I am not suggesting that the 2008 election should hinge on an obscure question of federal administrative law. But I just can’t help noting the irony that the State of Alaska went out of its way, not only to sue its own Native American residents, but also to appeal its loss of said lawsuit, regarding subsistence hunting of moose — as in “Sarah Palin knows how to field dress one.”
Just a few quick facts:
Chistochina is a rural community located in GMU 13C, a subunit of GMU 13, that borders GMUs 11 and 12. According to the 2000 Census, the community boasts ninety-three residents in thirty-seven households.
…
In 2004, the Cheesh-na Tribal Council, Chistochina’s governing body, submitted a C & T ["customary & traditional"] determination proposal to the [Federal Subsistence Board]. At the time of the proposal, there existed C & T determinations for moose within three areas of GMU 12[.]
Translation: About 100 Native American Alaskans asked a federal bureaucrat for permission to bag one or two moose — “subsistence hunting” — over a large tract of federal land where they live. (Remember: 98% of Alaska is owned by the federal government.) The federal bureaucrat said something approximating, “Sure, why not?”
The State of Alaska (i.e., bureaucrats answerable to Sarah Palin) said something approximating, “That tract of land is too big, make it smaller.” The federal bureaucrat said something approximating, “No.”
Alaska sued, lost, appealed and lost again.
This is apparently the kind of thing the Palin Administration spends much of its time on: trying to stop 100 Native Americans from subsistence-hunting moose on “too much” federal land. Why? For whatever reason you might choose to imagine. (Perhaps for the same reason that the Palin administration sued to keep polar bears off the threatened species list.)
The case is Alaska v. Federal Subsistence Board, No. 07-35723 (9th Cir., September 23, 2008) (PDF – 22 pages).
1 response so far ↓
Link Native American Researcher // Sep 25, 2008 at 8:15 am
Yep, this will continue to happen. Many state and local governments – and even the feds – often forget that tribes are sovereign nations that have a treaty right to hunt, fish, and gather in their usual and accustomed places. Same thing happened down lower in Washington and Oregon with Salmon fishing – the states lost both times.