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FRIDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2001

The Alaska Legislative Council on Thursday asked the Supreme Court for permission to appeal the Katie John subsistence rights case without the support of the state's executive branch.

Gov. Tony Knowles in August decided not to pursue an appeal of the case brought by Athabaskan grandmother Katie John. But some Republican lawmakers were upset and want the state to continue fighting.

Previously, Republican lawmakers paid Secretary of Interior Gale Norton $160,000 to fight the case. At the time, she was Colorado's Attorney General and she enlisted the help of a conservative legal foundation for whom she used to work to file briefs in the case.

Norton has been recused from any matters dealing with the case.

Get the Story:
Legislative Council seeks Katie John appeal (AP 10/5)

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 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)