provide general assistance and various kinds of subsidies for community development. If there were some sort of economy out there, the villages would suddenly see their property values increase, be able to set up tax bases, and look at ways of raising their own revenues to build towards the future.

If Congress, the State, and the Federal Government can't come up with the money for economic development, there is one other option available. In 1971 ANCSA was passed and the corporations were given the responsibility of becoming self-sufficient and providing for the social and economic needs of Alaska's Native people. Unfortunately, the Act did not necessarily give them the means to do it. We reviewed the Act and looked at various sections of it and have seen that there are ways to amend it to provide better means of implementing it and facilitating the various policies the Act was encouraged to promote. For example, section 22(f) could be amended to allow land exchanges. Right now this provision is real, real strict and by making a change that gives the various secretaries more latitude, village corporations and the regional corporations could exchange land that might not have value for land near their villages with better resource potential.

In our region we see something like this as being critical. We have a region made up of tundra, ponds and lakes, and villages own most of it. When you own water and marsh there's not a whole lot you can do in terms of economic development. So we look to these kinds of technical changes as a way to allow us to become more self-sufficient. In the next few months, AFN will be proposing several technical amendments to Congress. We would hope that Congress would take the time to look at those amendments carefully and consider them. If the amendments aren't passed or if there isn't something done to promote economic development out in the rural areas, I think we're going to see the problems grow. The only way you're going to get rid of the problems is to look at, not necessarily simple, but realistic ways of solving them. We feel that by promoting the regional economies and the village economies a lot of the things will start to take care of themselves. This kind of effort will take a very coordinated effort between the State, the Federal Government, the Native corporations, and the people themselves. The commission that AFN is recommending may be a first step in that coordinated effort. Therefore, we endorse the idea of the commission.

In essence, I'd like to say that if something isn't done, we're not going to see the corporations around 20 years from now and we may not see many of the Native people. If we are going to make it into the year 2000, we're going to have to give Alaska Natives and their corporations a way to survive and the means to survive.

Thank you.

The CHAIRMAN. I agree with you that the conditions faced by Alaskan Natives today can only be described as being urgent, critical, and catastrophic. Whenever we find ourselves faced with such tremendous problems, we should be willing to take steps to come forth with solutions that may be out of the ordinary. Twenty years ago Congress got quite concerned with the plight of the people in Puerto Rico and, as you know, Puerto Ricans are citizens of the United States, so they instituted laws to encourage businesses to

establish themselves in Puerto Rico. They did so by doing away with all taxes, no corporate nor income taxes. Puerto Rico carried out a project called Operation Bootstrap and in 10 years the economy quadrupled. Something like that may be employed to entice businesses to establish themselves in the far off places in the villages. I don't know if the Congress will buy such drastic measures, but drastic problems require drastic measures. That is why I hope that this commission will be approved and they can look into what the alternative solutions are. I am certain that I speak for Senator Murkowski, we stand ready to do everything within the law to help the Alaskan Natives to get out of this terrible hell they are in now. I thank you for your testimony.

Senator Murkowski.

Senator MURKOWSKI. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

You spoke of economic development associated with utilization of your land and recognition of the land mass and the limited use for economic development. Specifically, what do you foresee that would be supportable by the people of the region?

Ms. LEBLANC. One of the things we know is that the region has tremendous mineral potential. The main problem we're facing right now is that the region is isolated, we have no infrastructure, and, consequently, it's hard to attract industries out there. They see it as being an expensive area to go into.

Senator MURKOWSKI. How about oil and gas leases?

Ms. LEBLANC. That's what I was going to mention. We have three major oil and gas basins in our region that have not been explored. There has been one test well and some sisemic work and some other minimal things done. This area is the size of Oklahoma and somehow I don't think one well test would have proved whether Oklahoma had oil or not. So maybe there are ways of promoting mineral development in the region.

Senator MURKOWSKI. Would the people of the Calista region support oil and gas development or exploration?

