Live on the radio, KOTZ-FM in Kotzebue.
Kotzebue Borough Assembly Chambers inside the National Guard Armory

Commission members in attendance:

Rev. Chuck Eddy of Anchorage, Chair
Kelly Brown of Fairbanks, union representative, hosted Not in My Town forum.
Sen. Bettye Davis of Anchorage, Black Caucus, education leader
Mara Kimmel of Anchorage, Immigration attorney for Catholic Social Services
Father Michael Oleksa, cross-cultural trainer from Koliganek
Shari Kochman of Jewish community in Juneau
Lt. Governor Fran Ulmer, ex-officio member
Rep. Mary Kapsner of Bethel, Yupik leader
Marie Greene of Kotzebue, Inupiaq leader, Vice President and COO of NANA
Thelma Buchholdt of Anchorage, 1st Filipino woman elected to a legislature in the U.S. ­ served four terms in Alaska Legislature

Prior to the meeting Commission members had a tour of the Nikaitchuat Ilisagvait (Inupiaq language school). Pete Schaeffer, Kotzebue tribal leader, and his daughter Diane run the school with a small team of staff. There are 18? Students, and a wait-list. Unlike Bethel's public (charter school) immersion language program that the Tolerance Commission heard from last week, this is a private school for kids age 3 to 8, focusing on Inupiaq language and values. Both programs seem to be working to increase knowledge of the Native languages. There are only about 60 residents remaining in the area who speak Inupiaq. In the late 1800s, traditional Inupiaq education was overshadowed by Western missionary interests ­ and continued with federal and state education efforts which punished kids for speaking in their Native language. The kids gave the Commission a dance performance in the evening.

From there the Tolerance Commission toured the Maniilaq Health Center and heard from Eugene Smith, the Chief Information officer. Kotzebue serves as a regional health care hub for the outlying coastal villages and communities. The hospital incorporates 17 acute care beds, and incredible technology for distance delivery of services through video cams in the Villages. Through a federal /community partnership Maniilaq has been successful in offering high-speed internet access at an affordable price to village residents. The hospital also has large outpatient areas for dental, medical care, and counseling. The building was built in 1995 and has beautiful Native art.

Northwest Arctic Borough Mayor Ross Schaeffer
Welcome to Kotzebue, Overview of Region. Hope you are tolerable of our weather here!
First year anniversary as Mayor. 2nd largest borough in Alaska. 39,000 square miles, 30 miles above the Arctic Circle. Population 7080 -- 90 percent of residents are Inupiaq Eskimos whose ancestors settled the land over 10,000 years ago. 11 Communities along Noatak, Kobuk and Kivalina, Selawik, and Ambler Rivers. Region is based on subsistence. Not as involved as 10,000 years ago but our people hunt every day. Many of the villagers come to Kotzebue to hunt sea mammals. Home Rule Charter, highest form of Government in Alaska. 11 Assembly members, strong Mayor. Largest regional businesses include NANA Corporation, Maniilaq Association, NW Arctic Borough School District, Red Dog Mine ­ largest zinc mine located north of Kotzebue. Two important institutions UAF Chukchi Campus and Technical Center. Grew up in Kotzebue and words we sometimes used were Niggerheads and Niggertoes ­ we didn't even know what that meant. They were words and we were very naïve. Didn't even see the first black person until I was 7 years old. The kind of discrimination I see is in the management of Fish and Game. Institutional. Laws don't protect our subsistence way of life. Everything that comes out of the McDowell case, the Katie John case. The use of resources by the legislature to fight those cases. That makes us feel discriminated against. So many of our villages will never be able to speak out, but we suffer without the food. The competition for resources. Marine Mammal Act. We were told by the state that the Polar Bear population was under control. Commercial guiding came in and the polar bears were almost wiped out. 20 years later, in 1990 Finally got my first polar bear. In addition to subsistence rights, we need some sort of regulation of outfitters. This year we had one Beaver (larger plane). Next year we'll have at least two more. Subsistence is an important issue for Alaska Natives.

