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First case of
Swine Flu found in Alaska

6-5-09

The Alaska Department of Health and Social Services virology laboratory in Fairbanks reported its first positive test for the novel H1N1 (swine) flu in Alaska last Wednesday. This is the first confirmed case of the new flu strain in Alaska.
State epidemiologists have contacted the patient, a middle-aged woman from the Fairbanks area, whose flu-like symptoms started approximately two weeks ago, to begin their investigation into where or how she may have contracted the virus and to learn who she may have been in contact with while she was contagious.
A health care provider first saw the patient on May 21 after her symptoms had started. At that time, she was diagnosed with a respiratory infection that seemed consistent with a cold. However, she was running a fever. The rapid flu test was taken which came back negative but another culture swab was taken and sent to the state virology lab. On May 27th, the results came back positive for the H1N1 influenza strain.
The patient had no history of travel out of the Fairbanks area or no known contact with anyone who had the H1N1 virus prior to the onset of illness. Three other household family members are currently well. The lady was currently on vacation in the Caribbean last week, and she said she has fully recovered.
Dr. Joe McLaughlin - State Epidemiologist, during a press conference noted that it is highly likely that the virus is currently circulating in Fairbanks and possibly elsewhere in Alaska. The virus is spread from person to person by coughing and sneezing, and by contact. The severity of this flu is similar to seasonal flu. Symptoms include fever, cough, sore throat, runny nose, body aches, headache, chills, and fatigue – similar to seasonal influenza.
People at increased risk for seasonal influenza include people older than 65, children under 5, pregnant women, and people with chronic medical conditions.
“We all knew it was coming,” said McLaughlin. “It was just a matter of when.” All health providers have been notified.
“I think it is highly likely that there will be more cases,” he said.
The Alaska Public Health Virology Lab in Fairbanks has tested more than 516 flu samples since April 27, 2009. West Virginia is the only state left in the union that has not reported any cases of swine flu.

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Revenue Sharing and Stimulus funds

4-29-09

by Sen. Lyman Hoffman

Last year the Legislature renewed the Revenue Sharing Fund and capitalized the fund with $180 million. The statute provides for one-third of the fund to be allocated each year to provide a more stable funding source to communities. Through the FY09 budget, $60 million was distributed leaving a balance of $120 million. And for next year, according to the statute, one-third would be distributed in the FY10 budget. That amount is $40 million, a $20 million reduction from last year.
The Majority Caucuses in both the Senate and the House decided to replenish the fund back to the $180 million amount; for a distribution this year of $60 million. Original plans transferred funds for the Revenue Sharing Fund and to forward fund the K-12 Education formula from our Constitutional Budget Reserve (CBR) account. Use of the CBR fund requires three-quarter vote of both bodies. The Senate passed this version, but the House was unable to garner enough votes. All of the House Democrats voted against it. The end result is that it did not pass.
So on to plan B today; the Senate replenished the Revenue Sharing account with general funds in HB 113: Supplemental budget. We were able to do this by holding back expenditures in other areas of the budget to make general funds available for this program. The end result is that $60 million will be distributed in FY10, which begins July 1, 2009, to communities across the state. I have outlined the estimated distribution to our district below. The green column is the estimated amount of FY10 Revenue Sharing; the purple column is the Federal Stimulus distribution per capita; and the yellow column is the total amount per community. Other reports on completed bills from this session will be forthcoming. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact my office.

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Donlin Creek, LLC hosts Open House in Bethel

4-14-09

by K.J. Lincoln

Mining experts and consultants working for Donlin Creek, LLC hosted an open house event for the community of Bethel to answer any questions about the proposed mine. The informational meeting was coordinated in conjunction with the Orutsararmiut Native Council last Wednesday. To give people from villagers a chance to attend, Donlin Creek also offered to pay for the travel of two people from each village.
Engineers and scientists positioned at their stations with large displays were on hand to talk about building roads, powering the mine, the reclamation process after the mine is done, the gold extraction process, acid rock drainage, increased barge traffic, and tailings impoundment, among other topics.
The gold at Donlin Creek is microscopic and is found in the rocks. The Calista Corporation owns the subsurface rights to the land where the proposed mine is located, so they own the gold. The Donlin Creek, LLC operates under the terms of a lease with Calista said James Feug, the Technical Manager for the project. Under the terms of the lease, a percentage goes to the LLC, and some goes to Calista where it would be distributed to other corporations under the 7(i) agreement of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act.
To extract the gold would require many steps involving water, heat, chemicals, and much power.
The mine would require 127 megawatts of energy. In comparison, Bethel uses about 5 megawatts, according to Richard Ridley, the Electrical Engineer who is responsible for the mine’s power. The majority of the mine’s power would come from diesel.
Chris Wooley, an archaeologist working for the Donlin Creek mine project said that there are plans for a 74-mile road that would be built from Birch Tree Crossing where barges would unload up to the mine site, if the mine is approved. Birch Tree Crossing is located on the Kuskokwim River below Crooked Creek.
Roads will also be constructed to the airport and to the wind farm. The wind farm will feature fourteen 1.8-2.0 megawatt turbines, each with a rotor diameter of 90-meters to help power the mine. Wind studies at the Donlin mine site have shown a 27% wind efficiency, which is considered fair.
Along the proposed road would be a pipeline to transport the shipments of fuel coming from the 3 tows a day, said Steve Roland, Road Engineer. A tow is a tug that would be hauling three or four double-hull barges loaded with 176,000 gallons each during the 110-day open river season. Of the 85 million gallons of fuel shipped, 25 million would be used for the vehicles, and 65 million to power the mine.
“It is the same kind of barge traffic you see today,” said Ridley, “…just more of it.”
But wouldn’t the increased traffic on the river disrupt the salmon fishing subsistence way of life?
“The barges would be operating under strict rules,” said Ridley.
Ed Fleming, an aquatic biologist working with the project has studied the fish going up the Kuskokwim River for 6 seasons.
“The barges I’ve seen have worked with fishermen,” he said. “And the smolts (baby salmon) are found along the gravel bars on the opposite side of the channel where the barges travel. The waves dissipate before they get to the fry.”
Lee Ann Gardner is another consultant who has 3 years worth of data on how many fishermen fish on the Kuskokwim on various days in the summer.
“The permitting process will find out how they can work around the fishing schedule,” she said. “Fishermen like to fish in the shallow areas, and barges like to be on the channel side of the river.”
Bethel elder Billy McCann who went to the open house had concerns about the possibility of the increased barge traffic on the river disrupting the natural fish migration.
“I don’t really like the idea of all the barge traffic – with the noise (tem’irtellria) 24 hours a day,” he said. “Salmon are nuyurtaq (easily spooked). It is too early yet to tell how the salmon will react. I think they will probably leave and the Kuskokwim will have no more fish.”
Another participant was John Active of Bethel.
“The Donlin people were very interested in when would be the best time for barge traffic because some of it would be during subsistence fishing time,” he said. “They wanted to know what the people and the elders thought. I suggested that they speak to the Kuskokwim Salmon Management Group.”
Vern Kinegak, a resident of Bethel was another community member who stopped by the exhibit.
“I didn’t really go around but I kind of got an idea about it. If they can keep the natural resources, like fish and game from getting contaminated, I don’t see any problem with the mine starting up,” he said. “It creates jobs and there are quite a few people on the YK Delta that work up there and it supplements their income in the villages.”

