A story on Desa's fast was published in Intercontinental Cry
To read the original statement written by Desa check it out in the post below-
A Statement by Desa Jacobsson
desajacobsson@acsalaska.net
February 8, 2011
On February 8, 2011 a fast has been initiated in protest of the following:
A) Federal/State Subsistence Policies and Management;
B) The Calista Regional Native Corporation’s extraction of toxic mercury by the Donlin Creek Mine;
C) The U.S. Constitutional violation by the State of Alaska’s “Choose Respect” Program of Governor Sean Parnell;
The failure of Native Leadership in their trust responsibility towards protecting and defending Alaska’s Indians, Eskimos and Aleuts.
This fast will continue until the following are resolved:
A) Tribal Members resign from the Federal Subsistence Fisheries Management Advisory Councils and return to strengthening their own Federally Recognized Tribal Governments for the management of Fish and Game;
B) Calista Corporation ceases in extracting mercury in the Donlin Creek Mine and reconstitutes its mining efforts;
C) A lawsuit is initiated against the Office of the Governor and the State of Alaska in it’s failure to provide constitutional protections for all of its citizens.
The dehumanization of Alaska’s Indian’s, Eskimos and Aleuts continues through U.S. Federal and Alaska State Management and Policies, Laws and Regulations regarding the customary and traditional harvest of Alaska’s wild, renewable resources. By this, Alaskan history/public record shows one policy for Alaska Natives and another for Non-Natives in education, the private sector and public administration. Signs once posted in theaters, beauty shops, restaurants in Anchorage, Fairbanks and Juneau, Alaska read, “No Dogs, No Filipinos and No Natives Allowed.” The signs have surfaced again through federal/state subsistence management policies. The effects are the same: Alaska’s Indians, Eskimos and Aleuts are not allowed in decision making on policies and management of subsistence harvesting of fish, game, and other natural resources in Alaska. The current official state/federal role of Alaska Native Tribes is merely advisory. There is more to note.
The Federal/State Subsistence Management Policies, Laws and Regulations have been based on the contents of H.B. 405 introduced by former Representative Scott Ogan to the Alaska State Legislature after publicly declaring that, “ God gave me a dream to solve the subsistence problem. “ House Bill 405 required Alaska Natives to complete twelve steps, per specie, with the approval of three boards, acting jointly, in order to harvest fish and game. Later, former Governor Tony Knowles introduced a “State/Tribal” plan for subsistence co-management. This “knit one-pearl two” strategy meant the state managed and Alaska Natives cooperated. The plan had the same elements as House Bill 405 and Tribes acted in an advisory capacity to the State of Alaska.
Imagine an Alaskan Tribal Council adopting the regulations listed in the Federal Subsistence Management Program Hand Book for the management and regulation of groceries and shopping for all non-Tribal members residing in Anchorage, Fairbanks and other hubs throughout Alaska.
The regulations call for the establishment of a Grocery Management Board which passes regulations on groceries and shopping. The Board consists only of members who speak their Native language. English is not spoken. The regulations are written in Native languages only. One Board Member admitted to committing Ethnic/Shopper Cleansing.
The regulations by the Alaskan Tribal Council Grocery Management Program consist of, nor are they limited to and are subject to change without notice, the following:
All grocery shoppers must apply for a license, permit, grocery ticket and report form to shop. The Board, meeting twice a year, will determine eligibility. Applicants must prove prior shopping and consumption.
Shoppers may use only a hand-held basket. No full size carts are permitted. Smaller carts may be used but shoppers can fill their baskets no higher than 15 inches. Two full sized shopping carts are allowed per seven hundred shoppers.
Only unrestricted aisles of groceries may be used as shopping areas. Aisles may be restricted for shopping by the Grocery Management Board at any time, without notice.
Groceries may be shopped year round, except thirty days prior to Hanukah, Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving and Halloween except during the hours of 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. on the last Tuesday prior to each holiday. All shopping is closed 30 days prior to Super Bowl and New Years, and will remain closed for seven more days.