Willy Goodwin, Chairman, Regional Elders Council
With guidance and support from Elders, we must teach our children Inupiag values.
Recently had an Elders conference where 60 elders came in from villages and joined 20 here in Kotzebue. We reaffirmed the need to have Elder guidance.
Knowledge of language, knowledge of family tree, sharing, humility, respect for others, love for children, cooperation, hard work, respect for elders, respect for nature, avoid conflict, family roles, humor, spirituality, domestic skills, hunter success, responsibility to tribe. Subsistence is definitely part of our lifestyle. The Game Board has not had tolerance. We have had to go to the feds for help. In the long run, we need the help from the state to live our lifestyles. Subsistence.

Pete Shaeffer, General Manager, Kotzebue IRA
I'd like to welcome you. As I sit here I feel like when I testified before the Board of Fish and Game. You are a lot nicer. Hope you enjoyed the visit this morning to the school.
In some political circles, we have about as much chance as changing minds as a snowball's chance in hell. I see many political leaders here, though, so I want to share my concerns with you. It's the people who elect their elected officials, and the thought of those legislators, representing those people, they make life so difficult for us in rural Alaska. I'll use the North Slope as an example, because Senate Bill 36 is making it so hard. Senators Wilken, Kelly, and those others that take the time to paint a dishonest picture of what the numbers are, of the people. It's such a small group of people with intolerance.
American history has this problem.
How could things have been different if one culture embraced other cultures and welcomed them. Unfortunately, I spent 20 years laying blame and if I could change those 20 years and turn them into something more positive, I would. The bonding of people, the skills of bonding, especially grandparent to grandchild. I have experienced discrimination in my life. You have to get over it. It's just plain forgiveness that you have to exercise and sometimes it's just not that easy to do. I am willing to take responsibility for my part of it but I think other people have to take responsibility, too. Religious, cultural upbringing and who you spend time with. Suggestion: Education to be more aware of tolerance and issues of understanding. Ignorance and arrogance make people behave in an unfriendly way.

Charles Mason, CEO, Northwest Arctic Borough School District
Pete's (Shaeffer) got a wonderful thing with his school and it's called positive parent involvement. We don't have that in our school. WE have a village in crisis here. We are facing a dire shortage of teachers and administrators. Yet when those teachers come here, they are quite often run off. This does not know any racial boundaries. Staff are threatened and nothing is done. Not having a VPSO, not having a State Trooper, makes things difficult. By the time someone gets out to the villages to investigate, there's almost a laughable set of circumstances with juvenile justice. It's not racial intolerance ­ it's just a problem we need to fix. Schools in crisis comes from the village in crisis. It's the entire setting.

Shari Kochman -- Why the violence? Behavior model at home. Spousal abuse. No law in these areas. Our kids often get angry and we need the resources to help them. Anger management is something we are trying to do. Terrorist threats are out there everywhere right now. So many contributing things. Television, etc.

Are Native teachers treated differently than non natives? Less than 10 percent of teachers are native but I still feel isn't racial. Kids have a lack of respect and know that nothing is going to be done to them. Vandalism in two classrooms just recently. Damage. One was a Native teacher classroom. One was non-native. The pay scale has moved so low that no one is attracted to teaching. Local jobs ­ borough jobs ­ pay better. Just about anything pays better. Can't attract folks within the state or outside the state.

Kelly Brown ­ Are you able to bring in elders to help teach? We do some interaction with native leaders and have Inupiaq days. but I just have to tell you that with some of these kids, they are just running wild. They won't have respect for elders, either.

VPSOs and Constables ­ would more Natives in those jobs help? We are still faced with pay and housing, and in the smaller communities how many relatives you have living there. You can't arrest too many family members and still feel good about your job. They quit.

