ALASKA NATIVES COMMISSION
JOINT FEDERAL-STATE COMMISSION
ON
POLICIES AND PROGRAMS AFFECTING
ALASKA NATIVES
4000 Old Seward Highway, Suite 100
Anchorage,
Alaska 99503
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Witness List | PDF
Version
COMMISSIONER PAGANO: -- testimony. Thank you. Next one is Mary Ann Mills?
(Pause.)
MS. MILLS: My name is Mary Ann Mills; and
I’m sorry if -- I’ve got a bad earache; and (laughing) I'm
not very well prepared; but I'm from the Kenai Peninsula, and
I'm a council member for the Traditional Tanaina Tribe. And
we have many concerns regarding our rights and regarding the
United States. We feel they have a poor record when it comes
their indigenous people, both in Alaska and in the South 48.
We feel that the Native Land Claims Settlement Act was done
illegally and under fraud and deception. Some of our finding
are based on what was left out of the Senate sele -- or out
of the Federal Field Commission, who was mi -- mandated by
the federal government to find all of the logs -- laws pertinent
to the ownership of Alaska; and they left out the Senate Document
152, known as the Kozlitzof (ph.) Memorandum. This document
shows that the title of Alaska belongs with the indigenous
people; and when the Senate Select Committee was a -- or when
the Federal Field Commission was asked why they left it out,
the Chairman said:
"For political realities."
We feel that this was a violation against our rights; and we feel that a government's, just the same as a family, cannot be based on lies, fraud, or deceit. It's very destructive; it will not work.
There are many policies over Alaska; there's many universal treaties over Alaska and the indigenous people, in which the United States was to protect our lands and to protect our people, until we were up to our own self-governance; which we feel we are at this time. We've seen what's transpired under the federal government system, such as the pollution with the nuclear waste sites.
There's also a document called the United States Arctic Research Plan, which was done by a Public Law, and it covers Alaska. And in this Arctic Research Plan, they refer to the indigenous people as a research project -- an extensive re -- health research project that will benefit other populations. We feel that this is clearly -- we are being used as guinea pigs; and we feel that these are rights against our bodies.
We also have documentation from children who were in the -- well, in particular, some were in the Anchorage School Districts; and, for some reason, Native children only were just pulled from the classes, given a mass hepatitis B immunization that was for all Native children and adults; and many times without parental consent or even parental knowledge. We feel that these are violations against our rights as individuals. We feel that we are responsible for the bodies of our children, and that the decision-making should include parental consent.
Subsistence is a number one priority. As most people know, the indigenous people throughout Alaska have the highest disease rate, the highest poverty rate, the highest suicide rates, the high -- the chance for economic development is practically nil. It was only given to a certain segment of our Native populations under the Native Claims Settlement Act. We feel that our rights, in general, whether they are physical, economic, have been violated; and we feel that we are prepared for our own sovereign governance, and we have asserted our sovereignty; and we are asserting our tribal courts.
The problems we have with the tribal courts is that we cannot get the state or the federal government to recognize them. They -- we have been told when we testified at subsistence hearings and other hearings that we are second-class citizens, and that it's not their problem; but that's the way it is with the indigenous people. We feel that this is our land; and we are doc -- we are chartered the -- the Tanaina tribe is chartered under the Doctrine of Human Rights. We know the truth of the laws; and we are not here to take anybody's rights away; but rather to protect those who wish to integrate peacefully into our tribal communities.
Also, with this Commission here, we do not give you consent, nor do we give AFN consent to represent us in any governmental decisions. That stays with our people, and with the decisions coming from our tribal governance.
There are a lot of concerns that we have, and we feel that the federal government and the State of Alaska has been very, very insensitive to the needs and to the problems of the indigenous people. We s - - we can see even since the Native Claims Settlement Act, a high increase of various problems, from social problems, to physical problems; and we are concerned.
And we would just like to make these comments known to -- that AFN, the Alaska Federation of Natives does not represent us. They are Alaska Federation of Natives, Incorporated; and the Alaska Federation of Natives, Incorporated, represents the corporations. They do not have the authority to represent tribal governments; that belongs to each and every sovereign tribal government.
