"Please note that these are not the official minutes of the meeting. A court reporter will record the meetings and audio tapes will be available for purchase by the public at IMIG Audio/Video, 2611 Fairbanks St. Suite 100, Anchorage, AK 99503. Please contact Zena at (907) 274-2161. The price is $6 per 120 minute tape."

 

Mark your calendar: The first public hearing of the Tolerance commission is July 18 in Anchorage, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. (Location TBA)

Please note that these are not the official minutes of the meeting. A court reporter will record the meetings and audio tapes will be available for purchase by the public at IMIG Audio/Video, 2611 Fairbanks St. Suite 100, Anchorage, AK 99503. Please contact Zena at (907) 274-2161. The price is $6 per 120 minute tape.

An overall question from the public and the Commission members at the first meeting was...

What can the Commission do?
The Commission is supposed to develop a record of the depth of the problem of discrimination, capture the ideas of Alaskans and come up with solutions. To that end, the Commission hopes the public will share your experiences of discrimination. Through your experiences, either in writing or through public meetings or through taped conversations, we are hoping to capture themes that can be used to make recommendations for change to the governor. The recommendations are due Nov. 30.

Current Alaska Human Rights Laws make it unlawful to discriminate because of race, religion, color, national origin, sex and physical or mental disability. The Tolerance Commission is open for discussions on these and any other forms of discrimination, including sexual orientation discrimination.

What can't the commission do?
The Commission is not an investigative body. It is a forum for an exchange of ideas and through listening and learning commissioners hope to come up with solutions together, as a community of Alaskans.

Format of hearings?
The 10 meetings across Alaska were tentatively scheduled for Anchorage(several meetings here), Fairbanks and a village outside of Fairbanks, Kodiak, Kotzebue, Bethel, Juneau and Soldotna. There will be an educational topic at each hearing to discuss what's working and what's not working to address issues of discrimination and then several hours of public comment for individuals to share their personal stories and what they hope can change.

Solid dates for hearings so far:

July 18 Anchorage (education issues, housing issues - are all Alaskans treated the same? What more can be done/)

July 26 Juneau (hear from state agencies on efforts to address institutional racism, minority hire, correctional services, DFYS services, etc)

August 2 Kodiak - Alaskan island is a melting pot of people and cultures. Are we celebrating what unites us as Alaskans? Learning what we have in common?

Commission on Tolerance

1st Organizational Meeting, June 28, 2001 - Anchorage Atwood Building, Downtown, 550 W. 7th, Suite 240
10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Open to the Public

10 a.m. Welcome from Rev. Chuck Eddy, Chair, Tolerance Commission

Overview of efforts by Anchorage Equal Rights Commission,
U.S. Commission on Civil Rights hearings in Alaska late August

Brian Goldberg, Regional Director, Anti-Defamation League by teleconference (See summary below)

10:30 Lt. Governor Fran Ulmer gives overview of cabinet level Task Force on Tolerance -- (See summary below)

10:45 a.m. Introduction of Commission members and discussion of goals

13 of 15 members in attendance. All are volunteering their time to listen and learn from Alaskans. Will do all they can to make recommendations useful - not another report to sit on a shelf.

Noon Working lunch for commissioners to discuss what's happening in their own communities.

Overview from State Groups (See summaries below)
1:15 p.m. Alaska Human Rights Commission by teleconference, Paula Haley
1:30 p.m. Alaska Federation of Natives, Julie Kitka
1:45 p.m. Alaska Native Justice Center, Denise Morris
2 p.m. Alaska Civil Liberties Union, Jennifer Rudinger
2:15 p.m. Alaska Office - NAACP, Donna Brooks
2:30 p.m. Alaska Inter-Tribal Council, Deborah Vo
2:45 p.m. Standing Together Against Rape, Karen Bitzer
3:00 p.m. Catholic Social Services Immigration, Robin Bronen

Discussion of potential subcommittees
Discussion of location, dates for future public hearings (listed above)
Discussion of public comment format (listed above)

 

Hate Groups are spreading across Alaska.
Paintball incident was used for recruitment. Use of Internet by Hate Groups - Alaska is one of the most wired states in the union and the Hate Groups are accessing this use. Savvy in using mass media. New goal is to attract women, with friendly websites. They are growing...
Four groups in Alaska
National Alliance, Anchorage office, 8-12 members in Anchorage, PO Box in Fairbanks as well.
World Church of the Creator
Christian Identity, Aryan Nations
Patriot/Militia movement approx. 1,000 in Alaska

What to do?
Parents, teachers, schools be on the lookout. They go after youth. Hate groups set up search engines to get kids as they are researching for school papers. Need solid message "Not in our town" No silent Majorities giving them power. Zero Tolerance Policy. Literature distribution is legal, but encourage law enforcement to track and monitor these activities so you have a paper trail if anything happens in the future. Send a message you are taking it seriously.

