[Senate Hearing 118-234]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                         S. Hrg. 118-234

                   THE IMPACT OF THE HISTORIC SALMON 
                    DECLINES ON THE HEALTH AND WELL	
                    BEING OF ALASKA NATIVE COMMUNITIES 
                    ALONG ARCTIC, YUKON, AND KUSKOKWIM 
                    RIVERS

=======================================================================

                              FIELD HEARING

                               BEFORE THE

                      COMMITTEE ON INDIAN AFFAIRS
                          UNITED STATES SENATE

                    ONE HUNDRED EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS

                             FIRST SESSION

                               __________

                           NOVEMBER 10, 2023

                               __________

         Printed for the use of the Committee on Indian Affairs
         
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                   U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE                    
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                      COMMITTEE ON INDIAN AFFAIRS

                     BRIAN SCHATZ, Hawaii, Chairman
                 LISA MURKOWSKI, Alaska, Vice Chairman
MARIA CANTWELL, Washington           JOHN HOEVEN, North Dakota
JON TESTER, Montana                  STEVE DAINES, Montana
CATHERINE CORTEZ MASTO, Nevada       MARKWAYNE MULLIN, Oklahoma
TINA SMITH, Minnesota                MIKE ROUNDS, South Dakota
BEN RAY LUJAN, New Mexico
       Jennifer Romero, Majority Staff Director and Chief Counsel
                  Amber Ebarb, Minority Staff Director
                            
                            
                            C O N T E N T S

                              ----------                              
                                                                   Page
Field hearing held on November 10, 2023..........................     1
Statement of Senator Murkowski...................................     2

                               Witnesses

Borromeo, Nicole, Executive Vice President, Alaska Federation of 
  Natives accompanied by Ben Mallott, Vice President, External 
  Relations......................................................    30
    Prepared statement...........................................    31
Kuhns, Tisha Neviq'aq, Vice President of Land and Natural 
  Resources, Calista Corporation.................................    38
    Prepared statement...........................................    39
Menadelook, Charles, Subsistence Director, Kawerak, Inc..........    41
    Prepared statement...........................................    42
Ridley, Hon. Brian, Chief/Chairman, Tanana Chiefs Conference.....     9
    Prepared statement...........................................    11
Samuelson, Jonathan, Chair, Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish 
  Commission.....................................................    17
    Prepared statement...........................................    19
Tikiun, Jr., Hon. Thaddeus, Chairperson, Association of Village 
  Council Presidents.............................................     4
    Prepared statement...........................................     6
Ulvi, Karma, First Chief, Village of Eagle, Alaska; Chairwoman, 
  Yukon River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission.......................    23
    Prepared statement...........................................    25
Winkelman, Dan, President/CEO, Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation    26
    Prepared statement...........................................    28

Public listening session 

Additional Statements for the record 



                                Appendix

Aleut Corporation (TAC), prepared statement......................   111
Arctic-Yukon-Kuskokwim Tribal Consortium, prepared statement.....   108
Asuluk, Joseph, prepared statement...............................   114
B., Janet, prepared statement....................................   112
Changsak, Christina, Russian Mission, prepared statement.........   124
Charlie Brown, Resident, Golovin, Alaska, prepared statement.....   116
Cohen, Emily, Resident of Anchorage, prepared statement..........   124
Epchook, Boris L., Chairman, Kwethluk Indian Reorganization Act 
  Council of the Organized Village of Kwethluk, prepared 
  statement......................................................   117
Epchook, Chariton, President, Kwethluk Incorporated Board of 
  Directors, prepared statement..................................   118
Foster, Hon. John, President, Unga Tribal Council, prepared 
  statement......................................................   114
Guy, George, General Manager, Kwethluk, Inc., prepared statement.   119
Hoffman, Beverly, prepared statement.............................   111
Hooper, Jennifer, Natural Resources Manager, Association of 
  Village Council, prepared statement............................   119
Ivanoff, Laureli, Executive Director, Native Peoples Action, 
  prepared statement.............................................   124
Korthuis, Vivian, CEO, Association of Village Council Presidents, 
  prepared statement.............................................   115
Leary, Mark, Resident, the Kuskokwim, prepared statement.........   120
Lefferts, Brian, Resident, Bethel, prepared statement............   116
Nanouk, Jolene, Resident, Unalakleet, prepared statement.........   121
Simeon, Gloria, prepared statement...............................   113
Smith, George, Resident, Scammon Bay, prepared statement.........   121
Whitworth, Kevin, Executive Director, Kuskokwim River Inter-
  Tribal Fish Commission (KRITFC), prepared statement............   107
Williams, Sr., Dr. Michael, Akiak Native Community Commissioner, 
  prepared statement.............................................   122

