
THE WORD MAY BE NEW, BUT TO JOHNATHON SOLOMON, CHIEF AMONG THE
GWICH'IN PEOPLE OF THE YUKON FLATS, SUBSISTENCE REACHES BACK THOUSANDS
OF YEARS TO SPIRITUAL BELIEFS, COMMUNITY TRADITIONS, AND SURVIVAL
SKILLS.
Subsistence living was not only a way of life, also a life-enriching
process. (NELSON FRANK) Conservation and perpetuation of subsistence
resources was part of the way of life and was mandated by the traditional
law and custom. The traditional law was passed from generation
to generation, intact through the repetition of legends and observance
of ceremonials which were largely concerned with the use of land,
water, and resources contained therein.
THOSE SAME KINDS OF TRADITIONS AND SKILLS WERE LEARNED AMONG THE
SIBERIAN YUPIK ESKIMOS ON WINDSWEPT ST. LAWRENCE ISLAND.
EDNA APATIKI LEARNED MANY SKILLS THE TRADITIONAL WAY .....
I am so thankful that I have knowledge I have gained from listening. That was
my way of education from my family. We were first naturalists, scientists,
environmentalists, natural healers, conservationists, survivors, and philosophers,
and many more, way before non-Natives who studied to acquire our skills.
We have our own ethnicity, a knowledge and conscience of what we see as reality
as Native people.
THAT REALITY INCLUDES A SUBSISTENCE ECONOMY WHICH IS NOT EASILY
UNDERSTOOD BY OUTSIDERS. CANADIAN JUDGE THOMAS BERGER VISITED OVER
SIXTY COMMUNITIES AROUND ALASKA, AND HE LISTENED TO HUNDREDS OF
DESCRIPTIONS OF VILLAGE LIFE.
BERGER SAYS WITHOUT LISTENING, ONE HAS FEW CLUES TO THE COMPLEX
BOND BETWEEN PEOPLE AND THE LAND.
When a white stranger visits a village in Alaska for a short time
he can no more recognize the subsistence economy on which it is
based, than a village person entering a major city for the first
time can understand how its economy can work. The stranger to the
village will see only the equipment used for subsistence; the snowmobiles,
skiffs, nets, sleds, snowshoes, oildrums, and so on. And of course
the products of subsistence, racks of drying fish, skins being
scraped, smokehouses full of meat. He might guess that the villagers
are busy because he probably would find very few of them at home.
VILLAGERS USUALLY TRAVEL WITH THE SEASONS TO GATHER AND PREPARE
THEIR FOOD. THE HARVEST IS DIFFERENT IN EVERY PART OF ALASKA, BUT
THE WORK IS ALWAYS DEMANDING.
In our Eskimo way of life, getting food was a daaaay-ly effort.
It had to be done every day, it could be bad weather, it could
be a nice day, but it was an everyday effort that Eskimo had to
go out and gather his own food so he could survive.
Just like, you know, making an earning, like a white man works,
he makes his earning he feeds his family. The Native people for
a long time have survived from the land, it's just like having
a job. That's what they know and they can teach it to their kids.
JASPER JOSEPH AND MICHAEL ACOVAK SENIOR LIVE IN WESTERN AND SOUTHWESTERN
ALASKA VILLAGES, WHERE SALMON RUNS MEAN CONSTANT WORK AT SUMMER
FISH CAMPS.
IN THE ARCTIC VILLAGE OF ALAKAKET NEAR THE BROOKS RANGE PEOPLE
LIKE LINDA DUNTON ARE ALSO AT WORK.
In the spring time we had our spring camps where we hunt ducks and got the
fish in the springtime and the muskrats and then to another place later in
the summer to go fishing salmon and then in the fall time you go to another
place to get your moose and set up your camp for the winter.
My people in the summer time (MICHAEL HUNT OF KOTLIK) they go
out to their fish camps, they put up fish for the wintertime make
dryfish and they put them away in the barrels. They do their subsistence
way of life, and then they go out and pick salmonberries, prepare
for the winter as their subsistence. In wintertime they put out
sheefish nets out and put out blackfish traps.