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AVEC’s Wind Power Program

3-18-09

by Amy Murphy

The skyrocketing cost of diesel last year resulted in the average AVEC consumer paying a fuel charge of almost 37 cents per kilowatt-hour, while residents of Toksook Bay, Kasigluk, and three nearby villages are paying 12 cents less, thanks to wind turbines installed by Alaska Village Electric Cooperative (AVEC). In Kasigluk, the wind turbine project has displaced nearly 22 percent of the diesel fuel consumed to run generators and in Toksook Bay wind is good for almost 21 percent.
AVEC’s fledgling wind program has already gained national and international recognition, most notably when AVEC received the 2007 Wind Cooperative of the Year Award from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Wind Powering America Program. This award, presented in 2008, recognized AVEC for leadership, demonstrated success and innovation in its wind power program, which was developed in response to rising fuel costs for its 48 prime diesel power plants.
“Rural Alaska’s extremely challenging geographic and climatic conditions limit the options for generating electricity. Diesel fuel can be shipped and stored and the technology is very well known. There simply are no viable alternatives,” said Meera Kohler, AVEC’s President and CEO. “Wind generation, on the other hand, is also an old technology but, until recently, was not up to the challenge of remote Arctic conditions.”
AVEC staff pioneered the integration of wind into its isolated village diesel systems and it has been a major learning experience, especially designing innovative tower foundations to withstand challenging geographical conditions. Most of the diesel-powered generation plants are nearly 40 years old with outdated technology. This requires installation of sophisticated control centers and power plant automation to allow the generators to operate in parallel with other generators in the system, including wind turbines. Transmission lines that connect other communities to a common grid also require specialized maintenance and repair, along with the wind turbines.
“Despite only a few years of actual field experience, we are enthusiastic about the successes we have seen and hope that wind can play a meaningful role in many of our villages,” Kohler said. “In a best-case scenario though, wind can only be expected to produce about 30% of a community’s annual electricity so diesel will continue to be the workhorse for the foreseeable future.”
Wind Facilities
AVEC owns wind turbines operating in five communities with interties to three other communities. AVEC is proud to announce that in 2008, it’s fleet of wind turbines, rated at 1,360 kW, had the highest total utility wind generating capacity and production in the whole state.
Selawik, the first integrated wind-diesel facility AVEC built, has four AOC 65-kW turbines with a generating capacity of 260 kW. Total wind-diesel generating capacity is 1,647 kW. Selawik has served to help work out design and performance challenges involved with this new sophisticated wind-diesel system.
Kasigluk has three Northwind 100 100-kW turbines with a total generating capacity of 300 kW. Total wind-diesel generating capacity is 1,624 kW. Power is also provided to the community of Nunapitchuk through a distribution intertie.
Toksook Bay has three Northwind 100 100-kW turbines with a total generating capacity of 300 kW. Total wind-diesel generating capacity is 1,618 kW. Power is also provided to the communities of Tununak and Nightmute through interties. After the tielines were built, two generating plants in Tununak and Nightmute were shut down, saving tens of thousands of dollars in additional operating and maintenance costs each year.
Savoonga’s two Northwind 100 wind turbines with a generating capacity of 200 kW came online in the fall of 2008. Total wind-diesel generating capacity is 1,870 kWh. Hooper Bay has three Northwind 100 turbines that are operational and will be fully commissioned in 2009.
Wales has two Atlantic Orient Corporation 65-kW turbines that are owned by Kotzebue Electric Association. They aren’t fully operational but also provided valuable information related to wind-diesel integration.
AVEC plans to install seven more Northwind 100 turbines in 2009; four in Chevak and three in Gambell.
Tower Foundations
Two main components for generating wind power are a turbine and the tower, shipped in by barge and assembled on site on specially prepared foundations built to hold the weight of the whole assembly in variable ground and soil conditions. For example, the total unit weight of the Northwind 100 turbines placed on top of 108’-tall Danwin towers is 42,000 pounds; subject to additional forces from wind and motion.
Proper foundation design is critical as tower foundations must not settle, tilt or be uplifted. Unfortunately warming trends are affecting the expanse and depth of Alaska’s permafrost. Therefore, designing a foundation in the changing permafrost conditions to support all this weight, plus the system frequencies and variable forces exerted by the rotating turbine, is extremely difficult.
Thorough geotechnical research and testing assesses ground conditions to determine design recommendations and optimal pile foundations. AVEC’s talented team pioneered innovations in tower foundations based on a steel frame embedded within a two-foot thick concrete foundation supported by piles that may extend 1/3 to 2/3 the height of the tower into the ground. The pile foundations are modified by adding a 130,000-pound concrete and steel mass between the tower and piles to dampen vibrations.
Annualized Results
Wind resources vary by village throughout the year and affect overall output. AVEC support staff and local operators are fine tuning the integrated operations of the wind and diesel systems and in 2008 net wind production to the systems in Kasigluk and Toksook Bay increased 27% with no change in equipment.
The following figures are for villages with turbines operational for two full years. In 2007, wind in Selawik provided an average net wind generating capacity of about 5% of total kWh generated vs. 3% for 2008; Kasigluk’s wind turbines generated an average of 16.23% vs. 21.9% for 2008; while Toksook Bay’s 2007 average of 23.53% was slightly higher than 2008’s 20.7% net wind versus total kWh generated. (Toksook Bay’s net wind declined in 2008 with the addition of Nightmute to the service area after completion of the intertie.)
In 2007, turbines in these three communities generated 1,100,000 kWh (net) and displaced 81,481 gallons of diesel fuel. At an average cost of $2.75/gallon (with Selawik having the highest fuel cost at $3.30/gallon), AVEC saved more than $200,000 dollars in diesel generating costs.
In 2008, turbines in these three communities generated 1,322,110 kWh (net) and displaced 99,191 gallons of diesel fuel. At an average cost of $4.73/gallon, this equates to a savings of $453,000 in diesel generating costs.
Including wind turbines that came online late in 2008, AVEC’s total combined net wind energy production is 1,442,275 kWh. Total combined net energy production (wind and diesel) was 13,682,946 kWh. Wind displaced 108,057 gallons of fuel, saving $493,000 in fuel costs.
Wind/Diesel Tour
In April 2008, 30 people from 12 countries toured AVEC’s wind-diesel power generation facility in Kasigluk in conjunction with an International Wind-Diesel Workshop held in Girdwood, Alaska.
These engineers and officials, some of whom hold high-level positions, represent various national and international organizations and large utilities. They are all involved in testing, evaluating or building wind generation systems to operate in conjunction with isolated diesel generating systems. Everybody was extraordinarily impressed with AVEC’s system and amazed to see extremely high-tech facilities in such remote areas with challenging logistical and environmental conditions.
“The trip to Kasigluk was the highlight of the wind-diesel meeting,” said Larry Flowers, of National Renewable Energy Lab, one of the workshop organizers. “Seeing the three turbines spinning and knowing they’re saving 30- to 40,000 gallons of fuel each year and the associated cost was inspiring. AVEC is leading the way to a more sustainable village power future.”
Nunapitchuk and Kasigluk residents now have a reason to be happy when the strong winds blow and the wind turbines start spinning. While their electric rates are still amongst the highest in the nation, there is satisfaction in knowing they are 12 cents a kWh less than what they otherwise might have been.
Having wind turbines produce power to reduce diesel fuel consumption is growing increasingly important as the cost of fuel escalates. However, the investment to realize these cost savings isn’t cheap. The Kasigluk project cost $14.5 million for a new automated power plant, upgraded transmission line to Nunapitchuk, new bulk fuel storage tanks and three Northwind 100 wind turbines, designed for cold, remote locations.
“Kasigluk is one of the best, smoothest wind operations I have seen,” said David Connelly, Principal of the Ile Royale Enterprises of Northwest Territories Canada. “The village residents are very proud of feeling like they are getting back some of their self-sustainability and reducing diesel fuel consumption. They are also proud their local [trained] plant operators are competent and capable of operating the advanced wind-diesel generating system.”
Training Program
Only one of AVEC’s 53 villages is accessible by road. Performing routine maintenance and making prompt repairs is critical but can be challenging, especially if technicians have to travel hundreds of miles to get there.
Developing a week-long training program to teach trainees how to service and troubleshoot the turbines in their communities became an integral component of the wind program. The training program is conducted by Northern Power at its manufacturing facility in Barre, Vermont. Having trained technicians living in the villages provides a source of local income and saves a tremendous amount of time and money by not having to rely on help flown in from distant places.
One trainee from Toksook Bay was immediately put to the test when he returned home from training and learned a wind turbine wasn’t operating. “He discovered that a PLC card failed and by exchanging e-mail messages and phone calls we figured out which parts were needed,” said Chris Haraldsen of Northern Power. “They were shipped out and the turbine got running again.”
Future Plans
With the assistance of funding partners like the Denali Commission, Rural Utilities Service, Coastal Villages Region Fund and others, AVEC has developed a successful wind program that will provide benefits to our members and our environment for many years. As future funding becomes available, AVEC will continue to build on this solid foundation to expand our successful wind program into other communities with feasible wind resources.

