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 | Exhibit
List
| PDF Version
ALASKA NATIVES COMMISSION
HEARING
Nome, ALASKA
SEPTEMBER 21, 1992
Eileen Norbert
COMMISSIONER TOWARAK: Next is fellow educator Eileen
Norbert. And I'd hope somebody talks about social issues, and
I'm hoping it's you.
MS. NORBERT: (Laughing.) Well, actually,
in this presentation, I'm speaking on behalf of Matthew Iya,
who's the Director of
Kawerak's Natural Resources, and he’s also the Director
of the Eskimo Walrus Commission.
First, I'd like to welcome you
to Nome and thank you for this opportunity, you know, to testify.
And I would just like to strongly
emphasize that it seem like, you know, the issue that Jake brought
up on follow-through is so important. We spend so much time testifying,
you know, about our present conditions; and even a lot of the
boards and commissions that we have to be on, for -- just for
example, you know, I was sitting on the Fish and Game Advisory
Committee for Norton Sound, and the body as a whole had made
several recommendations that were contrary to what the Alaska
Department of Fish and Game staff were recommending. And, you
know, when it comes before the full board, I think that the full
board puts more weight on staff recommendations, rather than,
you know, on the advisory recommendations. That's just a small
observation that I made.
The areas that I'm going to be addressing
here for Matthew is -- he's also the Director of Kawerak's housing
program -- will
be housing and subsistence.
Last year Kawerak worked on -- finished
working on their long-range planning. What we did was -- is to
define the present status
of different areas, and then what the ideal status would be,
and the action, you know, to achieve those goals and objectives.
So what I'm going to do is kind of just read through; you know,
what the present status is and the recommendation in the area
of housing, first of all.
Currently, 47 percent of housing units
in the Bering Straits Region are substandard. And this comes
from our own housing inventory,
of which 43 percent need repairs, and 57 percent need total replacement,
as opposed to the national average being 10 percent. We would
like to see special appropriations made from Congress to address
the housing needs in the region. The average waiting period for
new housing for families with young children is 16 years. In
addition, 25 percent of total housing units need to be replaced.
To build new and replace old housing at a rate of 40 per year
is one of our objectives, so that families with young children,
elders, and other eligible residents have acceptable housing
which meets their needs. Twenty percent of our total housing
units in the region are substandard and in need of extensive
repairs. Again, we need funding. Matthew said that, with the
funding -- the present funding that he has right now, when he
goes to one village, say Koyuk, he doesn’t have the necessary
funding to return to Koyuk to attend to their housing needs for
18 years. And, you know, that when you think about it, it's kind
of mind boggling.
Overcrowding. 4.52 persons live in a Native
household in this region. Thirty-six percent of single-family
homes in the region
have two or more families living in that one house.
COMMISSIONER TOWARAK: What's the percentage?
MS. NORBERT: Thirty-six percent
of single-family homes in the region have two or more families
living in the home.
COMMISSIONER TOWARAK: Okay.
MS. NORBERT: We need to address that, so that,
you know, necessary and acceptable living space for eligible
residents is a reality. In the area of energy consumption, for
BIA, HUD, State, and RuralCAP housing, heating oil and electric
costs in the Bering Straits Regions average 42 to 84 percent
higher than Anchorage costs, and I think that might even be higher
today than when we first made these initial figures.
COMMISSIONER TOWARAK: Is the 42 out of Nome and the 84 is out of another village?
MS. NORBERT: Yeah, generally. Also, you know, with
that - - like the University Extension Services comes out with
these co --
living costs in different areas of the state, but I think it
-- in one I saw a couple of months ago, it cost like for something
-- for heating in -Anchorage around $70, $75. In Teller, that
same amount, you know, was like 400 -- over $400. That's really
a huge, huge gap there.
The ideal status would be to meet State
energy-housing standards. All new housing and existing housing
be retro-fitted with energy-efficient
devices, especially fuel-efficient heaters, for example, Monitor
heaters.