THE CYCLE OF SEASONS DEMANDS DIFFERENT SKILLS THROUGHOUT ALASKA'S
RUGGED TERRAIN. SPRING IS A TIME OF RENEWAL AND CELEBRATION. IN
SOUTHEAST, THE HAIDA PEOPLE CELEBRATE THE RETURN OF THE SALMON--WHICH
MEANS MORE THAN A TIME TO FISH.
In the spring months, when the salmon return home, (WOODROW MORRISON)
the first ones, when we see them jump, we holler, "Aiyoo!
Aiyoo! " That's a celebration, our relatives have returned
again. The Creator is making it possible for us to continue our
life in that same cycle.
LUCY WESTLOCK FROM EMMONAK
In the springtime we hunted and gathered food from the tundra including mouse
food which are special roots gathered underground. We gathered food from
the lakes, the plants that grow there. We gather wood from the area to cook
our food. I'm still practicing those things that are practiced to get food
for my children.
THE CLIMATE IS HARSH, BUT THE LAND PROVIDES FOOD, CLOTHING, SHELTER,
AND EVEN TRANSPORTATION.
JUDY BAUMAN OF FAIRBANKS REMEMBERS A GIFT HER GREAT UNCLE MADE....
When I was young my great uncle came to live with us and he asked my mother, "what
would you like me to make for you." And she said, "I'd like a dog
sled." And he went outside and chopped some trees down and he didn't even
use an electric drill. He showed me how he made it with a stick, a stick with
a nail on the end of it and a little bow. And he put it in his mouth and he
moved that bow and it would drill a hole. He made everything that he worked
on that sled with, he made everything that he used from nothing. I mean he
could go out, ninety-six years old, he could go out in the woods and he could
make whatever he wanted to. He didn't have to go to the store and buy anything.
PEOPLE LIVING IN COASTAL COMMUNITIES DEPEND LARGELY ON MARINE
LIFE FOR SUBSISTENCE FOODS.
ALICE KULOWIYI LIVES IN GAMBELL ON THE NORTHWEST TIP OF ST. LAWRENCE
ISLAND. MUCH OF HER FOOD COMES FROM THE BERING SEA.
We St. Lawrence Islanders, are just like those farmers on the outside.
We eat from the plants of the sea just like farmers eat from their farm.
We collect the plants that grow on the water and we collect them when they
are washed up on the shore.
The Bering Sea and the Chukchi Sea are our gardens...
FOR JONAH TOKIENNA, THE BOUNTY OF THOSE GARDENS IS THE GREAT BOWHEAD WHALE.
PEOPLE ALONG THE ARCTIC COAST HUNT BOWHEADS TWO TIMES A YEAR.
ALICE SOLOMON DESCRIBES IN HER IÑUPIAQ LANGUAGE HOW TRADITIONAL
WHALING BOATS ARE MADE IN THE SPRING.
The hunters who catch bearded seal, that women prepares the skin, cuts it
up, butchers it. And this is the role of the women. And when they return
she takes care of them, working very hard because there are so many skins
that have to be put together into a boat, to make a boat.
IN RECENT YEARS, ALUMINUM BOATS HAVE BEEN USED, BUT SOME HUNTERS
STILL PREFER BEARDED SEALSKIN. FOR CENTURIES THE PEOPLE OF THE
ARCTIC COAST HAVE DEPENDED ON THE WHALE FOR SURVIVAL...THEY KNOW
ITS MIGRATION AND BEHAVIOR PATTERNS.
BURTON REXFORD IS A MEMBER OF THE ALASKA ESKIMO WHALING COMMISSION.
HE SAYS A WHALING CAPTAIN RELIES ON THE KNOWLEDGE HANDED DOWN FROM
GENERATIONS OF EXPERIENCE.
A whaling captain is faced with great responsibilities; his number one
priority is of course the immediate concerns of safety while out on the
hazardous and icy Arctic waters. It is his knowledge and preparation that
the people depend upon for their daily food. If a village did not catch
a whale, then we knew, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that we would experience
extreme hardship and fear the oncoming hunger that would strike us. We
know that when we caught a whale we then would be able to sleep easily
and eat well.
ON THE FIRST DAY OF A WHALING FESTIVAL, THE PEOPLE TRADITIONALLY
BRING THE WHALING CAPTAIN'S BOAT ASHORE AND ALL THE PEOPLE ARE
FED INCLUDING THOSE UNABLE TO TAKE PART IN THE HUNT. NO ONE GOES
HUNGRY, BECAUSE SHARING IS A STRONG PART OF THE TRADITION.
