OpEdNews - Page 2 of Article: Alaska Natives On Palin

Metaphorically speaking, let the hunter be hunted.

Yesterday, I got an email from a former Chief of the Arctic Neetsaii Gwich'in tribe and the current Executive Director of Native Movement, Evon Peter. He sent out a personal essay that explained what Sarah Palin means to everyone, especially Alaska Natives.

Evon wrote:

"Alaska Native peoples are among the only indigenous peoples in all of North America who's Indigenous Hunting and Fishing Rights have been extinguished by federal legislation and yet we are the most dependent people on this way of life. "

"As Alaska Governor, Palin has continued the path of her predecessor Frank Murkowski in challenging attempts by Alaska Native people to regain their human right to their traditional way of life through subsistence."

"Since the passage of ANCSA, political leaders in Alaska, with a few exceptions, have maintained that, as stated by indicted Senator Ted Stevens, 'Tribes have never existed in Alaska.'"

"Governor Palin maintains that tribes were federally recognized but that they do not have the same rights as the tribes in the continental United States to sovereignty and self-governance, even to the extent of legally challenging our Tribes rights pursuant to the Indian Child Welfare Act."

"The colonial mentality in and towards Alaska is to exploit the land and resources for profits and power, at the expense of Alaska Native people."

"Governor Palin reflects this attitude and perspective in her words and leadership. She comes from an area within Alaska that was settled by relocated agricultural families from the continental United States in the second half of the last century. It is striking that a leader from that particular area feels she has a right, considering all of the injustices to Alaska Native people, to offer Alaskan oil and resources in an attempt to solve the national energy crisis at the Republican Convention."

"Palin also chose not to mention the connection between oil development and global warming, which is wreaking havoc on Alaska Native villages, forcing some to begin the process of relocation at a cost sure to reach into the hundreds of millions."

"Our tribes depend on healthy and abundant land and animals for our survival. For example, my people depend on the Porcupine Caribou herd, which migrates into the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge each spring to birth their young."

"This is the sacrifice Palin offered to the nation. The worst part of it is that there are viable alternatives to addressing the energy crisis in the United States, yet Palin chooses options that very well may result in the extinguishment of some of the last remaining intact ecosystems and original cultures in all of North America."

"Palin is also promoting off shore oil drilling and increased mining in sensitive areas of Alaska. McCain was once a champion of protecting the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and it is sad to see, that with Palin on board, he is no longer vocal and perhaps even giving up on what he believes in to satisfy Palin's position."

If she treats Alaskan Natives so poorly, imagine how she'll treat you?

I hope the odds makers are right.

Last week, the odds of her quitting went down from 20 - 1 to 8 - 1.

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