More on Masek

Back in March of this year I wrote a journal about Alaskan natives and mentioned this lady as an example of natives being used by the 'system' and then thrown to the wolves. It might have seemed like I was being biased but I was right about what would happen... Here is the old article about her from the Anchorage Daily News:

Here is her profile on Woman of Today:

And here is the update on it. I mentioned she would probably face jail time while the white guys got off. Senator Stevens was let off due to technicalities but she is facing jail time. It is sad to hear all the talk of times changing when to natives it only gets worse. She was used as a puppet by these people yet must face responsibility for it. I guess it is not new for us to accept responsibility for ourselves and our actions but is this Justice?

It states \"\"Crimes such as the defendant's have eroded the public's faith in the Alaska State Legislature and their elected leaders,\" Levin wrote.\" but the truth of the matter is that this type of prejudicial action where the white guy (Stevens) gets off and the native ends up with jail time is what erodes faith in the system.

Here is a page with links to news stories about Alaskan corruption. It says they are giving her a week before sentencing and I am hoping we can somehow rally behind her and support her. While it is true she made an error in judgment, she was only a pawn in all of this.

What can we do to help support her? Let me know what ideas you can come up with since we really need to defend the Indigenous Alaskans/Americans in these types of cases where they were exploited and used by others. I guess they were hoping that the rest of the Indigenous population would be disgusted by her letting herself get used but they were wrong about that and I feel we really need to show support for her yet am unsure how to go about it...

thanks for your ideas and suggestions!

Maria