Viewpoints
KIC Election October 19th:
No to Proposition 2
By Axel & Kathleen Svenson
October 17, 2009
Saturday
Dear Editor & KIC Members:
Get out and vote at the KIC Special election at the Mall Monday,
8 - 8! This election is crucial for all tribal members. The
silence surrounding the election, and particularly the silence
on Proposition 2, should speak volumes to you. This silence is
a big red flag waving to all concerned.
Why? Proposition 2 will require tribal members leaving/moving
from Revillagigedo Island for any reasons other than college
or military service, to relinquish their KIC membership. That
s bad enough, but the truly scary part is the where the Enrollment
Committee will institute a verification process to determine
who is missing, and then disenroll people who failed to relinquish.
There is no appeal process mentioned.
Proposition 2 states a person may reenroll once they return to
Revilla if they are a descendent from the base rolls or a currently
enrolled member, but what if you re not? What if you re an Aleut
whose family was relocated here to Ward Lake by the federal government
through no choice of your own? Fat chance of getting renenrolled.
You won t qualify because you re neither a descendent from the
base rolls nor a descendent from a currently enrolled member.
KIC has been a bastion for disenfranchised Alaskan Natives and
American Indians. As the federal government nibbles away at Native
sovereignty and funding, KIC has held firm in its commitment
to tribal members. However, if Proposition 2 passes, KIC will
no longer be a government ruled by law, it will be a government
ruled by committee. The Enrollment Committee will determine who
is enrolled and who is not. Not the KIC Constitution as written
now. You already know how these things work.
Vote NO on Proposition 2!
Axel & Kathleen Svenson
KIC Members & Stakeholders
Ketchikan, AK
About: "Axel Svenson is
an Aleut whose father was relocated to Ward Lake during WWII.
His wife, Kathleen, has worked for KIC since 1987."
Received October 17, 2009 -
Published October 17, 2009
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