The Hunter 2018 Volume, Issue January / February | Page 8

NANA

2017 ELDERS AND YOUTH CONFERENCE

making some unqualified to hunt due to being less than ¼ Alaska Native. As a resolve, it is asked to change the blood quantum requirement to tribal members.
the 2017 First Alaskans Institute Elders and Youth Conference, be transmitted to suicide prevention programs, ANTHC, other health providers.

The First Alaskans Institute( FAI) Elders and Youth were proud to present seven resolutions to the Alaska Federation of Natives( AFN) delegates. The 2017 theme was“ Part Land, Part Water – Always Native.” This threeday event, held October 16 – 18, took place in Anchorage, Alaska. Many workshops and presentations on Alaska Native cultures and language were offered.

According to FAI, more than 1,000 participants from around Alaska gather each year during the AFN convention. The purpose of the conference is to develop leadership in Native youth, strengthened with the experience and wisdom of regional Native Elders.
Seventeen Elders attended from the Regional Elders Council( REC), Iñupiaq Language Commission( ILC) and the region.
The First Alaskans Institute 2017 Elders and Youth conference resolutions packet was submitted and approved by AFN. A brief overview of the submitted resolutions are as follows:
RESOLUTION 17-01 Support the Federally Recognized Tribes of Alaska and the State of Alaska entering into a government-to-government compact agreement that allows Tribal governments to authorize, oversee, and operate kindergarten through high school public instruction.
RESOLUTION 17-02 Change the 1 / 4 blood quantum for hunting sea otters to lineal descent. Current regulations prevent many Alaska Natives and the future generations from harvesting sea otters as their ancestors have done in the past. Opportunities for economic development, traditional arts, and culture have been impacted by regulations
RESOLUTION 17-03 Addressing Equity in Education for Rural Communities. All rural Alaska students are not having their basic education needs met and are at a disadvantage because of unreliable and / or lack of access to technology, equipment, internet, and an in person qualified teachers. To resolve, the State will complete annual reports on the number of unfilled teacher positions in rural Alaska by the school and that Alaska eliminate VTC [ video teleconferencing ] as the rural education delivery system.
RESOLUTION 17-04 A Commitment to Natural Disaster Preparedness in our Communities. All rural communities in our state are at risk from natural disasters. Our communities seek out funding to assess risks, create emergency supply and shelter caches in a safe place, and take whatever steps are necessary to increase our self-sufficiency while decreasing the risk of loss of life in the event of a crisis.
RESOLUTION 17-05 LGBTQ Rights. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and queer( LGBTQ) have some of the highest suicide attempts. LGBTQ need to feel accepted and happy and have a place in our communities. We must commit to educating our people and our communities to commit to educating about LGBTQ struggles and pronouns, names and love; and once accepted by the participants of
RESOLUTION 17-06 ANCSA dividend tax exemption adjusted for inflation. The ANCSA act of 1971 provides for a $ 2,000 per year exemption of dividends received from being counted as income by the IRS. Federal Programs are adjusted for inflation and The ANCSA dividends income exemption has not been adjusted for inflation. It is requested that the Federal Government adjust for inflation for this $ 2,000 per year dividend income exemption.
RESOLUTION 17-07 Alaska Native Rights to Native Food from Coastal and River Systems. Alaska Native Tribes have harvested from the waters year-round to feed themselves and the Alaska population is growing at a very high rate and competition for these resources is growing and agencies that regulate those resources don’ t always pass laws that include Alaska Natives. We urge all Native organizations and tribes to attain rights to resources that Alaska Natives rely on for food and cash economy. To resolve, the rights of Alaska Natives be researched through the federal government so that these resources can be allocated to Alaska Native Tribes as soon as possible.
To read the resolutions in their entirety, please visit firstalaskans. org
NANA is a proud sponsor of the Elders and Youth event. •

History of the Region

Reindeer Herding

Reindeer herding was introduced to Northwest Alaska at the end of the 19th century by missionary Sheldon Jackson, who was the commissioner of education for Alaska. Concerned by the declining Western Arctic Caribou Herd population in the region, Jackson asked Congress for funding to start a reindeer husbandry program. By 1894, Congress appropriated $ 6,000 for Jackson’ s idea, with additional annual funding in the years after.
A Laplander( a native or inhabitant of the northern European region of Lapland) by the name of Alfred Nilima, who had reindeer herding experience, was hired in Kotzebue to assist the Friends Mission with their herd of 96. In 1905, reindeer were brought to Deering and Kivalina.
Reindeer herding was prominent in the region until 1918. The Reindeer Act of 1937 established that domesticated reindeer could only be herded by Alaska Natives, but by then the industry was relatively nonexistent.
Then, in December of 1974, NANA Regional Corporation was granted ownership of a“ model herd.” The herd was established in 1966 through a cooperative agreement between the Bureau of Indian Affairs( BIA) and the Bureau of Land Management( BLM) for reindeer studies near Nome.
In March of 1975, approximately 900 reindeer were relocated to the Baldwin Peninsula under the care of NANA.
In April of the same year, NANA Reindeer Enterprises( NANA, Kikiktugruk Iñupiat Corporation( KIC), Noatak Napuaklukmeut Corporation, Kivalina Sinuakmeut Corporation) requested a grazing permit, which included the Baldwin Peninsula and portions of the Noatak-Kivalina Basin.
The goals of NANA Reindeer Enterprises, a non-profit, were to provide a dependable food source, stimulate and develop local industry, and determine the feasibility of reindeer herding in the NANA region. With caribou herd numbers in decline, a meat source for subsistence was important.
In 1975, NANA President John Schaeffer reported the herd had grown to 1,100 and had sold $ 7,000 worth of horns( reindeer horns are used for medicinal purposes in Asian countries). He also said that they were looking into purchasing additional reindeer to bring the herd up to a size that would be economically self-sufficient.
By 1976 the herd grew to 3,000 head with the purchase of 1,500 from a herd in Shishmaref. The sale of horns reached $ 14,000.
By 2006, herders had lost 75 to 100 percent of their herds to commingling and out-migration with the wild Western Arctic Caribou Herd.
NANA Reindeer Enterprises decided to cease operations; the wild herd was now sufficient to support subsistence hunting in the region. The original goals of ensuring a food source and protecting the wild herd had been successful. •
( right) In 1975, NANA President John Schaeffer helps clip reindeer antlers with his wife, Mary, looking on.
( below) In 1918, a Reindeer Fair was hosted in Noatak. Reindeer herders from Utqiaġvik( Barrow), Wainwright, Icy Cape, Pt. Hope, Kivalina, Noatak, Kobuk, Selawik, Buckland, Kotzebue, Deering, Candle, Shishmarref, and Noorvik attended this three-week fair.
8 HUNTER � 2018 JANUARY / FEBRUARY