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Arctic Care team brings free health care to Y-K Delta

3-11-09

BETHEL, ALASKA -- Nearly 1,000 residents of the remote Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta -- and even some lucky dogs -- will get free medical checkups this month thanks to a team of military health specialists visiting the region.
The medical team members will spend about two weeks in the region as part of Operation Arctic Care 2009. Since 1994, the Department of Defense-funded Arctic Care has sent a multi-service group of military health care providers out into rural Alaska to practice their respective trades. Like other military personnel, these specialists need to perform their skills regularly to meet their training requirements. Arctic Care gives them the opportunity to perform these services in an area where they are desperately needed.
Typically, Arctic Care efforts focus on one region of the state each year. Organizers partner with the region’s Alaska Native Health corporation and the U.S. Public Health Service to determine which services are in the greatest need, and how they will be delivered.
The 2009 operation is based in Bethel, with visits scheduled to 11 smaller villages around the region. The visiting specialists – approximately 200 in all -- will offer services in five categories:
Medical. The Arctic Care team will offer free basic physicals, sport physicals, physical therapy and treatment for minor conditions. Area residents found to have significant medical conditions will be referred to medical specialists with the Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation.
Mental health. Trained counselors will be available to any village resident who wishes to consult with one.
Dental. Military dentists will offer free dental exams to patients. They will also offer procedures ranging from simple cleaning and checkups to extractions and fillings.
Optometry. The visiting optometrists not only offer free vision screenings, they can create prescription lenses and get them to their patients within a day or two.
Veterinary medicine. The military employs veterinarians who provide care to military working dogs. Because of the unique importance of dogs in many remote areas of Alaska, their services are in great demand there.
“Arctic Care is one of the most gratifying operations the military does in Alaska,” said Army Lt. Colonel Austin Elliott, medical operations officer for Alaskan Command. “These are areas typically underserved by the medical community; so to be able to go in there and deliver these badly needed services is immensely satisfying for all the Arctic Care team members.”
The Arctic Care team will be in the Y-K region through March 19. Over the next three years Arctic Care will support the Bristol Bay Area Health Corporation,Tanana Chiefs Conference and the Maniilaq Health Corporation, respectively.

New: Seal Hunting
and Safety Student Guide

by Mike Taras

If you live in a seal hunting community in the Lower Yukon School District or the Lower Kuskokwim School District you should see some new seal hunting education material for students in grades 4-6.
The material is called “A Student Guide to Seal Hunting and Safety”, Yup’ik region. There is also an accompanying workbook that helps guide students through the material and tests them on their knowledge.
The creation of this material was a joint effort with the Imarpigmiut Ungungssiit Murilkestiit (IUM), which means Watchers of the Sea, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game – Arctic Marine Mammal Program, the Association of Village Council Presidents, the Ice Seal Committee, the National Marine Fisheries Service and volunteers from several villages.
Ringed, bearded, spotted, and ribbon seals are the species of Alaska’s seals collectively called “ice seals” because they rely on sea ice for feeding, resting, and pupping. People living along the Bering, Chukchi, and Beaufort seas are highly reliant on ice seals for food, equipment, and handicrafts. There are concerns regarding the status, health, and availability of ice seals due to changes occurring in sea ice.
Due to concerns of subsistence hunters the Ice Seal Committee (ISC) was formed in October of 2003 to “ensure the conservation of ice seals and their habitats that sustain Alaska Native cultures”. One of the priorities of the Ice Seal Committee was to Develop Hunter Education Programs and that is the focus of this student guide and accompanying workbook.
A regional meeting of the marine mammal hunting village representatives in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Region (Imarpigmiut Ungungssiit Murilkestiit) held in August 2004 requested a school education program to teach young hunters traditional hunting methods and hunting safety.
Times are changing; there are some young hunters without an experienced mentor to teach them seal hunting. There are young hunters that are not hunting safely or properly. The material presented in this student guide was passed along by experienced seal hunters who care about the way seals are hunted and want seal hunting continued by future generations.
The material within this guide is culturally and geographically relevant, interdisciplinary, and correlated with the AK State Education Content Standards. We hope that all educators will find this student guide and workbook useful for teaching required skills while recognizing the importance of traditional and cultural activities. Hopefully you will see kids bringing it home, maybe you will be invited to classrooms to do share your knowledge of seal hunting and hopefully it will encourage discussions and feedback in families and communities.
If you would like more information about this material please contact your local school or send me an email or phone call.
Mike Taras is a Wildlife Education and Outreach Specialist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. He lives in Fairbanks but supports ADF&G biologists throughout the Interior and Northeast part of the state. You can contact Mike at mike.taras@alaska.gov, 907-459-7230.

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Postal rate increases alarming for rural Alaska

3-6-09

by K.J. Lincoln

Postal rates are set to increase on May 11, 2009 across the country – and will dramatically affect rural Alaska which depends on bypass mail for groceries and other bulky items.
“Bypass mail is not an actual mail class and falls under the classification of Parcel Post,” says Steve Deaton, Network Operations Specialist for the Western Area DN, Seattle Branch/Anchorage. “Mail rates are increasing on May 11, 2009 across the country for all classes of mail, not just bypass mail here in Alaska.”
An example of the rate increase for a bypass mailing would be that an individual 30 lb box currently costs $11.54 to mail from Anchorage to Bethel. On May 11, 2009 it goes up to $15.37, if the proposed rates are put into effect. That is a 33% increase for that size.
The “Bypass” part of our mail refers to the fact that instead of a shipper taking the mail to the post office and the post office taking it to an air carrier, the shipper will take it directly to the air carrier thus “bypassing” the post office. Virtually all mail shipped bypass is shipped parcel post.
Previously there were three rates for parcel post machinable and non-machinable intra BMC and inter BMC. Most bypass mail right now is shipped as machinable intra-BMC, the lowest of all rates. The proposed rates will combine all the previous parcel post rates into one new rate. It appears that combining these rates crafts the rate increases so that it mainly affects rural Alaska – where bypass mail so widely depended upon.
The proposed rate increases will greatly impact all of rural Alaska and cause significant hardship. Rural Alaskans have been struggling with the high cost of fuel and food and cannot afford any increases in the Parcel Post and Bypass Mail rates, which will add to the cost of groceries.
The plight of villages, such as Emmonak and others, have been making headlines this past winter where folks were forced to choose between having to buy fuel or food, which are both very expensive in rural Alaska.
The Bethel City Council during a Special Meeting last Friday passed a resolution opposing the proposed increases in bypass and parcel post rates in rural Alaska.
Resolution 09-13 was introduced by Councilman Eric Middlebrook and passed unanimously. The resolution was submitted to the US Postal Service who has opened up the proposed rate hike to public comment.
The current rates and the proposed increased rates are listed on the website for the United States Postal Service. If you would like to read more about the rate changes go to: usps.com.
The period to send in comments regarding these significant increases in bypass mail rates closed on Monday, March 2, 2009.
The Bethel City Council resolution is as follows:
Resolution 09-13
A Resolution in Opposition to Proposed Increases in Bypass and Parcel Post
Rates in Rural Alaska
Whereas: The provision of goods by common carrier to Bethel and the YK Delta is essential to the economy of the region;
Whereas: The postal service currently provides a major part of this essential service, and thus is one of the underpinnings of the regional economy;
Whereas: The citizens of Bethel and the Y-K Delta have been hit with painfully high fuel and energy costs and are ill prepared or able to withstand another blow to the local economy;
Whereas: The proposed rate increases would lead to financial disaster in rural Alaska;
Whereas: The proposed rate increases of up to 30% or more for rural Alaska are much higher than the CPI;
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the City of Bethel is gravely concerned and strongly opposes the proposed rate increases to Parcel Post and Bypass mail services for Alaska.
Enacted this 27th day of February 2009, by a vote of 5 in favor and 0 opposed.

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Senator Begich speaks
on the Economic Stimulus Bill