The people are happy, they're smiling, they're excited and you
think about it. Boy they caught a whale . They get really excited
and the happiness extends all the way from the deep inside. And
when you go into the house that caught a whale, that happiness,
that excitement, that crying for joy and because they are glad
that they have been given that gift.
LORI KINGIK OF POINT HOPE.
We the Iñupiaq people have always shared and divided our food, and that
is our way of life. We have practiced our whaling traditions and we are still
using them today. When they catch one whale everybody in Point Hope has a share
of the muktuk the whale and everybody is fed.
JOE HOTCH IS A TLINGIT FROM THE SOUTHEAST COMMUNITY OF KLUKWAN.
Klukwan interpreted in Tlingit means 'always a community.' We share
our subsistence foods with one another.
It's more than food, it's the ingestion of the spirit of that
animal, also, or that fish (WOODROW MORRISON) and also those fish
and the other game, are a gift that was given to us. And therefore,
when any person would come into my house, and I had fish, I had
meat, whoever came in was also entitled to that. And so we give
to each other. People never kill anything, they go out and they
catch a moose, they don't go out and kill a moose. They catch some
birds. The animal has a spirit of its own. And many times, the
old way, people would say to that animal, after they had shot it, "I
thank you for giving up your spirit so that my family could live." And
then they would treat it with respect.
THE GWICH'IN PEOPLE OF THE YUKON FLATS PAY THE SAME RESPECT TO
THE CARIBOU.
The Caribou, as my people believe for many years, is part of the
Gwich'in people religion. (JONATHON SOLOMON) We eat it, we use
their parts of their fur and stuff for our own clothing. But we
also believe that the population of the Gwich'in people in the
Yukon Flat goes up and down with the numbers of these animals...
This is why it is very important to us when we talk about the Porcupine
Caribou Herd, that it be protected for our generations to come,
because this is our belief...We are not a visitor upon these lands,
we are in the same ecosystem as the animal on these lands.
WHETHER IT'S CARIBOU, SEAL OR SALMON, PEOPLE ARE ALWAYS AWARE
OF FUTURE NEEDS.
BONNIE MCCORD OF TYONEK,
The people down here know how much fish they have to take for the
year to carry themselves thru the winter...we've been taught
that by our Elders. So we never take any more from the sea or
the land than what we can use.
FURTHER NORTH, ON THE KOYUKUK RIVER, WILSON SAM OF HUSLIA USES
THE SAME PRINCIPLES WHEN HE HUNTS.
My parents always used to say--make sure you try to get the male, if you're
going to go out and get a bird, don't try to get the female because they
take care of the eggs and then they have the young ones. So make sure you
get the male. That's the way you preserve your country.
We hold in trust for our children (ANTOINETTE HALMER) the use
of mother earth's garden. If we do not tend to our garden with
nurturing strokes, she will not produce for our survival. That
is the supreme law.
NURTURING STROKES ARE NO LONGER ENOUGH. FEW PEOPLE MAKE THEIR
LIVING EXCLUSIVELY FROM THE LAND. THE LAND BASED ECONOMY IS NOW
MIXED WITH THE CASH ECONOMY. IT TAKES SEVERAL HUNDRED DOLLARS TO
PAY FOR TRANSPORTATION, AMMUNITION, MOTORBOATS AND OTHER SUPPLIES,
WHETHER THE HUNT IS SUCCESSFUL OR NOT. BUT MONEY IS HARD TO COME
BY IN MOST VILLAGES, BECAUSE THERE ARE FEW REGULAR JOBS. THE VILLAGE
SCHOOL, POST OFFICE, STORE,AND SOMETIMES LOCAL GOVERNMENT EMPLOY
A HANDFUL OF PEOPLE. FISHING, FIREFIGHTING, AND OCCASIONAL CONSTRUCTION
PROVIDE TEMPORARY CASH-PAYING JOBS. BUT PEOPLE STILL DEPEND ON
THE LAND FOR MANY BASIC NEEDS.
SHIELA AGA THEIRIAULT LIVES ON KODIAK ISLAND.
