Alaskan Issues in the Spotlight on Monday
Rural Alaska Speaks
Mudflatter (and Anonymous Blogger) Ann Strongheart will be appearing on Native America Calling, a radio show that is part of Native Voice One and the NPR Satellite System. Tune in on Monday, August 3 at 9am Alaska time to hear Ann (and hopefully Emmonak resident Nicholas Tucker) discuss the salmon fishing ban on the Yukon River.
This is an exciting opportunity for two great Alaskan voices to speak up on issues that are so important to Alaska’s rural residents. Shortage of subsistence foods was a huge part of last year’s horrible situation in Western Alaska, where residents were running out of food, money and fuel during the harsh winter. No two people were more instrumental in bringing that situation to the attention of the national media than Nicholas Tucker and Ann Strongheart.
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game has banned commercial fishing for king salmon along the Yukon River and is limiting subsistence fishing. The ban is in response to the state not meeting their treaty agreement with Canada for the past two years to deliver 45,000 kings via the Yukon . But groups of Native fishermen are ignoring the ban – facing possible jail time, heavy fines and equipment seizure. How will village residents make it through another tough winter if they’re not allowed to fish this summer? Guests include Ann Strongheart (Yu’pik) from the village of Nunam Iqua.
The show will be accepting calls at 1-800-996-2848 with a live link HERE.
I’ll set Mudflats up to live blog the event when the time comes.
Senator Begich on Global Warming
U.S. Senator Mark Begich is scheduled to deliver his “maiden” speech on the Senate floor Monday, August 3 at approximately 10am Alaska time (11am Pacific, 2 p.m. Eastern Time). In his speech, Begich will announce the introduction of seven bills designed to address the impacts of climate change in the Arctic.
Begich is calling the bills “the Inuvikput legislative package,” from the Inupiaq Eskimo meaning “the place where we live.” You don’t have to be able to pronounce it, to know that it’s important. The bills deal with oil and gas development, the need for more Arctic science, Arctic shipping issues, improved Arctic health, better coordination of U.S. Arctic policy with an Arctic ambassador and related issues.
Traditionally, freshmen senators devote their initial Senate floor speech to an issue of concern in their state or a national issue. Begich is opting to discuss the enormous impact of climate change on Alaska, which is “ground zero” for the impacts of such change in the American Arctic.
To view the speech:
Live TV Coverage: C-SPAN2 provides live coverage of the Senate floor.
Live Online Coverage HERE
The speech will be posted on Senator Begich’s website and YouTube channel an estimated 3 – 4 hours after delivery.
AKM is the most amazing reporter on the planet! Both of these topics are top notch. It will be lovely to hear Ann, Nicholas and Senator Begich. Can’t wait ’til Monday!
Isn’t it nice to have the focus off the politics as usual Palin histrionics?
PLEASE remind me when Ann and Nicholas will be on! (Yes, I’m a flake. There, it’s out in the open now…
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Thanks, AKM….you have made interested persons of those of us who may NEVER visit your fair ( and complicated) state!
It is nice to hear about the real issues that are occurring in Alaska. This is positive change and I hope that it continues. People will now be allow to hear what matters to the Alaskans and not just SP who was part of the problem and not the solution. I can smell the fresh air already.
Palin only craved the spotlight…Alaskans crave justice and longevity!
I am sitting here with tears in my eyes – such happy tears!
Having lived in W. AK, it is wonderful that Ann and (very hopefully)Nick are being featured on NPR (Native Voice One) about the problems in what was referred when I lived there unkindly by some Alaskans as “The Armpit of Alaska”. I also am so tickled that Sen. Begich is presenting his bills as “the Inuvikput legislative package,” and acknowledging Native Alaskans. My son started kindergarten in the “Little Kids School”, in Bethel,and I only remember one Yupik part of that (Ilniarviut) – the other word for this k-2 school escapes me right now, but it was a mile long. I remember having to fill in later schools with this and the eyebrows it raised!!
Things are looking up in AK! We have a Senator that seems to really care about all its citizens. We have a Congress that has just introduced a bill to ban hunting wolves from choppers, and the Pebble Mine. I hope, is on its way out because of a writer of the AK Constitution and former beloved governor’s wife. Life is good!
Thanks AKM!
Our wonderful Ann Strong-of-Everything is getting a bit nervous but very excited to have a chance to speak out to many more people on the issues facing her own area and ,by extension, the issues facing all of rural Alaska.