The ear or foot of Easter Bunnies, chocolate or fresh, Passover Lambs, the Christmas Goose, and Thanksgiving Turkeys must be included in written reports no later than 15 days after each event. This includes a piece of egg shell from all dyed Easter Eggs and the stalk of a Jack ‘o’ Lantern. Failure to comply without cause may cause ineligibility for future shopping.
Only one chocolate Easter Bunny, Jack ‘o’ Lantern, Passover Lamb, Christmas Goose, Thanksgiving Turkey, Holiday Ham per household, per year is permitted. Prime Rib and any Beef are not recognized as groceries. Shoppers may purchase only poultry, pork, fish provided they do not exceed weight and size limits.
A permit is required for shoppers to teach their children about groceries sixty (60) days prior to shopping and must prove they are teaching their children about groceries. A qualifying program must have shopping instructors, enrolled children of shoppers, minimum attendance requirements and standards for a successful completion of the course. Only 25 grocery items permitted. A complete written report must be submitted upon completion.
Although a permit is not required, shoppers must be eligible by the
regulations set forth by the Tribal Grocery Management Board to shop for groceries during the following:
funerals,
weddings,
baptisms,
bar mitzvahs,
memorials for fallen American Heroes,
memorials for fallen American Presidents,
birthdays,
debutante balls,
graduation ceremonies, etc.
You must inform the Grocery Management Board Manager of the people, families, friends involved for that purpose. Shoppers must report what groceries were purchased, the cost, from what aisle, from what shelf, the amount and brand. This includes each kind of Halloween candy.
All grocery check out clerks will remind shoppers of wanton waste and preparing their groceries according to state/federal sanitation standards. Groceries may not be fed to any pets whatsoever.
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This is what would be required of all non-Native grocery shoppers according to State/Federal Policies on Subsistence Management.
This is dehumanizing. These state and federal policies reduce the dignity of the Elders and minimizes the Culture, Customs and Traditions of Alaska’s Indians, Eskimos and Aleuts. In effect, the BIA, BLM, the Forest Service and US Fish and Wildlife become
the Elders and Traditional Council and the Elders become advisory to their own families and members of their own Tribes.
The claim made by federal and state officials about the purpose of their management policies is to “conserve” the resources.
Those who make the ultimate conservation sacrifice for the Federal and State Management Policies are Native children and the Elderly. Alaska’s Indian’s, Eskimos and Aleuts harvest less than 2 - 4 % of the total of all wild, renewable resources at any given time. These polices call for even less. They frustrate, constrict and hinder subsistence efforts. These policies are an insult to the Mothers who prepare fish and game for their families.
The wasted bycatch of millions of king salmon by ocean trawlers and the failure of a fish counter to function correctly created a crisis for southwest area villages during 2008 salmon fishing season. The threat of arrest, fines and imprisonment of village residents by US Fish and Wildlife Officers was present. To date, there are three thousand plus subsistence citations issued to Alaska Natives.
Simultaneously, the Choose Respect Program initiated by Governor Sean Parnell calls for public safety for rural Alaskan villages within ten years. The lack of public safety is not limited to violent crimes. That includes lack of enforcement of fish and game violations by trespassers on Tribal lands. Those most vulnerable are women, children and the elderly and infirm. This is while many village residents are serving in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Deadly toxins are deadly toxins. The gassing of wolves and bears in their dens is very problematic. We share the same habitat and the same environment will be exposed to mercury as a result of mining operations.
Together, this is a crime in progress. Those state and federal policies are acts of deprivation and isolation. The federal and state polices on subsistence management have created conditions calculated to bring about the destruction of a group of people in part or whole.
It is though another amendment has been added to the U. S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights. That amendment would read,
There is a right to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness Except for Alaska’s Indians, Eskimos and Aleuts. It is ironic that these policies are enforced and supported by those who repeatedly quote the Constitution and espouse freedom, democracy and Human Rights for all.
It is debatable which is worse: the problems created by federal and state policies or those in the Native Community, while acting in an official capacity as the voice of Alaska Natives, who went along silently for money.
Desa Jacobsson February 8, 2011 - desajacobsson@acsalaska.net
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