44 states have adopted Anti-Defamation League standards for model legislation against Hate Crimes.

Fran's an ex-officio member of the commission.
Create a Commission on Tolerance to develop a record on the depth of the problem, capture the ideas of Alaskans and come up with solutions.
Introduce Hate Crime Bill (including protection for crimes against homeless - economic disadvantage and sexual orientation. Requirement for training for juveniles
Alaska Commission on Human Rights should form a permanent forum for the discussion of racism
Department of Public Safety more training.
Protecting Students from Harassment and Hate Crimes, 1999 report
Other ways than violence to resolve disputes.
Dept. of Education and Early Development
Cultural Training for teachers
Community Action: Encourage respect, organize cultural exchange programs to take a walk in anothers shoes.

Question from the Audience (woman was also at Mayor's forum last night)
What will you do to right the wrongs of the racial intolerance, and state employees wrongs?

"We're just getting started. Stay with us, and continue to give us public feedback on what you hope to see from the Commission" Fran Ulmer.

Bettye Davis. No one commission can correct the wrongs that have been done. We can't fix the wrongs. We need to highlight them and hear from people to make recommendations . Don't go away saying oh, they aren't going to do anything.

How do we get out public comment?

Go to meetings that are already being held
Broaden our audience.
Make ourselves available to accept invitations. Individual ambassadors
Radio Public service announcements
Notify media in each community

Potential Topics of future public meetings on discrimination.

Education
State Action
Employment Economic Empowerment
Courts
Juveniles
Minority Hire
Subsistence
Division of Family and Youth Services Problems
Victims/Justice
Hate Crimes
State/Federal/International
Urban/Rural Divide
Questions:
Protecting witnesses: screens or safe rooms
Support networks for victims afraid to testify
What if people can't write?
Interpreters?

What's working in your community?

Bethel: what came out of terrible shooting was school district new curriculum for conflict resolution. To be more inclusive and compassionate in school. More interracial marriages in Bethel now which is making it a better place to live.

AK Native Justice: AK Native Women's Sexual Assault Task Force - Denise Morris. This has won the National Victim's Service Award (1st time awarded to sexual assault issues). Meet with victims and tell them how to be safe. Offer assistance, education.

Bettye: Anchorage School Board added sexual orientation to their protected class on issues of harassment. Voted twice on it so it's solid. It will be helpful. Many young students came to testify believing they were not safe in their school. 40,000 students in our school district. Big step.

Bethel: Pageants for native women. Miss Kuskokwim. Talent related to your culture. There wasn't a program for men. So now they started a Mr. Kuskokwim

Juneau: tolerance awareness training session for school administrators. Fairbanks police also requested the training - "Not in Our Town" to Hate Groups.

Fairbanks and Anchorage Gay Pride went well. More people participating and watching, enjoying the event. It feels like we're moving forward.

Churches apologizing to Alaska Natives was good. Churches getting more involved with social injustices. The Episcopal church has been amazing with work on sexual orientation, same-sex benefits support

We the People Parade was heartening in Anchorage (lots of conservationists who joined in and it was really a step in the right direction. KNBA) Another March planned for August 8.

Anchorage: Judge Wanamaker: Wellness Courts a good thing.

Paula Haley, Alaska State Human Rights Commission

What you are doing is very important.
State's civil rights enforcement agency 7 commissioners appointed by the Governor and approved by the Legislature. Areas of jurisdiction for enforcement. Employment, Housing, Banking, etc. Empowered to investigate reports of discrimination. Most of Alaskans complain of discrimination because of race and sex. Employment is top concern. Thousands of Alaskans contact about concerns. Only a small percentage actually file complaints. Many of concerns are outside the agency's jurisdiction. Even when those concerns are within their jurisdiction, many choose to address the problem by hiring an attorney or going a less-complicated route.

Fewer Alaskans are calling our agency seeking our assistance this year and last year. Nationwide, the number of cases filed are down across the country. When the economy is good, people don't file cases as much. Perhaps folks seek another job or go another route. Most likely the discrimination exists but folks choose other options. All complaints have to be filed within 180 days of discrimination. We do have a mediation program as well. Professional mediator has been successful in resolving problems.

