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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2001

An Alaska panel has tentatively approved a solution to the state's subsistence rights dilemma.

First, to ensure Alaska Natives and rural residents have a priority to subsistence resources, the state's constitution would be amended. That would make state law conform with federal law and court decisions which have upheld Native rights.

Second, the a bill would be passed to allowi a secondary priority to be granted to urban residents. The priority would be lower than the rural one but higher than sport and commercial fishers and hunters.

The proposal still has to gain approval from the Legislature. Republicans have opposed amending the constitution to recognize a rural priority.

Gov. Tony Knowles (D) convened his panel after he decided not to appeal the Katie John case to the Supreme Court. Although John, an Athabaskan grandmother, had fought and won to have her rights recognized, the state kept battling her.

Get the Story:
Lawmakers to consider novel subsistence proposal (The Anchorage Daily News 11/7)

Relevant Links:
Subsistence Amendment, Alaska Governor Tony Knowles - http://www.gov.state.ak.us/subsistence_amendment
Native subsistence rights, Native American Rights Fund - http://www.narf.org/pubs/justice/1999SPRING/spring1999.htm
Alaska Federation of Natives - http://www.akfednatives.org
Katie John et al. v. State of Alaska - http://www.mountainstateslegal.org/legal_cases.cfm?legalcaseid=64

Related Stories:
Alaska losing subsistence game (11/5)
Subsistence amendment seeing delay (10/30)
Questions raised on subsistence (10/29)
AFN honors Elder of the Year (10/29)
AFN kicks off, Katie John revered (10/26)
Health issues talk of AFN (10/26)
Alaska Natives testify on racism (10/26)
Native dance event at AFN (10/24)
Alaska Native conference kicks off (10/23)
Alaska Native convention to meet (10/22)
Subsistence hearing scheduled (10/19)
Alaska lawmakers miss Katie John appea (10/15)
Subsistence amendment drafted (10/12)
Lawmakers want to appeal Katie John (10/5)
Alaska subsistence panel meets (9/25)
Poll: Alaskans want subsistence vote (9/17)
Group wants Katie John appealed (9/14)
Alaska subsistence panel to meet (9/11)
Knowles criticized for Katie John decision (8/29)
Alaska won't appeal Native rights case (8/28)
Subsistence summit changes little (8/27)
March held for Native subsistence (8/22)
Subsistence summit calls for changes (8/17)
Subsistence summit begins in Alaska (8/16)

More on Katie John:
Katie John case having effects (5/11)
Alaska Native subsistence case upheld (5/8)
Norton cutting old associations (1/25)
Norton's legal work criticized (1/12)
Alaska Native elder dies (12/4)