Sen. Bettye Davis ­ I can't believe you'd have a meeting of superintendants where you come away from that meeting and blame the students. You need to be coming up with recommendations to the Legislature to make it work for the students. You mention more safety officers or truant officers and get the parents involved. What programs do you have in place and what are the goals? I encourage you to get together with other superintendants and other groups and get a package together.

A: The parents who are part of the problem don't attend our community meetings. We do have an alternative program in Selawik ­ our largest village. We are trying to spend 70 percent of each dollar on instruction. Hiring security officers isn't going to help on our instruction dollars. We are pursuing options.

Father Oleksa: You mention Inupiaq days. What is that?
A: Subsistence activities, native arts, part of the values ­ up to 10 days a year. Done a variety of ways throughout the district. We have limited bi-lingual component. With the high stakes testing we are focusing on that curriculum.

Father Oleksa: It seems like the schools aren't meaningful and relevant to a rural schoolkid's life. What if they want to stay there in that village. So little of our curriculum prepares our kids to be productive citizens of their own community. It's like we are preparing them for elsewhere. The studies aren't relevant for the kids here.

I agree that may be part of the problem. We could be better served by teaching kids a vocational educational curriculum to learn about machinery, equipment.

Bernice Joseph, State of Alaska Deputy Commissioner, Community and Economic Development
With 15 months left in the Knowles/Ulmer Administration, our department is focusing on projects in rural Alaska. A question asked by Father Oleksa earlier was what percentage of Alaska students do not go on to college. Our statistics show 70 percent of students statewide do not go on to college. The State is promoting local hire and is working on getting more training.
Jobs Summits: Partnerships between University, unions, contractors, labor sources. Idea is to have the summit three years prior to planned projects. In the Kotzebue - Northwest area alone, we are looking at $156 million in projects. We look at anticipated number and types of jobs. Water and sewer, roads, construction, airports. How many carpenters and cooks will be needed for those jobs. One job summit was in Nome. WE had them in St. Mary's, Unalaska and will have more upcoming. Look at the number of jobs, the number of skills needed and look at the gaps. DEC, DOT, Dept of Ed for schools and local school district, unions, laborers. Pre-bid summits are similar to Job Summits. We had the Denali training fund, Dept. of Labor and non profits to see what kind of training programs are available or could be made available. Koyuyuk has a $7.2 million airport project upcoming. Need to train more people in health industry, aviation, Dept. of Transportation jobs. construction. We have to follow up and get middle managers at DOT to buy into this idea to get more jobs in rural Alaska. Suggestions: Additional training funds to support and push the mandatory pre-bid conferences in the communities to prepare for the future jobs. Oppose Sen. Cowdery's efforts to end force accounting. Force accounting works in rural Alaska. Make sure local workers get equal pay to other construction workers. Get more support for vocational education. Need sub-regional vocational education.

Fran Ulmer: Thank you for explaining the work that has been done to get jobs in rural Alaska. I'm just thinking about Father Oleksa's comments of how do we get students to care about school and jobs. Listening to you makes me think videos of jobs that are available in rural Alaska ­ so kids will know what they might want to do. A series of videos to be shown to students to learn what you talked about today. What is available to learn construction, and other tools to blend with a subsistence lifestyle. Help young people. It would probably need a consortium, and maybe it is something that could be funded by the Denali Commission.

Bernice: I agree. We need to start much earlier with kids. If they go to school and want to be a policemen or firefighter they need to know that drugs and alcohol can't be part of their life.

Dennis Tiepelman, President, Maniilaq Association
Using that organization by way of background, I would like to reflect why we are here. Racism in all its forms, particularly institutional, exists here.
1973 starting working for this organization. Grew up in Deering, went to Mt. Edgecumbe, came back here to Kotzebue. We've gone from a staff of 3 people to 450 people. $50 million budget. Largest employer in this region outside of Red Dog. We have a $20 million payroll. I doubt if we have 50 people employed in the villages. Most employees are here. So we discriminate as well.
NANA and Maniilaq have worked through the good times and bad times since ANCSA created us. Went to Washington, DC in 1980 because didn't know what Reagan would do with Title 8, Rural Preference in ANILCA. Flash forward to 2001and some of the similar attitudes are here and they don't like rural preference. We call them "rednecks" They have a sporting lifestyle but don't use the meat. We watch the meat spoil.