Court cases. Evidence gathering. Reasonable amount of suspicion that the law has been violated. We do try to settle the case with full relief absent the discriminatory conduct. Commissioners are final decision-makers in all cases before the commission.
We also provide civil rights training. Sexual harassment, etc.
No community relations or education staff. We don't have it.
Enforcement primary purpose - legislative findings are strong. (38th year of civil rights enforcement) Public has asked for more funding for staff. Commission was once 26 staff, now it's at 15. Early 90s we had an historically high rate of claims and our backlog was just cleared two years ago. Troubling to individuals and businesses that are under investigation.

Alaska Native Commission Report recommended it. Alaska Natives were overrepresented in our correctional system.

Dept. Health and Human Services, 50 percent kids in system (out of home

Corrections 36 percent of incarcerated population (only 8 percent native males in state)

Victims issues: Since statehood, Alaska Native Youth suicide has risen 300 percent. AK Native Women are 4.5 times more likely to be a homocide victim. 6 women murdered, five of which are unresolved. We were finally invited to meet with APD after 6th victim was found. Why not first victim? AK Native Justice Center had a healing vigil in Anchorage. 1000 people came out to let families know we're thinking about it. We set up a fund to find those murderers.

Alaska No. 1 in nation for sexual assault numbers. AK Native Sexual Assault Task Force formed. Are native women coming forward more? Or they actually victims. 54 percent of cases are AK native women. Men and children are also victims. MOA safe cities program 26 percent of cases in Anchorage are reported by AK Native women

36 percent of students in Anchorage School District are minorities. 12 percent are native. 23 percent of those not graduating are Alaska native.

Workforce. Alaska Native Justice Center working with U of A and state of Alaska to create internships for native students. Court system, etc. so there is a qualified pool for jobs for state jobs when they open up.

Institutional racism. State sanctioned racism. Indigent and indigenous are the same thing, said one elected official. That is outrageous. Racism comes from the government, from elected officials, from our home. We need leadership and commitment to make a change in Alaska. Brother incarcerated in corrections. Sister died of alcohol abuse. Sister with domestic violence. nephew who lost his father and brother.

Corrections: Mental health issues.

Tom Stewart question: Large part of these problems are alcohol-related. As a judge I oversaw most of cases. Criminal justice system doesn't help people with alcohol problems. We need as much money for rehabilitiation as we do for prisons. Putting people behind bars doesn't solve the problem. How can we get the legislature to put more funding into rehabilitation.

Denise: Voting to go dry or go damp and then no community resources for police protection. 53 communities have no police protection whatsoever. None. Need more VPSO officers.

Commission is vitally important to state. Hope to see the citizens come together. We think citizens are more polarized than ever right now. A few flashpoints may polarize us even further.
Are you an investigative body? Are you partnering with other groups?
AFN successfully lobbied U.S. Civil Rights Commission to come to Alaska to investigate the discriminatory activitiy in Alaska.

Need FBI, U.S. Attorney to set up a task force. Perhaps you can have them come. Might need Grand Jury to look at these issues. Issues in Alaska warrant that level of investigation. Call upon agencies who do have that within their purview. We can't just have citizen involvement. Need analyses necessary to make policy recommendations to the governor.

Also want Alaskans in their own words to give their experiences.
Travel hearings, informal discussions, roundtable discussions, listening groups. Not just formal hearings. Seek out the people who are most vulnerable and go to them. Don't expect them to come to you.

Paint ball incident just the tip of the iceberg. We were very frustrated at that time that no one was doing anything.
Climate of intolerance fostered by the state legislature. Totally unacceptable to have public officials exhibiting racism and taking actions that are discriminatory. Creating a climate of intolerance. Giving green light to individuals to also have intolerant behaviors. Don't be afraid to step into that. We can go into deep detail of incidences that prove our case.

Further Briefings:
State Responsibilities.
Kasayulie lawsuit. Court declared state legislature has discriminated against the natives in school construction for rural schools. Superior Court Judge Reese. This is a violation of civil rights. This was a big deal to U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.

Rural Law Enforcement Issue
AITC vs. state alleges substandard, double-standard for law enforcement.

Not in litigation yet.
Discriminatory state funding for school operations. Formulas to address these makes the differential unfair for rural Alaskans.

