Republican U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan addressed the 2024 Alaska Federation of Natives convention Friday morning, presenting on a number of legislative priorities aimed at aiding Alaska Native people.
He began his remarks by discussing two recent federal bills he introduced that would clarify that Alaska Native artists can use certain natural materials when creating regalia and other handicrafts.
“To continue the centuries old practice of using natural materials like walrus ivory and bird feathers in your artwork,” Sullivan said. “That should be a no-brainer, and we’re going to try and get a law passed to make sure that happens.”
Sullivan also spoke on two efforts to preserve subsistence hunting.
The first was recognition that North Slope whaling communities are ensured automatic renewal of whaling quotas from the International Whaling Commission. He also talked about continued efforts to reverse declining salmon stocks across the state, including in the Yukon-Kuskokwim region, through the creation of the Alaska salmon research task force.
“We need to identify and address research prioritization gaps with comprehensive data in the best scientific minds, including Indigenous knowledge, to figure out what is the cause of these devastating salmon declines,” Sullivan said.
Sullivan also criticized the slow pace of the land allotment program for Vietnam-era veterans. Many Alaska Native veterans missed out on the deadline to claim land allotments before the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act ended the program. Congress passed a law in 2019 to allow those veterans and their heirs to claim up to 160 acres of land, but Sullivan said the program isn’t working fast enough.
“In the past four years, the Department of Interior has only certified 38 Alaska Native Vietnam-era allotments out of the over 2000 Alaska Native Vietnam vets who are eligible for this,” Sullivan said. “That is a disgrace, and time is running out.”
Sullivan has proposed a five-year extension to the program, and he wants the federal government to expand the lands available for allotments.
The AFN convention will wrap up on Saturday, when delegates will hear from Alaska’s other senator, Lisa Murkowski.
Wesley Early covers Anchorage life and city politics for Alaska Public Media. Reach him at wearly@alaskapublic.org and follow him on X at @wesley_early. Read more about Wesley here.
