Alaskan and American Natives -some ways to help

I am very interested in Native Alaska/American rights and wanted to get this posted so others can see the types of things we need you to support with us. I have put my own personal comments in (these) to show where her words stop and mine begin. The Alaska Federation of Natives was present at a oversight hearing meeting of congress in May of 2008 and here is part of what Julie Kitka said:

AFN Requests for the Congress & New Administration

1. Applicable economic stimulus funds intended to assist federally recognized tribes or Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) corporations should be directly funded from the federal government, and not through the States.

(I agree with this since we should have the power to decide for ourselves and the money should come directly to us otherwise we will be subservient to the states forever.)

1. There should be clarifying language stating that the ANCSA corporations shall be treated as Indian Tribes for the purposes of the Economic Recovery bill.

(I personally think that the Alaska Permanent Fund, worth over a billion dollars, should be turned over directly to the Natives and for us to have sovereignty over our lands. All those who are against apartheid in Africa should be interested in this cause since it is basically the same thing happening here as there.)

1. Any matching fund requirements in authorizing law under the Economic Recovery bill should be temporarily waived for Indian tribes and ANCSA corporations.

(Or we could get the state of Alaska to pay the matching funds...)

1. The Congress should authorize, and President Elect Obama should establish, a Native American Economic Council to provide Native Americans an opportunity to have a seat at the table when major economic decisions are made, to allow involvement in major new economic restructuring which will affect Native Americans, and to help focus on productivity and encourage Native American involvement in building US competitiveness in the global economy. Native Americans need to be brought into major new economic restructuring which will affect our communities right from the start, and not after the fact. We have the capacity across the nation because of our experience in tribal enterprises (both for profit and notforprofit) to contribute expertise in development, which is sound.

(What I believe would be more fair is to establish 3 Supreme Court Justices that are Native Alaskan/American in addition to those already there so we have a real say in how things are done, that we should be given control of the BIA, BLM and have a new Native American Economic Council that has power over these areas, sort of like Bush created Homeland Security to have control over the other agencies.)

1. The Congress should authorize and PresidentElect Obama should establish, a Native American Development Bank, similar to the Asian Development Bank or the InterAmerican Development Bank and capitalize it in the economic recovery package he submits to the Congress.

(This is a fantastic idea since economic power is a valuable tool long denied to us. It is why I believe the Alaska Permanent Fund should be turned over to us as well as having a bigger say in how our resources are used.)

1. The Congress should encourage intertribal economic collaboration including the creation of Indigenous Sovereign Wealth Funds.

(What I believe should happen is something like what happened with the creation of Israel and we give monetary/military support each year where we should be given the country of Canada which joins the Alaskan Natives with those of the lower 48. This is solely my own idea and one I was thinking of a lot. If Europeans wish to come to the Americas they can always immigrate to the USA and this gives us a real place to control and work together to build while joining all of the indigenous tribes. )

1. The Congress and new Administration should strengthen and expand government contracting as a model to diversify and provide value to the US government during this recovery. The SBA 8(a) program is a success and can be a strong vehicle in the economic recovery. Tribal small businesses are a key vehicle for ramping up job creation at the same time providing real value, transparency, and accountability.

(I agree with this since it is often hard for indigenous people to compete with other Americans for credit and loans and these programs make it so we compete only with each other so we can thrive.)

1. The Congress and new Administration should encourage entrepreneurship and small business development. A successful example, which could be ramped up is the public private partnership the Alaska Marketplace Ideas Competition.

(It is sometimes hard and I can imagine it will be especially hard while we are all trying to recover to want to risk money since not many programs have been available for us to try to develop and maintain small businesses or even major companies.)

I know I ask for more real power then the AFN but I think it needs to be a real change and we should ask for what is right instead of just what we think we will get.

If you live in the USA, please call your political representatives to support Native Alaskan/Indigenous rights and for them to be a leader in creating some of these things that have been denied us for ages but need to be done like several positions on the Supreme Court, a new agency that has control over the BIA and BLM since you can read in your history books how we protected the land and Nature flourished under our leadership and this is a time when wisdom is needed along with courage to do what is needed. If you do not deal with us honestly and Justly then how can you expect the rest of the world to trust you?

If you live outside of the USA write you own leaders and ask them to support our causes since we are one world and one people. If you are European then I especially want your support. The greed and disgrace of your ancestors in their world land grab can be corrected in your generation. Sorry if that sounds a bit blunt but I can't think of a politer way to phrase it... I know the Canadians might be a bit shocked by this thought but once they realize their lives would not change all that much they will embrace an idea whose time has come. Of if you can talk all the Americans whose parents immigrated to move there instead that would work for me, too.. Ok, so I am only half serious about the Canada part, but that is the vastness of the injustice done to our peoples and I hope you got some perspective on it.

Maria