2-24-09

by K.J. Lincoln

Newly-elected Senator Mark Begich made a visit to Bethel last Thursday. He met with various community leaders to speak about the Economic Stimulus Bill and what it has in store for Alaska and the YK Delta.
While making opening comments, the Senator conveyed that he has never been through a greater “whirlwind” than the past 8 weeks - the worst economic crisis the US has ever seen, 14 new senators, a new president, and the fact that he started 2 weeks late. He currently serves on the Senate Commerce, Armed Services, and the Veterans Committees.
Sen. Begich: The economic recovery bill is very solid in what was offered. I was the only one in the delegation who voted for it. 61 voted senators voted for it, one more than what was needed. Our economy needs a jolt. Alaska has 114 foreclosures, that’s it. California has 60,000 already and Florida is double that. We’re starting feel it individually through our retirement accounts. Alaska’s economy is in the highest level of unemployment in 4 years, the Economic Bill will give a push. In order to solve it, we have to put everything possible on this crisis to solve it.
We anticipate a billion dollars of potential dollars coming in to Alaska in a variety of sources. Some will be formula programs, competitive grants, and some will be delivered through BIA and other agencies.
This is new money - $320 million additional for Indian transportation funding, $135 million for Indian health services, $410 million for Indian health facilities. Aside to that there is another $2 billion for community health clinics and centers, $43 million for tribal energy efficiency block grants, and $7 billion nationwide for broadband for underserved or not served at all, which really is for Alaska is a huge opportunity.
For Alaska specific – there is $18 million for weatherization, $28 million for energy block grant, 20 million for the drinking water state revolving fund, 23 million for clean water, an additional 1.3 million for headstart, 2 million for child care centers, and $94 million for the state stabilization fund.
Each state is going to share a chunk of money. Our share is $94 million. A sizeable amount of that will go to education direct funding to local school districts in their formulas. Then there will be some discretionary monies for backstopping cuts that might be happening and construction and major maintenance. There’s some social service money – 1/2 million for senior meals programs, and $870,000 for domestic violence programs. There is money for public safety, not just for urban areas but for rural areas as well.
For western Alaska, it is a huge benefit. We have to expend this money in 180 days and produce jobs and have effective results and here’s why. I will tell you bluntly as a Senator back there (in DC) talking about Alaska issues. I would love to be sitting on the Senate floor in the fall reporting how we did with some of our money so then we can erase the “bridge to nowhere” problem, which still lingers among Senators. That will be a big task.
The process is, the Governor as of Tuesday, has 45 days to make the request for the money. I think it would be a mistake not to accept this money. We’re hopeful the Governor will say yes. If the Governor says no to any or all of it, we did put a clause in that allows the Legislature to override that. The Legislature, through a concurrent resolution, can say we will accept this money. And then it will go to local communities much faster. If other governors in other states do not want to take their money, that’s fine. It gets redistributed to us and every other state that accepts, so we don’t mind what they do. But we should take this money. The biggest concern that BIA and other agencies will have is systematic ability to get that money out. This is on top of the regular appropriations.
Myron Naneng: I really appreciate the effort that Congress is doing to get out the money for the economic stimulus. One of the things that has been happening in our region is that our economic stimulus is going away with the lack of commercial fishing that used to occur here on the river as well as on the Yukon. We understand you are sitting on the Senate Commerce Committee. We would like to request an oversight hearing on the Pollock bycatch issue of Chinook salmon. Last summer the price for king salmon on the Yukon was $5 a pound. That would have made a very big difference if the king salmon was available and was allowed .to be fished by the people. We wouldn’t have seen the press releases coming out of Emmonak saying that they have to make a choice between food and fuel because most of the money that they would have made off that king salmon would have gone to many of the groceries.
If one of our local fishermen throws any species of salmon into the river, they are getting a citation and they lose their equipment, their gear, and their boats, that they use to gather salmon to prepare for the winter. The trawler bycatch - there is no penalty. They can catch chinook and they don’t lose their gear. And there’s proposals in there with the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council that they want to have a hard cap of 68,000 chinook. Every king salmon that goes into the river system counts for our people, it is fully utilized.
The most restricted fishery that is occurring within our region is at the lower Yukon and also here on the Kuskokwim. We strongly recommend and urge you to call an oversight hearing. We have tried the last 10-15 years to bring this issue up. Yet, the people that seem to suffer the most are the ones on the river system. Last summer the subsistence fishery for Chinook was closed on the Yukon. Did the state of Alaska declare a fishery disaster? No. I spoke with the Fish and Wildlife and I asked them what’s your position on declaring a fishery disaster? Their response was, we sympathize with you, but the staff is saying there is no problem. We get sympathy but no action.
Tomorrow the Governor and Franklin Graham are traveling to Russian Mission and Marshall to address the issue of food vs. fuel. The basic income our people have had has been removed. Many of the people in Kotlik and Emmonak had anticipated using the king salmon fishery to make money during the summer. It affected not only those two villages, but the whole river system.
If things like imposing fishing windows for escapement are imposed on the people of lower Yukon, do they do that on the rest of the river? Not that we know of. It is our people on the lower Yukon who are bearing the burden of conservation.
Sen. Begich: I sit on three committees and Commerce is one of them. I will definitely bring this to them. They are very responsive so far.
Lamont Albertson: When will the detail that you shared with us be available to the public?
Sen. Begich: The material is available on recovery.gov. I am probably one of the few senators who read the bill. I actually read it. I spent the time because it talks about the elements of the programs. Susanne Fleek runs the state operations for us here. They are linked to us, they are in constant contact with our DC office. Our DC, Anchorage, Juneau, and Fairbanks offices will have video conferencing capacity and roaming systems.
Ana Hoffman: In the past there was a joint congressional office here. Are you going to open an office here in Bethel?
Sen. Begich: We did not do a joint office. We haven’t made that decision yet. If we do have a rural person, then they will be out in the villages. We want to make sure there is presence. We have a great working relationship, very positive between myself, Don Young, and Lisa Murkowski. We are all working together on Alaska issues. We meet together, we have lunch. We might not always agree but on Alaska issues, we’re 99.9%.
Dave Trantham: The citizens of this community got together and built a veterans cemetery here in Bethel without any federal or state assistance, I invite you to please visit the Bethel cemetery. Our 297th aviation group has been deployed 4 or 5 times already. Our national guard has been deployed and these folks are coming home. Bethel has a large number of veterans per capita, whatever you can do to provide these young veterans with information of what benefits they have I would greatly appreciate it.
Sen. Begich: In the economic bill there is some money for VA services. 11% of our population are veterans. But if you don’t have good troops because their families have issues or if they don’t have good benefits, you won’t have a good military.
Gary Baldwin: What about NCLB?
Sen. Begich: Honesty, I hate the bill. If there is no money, then there’s a problem even if the bill is a good bill. On this one, it will be the latter part of the year that we will start the movement on it. Right now it’s energy, two budget bills, and the housing crisis – that’s what the President says.
Sen. Lamont: Something else that has to be included in that bill is vocation education and workforce development
Sen. Begich: You’re absolutely right. There is some money for vocational ed in the bill.
Quyana!

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Native Author releases new
translation of book “Elnguq”

2-12-09

by K.J. Lincoln

In 2008, native author Anna Jacobsen released her newly translated book, “Elnguq”. Originally written in the Yup’ik language of southwestern Alaska, it is now available for English readers to read and enjoy.
The first version of Elnguq was published in 1990 through the Alaska Native Language Center’s Native Writers Project. It is based on the author’s childhood memories of growing up in the mountains on a tributary of the Kuskokwim River.
The English translations were done by Anna’s husband, linguist Steve Jacobsen with final editing done by both Anna and Steve.
According to the afterword in the book, Elnguq is a portrayal of a way of life typical of that of many Yup’ik Eskimos and other Alaska Natives not so long ago. The story is set after many things had changed due to first contact with Russians and then with Europeans. Christianity had been accepted but many traditional beliefs and practices still persisted. In the story, Elnguq – the main character, eats griddle cakes for breakfast, sets traps for squirrels, and wears both cloth and fur clothing. She lives with her four sisters and their parents. The family traveles by dogteam and arranged marriages are still common.
The story of Elnguq teaches many Yup’ik values and beliefs including the careful use of food, respect for animals, working hard to provide for the family’s needs, and of obedience to parents. Throughout the story, there are many instances where Yup’ik beliefs are shown regarding what is acceptable and unacceptable behavior for children.
Anna was born and spent her early childhood in the mid 1940’s in Iqsalleq, a small and now abandoned settlement on the Kwethluk River. Her parents, Tan’gurraq and Qess’aq, and her family lived a very traditional Yup’ik subsistence life. Anna spoke only Yup’ik and only occasionally saw people from outside her extended family.
In 1950, Anna and her family moved to Kwethluk where she attended BIA school, later she attended boarding school at Mt. Edgecumbe High School in Sitka. Upon graduating, she returned to Kwethluk. Shortly after, she took part in a BIA relocation program where she spent several years as a clerk-typist in Los Angeles. When she returned, she lived in the Bethel area for several years before going away to college in Fairbanks. She met and married her husband Steve Jacobsen in Fairbanks and has lived there ever since.
“From time to time I have worked as a writer, editor and translator of the Yup’ik language with UAF’s Alaska Native Language Center and others,” she said. “I started the novel Elnguq in Yup’ik in the 1970’s, with an interruption of over a dozen years while I was raising my children, Mary and Jacob.”
Elnguq may be the only work of fiction of its type, being written by a Yup’ik person in the Yup’ik language. Anna has dedicated her book to the memory of her father and mother.
“It gives a realistic portrayal of the wonderful Yup’ik childhood that I experienced,” said Anna. “I published the translation so that those people who don’t know Yup’ik will have access to the story.”
It is available for purchase for $16.70 which includes shipping and handling charges. To request a copy, you can write to Anna Jacobsen. Her address is P.O. Box 82849, Fairbanks, AK 99708.

