When AFN was founded nearly half a century ago, our Native leaders were in the process of pursuing an agreement with the U.S. government unlike anything else in U.S. Federal-Native relations. What our leadership accomplished in 1971 was the largest land settlement in the history of the United States—the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA). The historic nature of our land settlement has not been matched anywhere in the world.
Our leadership wisely kept our settlement a “living law,” establishing an ongoing relationship with the federal government, rather than a one-time decision. Because our leadership had the foresight to create a “living document,” we have been able to work with the Congress to evolve our settlement, as the needs of our people have evolved. ANCSA has been changed over 18 times since its original enactment—all at the request of the Native community.
Although we have achieved much, our work in achieving real self-determination is not over. We must be unrelenting in our pursuit of a few key goals in particular:
- Creating sustainable, vibrant Native economies.
- Sustaining our traditional way of life, free from unfair competition from sports and commercial users of
our fish and game and freely using what we need to feed our families.
- Pursuing alternative sources of affordable energy, to liberate our rural communities from the oppressive
cost of oil and gas.
- Securing funding to eliminate the disparities in education and health care that plague our Native
communities.
The Obama Administration has signaled its willingness to engage in discussions about protecting subsistence opportunities for our people, breaking the endless cycle of litigation and death by regulation, and sustaining our traditional ways of life. We must seize this opportunity by engaging President Obama in-person, on paper and in the press.
We can achieve our legal and political goals, but we must also advance solutions for changing the investment and tax climate, which continues to hinder the development of sustainable Native economies. All of these goals are within our reach.  Collectively, we can achieve whatever we set our minds to. It is our future.
Warm regards,
Julie Kitka, President
On a lighter note... click to enlarge!
From the Cartoonist Group
Tax deductible donations can be made to AFN through the Alaska Federation of Natives (AFN) Fund.
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