and what I am doing is AIDS education. Acquired immune deficiency syndrome.

The Native people of Alaska are the_landowners, we are only cash poor. But we are oppressed. When I was born into this State there were 72,000 people here, and I am not that old. I also grew up when the signs said "No Natives Need Enter." Well, I'm half Irish and half Yupik/Eskimo, so I could go in any place I felt like it because I am a sovereign child at that time, a sovereign mother, and a sovereign teacher, and someone who will risk everything to speak of the oppression. That oppression is directed back to the leadership that we have in power now. So I write. I write editorials, essays, poetry, and I am documenting our oral history that comes from my region. I am also a Director of the Native corporation-1 out 15-so I am a minority vote because I am formally educated. So for the record, and you can take back with you to Washington and it will go in a part of the record, just like my father went on record when he fought for our rights for this Claims Settlement Act, which would turn him over in the grave now because it is not what he intended for us to have, he never expected us to be Wall Street brokers, he believed in tribal sovereignty because he was a sovereign man. We had dignity and respect at that time. So what I've tried to do, and knowing when I called Washington that I would be granted five minutes and I will use those 5 minutes to try and summarize my feelings as a first generation formally educated Yupik/Eskimo, whose faith is Jewish, on what I see todayand I try to look at it hopefully because there is hope as long as there is life. I've read the position papers. I read a lot of papers and I write a lot of papers. It has been a year since we've been inundated by the series, "People in Peril." To date, no plans or changes have come about to alter that desperate status of our people. It appears that the Alaska Natives' plight is sensational enough to capture a Pulitzer Prize for the Anchorage Daily News. Yet, it must become more than just a prize winning expose, but a call for action. We can ill afford the pain and suffering brought on by oppression, apathy, economics, and ignorance.

There were those who would advocate another two year study of these problems. That would mean 730 more days of pain to be endured by those already overwhelmed by our neglect. It is time to say "No" to more studies and "Yes" to unite and combat this desperation by making decisions that would bring about changes through responsible and courageous leadership.

We live within a State that generates 85 percent of its revenues from the oil industry. That oil comes from my homeland, from the aboriginal people, these desperate and displaced Alaska Natives. We rank with the highest incidents of suicide, unemployment, school dropout, and we are also the largest population in jail. Socially, we as Natives rank at the bottom of the totem pole, as revealed in that Pulitzer Prize winning documentation. So, today, the Anchorage Times and the Daily News appear to be competing for another prize and this time it's going to be for "State in Peril."

Since we have collectively chosen to ignore the plight of my people, we have an even greater one in our midst. It came about on the eve of the 25th anniversary of the Great Earth Quake of Good

Friday. That oil spill will continue to haunt us into the future as it destroys the food chain of a once pristine Sound.

The lack of leadership has led us to the brink of destruction. Because of our greed and dependence on oil, we have compromised our future, our well-being, and our fishing grounds. The oil spill in the Prince Williams Sound can be compared to the AIDS epidemic that is terrorizing our Nation today. No one knows the extent of the destruction in either situation, but we are certain it will impact on each of our lives in some way.

Alaska, our homeland, is a storehouse of wealth. It has precious minerals, oil, gold, and timber. To date, we have scared the tundra and polluted the fishing grounds in the name of progress. We did it because we all want the good life. We mainline on oil. We must all share the blame, since no one is exempt.

After the fact of the oil spill, the attorneys will walk away with most of the money for the clean-up, just as they did in the Claims Act, because they are the vultures who clean-up. They benefit from our pain. And yet, as citizens, we must demand a monitoring system for the pipeline and for the transportation of oil. The State must fund a system that has the power and control to prevent further disasters. We cannot trust businesses to police themselves. They are in business for profit. And today we found out, that profit at any cost. Furthermore, my aboriginal people must have a real chance to survive within our homeland. More studies and more excuses aren't necessary. We need jobs. We need opportunity. And we need to be free from that oppression that holds us down-that oppression that we're so oppressed by that we cannot see it because we don't have a frame of reference and we're too far removed to see it.

Alaska can only be strong and diligent as those we elect to represent us. The pulse of the Nation is judged by the leadership. Responsible leadership lies with those we elect and policing them is our responsibility as voters.