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Bethel musher continues
to turn heads on trail

2-4-09

by Tommy Wells

Pete Kaiser continued to turn heads on the mushing circuit this past weekend. Fresh off a Rookie of the Year performance in the Kuskokwim Trail Sled Dog Race, Kaiser took his team of dogs to the Kenai Peninsula this past weekend and did what few though he could. He posted his second top 10 finish in a major Iditarod Trail qualifier.
The 21-year-old son of Ron and Janet Kaiser, he followed up his sixth-place mark in the K300 by finishing fourth in the final standings of the Tustumena 200 on Sunday afternoon.
Kaiser highlighted a strong showing with a solid effort over the final 100 miles of the race. He passed Iditarod veteran Ken Anderson between the Caribou Lake and Oil Well Pad checkpoints early Sunday morning before sprinting to the finish line at the Clam Gulch Lodge. He finished the race with 11 dogs in harness.
Kaiser was among the race leaders from the start. After starting third on Saturday, he sped over the first 25 miles of the race, reaching the races first checkpoint in a time of 1 hour, 46 minutes. He entered the checkpoint with the fourth fastest time.
Kaiser didn’t slow down from there. He reached the Oil Well Pad checkpoint several hours later, checking in at No. 5 in the standings at 7:39 p.m.
Lance Mackey, Cim Smyth, Jessica Hendricks and Anderson led the former Bogus Creek 150 and Akiak Dash champion into the checkpoint.
Kaiser maintained his pace from there. He checked into the Clam Shell checkpoint – the race’s midway mark – at 9:44 p.m. and in fifth place. He took his mandatory 8-hour layover at the Clam Shell site.
Anderson managed to leapfrog Kaiser coming out of the Clam Shell checkpoint, pushing the Bethel upstart to sixth overall. Anderson, who placed 4th in the recent K300, still has a loose dog missing in Bethel since the race. Anderson’s heroics didn’t pay off, however. With 11 dogs still in harness, Kaiser tracked down and passed Anderson heading into the Caribou Lake checkpoint on the inbound leg.
His effort at running down Anderson left Kaiser within striking distance of third place. He entered the Caribou Lake checkpoint just nine minutes behind Jon Little for fourth place, and only an hour behind Hendricks for third.
Smyth won Tustumena 200 crown. He finished the race just two minutes ahead of Mackey.

Reading helps build language

by Elizabeth Ulak

My name is Panicualler from Scammon Bay. My grandparents Cupluar and Tan’gaucuar Ulak raised me. I am the Traditional Counselor for the SECEL program at YKHC. One of my duties is to develop and train parents and early childhood providers with traditional Yup’ik parenting techniques that will support the social and emotional health of our Yup’ik children.
For many years, before the coming of strangers to our land, our Yup’ik cultural traditions and knowledge provided us with the skills to survive. A tradition of our past and present is sharing. Share not only your food, but also your wisdom and experiences. This is a time for each of you to spend quality time with your child or children and share your individual values, beliefs, and experiences.
I believe that parenting begins in the heart, not the head. I cannot teach people to do things they do not feel. There are seven ways to build your baby’s brainpower. They are touch, talk, read, smile, sing, count, and play.
I will focus on reading. Reading helps build the language of a child. It stimulates the brain to retain information. If you tell the same story over and over, it may seem boring to you, but not to children. They will learn through constant repetition and this experience will set neutral connections in the brain. A child whose parents have read to her for only ten minutes a day from six months on has a brain that has received over 300 hours of this type of stimulation by kindergarten.
One of our Yup’ik traditions is to tell stories. Storytelling is another good way to develop your child’s brain. Children and adults love to hear stories. When I listen to stories, it makes me feel valued. I would like to share with you a Yup’ik story taken from Paul John’s Stories for Future Generations. It was translated by Sophie Shield and edited by Ann Fienup-Riordan. This story is called I Have Eaten My Mother. The story is rarely heard these days.
Long ago, when I first became aware of life, they used to tell the story about the one who ate his mother. They say his face and head were human, but his torso was that of a ciissiq, (insect or crawling thing). His face was that of a human being. He had a mouth that reached his ears, his mouth was that wide.
So, back when people believed in angalkut, or “shamans”, one of the angalkut caused an adolescent girl to have a child who looked like that.
And so, when her father asked an angalkuq to work his powers on her, (to make her pregnant), another angalkuq told her not to be ashamed of the child when it was born and to show it to people around her. He told her that if she allowed other people to see him, no matter what he looked like, he wouldn’t become dangerous. What he said turned out to be true. That angalkuq had told her what to do in vain.
She was an adolescent girl with no husband. An angalkuq had used his powers to make her pregnant with a baby that looked like that. When he was born, his mother hid herself from view with some woven grass mats. She had him and never allowed her parents to see the baby. She never even allowed her mother to see the baby, though she wanted to see him. She always hid herself from view.
Since she was living with her parents, sleeping right across from them, she always hid her child. And whenever she was nursing him, whenever he made sucking noises from the other side, her mother would try to peek through without her knowledge, but she always fed him with her back turned from the partition. He was beginning to grow, and his grandmother never saw him.
One night her parents woke up to hear the one on the other side making slurping and crackling noises. Since her mother thought it was strange and was curious about it, she went across and peeked through the holes of the woven grass mat and noticed that he had already eaten one side of her chest and intestines. That child was eating its mother, starting from her breast. He would make a loud cracking noise whenever he chewed. They say his teeth were all sharp, pointy eyeteeth. They say he had a mouth that reached his ears.
Elizabeth Ulak is a Traditional Counselor for SECEL. Part 2 will be printed in the next issue of The Delta Discovery, quyana.

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Energy committee to hold hearing in Bethel

2-4-09

by Rep. Bob Herron

KALSKAG SCHOOL FIRE
As many are already aware, the Kalskag school caught fire and burned to the ground on January 28th; it was the second time in 13 years. The response to this tragedy by the region has been quick, and I am heartened by the willingness of our communities to roll up their sleeves and find solutions. Three neighboring school districts are helping to provide curriculum materials and other assistance. At the time of writing, it appears likely the district will have double-shifts at the elementary school so that they will not have to extend the school year. The school was insured, so funds for replacement construction should be forthcoming. I will continue to monitor this situation closely and do all I can to help.
VISITORS FROM THE DISTRICT
I was pleased to welcome three visitors from Akiak on January 28th: Mayor Debra Jackson, Vice-Mayor Olinka Jones, and former Representative Ivan M. Ivan. They were in town to discuss capital improvement projects for Akiak.
Bethel Mayor Tiffany Zulkosky and City Council member Thor Williams were down the week of January 26th for the Alaska Municipal League conference. They stopped by my office to discuss budget priorities for the city. Joel Bowles of the Bethel Family Clinic stopped by on January 29.
It has been a pleasure to welcome these folks to our office, and I encourage anyone who is in Juneau to pay us a visit. That said, I realize that most cannot spare the time or expense for a face to face visit, and I want to encourage anyone to feel free to give me or my staff a call at anytime on our toll free line: 1-800-323-4942.
ENERGY COMMITTEE COMING TO BETHEL
The newly created House Special Committee on Energy is planning hearings in Bethel and Dillingham on February 28th and March 1 respectively. I am excited that this important committee has chosen to visit our area, which suffers from the high price of energy more than most other parts of the state.
HOUSE HEALTH & SOCIAL SERVICES COMMITTEE
We have hit the ground running in the Health and Social Services committee as we look to find solutions to the lack of accessible, affordable healthcare in our communities. We face serious challenges in recruiting and retaining quality health care providers, as well as in providing satisfactory access to health care. We must support our Community Health Centers and utilize the wealth of talent within our communities to find solutions.
HOUSE COMMUNITY AND REGIONAL AFFAIRS COMMITTEE
The Community and Regional Affairs Committee has also had a busy week. On January 22nd, we heard a Dept. of Community, Commerce & Economic Development overview from Commissioner Emil Notti and Deputy Commissioner Michael Black. On January 27th, we heard overviews from Alaska Municipal League Executive Director Kathie Wasserman, and the State Chamber of Commerce President / CEO Wayne Stevens. Probably the week of February 9th we will be hearing HB 74, the Coastal Management Plan, which I will discuss in more detail in a later newsletter.
FINANCE SUBCOMMITTESS
Finance Subcommittees have begun to convene; I am looking forward to the work to be done. There are different interpretations of the budget, but Legislative Finance says the Governor’s request increases the Operating Budget by $132.2 million. The Legislature’s Finance Subcommittees will be taking a very close look at the Governor’s additional funding requests. Please make sure that all capital and operating budget requests are in to our office as soon as possible.