We need proven arctic construction designs for
new housing, or retrofit energy-efficient devices. We had a goal
to meet these
by 1995, but given our present funding levels, you know, that's
too optimistic.
Sixty-seven percent of the homes in the Bering
Straits villages lack sewer and water. We would like to see that
there be some
concerted and -- effort by state and federal organizations, you
know, say coordinating between Indian Health Service, the State
of Alaska, HUD, you know, to address this, so that even by the
year 2,000 most -- the majority of the homes in the Bering Straits
will have sewer and water.
(Pause.)
I'm not going to read all of them. For innovative
housing programs, we feel that this is something that -- this
is one
way we can
address our housing needs that requires funding, but it also,
I think, requires a lot of participation by residents themselves.
BIA allots a specified amount to build or renovate a house, and
I'm -- I think this is true of like HUD or ASHA. Funding is limited,
so at the rate new housing is being built and renovations are
being done, it would take at least a hundred years to a -- just
to address our present needs, just to -- these other statistics
that I gave to you. That's how long it would take.
COMMISSIONER TOWARAK: In the Bering Straits Region?
MS. NORBERT: Right. Just
in the Bering Straits Region. I think what needs to happen is
there needs to be coordination with other
housing agencies to fund housing needs in the region, to seek
again special appropriations. Residents have access and funding
for innovatio -- innovative construction and engineering designed,
you know, where residents have an input, you know; and they know
the environmental conditions; they know, you know, about housing
also. And that kind of takes care of the housing issue.
In the
area of subsistence, there was quite a few people who testified,
but I think I'd like to still make some points. Natives
in the Bering Straits Region have to deal with state and federal
regulations; they have to deal with international treaties, you
know, the Marine -- for instance, the Marine Mammal Protection
Act; the Migratory Act, which involves Canada, the United States,
Mexico, and the Soviet Union; just the whole process that you
think about that we have to be involved in. You know, all the
reviewing of proposed regulations, those take a. lot of time.
It also takes funds, you know, to go to meetings. They have these
meetings all over. Not only here in Alaska, they have them in
Canada; they have them in different parts of the United States.
The -- and then, as I mentioned before, the regulation
system that, you know, that we have to deal with in many parts
of our
lives. You know, it just comes down to being able to feed your
family the food that you want to. You know, but most of -- lots
of times we don't even know if we're breaking the law, you know,
even -- for example, this summer here in Nome, they said you
can only catch so many trout, so many grayling, you know, and
those type of things, and you say, how many are -- how many were
we allowed in this river? How many -- you know, and (laughing)
say: "Oh, just -- I'll take your share," or "Here,
you can have part of these fish."
But that’s kind
of wh -- the point in our lives that we are in. We have so many
rules and regulations, time periods,
you know, and a lot of these rules and regulations are contrary
to our customs. We, as Eskimo people, have our own obligations
to each other. Our -- you know, who we share with, how much we
share, and that type of thing. The regulatory system right now
does not take into account, you know, our customs; and that puts
a lot of stress on people. It -- some of the groups -- well,
I'll just go down this -- this is -- ongoing state and federal
regulation of hunting and fishing in Alaska. The governments
that come out with these regulations do not recognize the authority
of Alaska Native tribes to regulate and protect the subsistence
harvests within our own areas as we always have. Arbitrary regulatory
restrictions deny Native customary rights to hunt, fish, and
crap to fill our needs, in spite of the subsistence priority
of ANILCA. By 2,000, we -- what we would like to see is to have
fish and game management regulatory schemes made by ourselves
in cooperation with Alaska Department of Fish and Game, U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, who else do
we deal with?
COMMISSIONER TOWARAK: BLM.
MS. NORBERT: BLM, all
these different federal and State agencies that we have to deal
with. You know, we can -- we're willing,
you know, but it's -- I think a stumbling block is the State's
reluctance to, you know, accept Native tribes and our rights
to regulate our own resources.