We live in a beautiful State and we can keep it that was with careful planning and responsible development. That choice is ours. As citizens of Alaska, we will demand responsible action from the Governor, the legislature, those businesses that rip us off, and from Congress. It is time to stop waltzing to the 85 percent oil revenue excuse that we keep making and show some leadership. If we don't, our State will become just another dumping ground in the name of progress.

All of this ties in because Alaskans, and what you're hearing here are not just isolated from the State. Until we get respectful leadership from our State government, we will not progress anywhere. This State has to clean up its act and treat my people with dignity and respect, and also hire us as teachers. Until we can become self-determined and look at our own and accept those of us who are educated, we are not going anywhere. Those of us who became educated have sacrificed everything to learn and yet we respect the spirituality of being who we are.

At this time, I would like to submit this to you for the record. I thank you for hearing me out.

[Prepared statement of Ms. Degnan appears in the appendix.]

The CHAIRMAN. Your papers will be made part of the record. I thank you very much for your participation. As far as your employment as a school teacher is concerned, as you know, I cannot impose my will upon the tribal council or the State government. I hope you understand that.

Ms. DEGNAN. I understand that, but it had to be heard.

The CHAIRMAN. Our next witness is Mr. John Tetpon, Alaska Native Communications Society.

STATEMENT OF JOHN F. TETPON, ALASKA NATIVE
COMMUNICATIONS SOCIETY

Mr. TETPON. Senator Daniel Inouye, members of the committee. With your permission, I merely made the call to Mr. Bob Arnold to get 5 minutes in front of the committee not really intending to be a person who was going to speak for the Native Communications Society. If it is okay with you, I would like to-

The CHAIRMAN. You may speak as Mr. John Tetpon, private citizen, if you wish.

Mr. TETPON. All right. I am a member of the Alaska Native Communications Society. It is a Society made up of representatives from radio and print media throughout the State. The purpose of the Alaska Native Communications Society is to promote and represent the interests and involvement of Alaska Natives in newspapers, radio, and television. Because our numbers in the media are so few, we often find that our views about issues important to us are either badly presented or not at all.

The voice of Alaska Natives is not often heard on hunting and fishing rights, for example. If we had the resources, we would be able to tell the world about how we as Alaska Native people have subsisted for centuries and how we have managed our fish and game over the years so that our children will continue to be able to hunt and fish like our forefathers did.

We have a system of game management that works. We only get what we need and leave the rest. We are not wasteful nor do we hunt and fish for the mere sport of it. We, for example, do not subscribe to notions of catching and releasing fish because it is against our teachings. I do not feel the rest of Alaska knows that, nor will it know it until we are able to substantially influence what the general public sees and reads.

We are a people who have no other place to call home. This is it. Yet we have so little to say in the medica about what happens here. In my opinion, Alaska Native people have not said enough about how the Exxon oil spill will affect them. There are not enough opinion-makers in our midst. I think part of the reason for that is because Alaska Native people are not as used to dealing with the media as a forum to be used. The media is still something from the white world. We need to change that.

Alaska is, as I'm sure you know, a big State. There are thousands of miles of coastline and millions of acres of land. There are 200 villages with 60,000 people and each has access to radio and television. Sadly, little, if any, programming is developed that is relevant to them. We watch Miami Vice and People's Court. We watch NBC, ABC, and CBS. We even watch CNN out in the villages. If we

are real lucky, we might catch a second or two of news that is about us, or about issues important to us.

Most of the time, news about us is told by someone who wasn't born here. It is a bitter-sweet experience to hear about dog-musher Herbert Nayokpuk from Shishmaref, for example, reported by a newscaster who can't even pronounce the name or the village he is from. The need for more Native people in the media is not just an Alaska problem-it exists nation-wide. Currently there are only about a half a dozen Native Americans working as reporters in daily papers across the country. Here in Alaska, I am the only Alaska Native reporter working for a major daily.

The industry knows it needs to change that and it is trying. But the real push for change must come from those of us in the trenches. We need to take the lead and say what needs to be said. We need to let the world know that we have something to say. But we are in need of the resources to be able to say it.

Thank you.

The CHAIRMAN. I think your point is very valid because if you can't communicate your concerns effectively, it will be a long time before results are coming. Thank you, sir.

Our next witness is the President of the Indigenous Conservators of the Environment, Mr. Fred Bahr.