Joint Military Team gears
up for Operation Arctic Care

by Matt Grills

Medical and dental personnel from the U.S. military will begin arriving in Western Alaska on March 3 for Operation Arctic Care, a medical outreach mission that brings health care and veterinary services to the state’s most remote villages.
During this year’s deployment, March 6 through 18, nearly 200 members of the Navy, Marine Corps, Army, Air Force, National Guard and reserve components will test their ability to work as a joint team while providing health care and health education to 11 communities that have limited access to both.
“Arctic Care ’09 will be exciting, challenging and rewarding for all those participating,” said Navy Capt. Patty Reisdorfer, lead planner. “Members are anxiously waiting to bring their medical expertise to this exercise. Hopefully, Mother Nature will cooperate with the weather, and air transportation with the Alaska Army National Guard Black Hawks will be a success.”
Operation Arctic Care 2009 will happen in cooperation with and under the supervision of the Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation. Teams comprised of medical, dental, optometry, nursing and veterinary personnel will be deployed to the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta villages of Alakanuk, Atmautluak, Chevak, Hooper Bay, Kalskag, Kwethluk, Kwigillingok, Mountain Village, Newtok, Quinhagak and Toksook Bay. Additional services will include mental health, audiology, and physical therapy support.
Civilian medical services within Bethel will also include pediatric oral surgery, gynecology, and colonoscopy teams operating at the YKHC hospital.
By the military providing on-site care, the need is reduced for individuals to travel to Bethel for treatment. Travel is extremely limited for residents living in communities that fall below the poverty level. At the same time, the military strengthens its medical readiness and logistics capability by traveling to these villages – in this case, planning and executing localized deployments by Black Hawk helicopters.
While in Bethel, military personnel who deploy will be housed at the Alaska National Guard Armory.
Operation Arctic Care rotates to different areas of rural Alaska each year. Last year’s mission was performed in Kodiak and six of the island borough’s villages. Over a period of 10 days, military health-care providers treated 127 medical patients and 188 dental patients, made 232 pairs of glasses on site, certified 42 students in CPR and vaccinated 422 animals.
Operation Arctic Care is an annual training event sponsored by the Innovative Readiness Training program under the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs.
1st Class Matt Grills is the Mass Communication Specialist for Operation Arctic Care Public Affairs.

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Bethel musher continues
to turn heads on trail

2-4-09

by Tommy Wells

Pete Kaiser continued to turn heads on the mushing circuit this past weekend. Fresh off a Rookie of the Year performance in the Kuskokwim Trail Sled Dog Race, Kaiser took his team of dogs to the Kenai Peninsula this past weekend and did what few though he could. He posted his second top 10 finish in a major Iditarod Trail qualifier.
The 21-year-old son of Ron and Janet Kaiser, he followed up his sixth-place mark in the K300 by finishing fourth in the final standings of the Tustumena 200 on Sunday afternoon.
Kaiser highlighted a strong showing with a solid effort over the final 100 miles of the race. He passed Iditarod veteran Ken Anderson between the Caribou Lake and Oil Well Pad checkpoints early Sunday morning before sprinting to the finish line at the Clam Gulch Lodge. He finished the race with 11 dogs in harness.
Kaiser was among the race leaders from the start. After starting third on Saturday, he sped over the first 25 miles of the race, reaching the races first checkpoint in a time of 1 hour, 46 minutes. He entered the checkpoint with the fourth fastest time.
Kaiser didn’t slow down from there. He reached the Oil Well Pad checkpoint several hours later, checking in at No. 5 in the standings at 7:39 p.m.
Lance Mackey, Cim Smyth, Jessica Hendricks and Anderson led the former Bogus Creek 150 and Akiak Dash champion into the checkpoint.
Kaiser maintained his pace from there. He checked into the Clam Shell checkpoint – the race’s midway mark – at 9:44 p.m. and in fifth place. He took his mandatory 8-hour layover at the Clam Shell site.
Anderson managed to leapfrog Kaiser coming out of the Clam Shell checkpoint, pushing the Bethel upstart to sixth overall. Anderson, who placed 4th in the recent K300, still has a loose dog missing in Bethel since the race. Anderson’s heroics didn’t pay off, however. With 11 dogs still in harness, Kaiser tracked down and passed Anderson heading into the Caribou Lake checkpoint on the inbound leg.
His effort at running down Anderson left Kaiser within striking distance of third place. He entered the Caribou Lake checkpoint just nine minutes behind Jon Little for fourth place, and only an hour behind Hendricks for third.
Smyth won Tustumena 200 crown. He finished the race just two minutes ahead of Mackey.

Reading helps build language

by Elizabeth Ulak

My name is Panicualler from Scammon Bay. My grandparents Cupluar and Tan’gaucuar Ulak raised me. I am the Traditional Counselor for the SECEL program at YKHC. One of my duties is to develop and train parents and early childhood providers with traditional Yup’ik parenting techniques that will support the social and emotional health of our Yup’ik children.
For many years, before the coming of strangers to our land, our Yup’ik cultural traditions and knowledge provided us with the skills to survive. A tradition of our past and present is sharing. Share not only your food, but also your wisdom and experiences. This is a time for each of you to spend quality time with your child or children and share your individual values, beliefs, and experiences.
I believe that parenting begins in the heart, not the head. I cannot teach people to do things they do not feel. There are seven ways to build your baby’s brainpower. They are touch, talk, read, smile, sing, count, and play.
I will focus on reading. Reading helps build the language of a child. It stimulates the brain to retain information. If you tell the same story over and over, it may seem boring to you, but not to children. They will learn through constant repetition and this experience will set neutral connections in the brain. A child whose parents have read to her for only ten minutes a day from six months on has a brain that has received over 300 hours of this type of stimulation by kindergarten.
One of our Yup’ik traditions is to tell stories. Storytelling is another good way to develop your child’s brain. Children and adults love to hear stories. When I listen to stories, it makes me feel valued. I would like to share with you a Yup’ik story taken from Paul John’s Stories for Future Generations. It was translated by Sophie Shield and edited by Ann Fienup-Riordan. This story is called I Have Eaten My Mother. The story is rarely heard these days.
Long ago, when I first became aware of life, they used to tell the story about the one who ate his mother. They say his face and head were human, but his torso was that of a ciissiq, (insect or crawling thing). His face was that of a human being. He had a mouth that reached his ears, his mouth was that wide.
So, back when people believed in angalkut, or “shamans”, one of the angalkut caused an adolescent girl to have a child who looked like that.
And so, when her father asked an angalkuq to work his powers on her, (to make her pregnant), another angalkuq told her not to be ashamed of the child when it was born and to show it to people around her. He told her that if she allowed other people to see him, no matter what he looked like, he wouldn’t become dangerous. What he said turned out to be true. That angalkuq had told her what to do in vain.
She was an adolescent girl with no husband. An angalkuq had used his powers to make her pregnant with a baby that looked like that. When he was born, his mother hid herself from view with some woven grass mats. She had him and never allowed her parents to see the baby. She never even allowed her mother to see the baby, though she wanted to see him. She always hid herself from view.
Since she was living with her parents, sleeping right across from them, she always hid her child. And whenever she was nursing him, whenever he made sucking noises from the other side, her mother would try to peek through without her knowledge, but she always fed him with her back turned from the partition. He was beginning to grow, and his grandmother never saw him.
One night her parents woke up to hear the one on the other side making slurping and crackling noises. Since her mother thought it was strange and was curious about it, she went across and peeked through the holes of the woven grass mat and noticed that he had already eaten one side of her chest and intestines. That child was eating its mother, starting from her breast. He would make a loud cracking noise whenever he chewed. They say his teeth were all sharp, pointy eyeteeth. They say he had a mouth that reached his ears.
Elizabeth Ulak is a Traditional Counselor for SECEL. Part 2 will be printed in the next issue of The Delta Discovery, quyana.

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2009 Conference of Young Alaskans

1-9-09

After review of numerous applications, the Conference of Young Alaskans 2009 – a pool of 55 of Alaska’s finest young people – has been selected. The group represents a diverse group of men and women ranging in age from 16 to 25 years old. Twenty of them are high school students, 16 are attending college, and the rest are currently employed. The group represents all geographic regions of Alaska with 23 coming from Anchorage, Fairbanks and Juneau. Smaller communities and remote villages are home to the rest of the participants.
There are two delegates from Bethel, Andrea Sanders and Jovan Dull and one from Nightmute, Lydia Agnus.
Kicking off Alaska’s second fifty years of statehood, the group met Jan. 3-6, 2009, at the Hotel Alyeska in Girdwood to delve into the issues that are important to them and issues that are affecting the state and nation. Many of the successful applicants participated in the Forum of Young Alaskans, held in Anchorage in early October 2008. They completed an extensive application process and wrote an essay in which they articulated their vision of Alaska in the coming 50 years. Core themes, such as renewable energy resources, education, health care, and sustainable subsistence lifestyles, were discussed by many of the applicants, and some addressed unique perspective on young Alaskans’ role in the future.
The group will develop policy statements and proposed courses of action. The delegates will represent the voice of Alaska’s next generation of leaders and the gathering demonstrated the potential and possibility of Alaskans putting aside their differences to work together for the common good. Several Alaska government, business and education leaders will address the group and engage the youth in dialogue. Among those scheduled to participate was Bethel Mayor Tiffany Zulkosky.
The Conference of Young Alaskans, a University of Alaska Eight Stars of Gold legacy project in honor of Alaska’s 50th Anniversary of Statehood, was designed to promote discussion among young Alaskans from around the state. For more information, visit http://youngalaskans.org.