 
                   THE IMPACT OF THE HISTORIC SALMON 
                    DECLINES ON THE HEALTH AND WELL-
 BEING OF ALASKA NATIVE COMMUNITIES ALONG ARCTIC, YUKON, AND KUSKOKWIM 
                                 RIVERS

                              ----------                              


                       FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2023



                                       U.S. Senate,
                               Committee on Indian Affairs,
                                                    Bethel, Alaska.
    The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 1:00 p.m. Alaska 
Standard Time at Yukon Kuskokwim Health Corporation, Bethel, 
Alaska, the Honorable Lisa Murkowski, Vice Chair of the 
Committee, presiding.

                         Opening Prayer

    Mr. Ignatius Louie Andrew. Good afternoon. I am going to 
speak a little bit before I say the prayer. On behalf of ONC, 
the Orutsararmiut Native Council, our tribal community, welcome 
to our honorable guests, Lisa Murkowski, and her associates and 
community members of our community who are participating in 
this important event in finding ways to help one another, to 
become aware mentally, physically and spiritually, to focus on 
the well-being and us and others. With that, thank you, and 
welcome, Lisa Murkowski, and her associates.
    Now for the prayer. Tomorrow is Veteran's Day. I will still 
pray. Our veterans and our service men throughout Alaska, 
Hawaii, the lower 48 and overseas, let them be safe from all 
harm and brought home to their families, relatives and friends.
    We ask of our Father. Heavenly Father, we thank you for the 
beautiful, for all resources and wildlife you provided for 
sustenance for our minds, bodies, and souls. We thank you for 
having us here together as brothers and sisters, caring for our 
nature and all you have created. You are praised each and every 
day.
    We ask of you to continue your blessings upon us and for 
those who continue to care and share what you have entrusted to 
us. And again, we ask you to guide us for the benefit of all 
people. Also, to bring the honorable [indiscernible] to their 
communities, families and friends and relatives. This I ask in 
Jesus' name.
    Amen.

           OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. LISA MURKOWSKI, 
                    U.S. SENATOR FROM ALASKA