Ms. LEBLANC. I think during the beginning stages, if the time was taken to go out and explain to the people how the exploration process works and show them that it is not going to harm their environment and that there are long-term benefits, you could probably persuade many, if not all of the people, to support that kind of idea. We've had villages that were reluctant to have mining companies come into them and they are now working with some of the exploration companies in our area.

Senator MURKOWSKI. Thank you, Elizabeth.

Ms. LEBLANC. We prepared some written testimony also and we would like to have that included in the record as well.

The CHAIRMAN. It will be done.

[Prepared statement of Ms. LeBlanc appears in the appendix.] The CHAIRMAN. Thank you very much Ms. LeBlanc.

Our next witness is Mr. Andrews.

STATEMENT OF MATT ANDREWS, BOARD OF DIRECTORS,
PNEUMA CORP., SAINT MARY'S

Mr. ANDREWS. Senator Inouye, Senator Murkowski, and members of the committee. I am Matt Andrews from the city of Saint

Mary's and a member of the PNEUMA Corporation Board of Directors. I am speaking on behalf of a large number of people from the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta who are seriously concerned about the alcohol problem and who would like to see a Family Alcohol Treatment Program brought into existence at the old St. Mary's school facility.

Senator, I do not need to dwell long on the fact that substance abuse, particularly alcoholism, is very serious in our area. We see it in neglect and, at times, abuse of children because of alcoholism. In my job in administration in our local school, Andreafski High School, I see performance of the students seriously degraded due to unstable home situations. I see incidents of suicide and contemplated suicide high among our young people, especially teenagers and young fathers. I see very stressful situations created within families as a result of their abuse of alcohol. We have problems with keeping good staff people at our school and, in general, the unemployment rate is high. Among those who do have jobs, they frequently cannot keep them. Crime is almost absent among our people except that which is related to alcoholism.

Senator, we are very concerned about the problem and would like to urge you to help us bring into existence a Family Alcohol Treatment Program at the now vacant Saint Mary's school facility. Family has traditionally been very important in our Native culture but our family life is seriously threatened by the problems resulting from the widespread alcoholism that has caught us in a most vulnerable time of our development. We have to deal with the problem. We feel the most effective way will be through that part of our life which is so valuable to us-our family life. We feel that if we can restore healthy family life by dealing with the problem of alcoholism in a family way, in a program similar to the Kakawis program in British Columbia, we can restore that which is most basic to our way of life-our families. We feel that if we have healthy families we can become independent and be able to cope with the destructive influences that are constantly coming our way. We need healthy families.

Senator, we feel that if we could get a commitment of funding for this project for a 5-year period, we would save the public many times the amount invested in our program in reductions in law enforcement; rehabilitation programs such as Correctional Centers; medical costs for alcohol related ailments, including attempted suicides; costs of treating fetal alcohol syndrome children, not to mention the tremendous benefit in saving human brains. In addition, we would be making the school system more effective, thus assuring the healthy growth of our children. We hope that this would nurture and promote the development of creative local industry which would further reduce dependency on public support.

It has been pointed out to us that effective treatment of serious epidemics has been accomplished by prevention rather than treating the resulting disorder, for example: smallpox, treated by finding a vaccine; dysentery, treated by effective sanitation; malaria, treated by mosquito control. Our hope is that the alcohol epidemic will be cured by family treatment.

Senator, a very adequate facility exists, which you saw last September during your visit to Saint Mary's, where we can run such a

program. Some effective efforts were made this year with inadequate funding. We have great confidence that with funds sufficient to run a modest program we would be able to prove our contention that large savings of public money would occur.

There has been good interest on the part of local people for the program. Reports are that the few people that were treated in the program from a neighboring village benefited significantly from the meager program offered and are now forming support groups themselves in their villages. People from Saint Mary's who volunteered their help during the treatment phase of the program plead that the program continue because they, themselves, saw hope and experienced healing within their own families.

Senator, I thank you for listening and I hope you hear in this short testimony our urgent appeal for help to get started, our hope to begin healing ourselves, and becoming independent of those negative influences that have crept up on us while we trusted.

Thank you.

