(SitNews) Anchorage, Alaska - The Alaska Federation of Natives issued a powerful response to the State of Alaska’s petition to the U.S. Supreme Court in the legal case State of Alaska v Sally Jewell, Secretary of the United States Department of Interior et al, widely known as the Katie John Case. Alaska Federation of Natives is an Intervening Party in this case in defense of subsistence rights, and has been for over 18 years.

The State of Alaska’s petition asks that the Court overturn the federal rules promulgated in 1999 that define Title VIII of ANILCA’s public lands definition to include waters subject to the federal reserved water rights doctrine.

“Subsistence is not only a way of life… It is essential to our survival as a people, and no one has the right to ever take it away from us,” said AFN Co-Chair Tara Sweeney, “This latest action by the State of Alaska is an assault upon the people of Alaska who depend upon hunting, fishing and gathering to feed their families.”

The Alaska Federation of Natives issued the organization’s formal response November 5th at an open Press Briefing in Anchorage. AFN Co-Chairs Ana Hoffman and Tara Sweeney, Subsistence Committee Chair Dr. Rosita Worl and AFN President Julie Kitka delivered statements and then opened the floor to questions.

“We will vigorously defend the subsistence rights of our people by intervening in this case and any others that compromise our basic rights,” said Dr. Rosita Worl, chair of AFN’s Subsistence Committee. “For nearly two decades we have made attempts to resolve this issue at the State, Congressional and Administrative levels; and, the State has refused to participate in a responsible solution for Alaskans. This is not acceptable and must be stopped.”

Worl said, "The State of Alaska’s attempted overreach is a reckless attempt to unravel the precedent set by the lower courts and through administrative procedures. This should enrage not only the Native community, but all Alaskans. Too much time, energy and preciousfunding has been wasted in the State’s ongoing attacks on subsistence. Enough is enough."

According to a press statment, the Alaska Federation of Natives has been involved in the current Katie John case for 18 years. The AFN legal team has been assembled and will join with the the Secretary of the United States Department of Interior in vigorously defending the decision of the lower courts that extend ANILCA’s jurisdiction to federally reserved waters in Alaska, while concurrently perusing a congressional fix. AFN has established a Legal Defense Fund and will call on their members and others to help in this fight.

On November 4th, the State of Alaska filed a petition for writ of certiorari with the United States Supreme Court in State v. Jewell. The petition requests review of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals' decision extending control over fishing and hunting to the federal government on state-owned navigable waters not only in, but also adjacent to federal lands.

Quoting an Alaska Department of Law news release, "the case involves fundamental questions of control and authority over navigable waters in the state. When Alaska became a state, it was granted the same sovereign rights as all other states, including title to the lands underlying navigable waterways within its borders, and the right to control those navigable waters and the resources in them. This right applies regardless of whether the waterway goes through federal land."

According to Alaska Attorney General Michael Geraghty, “This decision not only threatens the principle that Alaskans should manage their own fish and game, which was the impetus for Alaska statehood, but also the ability of the State to conserve its resources for future generations.”

A federal regulation promulgated in 1999 took away control of navigable waters from the State and placed them under the authority of the federal government. Relying on an unprecedented extension of the federal reserved water rights doctrine, the Ninth Circuit upheld the regulation extending federal subsistence jurisdiction to navigable waterways not only in, but adjacent to federal lands under the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA). The State asserts this has led to conflicts and confusion about whether federal or state laws relating to fishing, hunting, and resource conservation apply on state-owned navigable waterways.

“Confusion and uncertainty for user groups do not serve Alaskans. That confusion, and the potential for future conflicts and litigation, will only increase,” stated Attorney General Geraghty, in explaining why the State is seeking appellate review.

Edited by Mary Kauffman, SitNews

Related:

Emergency Closure By Feds of Kenai Brown Bear Hunting; State says overreach by feds into the management of Alaska’s wildlife
http://www.sitnews.us/1013News/102613/102613_brown_bears.html

On the Web:

Full text of AFN’s official response
Click Here (pdf 5 pages)

State of Alaska's petition - PDF
http://gov.alaska.gov/parnell_media/resources_files/petition110413.pdf

Source of News: 

Alaska Federation of Natives
www.nativefederation.org

Alaska Department of Law
www.law.state.ak.us

 

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