Begich and the Native vote

Now, I'm an eye-roller when it comes to arguing about which group "really won it" for that candidate or another. But this article in the Alaska Report in November made me puff out my chest just a bit. A "look what we did..." kind of a moment.

The Begich Treaty - the Villages signed on with their votes

It's basically about how the Native vote in Alaska "gave him his narrow victory."

I disagree with the premise of it - I mean, would Begich have won without a pretty large section of the 84% of Alaskan voters who are not Native? Not to mention the incredible effort by the Obama campaign, working with the Begich campaign, to make this happen.

But it is still a proud moment for me, looking at the Native people who, in the end, came through for Begich. Native people have long backed "Uncle Ted" because, in the much-too-long-now past, he was a great supporter of Native issues (and I might add, not just a supporter of Native corporations.) He hasn't been that Ted in awhile, and I'm hopeful for the outcome of our new Sen. Begich, working with Sen. Murkowski who has been (surprisingly) pro-active on rural issues, with a president who had a general plan for Alaska Native involvement months and months ago, and a plan for Native American involvement well over a year ago.

Alaska Natives throughout Alaska listened to Begich, trusted him and gave him their votes. Despite Senator Ted Stevens' past record of accomplishment for rural Alaska , a record described in detail by Senator Lisa Murkowski, as she and other Senators bade Stevens a final farewell, every rural election precinct came through for Begich.

(Emphasis by yours truly.) And he pulled in the urban Native vote as well. I love that the article also shows just why Begich could be so important for the Native people of Alaska. As a mayor, he did as much as a mayor could for Native people - mostly regarding racism and the "in-migration" from the villages (resources, transition.) But as a senator he will have much greater opportunity to fight for us in Washington.

In short, there are some pretty good reasons for Native people to be both proud of their vote, and optimistic about the political future.

#40 Top 100 Bush Moments

#40 Best (or Worst) Bush Moments

I mentioned this before, but this is a series Letterman's been doing - "Great Moments in Presidential Speeches." Always contrasting a few great speeches with... well, Bush.

I'm not great with math, but I think I could have managed this one.

Hmm... wierd. It seems I did not post this last night when I wrote it.

Why yes, that is a moose butt.

The most unfortunate part about this is my coworker had just been freaking me out a bit by outrageously detailed descriptions of getting chased by zombies. This was fresh in my mind, at midnight, as I finished up my last blog post.

I hear the slow "clomp... clomp... clomp..." on the snow outside. It is EXACTLY midnight. My room is ground level. Yes. Tonight is the night I get attacked by zombies. Yes, I'm being a bit funny. And yes, a little bit of that thought actually did go through my head.


But then I (bravely) looked out the window and saw THIS.

Okay, I actually got to see the much better version. I saw a big ol' moose face chomping on the garden leftovers in the still un-snowed-over edge of the house.

But by the time I ran upstairs and got my camera, all that was in my window was a big hairy moose butt. Maybe quite fortunately, the flash didn't work so well against the window.



I would like to entitle this picture BAD EXAMPLE.


I see tourists making this mistake all the time, and wonder on how idiotic they are. Don't they know cute little (big) moosies have trampled people to death? Don't they know that moose run the show here in Anchorage?

Sure, you can honk, flick lights, make loud noises from a big distance, but that moose knows you're not going to do nothin'. From experience, I know little yappy dogs seem to have no effect. Big dogs do, but then you just get a squished dog.

So what I do I do with this goldmine of born-and-raised Alaska girl information? As you can see, I have literally thrown out the welcome matt for moosey here. Although technically inside the doorway, that moose would have no problems throwing a hoof or some spittle my way.

I do this for you, my lucky readers.


Well, that and the possibility that I'll get to show my grandchildren just how close I got to a moose one time. Actually, it's TWO times, but THEN I didn't have digital proof! Hence, the irrational behavior.