And we also know the difference between the tribal governments, like the Cook Inlet Tribal Council, which is a state-chartered tribal governance; and we know that they are subject to, not only federal law, but state law. We also are -- know what the Indian Reorganization Act Governments are -- the IRAs. They are basically corporations to the federal government, and they are not sovereign, and they are under federal law. We also recognize our Traditional governments, those being of our culture from time memorial. These are what we consider legitimate governments, holding full sovereign authority over our land.
And I know we have a short time, so if -- I'll take questions at this time.
COMMISSIONER PAGANO: Ella, you have any comment or question?
MS. ANAGIK: None at this time.
COMMISSIONER PAGANO: Bart?
MR. GARBER: And when you speak of legitimacy of the tribes -- traditional ones, how do you determine the legitimacy of the Tanaina tribe that you represent --
MS. MILLS: Well, the tr --
MR. GARBER: -- as an example?
MS. MILLS: As an example, we know that we are entitled to our own governance. Now, we can put restrictions on us, or we can not put restrictions on us. The last chief of the Salamatof (ph.) and the Kenaitze people, when she understood what was happening on the Kenai Peninsula, she was one of the people who said:
"We must do something. We must go Traditional.
We are qualified for this."
And so it was done in regards with Reka Murphy (ph.) who was the last known chief on the Kenai Peninsula. We know that by doing this, we can -- when we le -- give others -- our other people the information that we've had the opportunity of spending years to research and understand, that they will also be protected, and their lands will be protected by this. It was done prior to 1986, in accordance to the provisions under ANILCA; and that's when the whole state of Alaska was filled by sovereign tribes throughout Alaska, until the educational -- until people understood what it is that -- what our rights are, and what it is that we can or may not give up; depending on us. But we need time to get the information out; we need time to discuss things; and we feel that that -- whether you are a tribe or a person, these are individual, as well as communal, rights.
MR. GARBER: Thank you.
MS. MILLS: You're welcome.
COMMISSIONER PAGANO: Do you have any questions?
COMMISSIONER BOYKO: Briefly, if you could write the findings and recommendations of this Commission that we're going to be asked to give to the President, and to the Governor, and to the Congressional committee, on the issue of Native Alaskan governance, what would you want us to say?
MS. MILLS: Well, first that we should be not considered second-class citizens, and that we do have a right to our own governance, and these are things that has been clouded over, maybe through the educational systems, or through the mission schools, whatever has come in to mis-educate our elders -- many of our elders and many of our younger people. And that in the true spirit of human rights, that Public Law 100-606 be followed. We - - and that our rights as human beings are our first priority; and our rights to our land is first priority,
COMMISSIONER BOYKO: Now, with respect to the rights to the land, I'm sure you are very familiar with the history of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act.
MS. MILLS: Yes, I worked for AFN during the time.
COMMISSIONER BOYKO: I had the honor and the privilege
to represent, among others, the Kenaitze people, with -- vis-à-vis the settlement
negotiations. I will tell you very quickly that I'm not at all deliriously
happy with the outcome of those negotiations, and the legislation which followed;
but it was a settlement arrived at by representatives of various indigenous
groups, tribes, organizations, (indiscernible) including the Kenaitze, including
the people in the -- from Kodiak Island, which I also represented --
MS. MILLS: Uh-huh (affirmative), yes.
COMMISSIONER BOYKO: -- and it was, eventually, agreed to. So, how do you get around that?
MS. MILLS: Okay, George Miller, who at the time was very instrumental in Kenai for the Native Claims Settlement Act: is now on the council for the Traditional Tanaina tribe; and when he understood that information was withheld that would have a bearing on his decision, he felt that what had happened -- he was cheated, and what had happened was wrong. Another thing that most people know in regards to federal law, if we want to go federal law, Public Law 280 is -- in order for me indigenous people to have relinquished or given up any rights, there had to be a vote of all adults, and this had to be done by the Secretary of Interior; and, of course, it was not.
COMMISSIONER BOYKO: All right, thank you very much.
MS. MILLS: You're welcome.
COMMISSIONER PAGANO: Mary Ann, do you have any questions?
(Inaudible response.)
This document was ocr scanned. We have made every
attempt to keep the online document the same as the original,
including the recorder's original misspellings or typos.