Our Alaska Constitution
The Next 50 Years

On Jan. 9, 2009, the University of Alaska Anchorage Justice Center, American Civil Liberties Union of Alaska and the University of Alaska Eight Stars of Gold Project will come together to offer a special evening event to celebrate 50 years of Alaska’s statehood and our unique Alaska Constitution. The celebration will take place from 7 to 9 p.m. in the UAA Fine Arts Building, Room 150.
The program includes a keynote address by Juneau Mayor and former Alaska Attorney General Bruce Botelho and a panel presentation, “At the Constitutional Convention,” with Vic Fischer, Katie Hurley, Arliss Sturgulewski and Douglas Pope. Rhonda McBride will moderate the event.
The event will also feature performances by the Anchorage Concert Chorus, Lepquinm Gumilgit Gagoadim Tsimshian Dancers and readings from the Constitutional Convention by Bartlett High School students.
Simultaneous teleconference connections with Barrow, Bethel, Dillingham, Fairbanks, Homer, Juneau, Ketchikan, Kotzebue, Nome and Sitka will allow audience participation from around the state. The Bethel location for this teleconference will be at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, Kuskokwim Campus, Room 135.

NOAA determines Ribbon Seals should not be listed as endangered

NOAA announced last week that ribbon seals qasrulget are not in current danger of extinction or likely to become endangered in the foreseeable future, and should not be listed under the Endangered Species Act.
On Dec. 20, 2007, the Center for Biological Diversity petitioned NOAA’s Fisheries Service to list the ribbon seal under the Endangered Species Act. The petition said the seal faced extinction by the end of the century due to rapid melting of sea ice resulting from global warming. Sea-ice in the Bering Sea, Sea of Okhotsk, Sea of Japan, Chukchi Sea, and Beaufort Sea is the seal’s primary habitat. The announcement is the result of NOAA’s review of this petition and the condition of the ribbon seal.
From March to June, ribbon seals use sea ice. As the ice melts during May and June, the seals haul out along the receding ice edge or in remnant patches of ice. Once the annual ice melts, most ribbon seals either migrate through the Bering Strait into the Chukchi Sea or remain in the open water of the Bering Sea during the rest of the year.
Although the number of ribbon seals is difficult to estimate accurately, scientists believe that at least 200,000 ribbon seals inhabit the Bering Sea and the Sea of Okhotsk.
Commercial hunting for ribbon seals is prohibited in the United States. Alaska Natives take a small number—fewer than 200--each year for subsistence. Russia allows a harvest of ribbon seals, but there is currently no organized harvest industry and the number of seals taken is likely to be very low.
NOAA understands and predicts changes in the Earth’s environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and conserves and manages our coastal and marine resources. Visit http://www.noaa.gov.

Gov. Palin welcomes
first grandchild

Governor Sarah Palin has welcomed her first grandchild, Tripp Easton Mitchell Johnston, born to Bristol Palin and Levi Johnston on December 27.
“We are over the moon with the arrival of this healthy, beautiful baby,” Governor Palin said. “The road ahead for this young couple will not be easy, but nothing worthwhile is ever easy. Bristol and Levi are committed to accomplish what millions of other young parents have accomplished, to provide a loving and secure environment for their child. They are both hard workers, they’re very strong, and have faith they’ve made the right decision in setting aside their own interests to make this child their highest priority.”
Palin added, “When Bristol and Levi first told us the shocking news that she was pregnant, to be honest, we all at first looked at the situation with some fear and a bit of despair. Isn’t it just like God to turn those circumstances into such an amazing, joyful blessing when you ask Him to help you through?”
Bristol Palin said she “obviously discourages” teen pregnancy and knows that plans she previously made for herself will now forever be changed. “Teenagers need to prevent pregnancy to begin with – this isn’t ideal. But I’m fortunate to have a supportive family which is dealing with this together. Tripp is so perfectly precious; we love him with all our hearts. I can’t imagine life without him now.”
Bristol begins her final semester of high school next week where she’ll get her last credit needed to graduate. She looks forward to continuing her record of good grades and high achievement. Levi is continuing his online high school work in addition to working as an electrical apprentice on the North Slope.
Bill McAllister, the governor’s office communications director, adds: “The governor’s office previously declined to comment to honor the family’s wishes that the event remain as private as possible. However, the high volume of press inquiries, along with some erroneous information that was published, prompted the governor to make a statement.”

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First US-trained Dental Health Aide Therapists graduate

12-22-08

This event is to recognize the nation’s first ten US trained Dental Health Aide Therapist students. It celebrates the graduation of four students who have completed the full two-year training (one year each in Anchorage and Bethel). Upon certification, these four Alaska graduates will join ten Dental Health Aide Therapists who trained in New Zealand and are now already practicing in rural Alaska.
These four students, who will be receiving certificates of completion, are Danielle Boston of Chistochina, Christopher Evan of Russian Mission, Daniel Kennedy of Klawock, and Sheena Nelson of Yakutat.
The event also celebrates the transition of six students who have completed the one-year Anchorage-based training and are headed to the Yuut Elitnaurviat (people’s learning center) Dental Training Clinic in Bethel for their second year of training. These students are Tatiana Barraclough of Atka; Bernadette Charles of Mountain Village; Tambre Guido, sponsored by YKHC; Ooyuan Nagaruk of Elim; Marian Petla of New Stuyahok; and Ben Steward of Seward.
The first year of training includes pre-clinical courses and patient care. During the second year, students begin to manage their own patients under the guidance of a dentist. After graduating from the program, students must also successfully complete a 400-hour preceptorship before they can be recommended for certification by the Community Health Aide Program Certification Board.
A note on the significance of this event
Although more than 50 countries worldwide recognize Dental Therapists as integral members of their dental workforce, the Alaska Tribal Health System is the first entity in the United States to successfully introduce this type of dental provider.
Monday, January 16, 2007, was not only Martin Luther King Day, but the start of the Dental Health Aide Therapist training center. Based in Anchorage, the training center was created by the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium and University of Washington DENTEX program.
Controversy surrounded the program, including a lawsuit to bring it to a halt. Thus, it seemed fitting that the program launched on a day commemorating a man who surmounted serious controversy and numerous challenges to achieve great success.
Before the Alaska center opened, Dental Health Aide Therapist students traveled to New Zealand for their training. Costs and attrition were high, and traveling so far from home was hard on the students. Training in Alaska made more sense.
Special thanks and deep appreciation go to the ANTHC staff who worked with staff from the University Of Washington School Of Medicine’s MEDEX Northwest Physician Assistant Training Program to begin the Alaska DHAT training program.
This graduation will mark another historic day in the US and a clear victory for the people of rural Alaska who will benefit from the services provided by these four new DHATs. This victory is possible because tribal leadership came together to create a local solution to a local problem. It is also possible because of positive partnerships with academic leaders such as the University of Washington, the University of Kentucky and the University of Alaska Anchorage, and partnerships with forward thinking funders like Kellogg Foundation, Rasmuson Foundation, Murdock Charitable Foundation, Bethel Community Services Foundation, Paul G. Allen Foundation, and the Denali Commission.
Thank you and congratulations to all who have stayed the course and seen this meaningful and valuable program to a successful beginning.
When: 2:00 p.m., Friday December 12
Where: Conference Rooms 1 & 2, Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC) 400 Ambassador Drive (west of Alaska Native Medical Center, accessible via Elmore Drive)
What: Keynote Address: Anthony Brusca, DDS, DENTEX Faculty
Presentations by: Ron Nagel, DDS, MPH, ANTHC Dental Consultant; Ruth Ballweg, MPA, PA-C, Program Dir., Univ.of Washington, School of Medicine; Mary Williard, DDS, Clinical Site Director, DENTEX Training Center; Don Kashevaroff, ANTHC CEO.