Minority Hire in State Government. Alaska has one of highest percapita college educations in the country. Caused inflation of state requirements for jobs. Inequities keep getting perpetrated. Why need so much to be qualified. Scott Goldsmith report details the inequities. Jobs and families.

Shari Kochman: Gender equity study. Please get your report to them because they will be hiring someone.

Where to meet? Recommendations of Julie Kitka
Anchorage, Fairbanks, Bethel (people asked them to come there), Juneau
Meetings in Anchorage in neighborhoods (fairview, mountain view) You have to go to them. Don't expect them to come to you. People in villages understand urban life a lot better than urban people understand village life. Villagers know about racism in Anchorage.

Mara Kimmel: Models of public hearings? The Berger Commission. Is that a good model? He was very respectful. Senator Inouye from Hawaii does the same thing. Goes to community and talks to people in their own community.

Any action has to start with talk. Thanks to Governor for forming the commission. We defend Alaska Constitution and Bill of Rights. I was asked to talk today about Sexual orientation. The trend is that usually rights get better. In Alaska, we lead in losing rights for gays and lesbians (best news was the recent Anchorage School District vote to protect students). We were first state in the union to codify discrimination against gays and lesbians in our constitution. Other states have since followed. One of only 6 or 7 constitutions in the nation that have the right to privacy in our constitution. We also say we have the right to be treated equally. Article one section one. Not many states have that. Early 90s effort to amend our anchorage equal protection laws. Galvanized the radical right to prominence in the legislature.

Marriage. Is marriage a fundamental right? Anchorage superior court ruled that it was. February 1998. Landmark decision. Constitutional amendment by majority of Alaska Legislature to moot this lawsuit. 1998 English Only Initiative as well.

Mayor Wuerch removed from a public library an innocuous Gay Pride exhibit. Title was celebrate diversity under the midnight sun. It was all about creating tolerance. Put in library Monday June 5. Taken down Tuesday June 6. free speech lawsuit under way. Now they don't even have the right to participate in a public forum. 1st Amendment rights.

Central State of Alaska Militia delivered a death threat. We are going to "open fire" on the Gay Pride Parade. (Thursday, Friday Monday, ACLU made calls to report it to police). After three messages in three business days finally got a call back from a police officer who didn't listen to the voice mail death threat message. Metropolitan Community Church also received death threats. Wednesday (almost a week later) Jennifer called Chief Monegan, finally got a call from Sgt. Nelson, who came over and listened to the message.
National Alliance Hate Group also did a drop over Memorial weekend.

What can be done: Amend state and local laws to include protection for sexual orientation. Certain state Senators only want "unlawful discrimination"
Vermont model "Civil Union" - gets around marriage is only between man and woman.
Appreciates the opportunity to talk about sexual orientation because it isn't one of our state's protected categories.

Leadership (elected officials) aren't held accountable for discriminatory practices. They are root of the problem. If the approach is biased then the response is going to come out that way. Get the heads of state agencies to do what they need to do in hiring practices.
State and municipal government hiring. Minorities hired in lower job classes. Affirmative Action does not address that. MOA doesn't have an affirmative action plan.
Lack of timely resolve. Support the statistics of Ms. Morris and Ms. Kitka.
Filed a complaint against elected official but it couldn't go forward because it wasn't in the Code of Ethics. Ethics violations need to be pressed forward. Difficult to pursue. Difficult to prove.

Bettye asked for specifics on incidences of discrimination with elected officials. NAACP said they would provide it. Bettye Davis wants to get the current hiring statistics for the state. Wants the state to do a summary of what is happening.

Thelma: Affirmative Action more complicated. Can only seek out applicants when there is a job opening. Many jobs with state are kept for 20 years. We try to reach out to communities to get resumes for qualified people and have difficulty finding qualified people.

Celeste Hodge. Has evidence that people of color have been denied jobs.

Denise Morris: Evidence of discrimination if they do get the job. While in the workplace they experience discrimination and don't feel they can go to the agencies in state and federal governments for protection.

-nonsubstantial findings is always a factor. How do you prove discrimination?