History. American Indians and Alaska Natives have given up a lot. I got this information from Sen. Inouye of Hawaii. History is based on treaties. All of the treaties with American Indians and Alaska Natives were violated. The U.S. has never lived up to its promise. From top down we have been violated.

Maniilaq. We are a contractor of federal responsibility for health services. The Alaska Legislature this year tried to eliminate those contracts to provide services. We are providing the services with federal grants in lieu of the state doing it. Now they want to take the funds that we are using ­ even though we are providing a service. Now that's institutional racism.

Education. Less than 10 percent of our teaching staff are Alaska Native. We are failing there. The statistics of exams bear out that we are failing. The parents, the community, and what we expect of the school system do not mesh. Kids don't know what they can be.

Every community around here is a dry or damp community. But we observe the bootlegging and the people who bring it in and look the other way. We deal with the effects of alcohol every day.

People in the villages don't have a local economy and are upset even with Kotzebue. All the jobs are here. Even here we have to pay higher wages so people will take jobs here and then they stay for their "maximum' three years. We hope they will stay longer, but even here it is remote ­ villages even more remote. Conflict with villagers within Maniilaq organization. We are predominantly a village of friends, yet because I'm not a born-again Christian some people feel I shouldn't be running this organization.

I have two children. My daughter just graduated from college. Same college I went to. My son is a sophomore at the same college. Everyone has different degrees of success.
Some people say I'm a cynic. Say I'm brash.

Thelma: Thank you Dennis Tiepelman. I know you have been a successful leader here. I'm saddened by some of the testimony here today. This area has always brought forward great leaders. The education system. I hope we can find a way to get the students motivated.

_ of tape 2: Get recording: I went to college and graduated but that doesn't mean I'm any better than anyone else. Some people think I'm an outsider since my return. Just because I got As and Bs just means that I could convince a teacher in a school system that I was worthy. Even without a degree many people have many worthy skills. I don't know how to skin an animal as good as Pete does. Going to college doesn't mean you have the right skills.

Michael Oleksa: Concern about kids and suicide.

Dennis Tiepelman: shares his concerns.

Sen. Bettye Davis: Thanks for testimony. Gives me a lot to think about. My thoughts about vocational education, as a black parent, was that I didn't want my child on that track. I was told that the vocational programs were for the "dumb" kids and I didn't want that. So I think it has changed since then. We have to find a way to make sure all kids are equal, whether they go to the college track or the vocational track to learn a skill.

A. I thought about it the other way. I was forced into the college track and what I really wanted to be was a mechanic. I always wanted to be a mechanic.

Fran Ulmer: Thank you so much for your efforts on the POPS Treaty and contaminants in subsistence foods.

Rep. Reggie Joule
The tragedy of Sept. 11 has brought together this country to discuss tolerance. It should be used as an opportunity. Minorities and those of us in rural Alaska fall under an umbrella. When it comes to programs we seem to be the last.
I was proud of Anchorage when they came together recently and said No. Not in our Town. That's the good thing, and therein lies an opportunity. It caused me to ask the question. When paintballs were thrown against Alaska Natives ­ where was Not in Our Town? When murders of Alaska Native women and other minorities ­ where was Not in Our Town? WE've finally got to that place and I'm glad but it took a lot to get there. Someone from the business community and someone who is a good friend of the Mayor. That's what it took and I'm glad that people have embraced it. Again, though. Was it because too many of our Alaska Native people have a problem with alcohol ­ and we get these stereotypes ­ is that why there isn't the outcry for the discrimination against us? I address Sen. Davis today because the Senate is where some of the worst discrimination against one area of the state is happening today. We have a major fight on our hands in this upcoming Legislative session. There is an assault on rural Alaska. Particularly against the North Slope Borough. We have 60 people who represent many walks of life and many of us have never been to any other parts of the state and know nothing about these other areas. We should. The Legislature has many committees. We don't have session from May to December, so some of those committees should be meeting in rural Alaska. Some of it is happening. We thank you for coming here. Taking the time to learn about our area.