    Senator Murkowski. Good afternoon to all those of you who 
are gathered, to our traditional chief, Mr. Ignatius Louie 
Andrew, thank you for the invocation. Thank you for your 
service to our Country. Thank you to all of our veterans, those 
that are gathered here today, those that are scattered around 
the Country, and scattered around the world, as we observe 
Veterans Day today. We can never thank enough those who have 
stood to defend us and our Country's freedoms.
    So to our veterans, I would ask us all to please share our 
thanks with a simple applause for all who have served.
    [Applause.]
    Senator Murkowski. Before we begin our hearing here today, 
I would like to thank Dan Winkelman, the President here at 
YKHC, and all of his staff who have helped us set up today's 
hearing. As you have worked with my staff, we appreciate all 
you have done to make it easy to have this conversation today.
    I also want to acknowledge the folks on my staff who are 
here, some of whom you are familiar with, some who you maybe 
only know their names. Behind me is Amber Ebarb. Amber is the 
Minority Staff Director for the Senate Indian Affairs Committee 
in Washington, D.C. She is originally from Juneau, family from 
Juneau? Family from Hoonah. Still a long way from Bethel.
    Seated next to Amber is Lucy Murfitt. Lucy is my General 
Counsel and the Deputy Staff Director on the Indian Affairs 
Committee.
    Monitoring the timing controls, we have Jacqueline Bisille, 
who is on the Indian Affairs Committee back in Washington, 
D.C., and Shannon O'Hare, across from her also on the Committee 
are here are today to help.
    We also have Cordelia Kellie, and I do not see her, 
Cordelia is in the back. She is my Indian Affairs Director for 
the State of Alaska, and is in and out of your communities very 
often. So I know that many of you are familiar with Cordelia. 
And Angela Ramponi is up in front. She is my legislative 
director based out of Washington, D.C., from Soldotna.
    So we are here to not only listen as Alaskans but to help 
facilitate this hearing for the Senate Indian Affairs 
Committee.
    With that, we shall begin. I call this field hearing of the 
Senate Indian Affairs Committee to order. The purpose of this 
hearing is to examine the impact of the historic salmon 
declines on the health and well-being of Alaska Native 
communities along the Arctic, Yukon, and Kuskokwim Rivers.
    I do feel that this is significant. I feel this is historic 
in many ways, to actually be able to bring the Senate Indian 
Affairs Committee to Bethel to understand more about how the 
salmon crashes in the YK region are affecting those of you who 
live here.
    Now, I have traveled through most of your villages over the 
course of many years. I have been into many of the fish camps 
up and down the Kuskokwim and the Yukon. I have had so many, so 
many from this region reach out to tell me about how the lack 
of salmon is affecting their ways of life and truly, the need 
for the Federal Government to pay attention, to pay attention, 
to listen, to understand, and to act.
    There has probably been no one more persistent on this need 
to act than Vivian Korthuis, AVCP's CEO. Thank you, Vivian, for 
keeping the focus on this important issue. You have been 
pushing me ever so gently to get this Senate field hearing and 
the public listening session scheduled. Thank you for that.
    This is, again, a great opportunity for witnesses, for 
members of the community and for those of you from surrounding 
villages who have purposely come today so that your voices can 
be heard, for you to share your experiences facing this crisis 
and to offer potential solutions on the official record.
    Know what that means when I say it is an official record. 
This is not just us talking here. This record will be part of 
the Senate's hearing record. Your voices, your statements, your 
solutions, will be included as part of the decision making 
process that we will embark upon as we move forward.
    Subsistence resources, especially the Chinook and chum 
salmon, have sustained the communities that you live in for 
millennia. These villages locations were chosen specifically 
because they were good traditional hunting and fishing areas.
    Over 100 communities in the Kuskokwim, Yukon and the Bering 
Strait region are affected by these low salmon runs, and I hear 
it, I feel it in your voices when you share with me how painful 
this is. I was at a regional advisory council meeting not too 
many months ago and one of the members said very clearly, if we 
don't fish, we don't eat. It is pretty basic.
    We are still trying to understand the root causes of the 
population crisis. Climate change is certainly a big one, but 
it is not the sole one. There are multiple other factors, 
including management structures, that we have to look at. We 
must work together, because ultimately the loss of salmon 
threatens your ways of life.
    We all have different roles and different ways in which we 
are working. I work to support our understanding of climate 
change impacts to fisheries by funding research that will 
inform future efforts to adapt. Through my role as an 
appropriator, I have supported tribal co-management efforts, 
indigenous-led monitoring and co-production of knowledge. 
Traditional ecological knowledge must inform our actions and 
decisions.
    I am interested to hear more from our witnesses about how 
we can strengthen co-management relationships and help improve 
the Federal subsistence management program.
    I am already working to ensure the Secretary of the 
Interior has direct supervision of the Office of Subsistence 
Management by moving it out from under the U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service.
    We have made some progress together, but I think we all 
acknowledge that there is much more work to do to ensure that 
future generations can continue a traditional subsistence way 
of life. My hope is that we are able to engage in respectful 
dialogue to find common ground on solutions to what is truly a 
crisis.
    So again, quyana to all those who have traveled here to 
Bethel to share your testimony, and those who have come out in 
the snow to be here. I look forward to hearing the invited 
testimony from our witnesses today. Each one at this table has 
a valuable perspective to share.
    So a little bit of the ground rules of how we will move 
forward today, the housekeeping. Each witness at the tables 
will have five minutes to speak. So please take that 
opportunity to introduce yourself and to summarize your written 
testimony. Know that your full written testimony, I have read 
the testimony that each of you have submitted, that full 
testimony will be included as part of the record. So this is 
your opportunity to embellish on that, to share in your five 
minutes what else you would like to add.
    After all of the witnesses testify, I will ask the panel a 
series of questions, and then when we have concluded that part 
of the field hearing, we will take about a half hour break, and 
we will transition to the public listening session. We will 
rearrange the front of the room here a little bit. That will 
then be the opportunity for those of you who also want to come 
forward and provide your comments for the public record. You 
will have that opportunity to do so.
    As a note to our invited witnesses here, I would ask you to 
please speak into the hand-held mic as well as the table mics. 
We are, the Senate Indian Committee is livestreaming this 
hearing online, so we want them to be able to pick up all of 
that.
    With that, I will turn to our first witness, the Honorable 
Thaddeus Tikiun, Jr., the Chairperson of the Association of 
Village Council Presidents. Chairman Tikiun, I would ask you to 
proceed. Quyana.
    Chairman, and for all the rest of you, I will point out the 
timer clock in front of you. It is a countdown clock, and there 
will be a buzzer after that, which is annoying. But we do have 
a lot that we want to get on the record today. So I would just 
point you in that direction. Chairman, if you would proceed.

