Palin's position on Native Alaskan tribes versus John McCain's stance on Native Americans and his so-called policies.

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I received an interesting email early this afternoon. It’s more information about Sarah Palin. It was titled “Sarah Palin Attacks Tribes.” Attached was a .PDF document containing Sarah Palin’s Record on Alaska Native and Tribal Issues, which is the work of Lloyd Miller and his wife Heather. It has 4 major points showing how Sarah Palin consistently opposes the Alaska Native peoples’ right to hunt and fish according to customary and traditional practices allowing them to carry on their subsistence way of life and the way of life for their future generations.

I wanted to know if this was just baseless attacks or truth, so I sent an email to Mr. Miller at the email provided at the bottom of the document I received. His response was, to say the least, immediate. I hardly had to wait 15 minutes before his reply was in my inbox. He informed me that the statements were indeed true, and that it was his and his wife Heather’s work. I print the contents of the PDF, in its entirety, for you to review below, with his permission.

Doing some more research into Mr. Miller, who is a member of the Law Firm, Sonosky, Chambers, Sachse, Miller & Munson, LLP based in Anchorage, Alaska, I found that Mr. Miller works to protect the rights of Native Alaskans, as well as representing Native American interests in a variety of legal areas. While representing the Cherokee Nation, Mr. Miller won a tremendous victory in 2005 not only for the Cherokee’s, but on behalf of all Native American tribes in the Supreme Court.

He represented the Cherokees in a suit where the U.S, government went into contracts with the tribes to provide health services that the government would normally provide, with the agreement that the government would reimburse the costs of the services and then government failed to pay. After an appeals court ruled that the government wasn’t legally obligated to pay up, Mr. Miller won at the Supreme Court overturning the appeals court decision. He also represented Alaskan Natives in the Exxon-Valdez litigation and was the plaintiff’s liaison counsel for the entire class, winning a $5 billion dollar verdict in 1994. The case is currently on appeal awaiting argument in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on a reduced award.

Although ironically, Exxon may have won a victory of sorts, as the case has outlived most of the original plaintiffs.

There is also a discrepancy between McCain’s web site and Palin as the other half of the ticket.

From the McCain/Palin web site:

“Political self-determination and economic self-sufficiency are the foundations of John McCain's American Indian policy. John McCain will work to strengthen the government-to-government relationship through consultation and respect for the unique trust relationship with the tribes that arises out of the treaties and innumerable court decisions and Acts of Congress.”

It also goes on to state:

“John McCain has a clear record of working for the betterment of American Indian communities throughout his career. He began his work with Indian tribes shortly after he was elected to Congress.”

So this begs the question, how will he accomplish his Native American policies with the obvious polar, no pun intended, view of Sarah Palin as his Vice-President? Seems like an oxymoron at best, and a little hypocritical at worse. What does this say for him on issues that affect Native American tribes in Alaska and across the nation?

Being an American Indian myself, I find it appalling that what little agreements were settled upon through treaties or other means, and what little sovereignty remains us, is being attacked in this, or any manner.

What other minority groups might fall prey to her mindset and policies if elected into office?

Read on, and decide for yourself.

Sarah Palin’s Record on Alaska Native and Tribal Issues

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 every subsistence fishing determination the federal government has ever made in Alaska. (State of Alaska v. 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 law suit is to invalidate all the subsistence fishing regulations the federal government has issued to date to protect Native fishing, and to force the courts instead to take over the role 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. (Alaska Complaint 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.

Palin has attacked Alaska Native Subsistence Hunting

Palin has also sought to invalidate critical determinations the Federal Subsistence Board has made 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.

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.); 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.

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

Kaltag:

https://ecf.akd.uscourts.gov/doc1/0231295649

Fleagle:

https://ecf.akd.uscourts.gov/doc1/0231254875

State v. Norton opinion:

https://ecf.akd.uscourts.gov/doc1/023086165

State v. Norton complaint:

https://ecf.dcd.uscourts.gov/doc1/0451584225

Tanana:

[Alaska court system is not electronic]

Nick v. State

https://ecf.akd.uscourts.gov/doc1/0231352147

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Lloyd B. Miller
Sonosky, Chambers, Sachse, Miller & Munson, LLP
900 West Fifth Avenue, Suite 700
Anchorage, Alaska 99501

Authors Bio:
Sort of a political atheist.