In the area of the Marine Mammal
Protection Action, it's up for re-authorization next month --
I mean, next year in 1993. We
would like to see existing Native rights and to further some
other rights that we see. For example, since 1972 when it first
came out, you know, they said like in the area of arts and crafts,
anything that you didn't make before 1972 is not permissible.
I mean, that’s really getting down to, you know, regulating
your creativity; and it just goes back to, you know, us as a
people being regulated to death in every single area of our lives.
There are so many federal and state commissions,
like there's, you know, some that deal with sea otter, whales,
you have the
Eskimo Walrus Commission, the Eskimo Whaling Commission, you
have -- just -- the list is probably really, really long. And
just for your information, you know, we're trying -- I mean,
Kawerak is taking the lead and advocating for preferred language
in the Marine Mammal Protection Act; but we also need cooperation,
you know, from State and federal agencies, so that whatever
we do, whatever input that we have, won't be an exercise in futility.
Sometimes you sit there and you talk and talk, you sit and
talk
to people for a week, and in the end, the decision, you know,
it's like you had no input at all. That was my experience with
the Board of Fisheries this past year down in Juneau.
U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service under the guidan -- guidelines of the Marine
Mammal Protection Act manages and
regulates
walrus, polar bears, and sea otters. The National Marine Fisheries
Service manages whales and seals. We would hope that we would
have greater participation and -- in that management, as I
said before.
We have to be really sophisticated now, because
we're even talking about cooperative agreements with the U.S.S.R.,
you
know; but
those type of things are hard when our own government doesn't
even recognize our tribal status.
COMMISSIONER TOWARAK: Maybe
can I interrupt you right here and just --
MS. NORBERT: Sure.
COMMISSIONER TOWARAK: -- figure
out where does the Federal Subsistence Board then fall within
all of these responsibilities that we
--
MS. NORBERT: Well, see, this is where --
COMMISSIONER TOWARAK: -- (indiscernible - speaking simultaneously)
MS. NORBERT:
-- I think the complications come in is that the Federal Subsistence
Commission has jurisdiction over those federal
lands in Alaska, you know, that were turned over to them when
the State could not come up with an acceptable subsistence bill.
Now --
COMMISSIONER TOWARAK: So it just deals with the
land area?
MS. NORBERT: Right. The --
COMMISSIONER TOWARAK:
Okay.
MS. NORBERT: -- U.S. Fish and wildlife Service
still has jurisdiction over --
COMMISSIONER TOWARAK: Walrus and
polar bear?
MS. NORBERT: Right.
COMMISSIONER TOWARAK: Okay.
MS. NORBERT: And whales,
and -- but, see, that's part of the complication, too, you know,
is that we have to remember all
these things.
COMMISSIONER TOWARAK: Yeah, yeah. It's a college
class.
MS. NORBERT: (Laughing.) The protection of our
hunting rights, I think is -- we spend so much time - - our hunting
and
fishing
rights - - we spend so much time just fighting for our basic
survival, we really don't even have time to thrive as a people
as we should be. We should be spending a good deal of our efforts
and time, you know, on addressing all these social issues. We
spend so much time and money and effort, you know, on subsistence
issues and those areas. You know, if we had tho -- that time
to, you know, get into economic development, and like Robbie
was saying, you know, then I think a lot of our social issues
would be alleviated, 'cause we would be taking care of them ourselves.
There has to be state, federal, and international
collaboration and cooperation in all these areas that affect
our lives in subsistence
areas, and I said that before; but it -- I would just like to
emphasize that Natives definitely have to be involved.
In the
area of research, the research efforts have -- you know, have
this one other strong area where there seems to be a lot
of fragmentation. We see, you know, the need for documentation
in our subsistence activities, you know, for our own protection.
