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Badmovies.org Forum  |  Other Topics  |  Off Topic Discussion  |  And The Moral For Us Is: Never Be Conquered « previous next »
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Author Topic: And The Moral For Us Is: Never Be Conquered  (Read 3218 times)
ER
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The sleep of reasoner breeds monsters. (sic)


« on: September 18, 2008, 10:17:51 AM »

A guy I met in Alaska in 2004 recently emailed this this to me. My irreverent title aside*, I thought some of you might like to see this. Apparently Mr. Peter and his movement are huge news in Alaska. Whatever the political, ecological and economic outcome in Alaska in the near future, I wish the best of luck to the native people there, who no doubt have received a raw deal, past and probably present.

* But that honestly was one of my first thoughts after reading this letter.


9/8/2008

My name is Evon Peter and I am the Executive Director of the Alaskan Native Movement.

I am writing to raise awareness about the violation of human rights carried out against Alaska Native peoples in the name of Sarah Palin and the Republican leadership. Ever since the Russian claim to Alaska and the subsequent sale to the United States, Alaska Native peoples have been referred to as less than human.

What does this mean? Let’s say a group arrived in your city and made laws, among which were:

1. What were once your home and land now belong to them

2. Forced you to send your children to boarding schools to learn their language and ways

3. Supported missionaries to forcefully convince you that your Jesus was actually an agent of evil

4. Made it illegal for you to continue to do your job to support your family, except under strict oversight and through extensive regulation

5. Made it illegal for you to own any land or run a business as an individual and did not allow you to participate in any form of their government

If my grandfather had unjustly stolen your grandfathers home and I was still living in the house and watching you live outdoors, would you feel a change was in order?

United States history in relation to Alaska Natives has been based on minimizing the potential for Alaska Native peoples and maximizing benefits to Unites States corporations.

Why is it that Alaska Native Nations are still perceived as being incapable of governing our own lands, lives, and resources?

Let me get specific about what is at stake and how this relates to Palin and the Republican leadership in Alaska. Alaska Native peoples are among the only Indigenous peoples in North America whose Indigenous Hunting and Fishing Rights have been extinguished by federal legislation and yet we are the most dependent people on this way of life. Most of our villages have no roads that connect them to cities and all rely on traditional hunting, fishing, and harvesting for survival. As Alaska Governor, Palin has challenged attempts by Alaska Native people to regain their human rights.

The same federal legislation, known as the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971, that extinguished our hunting and fishing rights, also extinguished all federal Alaska Native land claims and my Tribe’s reservation status. Since the passage of ANCSA, political leaders have maintained that, “Tribes never existed in Alaska.” At the same time the federal government chose to list Alaska Native tribes in the list of federally recognized tribes in 1993. 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.

The colonial mentality in Alaska is to exploit the land and resources for profits and power, at the expense of Alaska Native people. Governor Palin reflects this attitude. She feels she has a right to offer Alaskan oil and resources in an attempt to solve the national energy crisis.

Our tribes depend on the Porcupine Caribou herd, which migrates into the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to birth their young. Any disruption will directly impact my people in a homeland we have lived in for 10,000 years. This is the sacrifice Palin offered to the nation.

While I have much more to say, this is my current offering to elevate the conversation about what is at stake in Alaska and for Alaska Native peoples.

Evon Peter

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ulthar
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« Reply #1 on: September 18, 2008, 10:51:35 AM »

What bothers me about this is "in the name of Sarah Palin and Republican Leadership."

Neither Palin nor the current crop of Republicans caused the problems he has outlined; the Republican Party itself was completely different back when Alaska was "conquered."

The exploitation of resources, both in Alaska and in the contiguous 48, began for the Republican Party even existed.

So, with that one little line, I had a hard time getting past thinking this was nothing more than biased, partisan drivel.
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ER
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« Reply #2 on: September 18, 2008, 11:00:19 AM »

Yes, the writer of this letter would have done better in not invoking political terms and thereby immediately dividing his future audience. I'm sure he and his people know hardships, but I doubt what he wrote will do much for them.

As for me, I can't help but think that firstly, I doubt Mr. Peter, anyone he personally knows or any native Alaskan living ever experienced the forced enculturalization of which he writes, so he's bitter about something from history books; secondly, I also couldn't help but think, "Well, leave these dead-end villages devoid of roads, move to where opportunities are better, abandon anachronistic hunter-gatherer dependency, and join the modern world.

If a better way of life is out there, take it. Plenty of cultures have taken the best parts of assimilation, while preserving their ethnic identity. Just ask the Jews.


But as I also wrote, I do hope things get better for native Alaskans, who have certainly received a raw deal.
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ghouck
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« Reply #3 on: September 18, 2008, 11:36:01 AM »

"Huge News in Alaska"? I've never heard of it and I live in AK, have for 17 years.

Quote
1. What were once your home and land now belong to them

Metophorically speaking only, nobody was run off their land. A large part of the argument is the "I own the entire northeast corner of Alaska" idea, , A person laying claim to a large amount of land they do nothing with or even access.


