Budget Hearing
Dear Editor: Sitkans! Please reserve some time Sunday afternoon!
Your opinion about Gov. Dunleavy’s proposed budget will be heard Sunday, March 24 (2 to 5 p.m.) at Centennial Hall. Rep Dan Ortiz, House Finance Committee member, will be there to hear your views on the budget.
Huge CUTS (ranging from 10 to 75 percent) to ferries, health care, public safety, education and many other essential government services have been proposed by Governor Dunleavy and his Koch Brothers-sponsored colleagues.
Not only quality of education, or health care, or public safety – but many other services are impacted by this radical, Libertarian budget. The economic impact on our local/Sitka economy will be drastic. Please come and speak up for Sitka, for our economy, our schools, our ferry system, for our quality of life.
You don’t have to testify, your presence will speak loud and clear about Sitkans concerns about these drastic cuts. Bring a friend or family member. Remember – Centennial Hall, Sunday, March 24, from 2 to 5 p.m.
Harvey Brandt, Sitka
Herring Subsistence
Dear Editor (and Tribal Citizens): On behalf of Sitka Tribe of Alaska, I would like to first and foremost, thank you for supporting Sitka Tribe of Alaska’s battle to protect the herring subsistence and traditional way of gathering. With your support we are hopeful in our efforts and wish to sustain our ability to naturally harvest herring and eggs for generations to come.
Despite our uphill court battle, herring harvest season is right around the corner. Herring have begun to return to Sitka waters and we hope they will spawn any time. We do not know how great or how little the return of the herring will be this season. The practice of commercially contracted subsistence vessels to gather herring eggs on an industrial scale poses problems for the continued customary and traditional subsistence harvest in Sitka Sound. Sitka Tribe of Alaska does not view this as a traditional harvest method.
These vessels crowd out and displace traditional harvesters from core subsistence areas. The method of paying small boats to set large numbers of trees, then paying large boats to pull those sets, while the majority of traditional skiff sets are still soaking nearby, has often resulted in lost or removed sets that had been carefully placed by traditional harvesters.
On March 12, Sitka Tribe of Alaska sent a letter to the commercial herring sac roe fisherman asking them to stand down from industry-hired harvest of roe on branches. This letter was also posted to media pages and in the local newspaper. While STA values any effort to harvest and distribute herring eggs, we feel it has been incredibly inappropriate for the industry to NOT DISCLOSE that while they were distributing the supposed “free” herring eggs, they were collecting data to support their proposals to legally restrict or reduce access to herring eggs for Tribal citizens and all others across the State. The information gathered from these non-traditional harvests has been used by industry to generate at least 10 proposals to Board of Fish to limit subsistence harvest in 2012, 2015 and 2018. This undermines the values and skills and brings harm and injury to the customary and traditional subsistence harvest taught to us from generations past.
We are asking that you come and practice traditional methods of harvest of eggs on branches for you and your community as we know what a treasure this is to our people. We encourage you to report back to Sitka Tribe of Alaska if you weren’t able to meet your subsistence needs and what areas around Sitka Sound, if any, you were able to successfully harvest herring eggs.
Please contact Lisa Gassman, General Manager, at 907-747-3207 or lisa.gassman@sitkatribe-nsn.gov or, in her absence, Mary Ferguson, executive assistant, with any questions.
Woody Widmark
Tribal Council Vice-Chairman
