Newsletter - October, Page 5

Delia Call is a CIRI shareholder of Tanaina Athabascan descent and manager of the Anchorage RV Park.

She has worked for the RV Park since it opened two years ago, and was promoted to manager of the park in the spring of 1998. "As manager of the RV Park, you have to be able to organize, prioritize and be a multi-task kind of person," says Call, who is working toward a bachelor's degree in business administration at the University of Alaska Anchorage.

According to Call, the summer season is the busiest time of year at the RV Park. Guests generally stay two to three days with most making return visits. Many visitors drive up the highway while others fly to Anchorage and rent an RV. "These guests enjoy the independence and adventure of driving themselves around Alaska," adds Call. Although she notes, "The trolley to the Alaska Native Heritage Center was a big hit with the RV guests this summer."

While visitors to Alaska come from all over the world, Call has noticed quite a few tourists from Germany, northern Europe and the southwestern United States. According to Call, this past tourism season had more cars and RV's booked for use than in previous years. She believes this is due to tourists wanting to set out on their own unique journey through Alaska.

call
Delia Call, Manager, Anchorage RV Park

Call is looking forward to next season, and is exploring expansion of the RV Park's gift shop and the addition of an espresso cart and limited food service. She also intends to improve the training program for the Park's summer internship program, which employed 12 seasonal workers over the summer. Call is most proud of the fact that 100 percent of her employees were Alaska Natives and the majority were CIRI shareholders or descendents.

Call was recently appointed to the Alaska Campground Owners Association board of directors, representing Anchorage. ACOA is a non-profit organization of Alaska park owners and managers who gather to help each other through seminars, sharing of local information and discussion of legislation.

The federal government assumed management of fisheries on most of Alaska's inland waters after a subsistence bill that passed the state House of Representatives died in the Senate recently.

The federal takeover took place at midnight on October 2, just hours after the bill failed to be approved by two-thirds of the Senate in a special session called by Gov. Tony Knowles. The bill would have allowed subsistence rights based on place of residence, proximity to resources, availability of alternative resources, and customary and traditional usage.

However, eight senators voted against the subsistence bill, preventing the two-thirds majority necessary to amend the constitution. Those eight are: Dave Donley, Lyda Green, Rick Halford, Pete Kelly, Randy Phillips, Robin Taylor, Jerry Ward and Gary Wilken.

The Alaska Legislature had been given a deadline by the federal government to amend the state constitution and allow rural priority for subsistence use of fish and game. The deadline passed without an amendment, so the federal government assumed management of nearly two-thirds of the state's inland waters.

Federal regulators are expected to begin regulating commercial and sport fishing in order to protect village fishermen. Rural priority on federal waters was guaranteed with the passage of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act in 1980.

The special session was the fifth held in the last 10 years to deal with the subsistence issue. Local polls indicate Alaskans are strongly in favor of voting on the question of whether to allow a rural priority on subsistence.

Earlier in September at the new Alaska Native Heritage Center, Gov. Knowles held a news conference to announce the special session. Carl Marrs, president and CEO of CIRI,

served as emcee as the event drew local and statewide media, Alaska Natives, business leaders and other community members.

The event opened with a performance by the King Island Dancers and Singers, an Inupiat Eskimo group originally from a small island in the Bering Sea. The group learned their island traditions from Paul Tiulana, who was also instrumental in providing the vision for the Heritage Center.

Gov. Knowles was also joined on stage by Alaska leaders who agreed with the governor's mission to end a federal threat to Alaska's management of fish and game resources. Among those joining the governor and Marrs were members of the state legislature, business leaders and Nelson Angapak, vice president of the Alaska Federation of Natives.

Following speeches by the governor and other legislative and business leaders, guests were encouraged to sample traditional subsistence foods including bowhead whale blubber, deer meat, salmon, seaweed and akutuq.

carl and the gov

CIRI President Carl Marrs looks on as Gov. Tony Knowles signs a proclamation ordering a subsistence special session of the Alaska legislature.

The School of American Research

Seeks Applicants

The School of American Research (SAR) offers a unique opportunity for Native American scholars through its Katrin H. Lamon Resident Scholar Fellowship Program.

This program is designed to enable Native American scholars to complete book-length manuscripts or doctoral dissertations in anthropology and related disciplines, including history, sociology, psychology, art and philosophy.

Both humanistically and scientifically oriented scholars are encouraged to apply. Resident scholars are provided with an apartment and office on SAR's beautiful campus in Santa Fe, New Mexico, a stipend, library assistance and other benefits during a nine-month tenure from September 1, 2000, though May 31, 2001.

The Katrin H. Lamon Fellowship is one of six fellowships offered by the School of American Research. Native American scholars are encouraged to apply for other categories of support as well. The six fellowships include the Katrin H. Lamon Fellowship for a pre- or post-doctoral Native American scholar; Weatherhead Fellowships for pre- or postdoctoral scholars and National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowships for post-doctoral scholars pursuing humanities-related projects.

For application procedures, contact: Resident Scholar Coordinator, School of American Research, PO Box 2188, Santa Fe, NM 87504-2188, call (505) 954-7201, email scholar@sarsf.org, or visit www.sarweb.org. The application deadline is Monday, Nov. 15.