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Hunters support opening
Unit 18 for moose hunting

12-4-08

by K.J. Lincoln

It has been five years since the moose moratorium in the lower Kuskokwim area of Unit 18 came into effect and now the Lower Kuskokwim Fish and Game Advisory Committee has voted to propose a moose hunt in Unit 18 during the Fall 2009 season.
The moose moratorium was the major focus of discussion during the advisory committee’s meeting on November 20 and 21 in Bethel. An overwhelming majority of the approximately 40+ people who showed up at the meeting on Thursday night to voice their feelings on whether or not to open Unit 18 for a moose hunt, were in support of a limited opening.
Many remembered that the agreed upon decision regarding the moose moratorium was 1000 moose or 5 years – whichever came first, and expressed their thoughts vehemently in Yup’ik and in English.
“The advisory board decided 5 years and no more,” said board member John Nicholas of Kasigluk. “We’ve reached our goal, don’t extend the moratorium.”
“My people are looking forward to hunting moose,” said Ivan M. Ivan of Akiak.
“Five years ago we went along with the moratorium plan,” said James Nicori of Kwethluk. “We didn’t agree on 2 more years. Our village is going to ask for a moose hunt this year.”
Petitions supporting the lifting of the moratorium were being signed in the villages of Kwethluk, Nunapitchuk, and Atmautluak. Representatives from the villages of Kwethluk, Akiak, and Akiachak combined forces to put together a Special Action Request to open a limited moose hunt for subsistence in 2009. The group created a resolution, which was submitted to the Office of Subsistence Management.
The board also heard concern that with the high cost of fuel, transportation expenses to hunt elsewhere would be a hardship.
“People don’t want to spend gas to go upriver,” said Advisory Board Chairman James Charles. “When it opens, people will want to hunt in their traditional hunting areas.”
Another concern regarding the moratorium was that the younger generation was getting impatient to hunt after waiting compliantly during the five year closure. Others said that they do not want to lose the moose to predation and that there have been signs of wolves.
Greg Roczicka, representing the Orutsararmiut Native Council, asked the council to proceed with caution.
“We have to be very careful,” he said. “We don’t want to go right back down to crumbs.”
Are there enough moose in the moratorium area to support a hunt?
Moose surveys conducted by Fish & Game estimated 1000 moose, said Fish & Game Wildlife Area Manager Phillip Perry.
“It is a good estimate of the area,” he said.
Many testified that they have seen moose while out and about during their subsistence and gathering activities in the vicinity of their villages, in the tributaries of the Kuskokwim, and at their summer camps.
Unit 18 has excellent habitat for moose, said Perry. In the winter the moose eat willow, birch, aspen, and cottonwood. Their bodies are able to digest that food and that is what is found here in the moratorium area.
“As long as there is some winter feed, they do well,” he said.
The Advisory Council will send in a proposal to the Alaska Board of Game for a Fall 2009 hunt. The specifics of the proposal for the upcoming hunt, if approved, have not yet been determined.
“Our opinion is that we should keep the harvest to 75 bull moose in the first year, which is 15% of the bull population. That should allow for good bull to cow ratios and high growth,” said Perry. “That is what our recommendation will be to the Board.”
The Alaska Board of Game will meet in Anchorage on February 27 – March 8th, 2009. During that meeting, if they choose to act, is when they will make a decision regarding the opening of the moratorium in Unit 18.
“We would know for sure after March 10th if there will be a season,” Perry said

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Harlem All Stars hold
fundraiser for Swimming Pool

11-20-08

by Beverly Hoffman

The bleachers at the Bethel High School gym were packed Monday night, November 10th for an evening of basketball and lots of laughs as the Harlem All Stars Comedy Basketball team hit the court in a fundraiser for the Y/K Delta Lifesavers Swimming pool fund.
At the end of the two hour show which included spoofs with the audience, referees Axel Moses & Jimmy David and opposing players, everyone left the gym with smiles.
The fundraiser brought in $7,630.
Not bad for something that started with a cab ride and peanut butter Jelly sandwiches. The Harlem All-stars were on their way to a performance in Goodnews Bay sponsored by their Traditional council.
A chance encounter with visitor Wendy Acosta in a cab on Saturday started the ball rolling. The group asked Acosta where they could get a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Acosta brought them to Keri Fulton’s home. Fulton is part of a City Recreation sub-committee working on the recreation facility. They fixed them their sandwiches and conversation turned to Bethel’s efforts to get a pool and recreation facility. Jeff Moore, manager player for the Harlem All-Stars said if Bethel could pull it off with the performance fee they could do a show in Bethel for the Y/K Delta Lifesaver Fund.
Within twenty-four hours the fee was raised, referees and volunteers found, a co-ed team of Bethel ball players put together, the word had gone out and the response was beyond everyone’s imagination.
The Harlem All Stars added Bethel High School girls’ coach Danielle Dizon and Thomas Oscar to their team of four talented jokesters which included ex-Harlem Globetrotters Jeff Moore and Sam Allen, Wayne Ellis and LeBetton Thornton. The Bethel team included Kathleen “Little Girl” Naneng, Roxanne Saddler, Peter Evon, Warren Nicolai, Tom Angaiak, Mike Chung, Luke Vanasse, Charles “Mister” Laraux and Pat O’Brien.
Thornton who is know for his big dunks could only pull off one to wow the crowds. A back injury in Goodnews slowed the dunks down but not the fun. Throughout the game the Harlem All Stars were up in the stands causing laughter as they teased fans at random.
Despite a great effort by Bethel, it was the Harlem All Stars on top 89 to 80. Wayne Ellis with 30 points and Jeff Moore with 21 led the All Star effort. Bethel’s Luke Vanasse put in 24 team points followed by Charles Laraux with 13 points.
Moore said in interviews that they were happy to help Bethel out.
Moore stated, “Kids & families need to have a gym to go to and somewhere to teach kids how to swim. It’s better than hanging out in the streets and getting into trouble.” He added that they would love to come back to Southwestern Alaska again.
Organizers would like to thank Bethel High School for the gym, all the volunteers, and Suite 881 and Allanivik Hotel for accommodations. The performance fee was paid by donations from T & H Leveling, Kuskokwim Wilderness Adventures, Casey’s Carpets, Bethel Drilling & Welding, The Lumber Yard, Top Fuel, Faulkner Walsh, Luke & Amy Vanasse, Dan Osentoksi, Isa Frederick & family, Ron McElwee, Shorty’s Shop, Ed’s Automotive, Shogun and Southwest Fuel.
The next fundraiser for the swimming pool fund will be the Y/K Delta Lifesaver’s annual Christmas Cookie Extravaganza in December. The date will be announced.
For additional information please contact Beverly Hoffman at 543-3239.

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Mellon pledges $700,000 to increase Alaska Native Ph.D.s

11-5-08

Theresa John of Toksook Bay is a Mellon Fellowship recipient. Her dissertation is "Yuraryaraput Kangiit-llu: Our Way of Dance and Their Meanings."

The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has pledged $700,000 to the University of Alaska Fairbanks over the next five years to provide financial support to students in the dissertation writing phase of their doctoral programs. The aim of this gift is to increase the number of Native students earning doctoral degrees.
“The Mellon Foundation’s total commitment to eradicating disparities in our Ph.D. faculty and students goes beyond benefiting UAF,” said Chancellor Steve Jones. “This is an opportunity that impacts our entire state, because educational attainment is closely related to economic and political prosperity for Native peoples. We are proud of our convergent goals and of the strong partnership we share with the Mellon Foundation.”
The “Dissertation Fellowship Program for Alaska Native Scholars and Others Committed to the Advancement of Indigenous Alaskan History and Culture” will fund up to four competitive graduate fellowships for doctoral students in the dissertation-writing phase this fall. Recipients are eligible to receive a $30,000 stipend, research and travel funds in addition to tuition and fees.
“This is extremely important in having a national foundation support Alaska Native education, especially in a public institution,” said Bernice Joseph, vice chancellor for rural, community and Native education.
The academic and public benefits will be especially apparent in the areas of language, culture and leadership, said Joseph. “To be able to have public materials, articles and [a] curriculum that are focused on Alaska Natives from an Alaska Native point of view would be incredible.”
“The Mellon Foundation’s thoughtful gift allows UAF to become a national leader in assisting scholars interested in the advancement of Indigenous Alaskan history and culture to complete their doctoral degrees” said Bryan Brayboy, president’s professor of education at UAF, and a member of the program’s advisory board. The need for programs like this is vital across the United States where there is significant under-representation of indigenous peoples on the faculties of colleges and universities, and UAF is no exception, said Brayboy. In Alaska, Native peoples comprise close to 20 percent of the state’s population and 16 percent of the student body, but they hold only three percent of faculty positions. Lack of educational credentials is often cited as contributing to this scarcity.
With this support from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, UAF is poised to increase not only the number of Alaska Native students who graduate with doctoral degrees, but to address the underlying social, economic and educational factors that have been shown to inhibit completion of the dissertation. In doing so, UAF has the opportunity to assist rural Native communities in Alaska in meeting their educational, economic and political goals.
The award was preceded by a $40,000 planning grant provided by the Mellon Foundation in 2007. In addition to funding from Mellon, the program is also supported by $500,000 in matching funds from UAF, plus additional fundraising.
Professional development opportunities for fellowship students will focus on sessions to learn how to prepare for conference presentations, grant-writing and writing for publication, successfully completing doctoral dissertations, as well as the tenure and promotion process. The program will also offer mentoring activities in indigenous studies and leadership, and salary support for the program’s faculty members.
The funding is designed to provide support to increase the number of Alaska Native faculty members. Andrew W. Mellon Foundation’s grant-making philosophy is to build, strengthen and sustain institutions and their core capacities, developing long-term collaborations with grant recipients to accomplish their goals and achieve meaningful results.