I was trying to show, in photograph, just how big these guys are. They really are impressive, and though most Anchorage-ites will not stop for long to view a moose anymore, most will still turn a head. Here I am raised up on the porch step, so it doesn't give quite the perspective, but really. I may be irrational, but not suicidal. At least one foot must be in the door. Grade school "hot lava" rules still apply.





























Seriously, I started to wonder about this moose. He stood like this forever - just showing me his butt. Revenge for all the camera flashes he must endure at midnight while he's trying to snack? Something more wierd or sinister? Sir Mix A Lot fan?

If you look carefully, you can see my sister patiently waiting in the street for the moose to move on. She's in a Jeep, but like I said, moose rule around here.

Moose vs. Geo Metro goes to the Moose.
Moose vs. Semi goes to the semi.
Moose vs. Jeep? No point taking chances.




















Though dark, at least you get a little perspective. That's a Doge Caravan, and that's a moose being much bigger than a Doge Caravan. And this is not very big moose.

Sister is still waiting.



Victory!

Sis gets in the door, and if you have Wonder Woman eyesight (okay, I don't even know if super-sight was a gift of hers) you can see the moose on the other side of the van. My suggestion to sis would have been to back in, and lessen the distance between herself and the door, but I was too busy creating flashes in her eyesight.

You see what she will put up with just to come do laundry? Brave trampling and rude sisters?

In the sixth grade, we had a "portable" classroom - the kind that is just it's own room outside. A freaked out kid trying to go to the bathroom came running back inside to tell us that a mama moose and baby moose were eating on either side of the doorway.

For those not trained in moose- or dangerous animal- awareness, this equals bad news. Mamas have tempers when you get in between her and her baby. So we waited for hours and HOURS.

Okay... I don't remember how long, but we had to miss recess. Recess people. Why not lock us up in a cage and throw away the key? In retrospect, I think my teacher must have been more affected than us. I mean, thirty or so pre-pubescents locked in a classroom with no bathroom and no recess?

Some brave teacher finally drove her car over and honked (annoyed) them away, because the buses couldn't leave without the trapped children.

I've also learned that drunken moose are much less dangerous than mama moose. Anchorage had the treat of its very own alcoholic moose for a few winters. No really. The moose, the Daily News named him Buzzwinkle, kept eating the fermented crap apples and staggering around downtown, with Christmas lights all tangled up in his antlers.

The funny part was he kept doing it. A news quote from the article - one you just can't buy - "You can't do much for a drunk moose except wait for him to sober up, Sinnott said."

Though no longer with us, many people still have a fondness for our little troubled moose.

What lessons did I learn from this? Apparently, not much. I am still willing to get the shot, readers. And next time, I'm going to try and not get the butt.

Some news about that forgotten bit of America

Father Oleksa urges us not to repeat the mistakes of our past

There are few people I have ever known that I think "everyone" should meet. Father Oleksa is one of them. He is a great speaker - storyteller really - able to make you laugh at your prejudices and silliness, and at the same time want to change them. He has a great passion and love for Alaska Native cultures and people.

I was happy to see his commentary in the Anchorage Daily News, and hope that many others heed his warning. It is not a baseless warning - we have gone down the route of Native removal before, and it is simply astounding it is still considered a valid approach. I understand the troubles, the money, the "inconvenience" of Rural schools, but the solution is not to go back to a time when We Know Better Now.

I cannot word it better than he does:

Now we hear that removal is being considered again as a "solution." That, I would submit, is a step backward, toward the Cherokee Trail of Tears. Uproot a Native village and you destroy it. All the social and spiritual bonds that have provided meaning, the very fabric of that community, will be disrupted and destroyed. It is time to learn from our mistakes. It is time to reform our schools. It is time we stopped killing our kids.

We are lucky in Alaska to be able to run into him now and then, but if you are on the other side of Canada, check out this book he wrote, Another Culture/Another World. It is a short but brilliant book that may open a few eyes to some cross-cultural issues we all have (it certainly did mine.)