Our economic stability in villages is very bad. The unemployment is extremely
high, there's no place else in the United States and maybe in the world
where you are going to find such unemployment statistics as you will
in villages. I look out here in the bays we go out there and we fish,
we go out among the bays and we hunt. We get our food there. We depend
on the food that we get for ourselves.
ANUSKA PETLA ESTIMATED THE CASH VALUE OF THAT FOOD. SHE PRESENTED
HER FINDINGS TO JUDGE THOMAS BERGER WHEN THE ALASKA NATIVE REVIEW
COMMISSION VISITED THE VILLAGE OF NEW STUYAHOK.
All the meat and all the fish that we eat every year per household, it would
come to about six to seven thousand dollars. I know most of us we can't afford
it because there's not enough jobs in the villages for everyone.
Are hunting and fishing important here? (ANDREW KELLY OF EMMONAK)
That question shouldn't even be asked, without hunting and fishing
we cannot live, we cannot expect to feed our families.
VILLAGE STORES AND SOCIAL SERVICES HAVE PROVIDED A FEW BASIC NEEDS
THAT USED TO COME ONLY FROM THE LAND. THERE ARE FEWER SUBSISTENCE
ACTIVITIES IN SOME VILLAGES. THESE DEVELOPMENTS HAVE NOT REDUCED
THE IMPORTANCE OF SUBSISTENCE ACCORDING TO JUDGE THOMAS BERGER.
Even in villages where subsistence activities appear to have declined
people speak of subsistence with the same passion as they do in
villages where it is flourishing. In Alaska, Native societies,
large and small were erected on a subsistence base. Today subsistence
gives continuity to village life, and Alaska Natives still regard
subsistence as their birthright. Even those not engaged in subsistence
regard it as essential to their future well-being.
URBAN DWELLERS LIVING IN A CASH-BASED ECONOMY, MIGHT SUPPLEMENT
THEIR STORE-BOUGHT FOODS WITH FRESH CAUGHT FISH AND GAME. IT IS
THE OTHER WAY AROUND FOR THOSE WHO LIVE MAINLY IN A LAND-BASED
ECONOMY, WHERE CASH IS A SUPPLEMENT.
ACCORDING TO ANTOINETTE HALMER OF CRAIG, SUBSISTENCE LIVING IS
NOT A MATTER OF CHOICE. IT IS A NECESSITY.
Living off the land and sea is not only traditional, but owing to the scarcity
of cash income, it is required for our families to survive.
GLADYS DERENDOFF OF HUSLIA
I'd like to quote this one Eskimo lady. She said if we ever lose our subsistence
ways, the older people, they wouldn't be able to eat store-bought food. They're
so used to living on seal oil. She said that if they don't get to have seal
oil and things like that, you know, they'd probably die early or something.
She also said that seal oil is the blood of their life, she said.
CONGRESS ABOLISHED SUBSISTENCE RIGHTS IN 1971, AS A PART OF ANCSA,
THE ALASKA NATIVE CLAIMS SETTLEMENT ACT. IN 1980, CONGRESS PASSED
A LANDS BILL, CALLED ANILCA, THAT APPEARED TO RESTORE SOME OF THOSE
RIGHTS. BUT THE STATE MAINTAINS CONTROL OF MOST FISH AND WILDLIFE
SPECIES. PERMITS ARE REQUIRED IN AREAS WHERE PEOPLE ONCE HUNTED
FREELY. THE LAND CLAIMS ACT ALSO REDUCED THE LAND AREA TO ABOUT
ONE-TENTH OF THE TRADITIONAL SIZE. ANCSA GAVE THOSE LANDS TO CORPORATIONS.
ALTHOUGH ALASKA NATIVES CAN HUNT EXCLUSIVELY ON THIS CORPORATE
PROPERTY, THE STATE OF ALASKA STILL SETS THE SEASONS AND THE LIMITS.
Those laws,(JUDGE BERGER) coming from a different tradition, have
the effect of undermining the Native society founded on subsistence,
because those laws don't take into account the fact that there
is a whole web of moral, and spiritual, and economic relationships
founded on subsistence that a whole society is dependent on. So
it seems to me that the issue of subsistence is not one of competition
for resources, not simply a question of allocation of resources,
it is rather an issue of a different order of magnitude: the survival
of village Alaska.