The CHAIRMAN. As you have indicated, I did visit the village of Saint Mary's about 9 months ago. At that time I was very greatly impressed by the suggested program and I took a trip around the abandoned school building. Upon my return to Washington, the staff looked into all possible sources of funding and the results have been, at best, minimal. At the present time, Senator Murkowski and I are working with the Indian Health Service, trying to convince them that the concept of family treatment makes immense sense because I think the whole environment should be addressed. We are trying to convince the Indian Health Service to look seriously upon the Saint Mary's school as the site for a pilot program and if it works out well other areas, not only in Alaska but in other parts of Indian country, we could do the same thing. I believe that gentlemen there was the one who guided me, but you had a white collar then.

Father SEBESTA. Right.

The CHAIRMAN. Would you like to tell us where you are now?

STATEMENT OF FATHER JAMES SEBESTA

Father SEBESTA. I'm in Fairbanks. I have an office there and am working with the PNEUMA Corporation, which is organized in trying to get this Family Life Program started. There are five members of the Board of Corporation from the village of Saint Mary's and another person from the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta area originally who now works in Anchorage, then myself and a businessman from Fairbanks, and Dr. Alberts, who is the Director of the Mental Health Unit at Providence Hospital. Together we're trying to bring this program into existence. With the firm hope that what we can do is not only treat the illness of alcoholism but try to change the attitude within the villages so that people will be able to become independent and self-sufficient and be able to determine how they want to handle these problems and, as Matt has indicated, hopefully to create the atmosphere for creative industrial development. In my efforts in another village, we formed the Kaltag Fishermen's Association and that's still going as an effort to try to provide some work. One of the very strong shortcomings is

finding local managers to run operations like this and we have retreated to looking at the serious problem which prevents us from finding those local managers and that is the problem of alcoholism. The CHAIRMAN. For the record, will you identify yourself so we will know who did the speaking.

Father SEBESTA. Yes; my name is Father James Sebesta. I am with the Catholic Church. I have taught at Saint Mary's high school and I have worked with the people of Saint Mary's and in other Indian villages for the last 18 years. I am trying to offer what support I can to see this program into existence so that it will become completely their own.

The CHAIRMAN. We will do our best to make your dream become a reality.

Father SEBESTA. Thank you very much. I appreciate that.

Mr. ANDREWS. Thank you Senator. I would like to leave a copy of the testimony I presented here today along with a proposal that we have.

The CHAIRMAN. Fine. You can bring it right up here. Thank you very much, Mr. Andrews.

[Prepared statement of Mr. Andrews with proposal appears in the appendix.]

Senator MURKOWSKI. Mr. Chairman, I would just like to comment very briefly to congratulate Mr. Andrews on the testimony that's been offered and also to recognize the tremendous dedication of Father Sebesta.

I can well recognize, serving also on the Veterans Affairs Committee, the difficulty you're having with the more traditional governmental approach towards the establishment of health care capabilities which the Federal Government provides, whether it be to the veterans or the Indian Health Service and others. We're finding, Mr. Chairman, where aging veterans are required to go to facilities far removed from their friends and their homes to receive not more sophisticated health care but more or less care for the aged, which is a different type of care. However, we're beginning to see some progress on the part of the Veterans Administration to recognize that, indeed, there is a place for home health care by responsible people who want to provide it in the domiciliary areas of residents.

I would think, Mr. Chairman, in recognition of what is being attempted here as a consequence of complementing in a more efficient and effective manner the obligation of Federal Government, be it through the BIA or Indian Health or others, to perhaps consider the merits of introducing legislation to try to bring about recognition that this could be a prototype. I know that those things aren't easy. I don't want to mislead my constituents by any means, but if we can't get anywhere with the Indian Health Service recognizing the necessity of occasionally granting exceptions, then I'm willing to pursue this with special legislation. I would hope that you would join me, Mr. Chairman.

The CHAIRMAN. You can put my name on it.

Senator MURKOWSKI. All right. Let's go back and do it.

Thank you very much Father and Mr. Andrews.

The CHAIRMAN. Our next witness is Mr. Paul Gregory of Bethel.