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
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FATHER ELLIOTT: Thank you very much. That seems to be the end of our list, but is there anyone else?
DR. ASHER: Actually, I just signed up. And I know your guys' time --
FATHER ELLIOTT: You just signed up, all right.
DR. ASHER: -- is real --
MR. KRIEG: If you have time, I'd like to put down my name too. I --
FATHER ELLIOTT: Put your name down. I think we have 20 minutes.
MR. IRWIN: Just keep going.
FATHER ELLIOTT: Thank you, Mike (laughter). If you'd tell us your name and perhaps spell your last name, and then where you're from.
TESTIMONY OF BARBARA RILEY ASHER
Okay. My name is Barbara Riley Asher. The last name is spelled A-s-h-e-r. I'm from Dillingham. I was born and raised here in Dillingham.
I need to preface my comments, because I'm pretty active within the community, that I'm speaking as a concerned citizen. I'm a wife, I'm a mother of two children that are in the school district and a niece who's staying with us in the school district. I'm a parent volunteer within the school district but I am also a physician who works for the Native Hospital -- I mean, the Bristol Bay Area Health Corporation. So I've -- I know a lot of the cultural aspects of our area. But I've also been trained in western medicine.
The other thing is, I am also a school board member. I bring these up because I don't want people to take my comments as representing the school board or representing Bristol Bay Area Health Corporation. I bring these up because I'm here as a concerned citizen. Okay.
Part of my concern is, I see a lot of children within the school system who have a hard time studying or being on task in their school studies because they may either be hungry or they may be tired. They may have just come from a home situation where they didn't leave with a goodbye hug and have a nice day, but they left because of an argument, or it was a bad evening the night before at home.
I see as a physician suicide attempts, suicide follow-throughs, abuse, which can be verbal, spiritual, physical, the whole ramification of that. And that's a concern.
What I'm talking to is really a multi-factorial problem. And if I could really simplify it, it's probably a breakdown of our families. It's a breakdown of the moral fiber within families. It's a lack of respect. It's lack of respect for our elders and the way they have lived and are willing to teach. It's lack of respect for individual personalities. And then it overflows into lack of respect really to anybody in authority. Teachers, physicians, police officers.
And I just had to voice that concern. I don't have any answers. I've been on many committees and I've been on many boards. We hear the same concerns over and over again. But I don't have any answers to even my own concerns, except we as a people need to come back to where family is very important, and listening to what our elders say.
THE REPORTER: Excuse me. Off record.
(Off the record - tape changed - tape 14)
(On the record)
DR. ASHER: And realizing that outside factors can be very devastating -- well, are very devastating. And one of the biggest outside factors that I see is the drug and alcohol issue. AFN has got a great sobriety movement going. I know a lot of the different villages are really trying to address that problem, because it is a problem.
But that's going to take time. And I think...well, I'll leave it at that.
FATHER ELLIOTT: Do you find as a physician that FAS is a strong deterrent to learning here or affecting the children?
DR. ASHER: It's affecting the children, and I can speak to that because I have a niece who's an FAS child, okay. She's a very loving child, you know, willing to give you all the hugs in the world, but she is disabled. And that is going to affect her all her life.
FATHER ELLIOTT: Do yon find that a prevalent condition here in this area? I've heard it in the Northwest, that it's prevalent.
DR. ASHER: I think we are seeing it more because we have now defined the syndrome and are recognizing it. So I guess to answer your question, I would have to say yes.
FATHER ELLIOTT: Well, thank you so very much for coming to --
DR. ASHER: Okay.
FATHER ELLIOTT: -- us.
DR. ASHER: Yes.
FATHER ELLIOTT: We appreciate your taking the time to do so.
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