STATEMENT OF FRED BAHR, PRESIDENT, INDIGENOUS CONSERVATORS OF THE ENVIRONMENT, ANCHORAGE, AK Mr. BAHR. Mr. Chairman, the honorable Daniel Inouye, distinguished members of the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Indian Affairs, guests, Alaska Natives. My name is Fred Bahr. I am the President of ICE, Indigenous Conservators of the Environment.

"As a result of the Exxon Valdez oil spill, 10,000 to 20,000 sea otters have died and the number is rising daily. We are just seeing the first ripple of the effects of the oil spill on marine mammals. This will go on for years. It is a global disaster." as stated by T.A. Gornall, III, foremost expert veterinarian commissioned by the Presidential Marine Mammals Commission. Whereas Mr. Jim Styers, Superintendent of the Seward Sea Otter Center, employed by Exxon, states and confirms 700 sea otters have died to date. Re-ports of nightly burial and/or burning of dead sea otters on secluded islands have been given to our office, as have reports of VECO clean-up employees and others throwing garbage bags full of otter carcasses overboard on the way into port. The Marine Mammals Protection Act prohibits wanton waste of mammals and the decimation of a species.

Hundreds of sea otters are dying daily not only from the acute stages of oil contamination but also from the chronic affects of eating oil contaminated toxic seafoods. This causes internal damage fatal to the mammals livers and kidneys. A slow, painful death follows. The death toll continues.

Ron Britton, expert sea otter handler from the Endangered Species California area office, stated, "Fish and Wildlife has targeted saving 15 percent of the sea otter population impacted by the oilspill." The 1/2 percent, or less, that is currently being retrieved-8 weeks after the oil spill-falls far short of the targeted 15 percent.

To save only 15 percent is negligent and 1/2 percent is criminal. The current effort is unacceptable.

Authorized catcher boats are already being released from the rescue effort because Exxon wants everyone to believe that the sea otter emergency has passed. We received word on May 23 that the Seward Otter Center may shut down in 1 month. Jim Styers states, "the rescue effort is phasing out." I.C.E. is totally against reducing the sea otter rescue operation while the situation is escalating.

I.C.E.'s purpose is to preserve, protect, and enhance marine line and to promote Alaska Native rights and interests in environmental issues. We must be prepared with an Alaska Native Emergency Response Team trained in all phases of sea otter capture and rehabilitation techniques in the event of other spills. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service entered into an agreement with I.C.E. to train Alaska Natives as an Emergency Response Team on May 1. To date I.C.E. has worked in cooperation with Fish and Wildlife Service to train 12 volunteers. We need to train many more.

I.C.E. has a program that is working successfully, yet we have received no funding. Our trainees at sea risk their lives daily and are the only ones out of thousands not being paid. Our office help and supplies have all been donated, but I.C.E. must find a way to pay our Alaska Natives. They cannot afford to volunteer. Alaska Natives in the program all have families, rent, mortgages, and bills, the same as everyone else, except that many of us have lost our subsistence way of life. Alaska Natives also have the highest unemployment rate in the State.

The oil spill has been a disaster because the sea has always been our garden and now it is becoming a desert.

I.Č.E. has received calls from many of the villages impacted by the oil spill who want to work but cannot afford to volunteer. Some of our volunteers have quit jobs to train because they see an Emergency Response Team and the saving of our marine mammals as really important. But they, too, cannot afford to volunteer.

I.C.E. respectfully asks that the Senate Select Committee on Indian Affairs and our Alaska congressional delegation work together to help us to access emergency funding available, as this is a very time-sensitive issue. We request your full support and immediate action to direct appropriate Federal funds to be made available directly to those most impacted, the Alaska Natives, in response to losing their traditional way of life for years to come.

All tribal governments and/or organizations impacted should have the same access to Federal emergency funding sources as other local governments in the State. Your support in helping us access the 311-K funds through the Clean Water Act and/or the Superfund, or any other Federal funds that could be made available on an emergency basis, is essential. If this committee would work with us to help identify a liaison to work with I.C.E. directly, or other tribal organizations, who has the authority to cut through red tape and the contacts to expedite these emergency funds, then the policy of the Marine Mammals Protection Act could be fulfilled. We have the right to harvest these marine mammals but with proper funding we can help to save them.

I would like to take a moment to specially thank Mr. Walter Stieglitz, Regional Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,