The Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska (Central Council) has been selected as one of six new courts to be a part of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges’ (NCJFCJ) Implementation Sites Project to improve outcomes for abused and neglected children and their families.

The project is funded by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention to provide child abuse and neglect courts with training, technical assistance, and support to guide program improvement, sustainability, and performance.

Central Council’s Tribal Court has greatly expanded its judicial services since it was established ten years ago. Currently, the Tribal Court has subject matter jurisdiction over a large range of civil and criminal issues including adoptions, child custody, child support, child welfare, divorce, domestic violence protection orders, guardianship, marriage, and paternity.

“Building the infrastructure and capacity of our Tribal Court and ICWA team to keep our children safe, out of the State’s custody, and placed with Native families has been one of my top priorities,” said President Richard Peterson. “This project will help the Tribe move in the right direction of transferring more child welfare cases from the Alaska Court System to our Tribal Court.”

To read the full press release, click here.

During the Native Issues Forum held on February 16th, Mique’l Dangeli, PhD Assistant Professor of Alaska Native Studies at the University of Alaska Southeast, provided public comment to Representatives Les Gara and Geran Tarr and referenced several studies that have shown how indigenous language revitalization efforts have been very effective at reducing the suicide rate (and other negative outcomes). Many of us have experienced or witnessed just how powerful reconnecting Alaska Native people with their languages has on the health and wellbeing of our villages and people. Drawing from her own person experience of loss from suicide, Dangeli asked the lawmakers to look to these language studies when addressing the issue of suicide among Alaska Native youth.

Since the State of Alaska formally recognized indigenous languages as the state’s official languages in 2014, President Peterson closed the forum by reminding lawmakers of their responsibility to take more than symbolic steps toward preserving Alaska’s Native languages and proposing the State require every Alaskan student to take a semester of indigenous language. “When we don’t know our language, we don’t know who we are,” said President Peterson.

After listening to the possible public health benefits of teaching Alaska Native languages, Representative Gara took the initiative to request copies of the studies cited by Dr. Dangeli and also requested a meeting with Department of Education Commissioner Michael Johnson, Representative Tarr, and community members (language warriors) to discuss the current state of indigenous language instruction in Alaskan schools and learn specifically: 

1. What efforts have been made, or are planned, to promote Alaska Native languages at the K-12 school level in Alaska?
2. How many schools are currently offering regional Alaska Native language courses?
   
3. What can the Department do to expand the teaching of indigenous languages?

The Alaska Regional Coalition (ARC) met with key Alaska State legislators and commissioners February 8-9, 2017 to discuss the coalition’s legislative and budget priorities. Central Council has been a member of the ARC since it was formed three years ago. Other members of the coalition include four regional non-profits: Chugachmiut, Kawerak Inc., Maniilaq Association, and Tanana Chiefs Conference. The consortium was established to advocate on State legislative issues impacting Alaska tribes and non-profits, promote greater State recognition of Alaska tribes, and establish partnerships to advance state-tribal relations.

Legislative Priorities:

• HB8 Enforcement of Foreign Protective Orders (Rep. Edgmon) – recognition of tribal court issued protective orders (ARC is also exploring equivalent legislation for paternity).
  
• HB78 Indigenous People’s Day (Rep. Westlake) – Honoring, recognizing and celebrating indigenous people (but not at the exclusion of others).
  
• HJR8 Alaska Legally Acquired Ivory Use Exemption (Rep. Foster) – economic development issue for Alaska artists, as well as a cultural and inherent rights issue.
  
• HB60 / SB25 Motor Fuel Tax (Rules by Request of Governor) – ARC is seeking a rural exemption.
  