I saw our district court judge walk in to the meeting and it reminds me of something. Corrections. We're sending our prisoners all over the place. IT's time for regional jails. We've tried the private prison route and it's not working. Regional jails will cost more money but we need them. We have nothing here to deal with juveniles. No juvenile justice here in Kotzebue.

Education: In rural Alaska, in the Hub communities, these are the economic centers. We have a system in place where we talk about High Stakes and high standards. With high standards we want students to be challenged by success and say, yes, we can succeed. High stakes puts a lot of weight on failure. When the exit exam came out I voted against it. If you put it in economic terms, there's not much incentive for students to graduate because they don't feel like it will make a difference in their village. Is there a way we can create a system for the villages where we have them job share with people in the hub communities. Teachers for part of the time in Kotzebue and then back to their village. Maybe that could be expanded to state jobs as Troopers and VPSOs. Look at a way to get a career ladder. A lot of people aren't interested in making $100,000 a year. What we need is employment to be able to live in the villages and live off the land.

Walter Sampson
Vice President Regional Affairs, NANA Regional Corporation.
After listening to some of the issues that were talked about. Some were emotional and some were heartening where you just want to do something. All of us need a good kick on the behind to get on the right track. I would like to remind all of us what occurred in New York on Sept. 11. I think that was a wakeup call for all of us. I say that because certainly, this nation has strayed away from its beliefs. I want to thank the Commission for coming to Kotzebue to listen. I only wish that you would be able to go to a small community and listen to the real roots of the problems. It would have been an eye-opener to go to the village. Something you wouldn't have heard at other hearings. Living conditions and what it's like. All of us should be happy that we have an opportunity to share our concerns. To share the issues that we have to live with every day. For my age group, I grew up in a whole different environment than we have today. When I grew up it was the Bureau of Indian Affairs that was responsible for education. We were told that English would be our language. Our Inupiaq way was lost. I was one of those children who broke every rule. I spoke Inupiaq. I was told to make a choice. Walk out the door or stand in the corner ­ for speaking Inupiaq. My grandmother was my mentor and my teacher. That's where all my education started. She was my teacher. When I took the door my grandmother didn't say anything. The third day, the teacher came to my house to get me to go to school. I told him that the choice that I made would be my choice. The 4th day I went back to school. Being told I could not speak my language was not something I expected. I didn't know anything about discrimination ­ I was just told by the federal system. Today it is different. Communities are trying to become proactive. Both the state and federal system. But sometimes it's hard to be proactive in those systems. The state and federal government are used to demanding things. An example is the State Game Board. I was appointed to the Board and it was a challenge. I was the only Native in the whole state. It was a challenge. My first two years I worked to make a change in the system. That didn't work. So the next two years, I worked on the process of how we deal with people. I had some success on that. All these years the Board of Game meetings were held either in Fairbanks or Anchorage. All the rural interests had to pay their way to get to the public meetings. I worked to regionalize the meetings. Even that was a challenge. When you have a system in place, it is difficult to make a change. I did have the support and people agreed that the rural communities are a part of the public process. Rural Alaska is impacted by these many meetings that take place. Created rural advisory councils. You have to learn to balance the interests.

