Palin Status on Tribal Issues - TalkStates - Moving, Relocation, City, State Forum

This is making the rounds in Indian Country and is info you might not see anywhere else. It could also affect your overall take on the GOP ticket.
Sarah Palin’s Record on Alaska Native and Tribal Issues

1. Palin has attacked Alaska Native Subsistence Fishing
Perhaps no issue is of greater importance to Alaska Native
peoples as the right to hunt and fish according to ancient
customary and traditional practices, and to carry on the
subsistence way of life for future generations.
Governor Sarah Palin has consistently opposed those rights.
Once in office, Governor Palin decided to continue
litigation that seeks to overturn everysubsistence fishing
determination the federal government has ever made in
Alaska. (State of Alaskav. Norton, 3:05-cv-0158-HRH (D.
Ak).) In pressing this case, Palin decided against using the
Attorney General (which usually handles State litigation)
and instead continued contracting with Senator Ted
Stevens’ brother-in-law’s law firm (Birch, Horton,
Bittner & Cherot).
The goal of Palin’s lawsuit is to invalidate all the
subsistence fishing regulations the20federal government has
issued to date to protect Native fishing, and to force the
courts instead to take over the roll of setting subsistence
regulations. Palin’s law suit seeks to diminish
subsistence fishing rights in order to expand sport and
commercial fishing.
In May 2007, the federal court rejected the State’s
main challenge, holding that Congress in 1980 had expressly
granted the U.S. Interior and Agriculture Departments the
authority to regulate and protect Native and rural
subsistence fishing activities in Alaska. (Decision entered
May 15, 2007(Dkt. No. 110).)
Notwithstanding this ruling, Palin continues to argue in
the litigation that the federal subsistence protections are
too broad, and should be narrowed to exclude vast areas from
subsistence fishing, in favor of sport and commercial
fishing. Palin opposes subsistence protections in marine
waters, on many of the lands that Natives selected under
their 1971 land claims settlement with the state and federal
governments, and in many of the rivers where Alaska Natives
customarily fish. (AlaskaComplaint at 15-18.) Palin also
opposes subsistence fishing protections on Alaska Native
federal allotments that were deeded to individuals purposely
to foster Native subsistence activities. All these issues
are now pending before the federal district court.

2. Palin has attacked Alaska Native Subsistence Hunting

Palin has also sought to invalidate critical determinations
the Federal Subsistence Board has mad
e regarding customary and traditional uses of game,
specifically to take hunting opportunities away from Native
subsistence villagers and thereby enhance sport hunting.
Palin’s attack here on subsistence has focused on the
Ahtna Indian people in Chistochina. Although the federal
district court has rejected Palin’s challenge, she has
carried on an appeal that was argued in August 2008. (State
of Alaska v. Fleagle, No. 07-35723 (9th Cir.).)
In both hunting and fishing matters, Palin has continued
uninterrupted the policies initiated by the former Governor
Frank Murkowski Administration, challenging hunting and
fishing protections that Native people depend upon for their
subsistence way of life in order to enhance sport fishing
and hunting opportunities. Palin’s lawsuits are a direct
attack on the core way of life of Native Tribes in rural
Alaska.

3. Palin has attacked Alaska Tribal Sovereignty

Governor Palin opposes Alaska tribal sovereignty.
Given past court rulings affirming the federally recognized
tribal status of Alaska Native villages, Palin does not
technically challenge that status. But Palin argues that
Alaska Tribes have no authority to act as sovereigns,
despite their recognition.
So extreme is Palin on tribal sovereignty issues that she
has sought to block tribes from exercising any authority
whatsoever even over the welfare of Native children,
adhering to a 2004 legal opinion issued by the former
Murkowski Administration that no
such jurisdiction exists (except when a state court
transfers a matter to a tribal court).
Both the state courts and the federal courts have struck
down Palin’s policy of refusing to recognize the sovereign
authority of Alaska Tribes to address issues involving
Alaska Native children. Native Village of Tanana v. State of
Alaska, 3AN-04-12194 CI (judgment entered Aug. 26, 2008)
(Ak. Super. Ct.); Native Kaltag Tribal Council v. DHHS, No.
3:06-cv-00211-TMB (D. Ak.), pending on appeal No 08-35343
(9th Cir.)). Nonetheless, Palin’s policy of refusing to
recognize Alaska tribal sovereignty remains unchanged.

4. Palin has attacked Alaska Native Languages

Palin has refused to accord proper respect to Alaska Native
languages and voters by refusing to provide language
assistance to Yup'ik speaking Alaska Native voters. As a
result, Palin was just ordered by a special three-judge
panel of federal judges to provide various forms of voter
assistance to Yup'ik voters residing in southwest
Alaska. Nick v. Bethel, No. 3:07-cv-0098-TMB (D. Ak.) (Order
entered July 30, 2008).
Citing years of State neglect, Palin was ordered to provide
trained poll workers who are bilingual in English and
Yup'ik; sample ballots in written Yup'ik; a written
Yup'ik glossary of election terms; consultation with
local Tribes to ensure the accuracy of Yup'ik
translations; a Yup'ik language coordinator; and
pre-election and post-election reports to the court to track
the State's efforts.

In sum, measured against some the rights=20that are most fundamental to Alaska Native Tribes – the subsistence way of life, tribal sovereignty and voting rights – Palin’s record is a failure.

Music Junkie said:

How about some cites to prove what you posted? Just because someone syas it doesn't make it true.

Thank you, Junk, for your interest.
The report was sent to me by a Shoshone friend in Washington - as is - without citations.
Indianway-folks don't often spend extra time on footnotes, they're more all-about warning each other ... with no real reason to make stuff up. (Unless, of course, they smoked peyote once without adequate supervision and are being chased by invisible ghosts and spirits ... in which case, their "word" might be considered "suspect")
However, if you are able to find such "cites" - other than just what comes down the Native-American trail, I'm sure it would make somebody happy.
And if you are able to find cites against the article, I would be interested in reading those as well.
Just because a page of information doesn't cite an exact occurrence for every line ... doesn't mean it isn't so.
Peace

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