     STATEMENT OF HON. THADDEUS TIKIUN, JR., CHAIRPERSON, 
           ASSOCIATION OF VILLAGE COUNCIL PRESIDENTS

    Mr. Tikiun. Thank you very much.
    Good afternoon. My name is Thad Tikiun. I am the Chairman 
for the Association of Village Council Presidents, the regional 
tribal consortia for the 56 federally recognized tribes in the 
Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta.
    I would like to express our sincere appreciation to the 
Honorable Senator Lisa Murkowski, other esteemed members of the 
Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, and your staff for 
traveling to western Alaska for this hearing.
    For the past four years, we have felt as if the voices of 
the tribes, communities and families of western Alaska didn't 
matter. But by coming here today, you have shown that we do 
matter. Thank you.
    I would like to recognize the representatives from our 
sister tribal organizations and the regions and tribes who have 
traveled here today.
    For thousands of years, our ancestors have managed our land 
and rivers and our natural resources. Our ancestors only took 
what they needed. There was always enough, both for present and 
future generations.
    Subsistence resources, including Chinook and chum salmon, 
are essential for meeting the nutritional needs of the YK Delta 
residents, but their importance touches on all aspects of 
Yup'ik, Cup'ik, and Athabascan culture, life and identity. 
Sharing subsistence salmon harvests is a deeply held cultural 
value in our communities, ensuring the needs of neighbors, 
elders, and entire communities are well cared for.
    During salmon runs, families along the Kuskokwim River and 
Yukon River gather at fish camps to practice and share 
traditional knowledge and our ways of life. Fish camps are 
where families learn essential subsistence skills, pass 
traditional knowledge through generations, enjoy kinship and 
cultural growth, and set aside food for the winter. This is how 
we pass on our way of life.
    However, things are very different today. We are in a 
crisis situation in western Alaska. I am a person who does not 
use the word crisis loosely. I have never seen salmon returns 
so low on the Kuskokwim River, where I have lived my whole 
life, or on the Yukon River, where I have traveled many times 
and have many friends and family members who live there.
    Historically low runs have resulted in significant 
restrictions on salmon for Chinook and chum salmon reserve 
stock and to meet escapement goals. Due to the high reliance on 
wild food, primarily salmon, in our region, these restrictions 
have a direct and outsized impact on the rural subsistence 
users along the Kuskokwim and Yukon Rivers, and have increased 
the pressure on other fish stocks as communities sought to 
replace Chinook and chum salmon with other food sources.
    While over 100 tribal communities are being restricted to 
the point of being unable to catch a single salmon, the State 
of Alaska and some Federal management agencies are carrying on 
business as usual. There is simply no sense of urgency.
    Fisheries management practices that are contributing to the 
salmon crisis are being allowed to continue, and indigenous and 
traditional knowledge of the ones who have managed these 
resources for centuries is being ignored.
    In 1977, there was another Congressional hearing in Bethel. 
At that time, our elders asked Congress to protect our 
subsistence life and limit State management of subsistence 
resources. Forty-six years later, we are here again asking for 
the same thing.
    The State's refusal to recognize Federal management on the 
Federal waters of the Kuskokwim is another example. The Alaska 
National Interest Lands Conservation Act, ANILCA, guarantees 
rural subsistence priority in these waters, yet the State has 
ignored ANILCA and is trying to [indiscernible] priority in 
current litigation.
    Federal management is also disruptive. Our communities work 
with the Department of Interior on inter-fisheries management. 
But from 3 to 200 miles offshore, the Department of Commerce 
and the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council have 
ultimate control over salmon fisheries management. The agencies 
have very different approaches. Interior, under the Federal 
trust responsibility, has worked with us, but Commerce does 
not. We need those making management decisions to listen to 
tribes, listen to communities that are being impacted, include 
our traditional knowledge, in your decision making process.
    Start using current scientific information objectively 
instead of only focusing on data that supports industry. We are 
the tipping point and the State and Federal agencies don't 
start acting on things within their control, our salmon are not 
going to recover. I see today's hearing as a turning point on 
this crisis, because it signals your willingness to support our 
region and our way of life. It is time for a new path.
    Please, one, amend ANILCA to protect once and for all 
Alaska Native and rural subsistence rights. Two, consider 
management amendments to the Magnuson-Stevens Act or other 
legislation that will prioritize salmon recovery. Include our 
traditional knowledge and honor the trust responsibility that 
the United States Government holds to our tribal communities.
    AVCP and nearly 100,000 Alaska Natives who are being 
impacted by this crisis thank you for coming here to listen to 
us and for taking action. Thank you very much.
    [The prepared statement of Mr. Tikiun follows:]

