Another Native group opposes Palin's AG pick

Last week, two major Native groups, the Alaska Federation of Natives and the Association of Village Council Presidents, voted to oppose Sarah Palin's pick for attorney general, Wayne Athony Ross. (My previous entries: 1 and 2)

On Saturday, Camp #70 of the Alaska Native Brotherhood/Alaska Native Sisterhood (ANB/ANS) held a special session to vote on the same issue, and came up with the same conclusion - to oppose the selection.

The ANB is one of the oldest (possibly THE oldest?) Alaska Native organization, founded in 1912, divided into "camps" aound the state. My hope, and it looks like Camp #70 out of Glacier Valley (Juneau) has the same hope, is that all the other camps around the state will follow suit.

Alaska Native Brotherhood/Alaska Native Sisterhood
Glacier Valley Camp #70

RESOLUTION NO. # 01-09

Title: Requests that Executive Committee Grand Camp oppose the confirmation of Wayne Anthony Ross to Attorney General for the State of Alaska.

WHEREAS, the Alaska Native Brotherhood and Sisterhood, Glacier Valley Camp #70 in a special session took up the subject of the appointment of Wayne Anthony Ross by Governor Sarah Palin of the State of Alaska, and

WHEREAS, Camp 70 recognizes it is not in the best interest of Alaska Native people and Alaska to have Wayne Anthony Ross as Attorney General for the State of Alaska, and

WHEREAS, Camp 70 believes Wayne Anthony Ross does not and will not honor subsistence agreements already agreed to by Alaska Natives and the state, but will also actively work against enforcement of subsistence rights and will not fairly represent their interest in future disputes between Alaska Natives, Commercial, Commercial Sport, and Sport users, and

WHEREAS, Camp 70 believes Wayne Anthony Ross will not work towards ending the energy price disparity that exists between predominantly Native rural communities and urban non-Native communities that seem to enjoy comparatively low cost of energy, and

WHEREAS, Camp 70 believes these issues are of regional and statewide concern that can best be addressed by testimony and evidence being provided by Grand Camp on behalf of all Camps organized in favor of ending discrimination and diminishment of Native rights, and

WHEREAS, Camp 70 knows the Attorney General for the State of Alaska has tremendous impact over the day-to-day life of Alaska Natives and therefore must be an individual who understands Native rights and honors the State of Alaska’s obligation to treat all Alaskans fairly within the proper framework, jurisdiction and attitude, and

WHEREAS, Camp 70 believes Wayne Anthony Ross does not comprehend, understand and has demonstrated no interest in the special relationship between Alaska Natives, Tribal entities, the United States and the State of Alaska, and


NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Camp 70 requests that Grand Camp of Alaska Native Brotherhood and Sisterhood take all actions necessary to prevent the confirmation of Wayne Anthony Ross by taking actions including:

• Providing direct testimony against his appointment

• Calling all Local Camps to action and requesting written and oral testimony against his appointment

• Providing a copy of this Resolution to Senators Albert Kookesh and Bert Stedman for further distribution to all State Senators
  
• Providing a copy of this Resolution to Representatives Beth Kerttula, Cathy Munoz and any other Representative who is a member of the Alaska Native Brotherhood and Sisterhood for further distribution to all State Representatives
  
• Authorizing the ANB and ANS Grand Presidents provide written and oral testimony at the Judiciary Committee hearings of each chamber on behalf of all members of the ANB and ANS

Community Organizers

Guiliani and Palin took Obama to task last night for his college job, and just-after-college job - Community Organizer - a job which Palin doesn't view as having "real responsibilities."

Some other community organizers:

The Alaska Native Brotherhood and Alaska Native Sisterhood

ANB was formed in 1912 to address Native rights in Alaska. It is an organization still active today.

Elizabeth Peratrovich

Elizabeth and her husband Roy were just two of many members of the Native community to stand up to injustice, and fight for civil rights in Alaska. Elizabeth is still honored each year with a state holiday in Alaska.







Cesar Chavez



Arizona's own labor and civil rights leader - first a farm worker, than a farm workers leader.








Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.



Paid the ultimate price for what he, and so many others, organized in the American community.



Countless men and women throughout the centuries have been community organizers, and only in the last century were they sometimes given a title. Their responsibility is great, made much more so because they must motivate people, by the very definition of their job, to change the status quo. It's not a job where you come in, make sure the budgets are balanced, hire and fire whom you want, and leave to the next guy. Community organizers come in so many times to address what politicians won't.

What is interesting about the Guiliani/Palin attack on the jobs Obama had during and just after college - mainly getting a community to help itself, to be stronger - is what came out, from Fred Thompson - chosen to speak by the McCain campaign! - in the convention about what McCain was doing during his own academy years:

"In high school and the Naval Academy, John earned a reputation as a troublemaker. But as John points out, he wasn't just a troublemaker; he was the leader of the troublemakers.

Although -- although loaded with demerits, like his father, John was
principled even in rebellion. He never violated the honor code.

However, in flight school in Pensacola, he did drive a Corvette and
date a girl who worked in a bar as a exotic dancer under the name of 'Marie, the
Flame of Florida.'"

Umm....

Okay, I'm not sure why anyone would think those were selling points, not to mention throwing attention to how McCain barely scraped through the academy. Seriously, having had Bush this long, why does anyone think low intelligence in a President is even remotely funny anymore? Is this the "laugh so you don't cry" part?

During college, Obama picked up responsibility before he'd even graduated from Harvard magna cum laude, learning the ropes at organizing whole communities of people, before moving on to politics.

During the Naval academy, McCain was a self-proclaimed "troublemaker" who liked fast cars and loose women, and even after his genuinly heroic stand as a POW, still couldn't give up either.
Call me boring, but I'll take the nerdy, responsible guy over the adulterous, educationally underachieving guy any day.