Today, our communities are trying to be proactive. If we are going to work to better our system. We need to make a change in ourselves. We need to learn to listen to people. You and I go out to hearings, to meetings, where people raise issues of concerns. We shelve our notes. Rather than pointing fingers, we need to ask ourselves what we can do before it becomes a big problem. Sometimes we pass regulations, we pass laws, for the people throughout the states. This is the law, you have to abide by it. If we can't enforce those regulations and those laws, why even have them on the books. Fish and game is a good example. Any laws. You better have dollars set aside to enforce them.

One of the things we all need to work on. We need to work on the process to make a change. People at the state level are used to doing things like they did 20 years ago. My role as a board member was to listen to the public and adopt regulations based on what I heard. And I got flack for that. But I don't care. What you are doing is the same. I encourage you to go to the smaller communities and thank you for what you are doing.

William Sheldon (Billy Sheldon Jr.)
I am originally from Noorvik. When the federal government had BIA schooling, things were a lot better. The State has failed us. Life has eroded in the villages. The villages need jobs. I think this is a wake up call. If you don't heed the call the feds will come in. The Self-determination act. These IRAs are recognized. Even our corrections system. How can that be fair. I'm jumping from one thing to another. Communication is the problem.

John Schaeffer, NANA Regional Elders Council (member of the 1992-94 federal/state Alaska Natives Commission)
Of all the people who testified today, I'm the only historian in the group ­ except for Willie. When Thelma (Tolerance Commission member Thelma Buchholdt) first came up here, I was involved in trying to put together an aboriginal organization. We hired Thelma and her husband to come up here. I have also worked with Fran (Ulmer, lt. Governor) and Marie (Greene, Commission member from Kotzebue ­ now Vice President of NANA). In 1981, Marie and I were looking at the 10 year anniversary of the Native Claims Settlement Act and what problems we had in our region. We were both young and didn't know very much. We had sense enough to talk to our elders and use the information they gave us. We came up with a list of Inupiaq values, which have been adopted by the tribes with very few changes. We used them as part of a community wellness. The teachers and schools adopted the values. Since then, we have seen less and less use of the values. In schools we can have some discussion of culture as part of language. So we started Inupiaq day, where we get the elders to come in and teach some of our values. And we tried to get it one day each month of the nine months of the school year. WE got five days. Now, we've got three days. Worked on state/federal Natives Commission board and came up with a report. We had three things.
Dependence on Government. That has created most of the problem we have with our feeling of not being in charge of our life. You, as a state commission, Sometimes I think the Robin Taylor's of the world have a point in cutting us off. If you cut us off, then we'd have to do things differently. We wouldn't be as healthy. We wouldn't have certain things, but we'd be doing things for ourselves. I'm not saying I want that, necessarily, but we do need to do things for ourselves.
Walter Sampson said it best ­ we've got a band-aid system. See the problem and try to fix it. All over the U.S., Native people are struggling. The past. Our culture was taken over by a different system, a different way of life. Alcohol. When we didn't have any money we couldn't afford booze. Mistreatment of women. Learned that from drunken parties where the smallest people get taken advantage of. Individuals are treated in a band-aid system and sent back to the problem. That may work in the western system where you are only connected to a smaller family. We have a huge extended family. We need more of a wholistic program to deal with the alcoholism and its aftereffects. Sexual abuse counseling is important on an individual basis but again, our small communities with extended families where everyone knows everyone ­ we need community healing.
Recommendations of commission. Sen. Stevens and Sen. Inouye worked to provide funding for our recommendations and first it went to AFN. It took us a few years, but we learned that AFN isn't the right organization. We need the regional healthcare organizations ­ in our case, Maniilaq, to address these issues of wholistic wellness. Once the families can heal then the children will be able to go to school and learn. We'll have people who are in control of what's going on. Unless we deal with our dysfunction, we'll never get anywhere. Education is the key. Once we get started, it's not going to be that hard. It's going to be easy. We did it, Marie. I should have left it to Marie because I was still a drunk at the time. Marie wasn't. Back then we didn't have too many women in charge. Now we know women are running the show.