Village life has been in the news quite a bit lately, a few of the items because of the money going into the VPSO programs, and the focus the new "top cop" Palin appointed has. I'm happy to hear he plans on honing in on the problems Monegan was attempting when Palin fired him... you know. To go in a "new direction."



I wonder if maybe people in the Lower 48 are tired of hearing things like, "It's different in Alaska" or if urban Alaskans are tired of hearing "Things are different out in the Bush." I KNOW, things are tough everywhere, but if you can, check out the "Arctic Trooper" episode from the series "Tougher in Alaska." It's on iTunes. You want to see some truly unique policing conditions? Check out the Alaska State Troopers! When one guy has a patrol area he doesn't drive around - he has to fly around to - it makes these VPSOs - Village Public Safety Officers - very valuable.

Legislature awards monies to VPSO program.

VPSOs, who report to troopers and receive much of the same training, serve as the highest level of front-line law enforcement in the villages. They carry tasers instead of guns, and they can stabilize dangerous situations until troopers arrive by plane from a post in hub communities such as Kotzebue or Bethel.

New Public Safety Commissioner "gets" the village.

I can't overstate how pleased I am about the new Alaska "top cop." He is someone who really sees the importance of and who will go after the issues facing Rural Alaska. This article recounts a pretty harrowing experience for Joe Masters right out of high school.

They left him with no illusions about the rigors of being a village public
safety officer, a job some people might mistake as easy because villages are
usually quiet.

And of course, the oh so controversial Chavez oil. I don't know how big of a nationwide story this is, but Citgo has a program that gets oil to high risk communities - including many in Alaska. My view is certainly that if the state government (thanks Palin) and the federal government (thanks Bush) can't help out, are we really going to judge people for taking oil in a time such as this?

The interesting thing about this article is it points out that last year, villages were not participating out of principle. This year, the (even worse) economy and lack of solutions have changed things.

Chavez offers up oil to Alaska villages.

"Last time I checked, (Citgo is) paying corporate taxes to the U.S.
Treasury," she said. "And we figure until such time that the U.S. government is
so offended by Venezuela and Citgo that they're not accepting any more funding,
then we're not being unpatriotic by accepting the same."

Although I am not as familiar with the situation, down in the Lower 48, Pine Ridge isn't faring so well this winter - and it's a bit early in the winter.

suzyishere blogged on it awhile ago, and there have been ongoing efforts to relieve some of the strain poverty and the weather have pulled on Pine Ridge. A snowstorm in November seems to be the straw that broke the camels back, and they are having a hard time recovering. From the HeraldNet:

Those who live there are hardy people. American Indians on reservations there no doubt have stories about long winters, and traditional ways of coping with the cold. This year, it was different. A severe snowstorm in November dumped 45 inches in areas of the state. The worst of it fell on the Pine Ridge and Rosebud Sioux reservations, where tribal members, left without heat and power for days, resorted to burning their furniture to keep warm.

#46 - 41 Top 100 Bush Moments

Hang on people, just a little over a month to go!

This is a series Letterman (used?) to do. He's been doing the "Great Speeches in American History" or presidency or something that just makes you want to groan - they generally show two presidential speech clips... and then go to one of Bush. Yeah. I'm sure you can imagine. These ones don't have quite the groan factor, more the chuckle type... if you're into classifying your Bush humor, that is...


#41 Best (or Worst) Bush Moment



#42 Best (Or Worst) Bush Moment



#43 Best (or Worst) Bush Moment



#44 Best (or Worst) Bush Moment



#45 Best (or Worst) Bush Moment

Some guidance for Obama on Native issues

Not really guidance from me. Or - the guidance is, "Do what this document says."

The document is the Indian Nations 2009 Presidential Transition from the National Congress of American Indians.

Why yes that IS a fascinating name for a document! :) Okay, it's a bit boring-sounding, but it was pretty exciting to read. Grassroots Science sent me the report, and it read like a wish-list of things that should happen. Some highlights:

Presidential appointments
Major, top level positions for Native people was a promise from Obama during the campaign, so that is expected. But this document has some pretty specific requests (and many of them) for positions, including the creation of several positions. Which includes...