WE all know she will do well..
A future with dignity , parity at the state table with urban Alaska, and an acceptance that self determination is an option for rural Alaska which the rest of the state must respect is not too much to ask for…
Actually it’s not much at all…
you ask right up Ann… we’re here to magnify your call!
I hope that Ann’s and Mr. Tucker’s interview will be recorded and made available ’cause that is seriously early in the morning/ late at night for me, especially on a weeknight! Oh, wait, the Monday is holiday for me, but I still hope it will be recorded for posterity….
I hear the beat of a positive drum, and it sounds might good. Alaska is a great state with wonderful people, and a great future ahead. Keep on fighting the good fight. We send positive energy your way from Orcas Island in Washington State.
Thank you for the uplifting news, their story needed this follow up. Thank you AKM.
Ah, the refreshing breeze of a post-Palin Mudflats post!
Now due attention can be focused on the critical issues facing Alaska, rather than the nut job with a Bumpit (which I saw at my local drugstore today for the first time evah! cracked me up).
Hooray for Ann Strongheart and Mark Begich!!
MonaLisa IS MY NAME! (2)
PLEASE remind me when Ann and Nicholas will be on! (Yes, I’m a flake. There, it’s out in the open now…
)
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You and me both. I don’t work on Mondays (usually) so I really want to hear this and I have the chance to!
Thanks for the heads up – this is great news! If I can’t listen in I’ll be reading.
And Ann, you’ll do just fine. You are an amazing young woman and a blessing to us all (o:
Exciting news for Alaska and a long time coming! How wonderful to see that the focus is now on real Alaskan issues and not on lipstick, red shoes and whining. Hopefully this is the beginning of a new era in Alaskan politics where important work might actually be acomplished and elected officials might deal with the issues they were put in office to resolve. Yayyyy Ann and Senator Begich!!!
Begich may be one of the Blue Dogs targeted by MoveOn depending on how he votes on health care reform.
“The Alaska Department of Fish and Game has banned commercial fishing for king salmon along the Yukon River and is limiting subsistence fishing. The ban is in response to the state not meeting their treaty agreement with Canada for the past two years to deliver 45,000 kings via the Yukon.”
Why should subsistence fishing be banned when the pollack factory trawlers are slaughtering thousands of salmon as bycatch? Something wrong with this picture? And will Parnell do anything about it?
I hope they touch on how the highly-paid Palin went fishing while villagers went hungry. Go get her, Ann Strongheart!
As if the natives didn’t have it bad enough! I’ve visited my friends on the Rosebud reservation in SD 3 times (once for their Sundance), and the soil is so poor! Sage, prickly pear, cottonwood, cedar all grow. However, even with such alkaline soil, my pal there has the FINEST organic garden. She acidifies the soil with manure & sings to the plants & plays her tuning forks in the garden. It hadn’t rained in ages & I’ve been known to make it rain, so I told her, If I can make it rain in 5 drought-ridden states in Brasil with my arrival, certainly I can do it for my friends in South Dakota! Within 2 hours, there was a terrific thunderstorm. When it started hailing, we focused a fire sonic field around the garden. Most of her friends suffered hail damage, but none fell on her plants. She grows the most delicious basil, lettuces, parsley, peppers, leeks, fava beans (which she informed me “The Romans brought them to us (meaning Britain) around 60 B.C.”), tomato, etc. etc. Alaska’s growing season is so short, the villages need the salmon, not the Failins!
I loved hearing Ann’s voice when she did the NPR segment last winter and I can’t wait to hear it again! This is very exciting for rural Alaska, we need to hear from them more and more and more and more. It’s becoming real to me because I know something about the culture now – some traditional foods, the way they prepare their fish, the dancing, the different look of winter and spring ice, and the children playing ball in the rural flatlands just to name a few.
I have tremendous respect for Ann and Nick, and it’s been a joy getting to know them a bit more. Ann – you will do great – you are now an experienced interviewee! You grab that ring and go!
@sauerkraut #18 – If anyone deserves an apology it’s native Alaskans from the ex-Gov. for not addressing these real issues.
Looks like Begich is safe. But these Democrats are not: “The Democrats who opposed the final bill were Reps. John Barrow of Georgia; Rick Boucher of Virginia; Jim Matheson of Utah; Charlie Melancon of Louisiana and Bart Stupak of Michigan.”