(middle of the tape) When I grew up, the white men in charge were more respectful. They were more tolerant. As time goes on, children of the people who populate southcentral Alaska. Children of military retirees and others, who pass their ignorance onto their children. I see our Legislature doing the same thing. Thinly veiled racism in our Legislature, attacking rural Alaska. Everyone knows they aren't attacking the white people who live in the rural areas. They are attacking us natives.

Walter Sampson talked a little bit about the Game Board. Community involvement.
Need to be intolerant of people like that. Needs to start at the top. The Governor, with his appointments to the game board.

Shari: Heard a lot about how wellness is a priority, but yet everyone in a community knows who the bootleggers are, and yet they don't turn them in. What is that about?
A. Losing control. When we try to take control, what happens? They turn in someone for bootlegging and what happens. They get pulled away to testify against someone, and then they go back to the community with no police protection. It's not safe. We had a discussion about this with our elders. One elder did get the courage to tell a young bootlegger, I know what your doing. Stop it and get out. And the guy did stop. And we were proud of the elder because what he could have done is shot him or beat him up. These villages don't have protection. The system doesn't fit us. When we do have police, we get a few arrests for drunk and disorderly, and then we go to jail. Go to jail for a long time, and that leaves a hole in our community. With fewer people, each person has a function. When that person is gone that service is gone.

The way we are looking now is the spirit camp alternative to treat the whole family.

Question: Did you feel the recommendations of the federal state report you produced were followed through in any way? We didn't have any expectations about what the state would do. The federal recommendations we figured they would have to pursue because of the federal Indian Rights issues. And it took a long time, but finally Sen. Stevens has committed to funding some of the projects. I encourage you to dust off the state recommendations in your work to find tolerance.

I thank you for your work. I wish you better luck with your report so that it doesn't gather dust on the shelf.

Richard Erlich, District Court Judge
My comments do not represent the court system. Chief Justice Dana Fabe is the head of the court system. The Governor is head of the Executive Branch of government. It's important to recognize that the police, district attorney, corrections, public defenders, etc. all work for the Executive branch of the government.
Three stories that go to the issue of state. My wife is Inupiaq. When we were married people thought she was Vietnamese. She grew up in Nome. When she was young she couldn't go to the movies. Her father and others changed that. Seven years ago my wife and I were in Anchorage to buy a table. It was a nice table and flattened out big enough for a large family. I mentioned they should sell them in the villages or in rural Alaska. He responded in with derogatory comments about my wife. Her culture. It was humiliating, and it was hate. I asked for and got an apology from the owner of that company. I had to write them more than once. I had to write the letter as a lawyer would write the letter. Not everyone has the ability to do that.

Subsistence: A way for people to keep their identity. The more we interfere and prevent that, the more we are responsible for contributing to the death of a people. Not a culture, a people.

I passed out some materials. It's important to know about this region. Here, almost 85 percent of the people were born, raised and live here. Whole bunch of interrelationships we never experience in the urban area. Different dynamic here than in urban areas. Your credibility here comes from your length of stay, and whether people trust you or not. Doesn't matter who the police, or correctional officers, or district attorneys are. They are leaving in two or three years ­ however long they have to stay here.

People of the western world don't understand the value of people to their community. For example, the person responsible for our heat in our court system was arrested and had to go to prison. We had to call him to find out how to fix it.

A number of people have testified that it's too bad that you didn't get to a village. And that's too bad, because you can't see the atrocious conditions of a village jail. It is a holding cell. You wouldn't believe it. You've all heard of the Cleary lawsuit, which relates to overcrowding in prisons. That lawsuit doesn't deal with contract jails. Here in Kotzebue we have a 12-bed contract jail. Often there are 18 to 20 people there. Cots have been set up.We are taking advantage of a people and a culture, and then we are hammering them again. Don't give them the respect.