Quote
Made it illegal for you to continue to do your job to support your family, except under strict oversight and through extensive regulation

Yes, there was some slowing and stopping of the harvest of whales and other marine mammals. I've seen photos of HUGE amounts of whales, seals killed and largely left to waste. All that was done was an attempt to control the waste. There are some tribes that do a traditional whale harvest, , and muh of it goes to waste. Tradition shouldn't automatically trump common sense. Also, their "Traditional" hunts these days generally involve the use of modern, non-traditional equipment, so their "traditional" hunts can be done with modern, non-traditional effiency. IE, speedin across the water in a powerboat with semi-automatic rifles killing seals at will while other boats follow picking up the carcasses. A big difference between that and ROWING a boat and using other means of capture. I know people that went on these hunts in the 70s and 80s andsaw pictures of a trailer loaded with litterally 12-15 CUBIC YARDS of seal pelts. That was 4 guys in one weekend. The last time I read about a whale harvest, they brought in 2 whales but killed or seriously harmed 8 others. There were people on TV that claimed that only 1/4 of one of the whales was used, despitet the hunters passing up smaller whales for the larger ones they harvested. It was also said that the ones they killed/harmed that they lost was so because of the animal's size.

Quote
Made it illegal for you to own any land or run a business as an individual and did not allow you to participate in any form of their government

I'm not sure what they're getting at, but sounds like rhetoric to me. There are many tribal governments in Alaska. I really don't know what they are getting at.

You won't hear any of this ouside of campain time. I'm surprised it came out so early, usually they wait until they're close enough to election time that one doesn't have the time to do serious research before casting their vote.
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BTM
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« Reply #4 on: September 18, 2008, 12:14:08 PM »

What bothers me about this is "in the name of Sarah Palin and Republican Leadership."
So, with that one little line, I had a hard time getting past thinking this was nothing more than biased, partisan drivel.

Gotta agree with Ulthar on this one.  Among other things, last I checked it was mainly the DEMOCRATS who believe that more and more government regulations for the environment and resource management are the only thing that'll protect us from those "evil" corporations who only want to rape the planet and make money.

Great example, law was passed saying each state has to pull out so many tons of waste from their rivers each year, but Alaska's rivers are so clean, they didn't HAVE that much pollution to pull out.  So, they tried to get an exception to this rule, but the government said, "The law's the law, you MUST obey!"

So, get this, Alaska actually DUMPS extra trash and waste (usually fish guts and whatnot) so they can later PULL IT OUT, so they'll be in compliance with the law.

(sighs)

Do I even need to comment on how DUMB that is? 
« Last Edit: September 20, 2008, 02:10:59 PM by BTM » Logged

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ghouck
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« Reply #5 on: September 18, 2008, 01:12:55 PM »


Great example, law was passed saying each state has to pull out so many tons of waste from their rivers each year, but Alaska's rivers are so clean, they didn't HAVE that much pollution to pull out.  So, they tried to get an exception to this rule, but the government said, "The law's the law, you MUST obey!"

So, get this, Alaska actually DUMPS extra trash and waste (usually fish guts and whatnot) so they can later PULL IT OUT, so they'll be in compliance with the law.

(sighs)

Do I even need to comment on how DUMB that is? 

That's all factual, , the City of Anchorage was fined anually for nearly a decade for excatly what you were referring to. They decided to start dumping organic material into the water once the citiation that led to the fines also excluded the city from funding and other considerations. The Feds didn't care that he water going INTO the treatment facility was cleaner than what was going OUT of any treatment facility in the nation.
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Raw bacon is GREAT! It's like regular bacon, only faster, and it doesn't burn the roof of your mouth!

Happiness is green text in the "Stuff To Watch For" section.

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"Aw man, this thong is chafing my balls" -Lloyd Kaufman in Poultrygeist.

"There's always time for lubricant" -Orlando Jones in Evolution
akiratubo
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« Reply #6 on: September 18, 2008, 01:51:31 PM »

That's all factual, , the City of Anchorage was fined anually for nearly a decade for excatly what you were referring to. They decided to start dumping organic material into the water once the citiation that led to the fines also excluded the city from funding and other considerations. The Feds didn't care that he water going INTO the treatment facility was cleaner than what was going OUT of any treatment facility in the nation.

Mind boggling.  If Alaska really did secede over crap like this, I wouldn't blame them.
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« Reply #7 on: September 20, 2008, 12:45:06 AM »

What bothers me about this is "in the name of Sarah Palin and Republican Leadership."
So, with that one little line, I had a hard time getting past thinking this was nothing more than biased, partisan drivel.

Yep I pretty much stopped reading it right there, as nothing more than rhetoric.
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Dennis
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« Reply #8 on: September 20, 2008, 10:57:57 AM »

This is the kind of thing you see every time there are people running for office, I wouldn't be surprised to see a report that Senator Obama was once arrested for anything from drunk driving to child molestation, or that Senator McCain's service in the Navy and subsequent incarceration as a POW is all a gigantic hoax. When it comes to our elections I sometimes think we may be going down the "bread and circuses" road of the Roman Empire.
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