I'm just going to give you an example. This past summer there
was three or four researchers from different places that had
come, you know, and come to my office.
COMMISSIONER TOWARAK:
Bilingual studies.
MS. NORBERT: Just all kinds of, you know,
and this young man who was being sponsored by the University
of Alaska in Fairbanks,
but getting funding from the National Park Service, he was going
to do something in two weeks, you know, study Eskimo people in
three villages in two weeks. I said:
"What is your focus going to be?"
He
kind of had a general idea, you know; but what could you do in
two weeks? These type of things take years to do; and it sounded
like to me is that one organization had money to spend: "Let's
spend it. Hurry up."
COMMISSIONER TOWARAK: Right.
MS. NORBERT: "Right
now."
COMMISSIONER TOWARAK: Right.
MS. NORBERT: You know,
why wasn't that money maybe given to a Native organization, or,
you know, where it could be better spent.
We have a lot of real critical issues that are facing Natives
in, you know, our food chain and the pollution. We hear about
all this nuclear waste possibly being dumped. You know, we hear
that the Bering Sea is in trouble. I think Larry -- you probably
heard from Larry Merculieff, you know, from the Bering Sea Coalition,
you know, on all the problems that Pribilof Aleuts have seen.
You know, there needs to be some just pulling these research
together and, you know, saying:
"What is important to you? What do you see
out there?"
Rather than, you know; giving fifteen thousand
here, two thousand here. You know, I think we really need research
-- our own regional
research centers, where Native people can really be involved
and --
COMMISSIONER TOWARAK: Right.
MS. NORBERT: -- that
also would expose our children, you know, to science. They have
no real -- any Native role-model scientist
to even strive after.
One of the things that we're really regulated
in is like the utilization of marine mammals and their byproducts
for commercial
purposes. They -- we are so limited in what we can do. You know,
we aren't supposed to use like walrus meat for dog feed, or for,
you know, to sell as dog feed. We, ourselves, see different ways
for like commercial exploitation. Why can't we commercially exploit
our own resources like we have in our traditional past? We aren't
allowed to do that. I mean, we feel like we could offer some
answers to our own problems; but by federal or state law, or
even international law, we are not allowed to, you know, and
that causes frustration and just anger.
We see a great need for
public awareness and information dissemination, first of all,
to our own, but also to the general public out
there. We need some assistance possibly with funds to combat
the adverse and negative publicity that has been coming out in
subsistence, like this -- I think Loretta probably brought out,
you know, this sting operation. You know, we need the sophistication
and the funding to do -- it's not just in Alaska, but, you know,
nationwide. That takes a lot of money, you know, and where do
those funds come from?
Again, I would just like to touch on the
area of funding one more time is that we have so many areas that
we have to fight
for, especially in the area of subsistence. You know, we -- our
-- Matthew right now is taking care of both natural resources,
which takes care of subsistence; he's also the director of the
housing program, you know, and we just do not have enough money.
That poor man doesn't have time to breathe I don't think.
And
that kind of winds up my testimony, but I think -- I just would
-- since I used to be the Director of Native Programs for
the school out here, and given the testimony by our elders this
morning, I think I have a few things to say in the area of education
is that, in my experience, there seems to be, you know, blaming
of each group on why our Native children are doing so poorly
in school.
When I did statistics out there, there was like
30 percent of our elementary students were below grade level,
and
that figure
jumped up to like 41 percent on the 7th through 12th grade levels.
When I brought this to the attention of the school board, you
know, it's like, oh my gosh. What I had to point out is that
we're not trying to point fingers to everybody, but just that
there -- we have a problem, and how are we going to solve it,
you know? Our children generally, I think, from rural schools
are not adequately prepared for college I think -- you know,
what are the State standards? Is there a -- expectations, you
know?
