March 29, 2002
Friday 7:45 pm

Issues such as health, culture, and economic development that do not recognize national borders are on the minds of eight Alaskans representing Aleut Tribes, the State of Alaska and the federal government who leave Friday on a week-long mission to Kamchatka in the Russian Far East. Led by Aleutian/Pribilof Islands Association (APIA) President Dimitri Philemonof, the delegation will meet with indigenous groups and representatives of regional and local government to develop agreements for future cooperation on a broad range of issues.

"I hope this initial introductory visit by a pioneering group of optimistic Alaskans serves to lay the groundwork for future cooperation between our peoples and our regions," said Gov. Tony Knowles. The delegation will carry a letter from Knowles to Gov. Mikhail Mashkovtsev of Kamchatka, expressing appreciation for Mashkovtsev's hospitality to the delegation.

This is the first Alaska delegation to meet with the current Kamchatka administration. The delegation departs from Anchorage on March 29 for Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, capital of the Kamchatka region, which is located west of Alaska on the Russian side of the Bering Sea. The group returns to Alaska on April 5.

"We are looking forward to meeting Governor Mashkovtsev and others to discuss collaborative efforts that would benefit both Kamchatka and Alaska," Philemonof said. General areas of discussion will include:

• Enhancement of Kamchatka/Alaska relations;
• Government/tribal partnerships;
• Environmental-health monitoring and research cooperatives;
• Expansion of the Arctic Care health program;
• Cultural and educational exchange;
• Opportunities for Alaska/Kamchatka trade and tourism;
• Participation in the Arctic Infectious Disease Monitoring Program.

Along with leaders from indigenous Chukchis, Intelmens, Koryaks and Aleuts, the delegation will meet representatives from the local government of Nikolskoye, the largest Aleut community in Russia. Located in the Commander Islands at the far end of the Aleutian Archipelago, Nikolskoye is where Vitus Bering ended his ill-fated voyage to Alaska in 1741.

In the 1820s, the Russian-American Company brought Aleut hunters to the Commanders to hunt sea mammals. They were never returned, and today the Aleut community has grown and the population spread beyond the islands to the Russian mainland. Communication between Alaskan and Russian Aleuts has been practically non-existent for over a century.

According to the news release, the delegation expects to discuss issues relevant to Russian and Alaskan indigenous peoples, including protection of traditional resources, tracking of environmental pollutants, public health, economic development, cultural preservation, and expedited travel opportunities between long-separated Russian and Alaskan Aleut populations.

Source of News Release:

Office of the Governor
Web Site

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