Founded by tribal council in 1992. 176 tribes convened in 1992 to form a treaty. 24 member board chaired by Mike Williams from Akiak. Avid supporter of sobriety in Education. Runs Iditarod in support of healthy families. She is one of the 14 MBAs in Anchorage who had trouble getting a job in anchorage.
Traveled to Gwich'in Nation Gathering in Arctic Village. Witness their struggle for survival for their way of life. Met a lot of wonderful young, strong native people. I don't think State of Alaska is looking hard enough for jobs for qualified native people. Again, how the state deals with native children is terrible. The state is in violation of the act to keep native children in native homes. That's where they should be.
Educational System. Product of mission school education system in St. Mary's. Educational system in rural Alaska not up to standard. It's a shame for a state boasting rich resources to have schools in rural Alaska suffering so much. Non-education of Outside teachers who come in to teach our kids.
Police protection. We have to go to court to get the State to pay for police in rural Alaska. What would happen if we didn't have police in Anchorage?
Accountability for elected officials.
Governor signed first-ever state-tribal millennium agreement. We are looking to establish working groups to deal with issues such as DFYS and the children. We need support from the state legislature to buy into the millennium agreement. Funding to help make it happen. Would like an Office of Native Affairs within the Governor's Office.
Subsistence. Ongoing problem. Katie John issue will have significant impact on whether the divide grows larger between rural/urban divide.
Anchorage is the most racist community I've ever lived in. Deragatory remarks, looks, service. My personal experience here has been the worst. I'm choosing to raise my children here in Anchorage because of the educational opportunities. If we had better education in the Bush I would be there.

Sexual Assault is a crime. It is a crime of power and control. SARTC Sexual Assault Response Team Center. 50 percent are Alaska Native women. We had 12 cases there last week. Half were Alaska Native women. Alaska 2.1 times the national average of sexual assault and we also have the highest rate of child sexual abuse?
AK Native Women Sexual Assault Committee (Denise Morris is head of it)
Police officer noticed highest incidences of sexual assault within 5 minutes in downtown Anchorage bar scene
Meet and greet to see if people are doing well - just talking to people.
Paint ball incidents: Bullying leads to harassment, harassment leads to crimes.

Only program in the state dealing with immigrant services. Offer free legal services across Alaska. Work with 4-5,000 immigrants and refugees every year. They face discrimination for color of skin, their accents and their homeland.

1. A person's immigration status should be completely irrelevant to getting state service
2. Immigrants fear of deportation and their fear of state employees turning them in when they try to access state services.

Kodiak Island 40 percent is foreign born
Delta Junction in Interior 600 refugees from former Soviet Union

There are 99 identified languages spoken in Alaska.

Clients are denied marriage licenses, driver's licenses, birth certificates, access to public assistance for children, education for children, etc. Not only are they denied these services, but state employees turn them in to immigration services. Eligibility technicians turn in immigrants. Many people have children who are legal residents but they themselves are not. They get deported and have permanent separation from their children. One case where a pregnant woman was at Providence having a baby. INS stood guard and deported her after birth. She's not been reunited since.

A woman seeking protection from domestic violence was arrested because she's not a legal citizen.

Adult refugees arriving receive no state assistance unless they have kids. When they try to get help for their kids they get arrested.

At a state training for workers the question was asked how do we know if a person is a U.S. Citizen when they apply for public assistance. Response was "color of skin" and "accent" and state trainer agreed.
No requirement to ask for a U.S. Birth certificate because that is "too difficult" they said.

SUGGESTIONS

Rights to an interpreter?
Court system has no obligation. Working with court system to encourage that. Response is always money. We need interpreters for social service agencies, etc.

Get an attorney general to issue an opinion that enrolling kids in education should not be a place where you can get deported. Was told that only a state agency could ask the attorney general for an opinion. (State Department of Education) All kids should be in school.

INS should not cooperate with police. (has an ordinance for distribution). Other states have adopted ordinances to prohibit the police from working with them. All people should be protected. A person's immigration status is never relevant in court. (although police always ask when investigating a crime). They only ask that question of people of color. Maybe Governor could issue an executive order. This is an issue of public safety. Would I call the police if I'm a victim, if I know I'll be deported? No.

Testimony:

Will Tolerance Commission hearings be a safe forum? Immigrants can never come forward because they fear deportation. How do we reach out to them. Getting out information in multiple languages.

National Week of Action in August. Conduct a media campaign around this-

Website: http://www.gov.state.ak.us/tolerance

For additional information, interpreter services or other
accommodations, please call Diana Rhoades at (907) 269-8122
or email Tolerance@gov.state.ak.us

Written comments may be mailed to:

Commission on Tolerance
Office of the Governor
550 W. 7th, Suite 1700
Anchorage, AK 99501.

Written comments may be faxed to Commission on Tolerance at
(907) 269-7461.

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