HEARING
BEFORE THE
SELECT COMMITTEE ON INDIAN AFFAIRS
UNITED STATES SENATE ON HUNDREDTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
NOVEMBER 10, 1987
STATEMENT OF JULIE KITKA, SPOKESPERSON, ALASKAN
FEDERATION OF NATIVES, ANCHORAGE, AK
Ms. KITKA. Good morning, Mr. Chairman, members, and staff.
My name is Julie Kitka. I am special assistant to the president of
the Alaska Federation of Natives. The Alaska Federation of Na-
tives iS a statewide Native organization in the State of Alaska, rep-
resenting the regional corporations set up by the Alaska Native
Claims Settlement Act, a number of the nonprofit regional associa-
tions in the State, and almost 98 percent of the villages within our
State.
I am pleased to be able to testify here today on behalf of AFN.
We will be submitting written comments specifically on the techni-
calities of the amendments before you.
I wanted to bring to your attention today that this issue is one of
the most important facing Alaska Natives. I have been spending
considerable time working on our land-related issues and amend-
ments to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act to try to resolve
the different 1991 issues, but the issues dealing with and affecting
Alaska Native children ranks just as high as the issues in protect-
ing our land base.
Approximately 98 percent of all the litigation Alaska Natives are
involved in at this point are not dealing with our land and resource
issues, with subsistence or other related issues. The litigation is
dealing with Alaska Native families and Native organizations
trying to protect their rights to keep Native children with their
families and extended families. This is something that cannot be al-
lowed to continue -- the tremendous litigation, and the waste of re-
sources of Native people and communities just to try to protect
children in their communities.
There is a whole complex array of problems dealing with chil-
dren in our State: 1) the higher rate of alcohol abuse, 2) domestic
violence, 3) sexual offenses, and 4) the high number of Alaska
Native families which are split up by native men goinginto the
correctional system for a variety of reasons. All these have tremen-
dous impacts on the children in our State.
We would like to see a comprehensive approach dealing with the
social service needs and in strengthening ways of keeping Alaska
Native families together. We have several suggestions on this, and
one which goes beyond the scope of the amendments before you
today but which we feel is very important.
In the late 1960's, Congress took a leadership role in establishing
a Federal field commission to take a look at the status of Alaska
Natives. We would like to urge this committee to take a leadership
role in having some type of commission or organization set up to do
8
a field examination in the State of Alaska on the status of Alaska
Natives and their families.
We would like them to report on what is going on in the commu-
nities. For example: what is causing almost 50 percent of the in-
mates in the State of Alaska to be Alaska Natives? Why are 50 per-
cent of all the Alaska Natives that are in the correctional centers
from one area of the State?
All these things combined are impacting our families and our
children. They are primary causes on why our children are being
brought into the State system and in, either foster care or being
circulated around the State outside of native families.
This field commission or whatever title you call it could come to
Alaska and travel to the major regional areas in our State and
some of our villages and report back to the Congress their findings
and recommendations.
In addition, we would like the committee to consider funding a
statewide Indian child welfare coordinating project for Alaska Na-
tives. The purpose of this project would be to coordinate Alaska
Native positions on these amendments, and coordination of ICWA
issues in our State, in order to deal with the disparity among the
regions in our State.
There are some areas in our State which are very well prepared
and are dealing with the implementation of the Indian Child Wel-
fare Act well. There are some positive things going on. We are very
pleased with the Governor of the State of Alaska, and also Commis-
sioner Munson, who is going to be testifying later, in their efforts
in continuing negotiations for a model State-tribal agreement.
However, we do need a statewide coordinating project because
the disparity in the regions is such that those areas in our State
which need the agreement or need better representation in dealing
with Indian child welfare issues are the ones that are not getting
the representation. A statewide project would facilitate that, espe-
cially for those areas of greatest need.
There are several other technical issues which we would like to
address. One deals with the whole area of concurrent jurisdiction
within the State. Jurisdiction deals with Alaska Natives and their
rights to tribal self-government. We feel this is an issue which
must be addressed by this committee to mitigate our continuing
with this tremendous amount of litigation.
Local control of issues such as how native people raise their chil-
dren and address child welfare issues is absolutely essential. Our
councils in our villages must have the authority to make critical
decisions on the ground. Areas are remote and also because there
are real clinical benefits for local control and native councils being
able to make these decisions. When you are talking about commu-
nities being ripped apart by alcohol and drug abuse and all the
other factors, there is a tremendous healing process that must take
place in our communities. Reassumption of concurrent jurisdiction
or local control will facilitate this healing which must take place in
our communities.
Another issue which must be addressed in the amendments is
the ability to transfer children's cases from the State courts to
tribal courts. Right now we don't have many tribal courts in our
State, but there is a tremendous interest in developing competent
9
tribal courts, and again with the idea of local control. We would
like to have a mechanism to facilitate the transfer, as different
areas become able to deal with this on the local level. We would
like to have the tools from the Congress in order to have this
happen.
Another issue is with voluntary proceedings. That, in our view, is
a major loophole in the Indian Child Welfare Act and one that
must be fixed. There is a tremendous amount of native children
which are leaving native families and communities and going to
non-native families through voluntary proceedings. This must be
addressed.
Another concern which is raised by a number of native organiza-
tions in written testimony, deals with the issue of notice. Like I
mentioned earlier, we are involved in a State-tribal negotiations
process with the State of Alaska dealing with a lot of procedural
issues. The notice requirement is a crucial component to the agree-
ments. Unless they are aware that the proceedings are taking
place, native organizations and villages aren't going to be able to
participate.
We would like to have two tribal notices sent, one to the villages
and also one to the regional association (which may be providing
the technical assistance or the staff work on behalf of the villages).
Alaska is unique in that with all our villages we have regional as-
sociations which provide a lot of services and facilitate things for
the villages. A dual tribal notice would ensure that we have native
representation at State proceedings that affect native children.
The last issue which I wanted to raise deals with the funding
issue in the Indian child welfare grant process. Right now it's on a
competitive process, and basically with a competitive bid process,
you're talking about those groups which are best able to put to-
gether a funding proposal are going to receive ICWA grants.
We feel that Indian child welfare issues, are spread throughout
our State and every single one of our areas should be entitled to
core funding on Indian child welfare and should not be competing
against one another. The problems are different, but the needs are
still there statewide. We would like to see a change instead of com-
petitive bidding, that there be a core funding established.
That concludes the concerns that I would like to address at this
time. We will be submitting written testimony which outlines the
specifics on the amendments before you. We pledge our utmost co-
operation, our legal counsel or whatever, to flesh out whatever
amendments that could help to make ICWA work better in Alaska.
Thank you.
The CHAIRMAN. All of your written statements will be made part
of the record.