And then I also was a tutor in Anchorage for Indian
education, and it was generally acknowledged that the academic
standards
of rural areas are much lower than, say, Anchorage; so those
kids had a really hard time. But when I was out here, I would
talk to students who went on to college and say: "How'd
you do?" One student said he was in for a real shock, because
he was making As and Bs out here, and he went, and he had to
take some basic courses in math. He was not prepared, and that's
at-- -we also had some students who were making As and Bs and
wanted to get into an Ivy League school back East, and she was
told, you know:
"You'll need to go to a prep college school
for a year or two. "
You
know, I think these are pretty serious issues that probably we need to address
on the local level; but I think these things
need to be resolved, you know, working with everybody.
Thank
you.
COMMISSIONER TOWARAK: Thank you, Eileen.
COMMISSIONER ELLIOTT: Excuse me, Eileen? Did you read -- you spoke about the
housing and the sewage. Did you happen to see
the article -- I brought it with me if you hadn't -- in Anchorage
Daily Newspaper yesterday, about the sewage problem in the
villages of this area?
MS. NORBERT: No, I didn't.
COMMISSIONER ELLIOTT:
I have it here. I'll be glad to give it to you right now.
MS. NORBERT: Oh, okay.
COMMISSIONER TOWARAK: I think one of the bigger
things you impacted me with was the countering the sting count
operations
with regard
to public awareness. I think that's what the agencies need
to hear, and I think if we collaborate with them on that, we'll
go a long way towards changing the feelings of this area with
regard to subsistence; and I'm with you on -- there, and I
think
that sort of takes a general effort on the part of the agencies
to do that.
MS. NORBERT: And we really appreciate it and sure
hope it makes a difference. You know, we as Native people try
to make a real
honest effort to follow these rules and regulations that we
have to live with. We don't do it happily, but we do it nevertheless.
You know, it seemed like when the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
does something like that, it's just like stabbing us in the
back,
--
COMMISSIONER TOWARAK: Right
MS. NORBERT: -- you
know.
COMMISSIONER ELLIOTT: Would you also -- well, could
you comment on what effect, if any, the fetal alcohol syndrome
has
on your
lower grades in the school?
MS. NORBERT: Well, unfortunately,
I think we're seeing a greater number of those children in our
schools. We at Kawerak are
trying to do, you know, a more public awareness, preventive-type
thing
in that area; but, you know, what I see happening is that it
takes resources away, you know, that could be used for everybody
else. But it's a drain on families, too. It's a terrible drain
on families.
We have -- we were very surprised that a person
with an FAS child from one of our villages had volunteered to
come to the
regional
conference in the next few days, you know, to talk about how
it's impacted her; and one of the-things that she said that
really stuck in my mind is it seemed like she realizes her
responsibility
for this child, and she realizes that she is going to have
to take care of the child for the rest of his life. But she
-- her
frustration was that she doesn't seem like she has any control
over that. All these different agencies, the school, the social
services, the -- you know, they say:
"You have to do this, you have to do that.”
And
she's even come to the point where, you know, will she even have
a say in his -- if he passes away, even in his funeral
arrangements? You know, it's like this deal happened; but even though she’s
willing to go through with her responsibility as all these
different agencies are totally taking over.
COMMISSIONER ELLIOTT: Could you
give an approximate, perhaps, percentage of the number of children in this
region that are
FAS -- are suffering from?
MS. NORBERT: I sure couldn't.
I think one of our other staff members will be giving testimony
this afternoon. She deals
with more children's statistic, and she was going to bring
up specifically
children's issues -- adoptions, and -- I just wanted to
comment that we have villagers -- village delegates coming in
from
all over this region, and they will be testifying this
afternoon.
COMMISSIONER TOWARAK: Thank you.
COMMISSIONER ELLIOTT:
Thank you.
COMMISSIONER TOWARAK: That concludes our testimony
for this morning. We're going to break for lunch and reconvene
about 1:15 or 1:30,and I guess we're
invited to the
XYZ, so we'll break for now.
(Off record.)
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