I wonder when they’re going to get around to the salmon problem in Alaska.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8176292.stm
#19, if you know how to make it rain, CA could use some help. Please, no flooding, though.
sauerkraut (18?)
I hope they touch on how the highly-paid Palin went fishing while villagers went hungry. Go get her, Ann Strongheart!
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I’m not sure quite why, but that reminds me of an incident that happened back in the Reagan years. Remember the “commodities?” Where low-income folks could stand in line for hours and wind up with some of the subsidized cheese or butter or whatever? (It *was* good cheese.)
One of the quarterly handouts locally, took place in mid-November, at a small church. So everyone stood in line outside, in the November drizzle. Temp around 40 or 45 degrees. A few were let in at a time, as there just wasn’t a lot of room inside, especially with all the foodstuff lining the walls to be distributed. Most of the people stood in line for up to an hour before actually getting inside. At some point, it became obvious that no one had gotten inside for a good 20 or 30 minutes.
Well, as it happened, the good folk inside who were *doing* the distributing (the handing out) had stopped everything to take a lunch break, while the supplicants (?) waited outside in the cold, November drizzle for the food to take home to their families.
it was a very lowering experience.
“U.S. Senator Mark Begich is scheduled to deliver his “maiden” speech on the Senate floor Monday,”
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A speech on climate change is an excellent way for Sen. Begich to lose his maidenhood. We’ll see how well he follows through.
So proud of Ann Strongheart and Nick Tucker! Their voices have been the true clarion voices of concern and pride for Alaska……not the smarmy nonsense issuing from the erstwhile governor. I’ll be listening on Monday.
On an interesting side note, I listened to a program outlining the poisoning of water by the fracturing of zones when drilling for natural gas. A rancher literally had poisoned wells because of the gas and benzene that spilled into his system. Apparently the gas is closed until you drill and free it into the aquifer. You could literally set the water on fire in his bathtub, not to mention the chemicals they pour into the gas to keep it from freezing when you bring it to the surface. Benzene is not a nice chemical.
What a horrific thing, can you imagine that in Alaska?
This is a must read article for ALL alaskans from Scientific American.
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=drill-for-natural-gas-pollute-water
Google hydraulic fracturing environmental concerns. Why haven’t we heard about this with all the gas talk?
I have been following Ann Strongheart for quite a while now and find her to be an amazing woman. Reading stories about rural Alaska and the native people bring back great memories of having lived in Newfoundland as a child. I can’t wait to hear her voice!
Refreshing to read about real Alaskan issues and NOT Ima Quitter. Thank you AKM!
The battles just never seem to end, do they.
Stay strong Ann, Nick, ADM, Shannyn, Diva et al.
At least there are some caring people in DC now, hopefully they have big ears and are listening.
This is an excellent topic for Begich to talk about. It needs to be addressed by all countries who border the Arctic area. With less ice in the Arctic, it is getting much more attention.
Here in Canada, the ice roads are having a shorter season and that is the only time of the year that some supplies are able to be sent to remote villages that border the Canadian Arctic.
I heard while at a dinner party last night that a new group of connected persons has formed to use their influence to affect change through Climate legislation here in Canada. This was spoken of by a professor of Disaster Management, who has spent a large part of his career detailing disasters caused by climate change. He said that this is the first group of this sort he has heard of here in Canada. (He shared in the Nobel prize on Climate that was won by Al Gore, as did many scientist all over the world. They do the work and seldom get any type of recognition for it)
Voices are speaking as they have for many many years, hopefully, finally ears are beginning to hear.
The salmon situation appears to be really complicated. I guess I need to have recourse to teh Google to get edumavicated.
You got bycatch, the subsistence needs of thousands of Alaskans, the possibility of commercial take (hey, Outsiders like to eat salmon), a treaty obligation with Canada, and the need to ensure that enough adults survive to spawn in order to not kill off the fishery.
About the treaty. I’ll look it up, but does anyone know offhand if part of that 45,000 goes to subsistence fishing by Canadians?
@32 strangelet-
http://www.ncseonline.org/nle/crsreports/marine/mar-36.cfm
for perspective on treaty
http://www.yukonsalmon.com/whoweare.htm
another important perspective
http://www.psc.org/publications_psctreaty.htm
The current treaty- note esp annexIV chap 3 as an over view and chap 8 especially
http://yukonriverpanel.com/salmon/
established in most recent accord…