BERGER HAS URGED NATIVE PEOPLES TO TAKE CONTROL OF SUBSISTENCE
RESOURCES AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. TRADITIONAL LAWS COULD THEN BE IMPLEMENTED.
FORMER DIRECTOR OF THE ALASKA ESKIMO WHALING COMMISION MARIE ADAMS.
There are traditional subsistence laws within the communities. They have their
own laws, basically their own structure on how they hunt, what is acceptable,
what is not. What's been happening the last several years, several decades,
is with the new federal government, the state government coming in and basically
imposing laws without clearly understanding or going out to see what is out
there has created a lot of confusion. Many times we had to clarify what is
meant by which law.
STATE SUBSISTENCE LAWS HAVE ALREADY BEEN TESTED. A STATEWIDE VOTE
PRESERVED RURAL PRIORITIES FOR FISH AND GAME IN 1982, BUT NEW COURT
CHALLENGES AND PRESSURE FROM URBAN HUNTERS IS AGAIN FORCING THE
SUBSISTENCE WAY OF LIFE INTO ANOTHER HEATED POLITICAL BATTLE.
KOTZEBUE HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT BOBBY WELLS ...
I remember our fathers, our forefathers, how they survived in this
world, in strong winds, in cold temperatures, because they knew
how to survive. They were taught to share, they were taught to
help each other, for thousands of years. And today we are in
this same situation, but this time we're not surviving against
nature. We're in a time where we're searching, we're fighting
to survive among different people in this Western civilization.
WHEN THE UNITED STATES TRIED TO STOP BOWHEAD WHALE HUNTING IN
1977 WHALING CAPTAINS IN NORTHERN ALASKA FORMED THE ALASKA ESKIMO
WHALING COMMISSION.
MARIE ADAMS RECALLS WHAT HAPPENED IN BARROW.
People were deeply hurt, when they were asked to stop whaling, it was incomprehensible.
I remember listening to the meeting and listening to it, people were
very upset. Men and women were all crying after the whaling commission
got together. One of the things that we ran across were people did not
believe that we were still whaling traditionally, the way we were and
still carrying on the traditions that we did.
THE ALASKA ESKIMO WHALING COMMISSION HAS FINALLY PREVAILED. THEIR
MANAGEMENT PLAN IS NOW RECOGNIZED BY THE U.S. GOVERNMENT AND SEVERAL
FOREIGN NATIONS. ALASKA NATIVES HAVE ALSO CREATED MANAGEMENT PLANS
TO REGULATE CARIBOU, WALRUS AND MIGRATORY BIRDS. LATER IN THIS
SERIES WE LOOK AT HOW PEOPLE VIEW THE STATE, FEDERAL AND TRADITIONAL
LAWS THAT AFFECT SUBSISTENCE; THE POLITICAL CHALLENGES, AND WHAT
ALASKA NATIVES ARE DOING TO MANAGE SUBSISTENCE RESOURCES. PLEASE
JOIN US. FOR HOLDING OUR GROUND, THIS IS ADELINE RABOFF.
THIS PROGRAM WAS PRODUCED BY JIM SYKES, WRITTEN BY JEFF BERLINER,
EDITED AND RESEARCHED BY SUE BURRUS. MARY KANCEWICK IS OUR SCRIPT
CONSULTANT. SPECIAL THANKS TO THE COMMUNITY OF GAMBELL FOR DANCING
AND SINGING, AND ALSO SPECIAL THANKS TO THE INUIT CIRCUMPOLAR CONFERENCE. "HOLDING
OUR GROUND" IS A PRODUCTION OF WESTERN MEDIA CONCEPTS WHICH
IS SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CONTENT.
FUNDING FOR "HOLDING OUR GROUND" IS PROVIDED BY THE
ALASKA HUMANITIES FORUM, THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES,
RURAL ALASKA COMMUNITY ACTION PROGRAM, THE NORTH SLOPE BOROUGH,
AND ZIONTZ-PIRTLE LAW FIRM.
[Western Media Concepts no longer exists. Please Contact
TapeAlaska, PO Box 696, Palmer, AK 99645 for information about
Holding Our Ground.]
PROGRAM SUMMARIES:
1. The People, the Land, and the
Law
Comprehensive 30-minute survey of the burning issues facing Alaska's Native
community in the second half of this decade. This tour over the vast landscape
of Alaska Native affairs serves as an overview of the topics to be treated
in depth during the other 14 segments.