Budget Priorities:

There are many Alaska tribes and Native non-profits that provide services through contracts and grants with the State of Alaska. ARC is seeking to preserve state funding levels and contracts with the following State departments:

• Behavioral Health
  
• Department of Administration
  
• Department of Education & Early Development
  
• Department Health & Social Services
  
• Department of Public Safety
  
• Public Assistance
  
• Public Health
  

Other Issues:

• Criminal Justice Reform – ARC strongly advocates for the ability for tribal courts to provide culturally appropriate and alternative sentencing for low-level crimes. The coalition also supports expanding capacity in recidivism and tribal court efforts.

On January 19, 2017, a meeting took place between tribal leaders and the Canadian Consul General to discuss tribal concerns related to transboundary mining development. The Canadian Consul is based in Seattle, Washington and is responsible for intergovernmental affairs for the northwest states and Alaska. The Canadian Consul was invited by Second Vice President Will Micklin to meet with Central Council and Douglas Indian Association in Juneau, Alaska. They also met with other tribal leaders in Ketchikan on January 20th. 

Tribal leaders advocated for the protection of tribal interests by pushing full tribal consultation and encouraging the use of best practices and collaboration on baseline environmental data collection. Some of the issues brought up in the Juneau meeting included shortcomings of the British Columbia (BC) government when it comes to permit enforcement and financial assurances, such as the 2014 Mt. Polley Mine tailings disaster and the ongoing acid mine drainage from the Tulsequah Chief Mine in the Taku watershed. There was also discussion about creating a mechanism for agreement between State/Provincial, Federal, and Tribal/First Nation governments.

Alaska’s Lt. Governor Byron Mallott also attended the meeting and discussed the Statement of Cooperation (SOC) between Alaska and BC. Canadian officials believe the SOC was a huge milestone and provides a more pragmatic structure to address transboundary concerns than federal intervention. President Peterson stated that the SOC, while a good starting point, is not the final answer. Central Council continues to advocate for a tribal seat at the table to ensure that our way of life is protected. 

Government Affairs Liaison Grace Singh recently traveled to Washington DC to meet with the White House Deputy Director of Intergovernmental Affairs and Department of Interior. The DC visit provided an opportunity to submit Central Council’s top five budget priorities which were developed earlier in response to the BIA - Alaska Region's invitation to be a part of the Fiscal Year 2019 Tribal Budget Formulation process.

Budget Priorities

• Indian Child Welfare: It is of the utmost importance to Central Council that every child has a safe home to grow, prosper, and become contributing citizens to our communities. Tribal governments cannot protect the needs of our children with the funding available for child welfare. Tribes receive only $29 thousand for positions that are often required to be full time, requiring tribes to allocate dollars to compensate for the program.
  
• Office of Tribal Justice: Public safety in Rural Alaska has some of the most dangerous circumstances in the Nation. P.L. 280 tribes are not included in the tribal court funding from BIA’s Office of Tribal Justice. Last year, Congress appropriated $10 million to the BIA to increase tribal justice support to P.L. 280 states. The one-time funding does not provide Alaska tribes with the stability to address the serious issues of rural public safety.
  
• Higher Education Funding: Central Council is required to fundraise and allocate tribal funds to provide scholarships to its tribal citizens. As the largest tribe in Alaska, we have more than 30,000 tribal citizens and many descendants that apply for higher education assistance. To hold up our people, we must provide every educational opportunity for the youth to develop their skills to contribute to our communities and local economies.
  
• Welfare Assistance and 477: Tribal governments address the needs of rural impoverished communities throughout Alaska and the Nation. Welfare and Employment/Training programs are essential to elevating people out of poverty, growing contributing members of society, and providing families with healthy stable livelihoods. 

The Fatherhood is Sacred® program invites all fathers to participate in their current 12-week session that began on February 21, 2017. The program brings fathers (married, widowed, single, or divorced) together to participate in fun activities that focus on the sacredness of being a father, and the importance of Alaska Native/Native American heritage and how it applies to each father in the past, present, and future. 

Dinner and child care are provided. For more information or to register, please contact Ian Petershoare at ipetershoare@ccthita-nsn.gov or 907.463.7737.