Legislature: They have imposed laws which require certified kinds of things. They want sex offender training certified by Corrections. For Batterer prevention they want certified trainers from the AK Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault. I know for Nome, Kotzebue and Barrow, there are no certified counselors. The Batterer and Sexual Assault Law requires the certified person and doesn't allow other types of training to get around it. They need to remember that urban and rural life is different.
40 percent of our population is under 18. That is a tremendous amount. We are about 1.5 adults per child. Statewide it's about 2. something and nationwide it's 3 times. We have families. We have more single-father headed households. Our median age is 23.9. That means John Shaeffer isn't a relic, he's a treasure.

John said the joint federal/state commission ­ the state didn't do anything. I think the court did hear some of the recommendations. We have a new magistrate here who is attempting to make a community court work here without any lawyers. I need to thank Gov. Knowles and Gen. Oates, who, even though everything is busy right now, approved the use of the Armory in Selawik. Speaks to the court's commitment, administration's commitment to make something work.

Mara Kimmel: Do you have the need for interpreters here? Yes. Inupiaq and Korean and Village English and sign language. Sometimes we need them and it has been a problem. Thelma Buchholdt and I were part of a subcommittee on the court's fairness and access task force and we were successful in convincing the courts they needed to have them. The courts will now have to pay for translators in criminal court cases. Would certified interpreter programs work? Yes, if we can access them by phone.

Alcohol problem in our state. What do you see as a solution?
You have to understand that 60 percent of the people nationwide who are in jail, were under the influence of drugs or alcohol. It's a nationwide problem. We have tobacco lawsuits today. The interrelation of things needs to be understood. We as a society do not address the relationships. Since the change in the Child in Need of Aid law, we are finally starting to look at those issues. Alcohol problems are part of violence in the family and leads to sexual assault and other problems.

Shari Kochman story about racism toward the jewish community. Jewwing you down, and other racial stereotypes in an interaction with a business. Her friend also had to write repeated letters to highlight the issue and get an apology. Everyone in the company except for the person making the derogatory comment signed the apology.

The personal humiliation people go through and you don't want to go through that. I'm in a position to deal with that and I have the skills, but what about the person who doesn't.

Michael Oleksa comments on how the Tolerance Commission has had dissatisfaction with the fact that the Commission's budget didn't allow for smaller communities.

Lincoln Saito, Director, UAF Chukchi Campus, Kotzebue
I've been an educator in the state for 32 years. Right now I'm the director for the Chukchi Campus. I've lived in Wrangell. I taught at Mt. Edgecumbe in Sitka. I lived in Fairbanks for 8 years. Was a principal in Homer and Kwethluk and now I'm here. One of the things I'd like to recommend is boarding schools in Bush areas. One of the things that happens when I go back to Homer, Anchorage, Fairbanks is that people don't look at me. They think I'm Alaska Native. I wouldn't have noticed it ­ but I have lived in rural Alaska for many years, and I notice it when I go back. People don't recognize you as a human. Rural schools could help. If we had a boarding school here in Kotzebue, it would make a difference. Kotzebue has natives running things. Just think about it, if no one looks at you in school. It affects even me, an older person. But if I were in High School or college and no one looked at me? It's terrible. I think you would see less of a drop-out rate if you had a Native-run boarding school. I've been learning from my environment for a long time.

Mary Kapsner. I traveled with an educational group last year and we examined the idea of regional boarding schools that would follow career tracks. A health care or mechanical program. Former speaker of the House Gail Phillips was championing that, and since her retirement, there hasn't been much follow-though. There is a report out I can send you. We aren't saying we will eliminate Molly-Hootch schools, but supplementing them.

Lincoln Saito:
Noticed as he was grading papers from his correspondence courses that the Native students who didn't come to Fairbanks were all passing college classes but not the ones who went to Fairbanks.

Meeting wrap up. Next public hearings in Soldotna October 22 and Anchorage during AFN October 23, noon to 4 p.m. at the Egan Convention Center.

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