Secretary of the Interior
I mentioned this a few times in the blog before, but while most people would see this position as a "second tier" appointment, with little impact on their lives, there is a difference in the Native perspective. They state the importance pretty well, I think:

The Secretary of Interior is the primary federal official entrusted with
protecting tribal sovereignty, treaty rights, and a broad range of
responsibilities to assist Indian Nations. Our primary objective is a Secretary
of Interior who is knowledgeable and supportive of Indian Nations. It is high
time that a Native leader is appointed Secretary of Interior.

Umm... no kidding!? Now, I'm willing to be okay with a Native-friendly appointment because the Sec. of the Interior does not ONLY look after Native issues - and there are other top positions which will be entirely Native focused. Although I'd prefer a Native person appointed to this position, I'd be VERY happy with someone like former Alaska Governor Tony Knowles, knowledgeable of Native issues, and one smart cookie.

There were loads of recommendations for administration appointments, most of which I agree with. The "issues" recommendations seemed pretty thorough, including:

Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
This is something I think everyone should Google, and THEN read the factoid this document pushes out -

The United Nations adopted the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous
Peoples on September 13, 2007 with 143 nations voting in favor and only 4
nations opposed – one of them the United States.

Education
This is pointed toward the specific Native aspects, including language (of which I think they're undershooting for.) Their is an interesting comment included in this section -

Despite the Republican Administration’s expressed support for Indian education, it proposed eliminating four Indian specific programs in the Department of Education...

Renewable Energy and Conversation Programs
A similar jab at Bush in this -

President Bush requested a substantial decrease for Tribal Energy Activities
for FY 2009, which would be funded at $1 million instead of $5.9 million enacted
in the FY 2008 budget... NCAI urges Congress to fund renewable energy and
conservation programs and activities at $8.5 million.

Just what we need at a time like this... reduction in energy funding for low-income Americans...


Strengthen the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act
This is one that so many would go... uh, huh? But repatriation is something I have been seeing as more and more important these last few years. Basically, it's trying to get a lot of the stuff back that was stolen for so many years. Well, it wasn't ALL stolen - just... no, they were mostly stolen.

And by "stuff," I mean sacred objects, cultural wares, and human remains. Bodies. I have often wondered if the reaction would be different about digging up burial grounds if I were to walk down to the downtown Anchorage cemetary and start digging up people, dragging their bodies to a lab, all in the name of science.

A few years ago, we watched a video in class from the 1940's. These tourists were coming through Alaska, and the video was of them at a Tlingit shaman's grave. They were laughing and taking out some of the sacred objects from inside. Artifacts, interesting objects to them.

About the same time, my grandma shared with me an experience she had as a group of Elders from the village traveled to view a collection at a university they believed to be mostly stolen from that village. As they viewed the "art" and "artifacts," one of the woman burst into tears. She had spotted a rattle - a tool used in ceremony in Tlingit culture. She was the grandaughter of the last shaman of the village, and the last time she saw the rattle was in her grandmother's hands. To her it was not an interesting object to study - it was her connection to her grandmother, to her childhood, not to mention her culture.

Okay, off soapbox - back to business.

Military and Veteran's Policy
These are actually basic things that should be done for all veteran's - just taking it to specific points - but has gotten recent attention in Alaska lately because of Palin and the National Gaurd. The travel to and from health care benefits (very important for all these veteran's in villages without road access) was a highlight.


This barely skims the report - it's over 60 pages long - so take a look if you're interested. Even take a look if you're not! You might find some things you didn't know were important to a bug chunk of your fellow Americans.

#46 Top 100 Bush Moments

#46 Best (or Worst) Bush Moment

This one is a bit more subtle, but I still have to chuckle. Especially in the recent contrast of incoming Sec. of Commerce Bill Richardson's "acceptance" speech, done in both Spanish and English. Though Bush does seem to be speakinganother language half the time...