2. The Land and Sea
The ages-old Native feeling about the land comes across the airwaves like a
fresh breeze. Two starkly different realities are presented—the Native
concept of oneness with the land and the Western notion of land ownership
and development. How do these contrasting philosophies fit the Native in
rural Alaska?
3. Subsistence—A
Way of Life
Far from the political and legal controversies surrounding subsistence, Natives
carry on their traditional subsistence lifestyles. Hear their very personal
descriptions of subsistence, what it is, and what it means to them. An important
aspect of this documentary will be to delve into the mix of subsistence and
cash economies.
4. Sovereignty—What
it Means to People
Self-determination is the heart of a rising grassroots political movement.
The listener will learn that this quest by Native people to control their own
futures reaches far into the past. And the listener will discover that American
political theory is not as much at odds with the sovereignty movement as one
might think.
5. Traditional Councils and Corporate
Boardrooms
Who calls the shots in the Native community: A look at power, history, and
decision making. The audience will consider change from the perspectives of
traditional village rule to government and corporate bureaucracies.
6. The Land and the Corporations
Traditional Native lands became corporate assets because the Alaska Native
Claims Settlement Act created profit-making Native corporations to hold the
land. This segment will look at one of the toughest questions facing the
Native community today: "Do these Native corporations have an obligation
to develop their lands to earn a profit for their shareholders, or do they
have an obligation to preserve those lands for subsistence and for generations
to come?"
7. Risking and Saving the Land
Land owned by Native corporations can be lost through sales, corporate takeover,
bankruptcy, or taxation. This has generated so much concern among Natives
trying to save their land that there are now a number of options to prevent
loss of these lands. This program is an exploration of the major risks and
what alternatives are available.
8 Subsistence and the Law
Carrying on the subsistence lifestyle without interference from the law is
a thing of the past. Traditional ways of hunting fishing, and gathering are
now subject to political and legal changes and challenges in what may well
be Alaska's most bitter controversy. Hear discussion of the new role of Alaska
Natives as treaty-makers and game managers.
9. Sovereignty - How it Works
in Real Life
Local government control is a reality in some areas of Native Alaska. In other
areas Natives are working to implement their own unique forms of self- government.
Some have found self-determination in traditional government. Take a close
look at the communities where sovereignty is becoming a reality.
10. The Newborns—Left
Out of ANCSA
When the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. passed on December 18, 1971,
all those yet to be born were left out. Now thousands of teenagers and toddlers
alike are on the outside of ANCSA looking in. The Native community is divided
into ANCSA shareholders and newborns, and the problems could get worse. Natives
young and old speak out in eloquent terms.
11. From Hunter, Fisher, Gatherer
to Corporate Director
The corporation idea—how and why it was chosen as a vehicle
for land claims. Was this a good way to give Alaska Natives
a piece of the American
dream, or was it a way of assimilating them? This program examines how Natives
have made the transition from traditional life to corporate director or shareholder
12. Changing
the Claims Act—The
Key Players
Nearly every Native organization in the state is jumping on
the "Let's
do something about ANCSA" idea. What began as grassroots dissatisfaction
with the act has now shifted into a well-organized movement. There is the Inuit
Circumpolar Conference, the United Tribes of Alaska, the Alaska Federation
of Natives, and Association of Village Council Presidents, and others.
13. Recommendations of the Alaska
Native Review Commission
An historic journey by Canadian Judge Thomas R. Berger has culminated in some
provocative recommendations about the options open to Alaska's Natives. Listeners
will hear a cross-section of views about what Berger reported and how this
may affect changes in the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act.
14. Other Settlements with Indigenous
Peoples Settlement Act
The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act inspired other indigenous peoples in
the world to seek land claims in the settlements with their countries. This
program will look at those efforts in Canada, Greenland, Australia, Norway,
and elsewhere. Now some of the land claims proposals of others are being studied
by Alaskans seeking to improve ANCSA.
15. The Dream versus the Reality
The final segment considers what people wanted all along in land claims and
what they got. Should all the hard work of the past be scrapped? How has
the dream changed? Voices of many people speak of the future, what they want
and how they will go about getting it for themselves and their Children.
16. Special Program--Berger's
Recommendations
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