     Prepared Statement of Hon. Thaddeus Tikiun, Jr., Chairperson, 
               Association of Village Council Presidents
    Thank you for the opportunity to testify today. Good afternoon. My 
name is Thad Tikiun, and I am the chairman of the Association of 
Village Council Presidents--the regional tribal consortia of the 56 
federally recognized Tribes in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta.
    I would like to express our sincere appreciation to the honorable 
Senator Murkowski, other esteemed members of the Senate Committee on 
Indian Affairs, and your staff for traveling to Western Alaska for this 
hearing. For the past four years, we have felt as if the voices of the 
Tribes, communities, and families of Western Alaska don't matter. But, 
by coming here today, you have shown that we do matter. Thank you.
    I would also like to recognize the representatives from our sister 
tribal organizations and the region's Tribes who have traveled here 
today. Our way of life is inextricably linked with our rivers and our 
Bering Sea ecosystem, which form the foundation of our culture, our 
food security, and our collective future. And all of our communities 
are unified by the central role that salmon play in our cultural, 
spiritual, and nutritional well-being.
AVCP is Deeply Concerned About the Health and Existence of Our 
        Communities
    AVCP is a non-profit tribal consortium based in Bethel, Alaska, 
dedicated to protecting and supporting the interests of its 56 member 
Tribes and their tribal citizens. Founded in 1964, AVCP provides human, 
social, and other culturally relevant services to its member Tribes to 
promote self-determination and protection and enhancement of cultural 
and traditional values. AVCP's purpose is to promote the common good 
and social welfare of the region's residents through its programs 
related to housing, employment, environmental matters, and health 
services, and to advocate for the region's Tribes and residents. AVCP 
member Tribes and their tribal citizens speak their original languages 
and practice a subsistence way of life that has been continuously 
maintained since time immemorial.
    AVCP's member Tribes are located in communities throughout the 
Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta (YK Delta) in an area of approximately 59,000 
square miles. The YK Delta is named after the two large rivers in the 
area: the Yukon River and the Kuskokwim River. Many AVCP communities 
are located along these rivers and originated from traditional hunting 
areas or fish camps. The YK Delta is not accessible by roads and the 
rivers and tributaries provide connectivity between communities as well 
as access to important subsistence resources, including fish like 
Chinook and chum salmon. Households in the region experience more food 
insecurity than in other areas of the state and nation. Salmon make up 
over 50 percent of the region's subsistence harvests. \1\ Over half of 
the Chinook salmon caught for subsistence across the state are caught 
in the Kuskokwim region, where salmon are over 85 percent of the 
subsistence harvest by poundage. \2\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\ KUSKOKWIM RIVER INTER-TRIBAL FISH COMMISSION, SALMON SITUATION 
REPORT 4 (Sept. 2021).
    \2\ Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Subsistence resources, including Chinook and chum salmon, are 
essential for meeting the nutritional needs of YK Delta residents but 
their importance extends into all aspects of Yup'ik, Cup'ik, and 
Athabascan cultural life and identity. Sharing subsistence salmon 
harvests is a deeply-held cultural value in our region's communities, 
as it ensures that neighbors, elders, and the entire community are well 
cared for. Participating in subsistence activities is also fundamental 
for the transmission of our culture: during salmon runs, families along 
the Kuskokwim River and Yukon River gather at fish camps to practice 
and share traditional knowledge and Our Way of Life. Fish camps are 
where families learn essential subsistence skills, pass Traditional 
Knowledge through generations, enjoy kinship and cultural growth, and 
set aside food for leaner seasons.
The Loss of Salmon is a Crisis for Our Rivers, Our Communities, and Our 
        Way of Life
    Unfortunately those days of abundance are gone and we are now in a 
crisis situation in Western Alaska--and I am not a person who uses the 
word ``crisis'' loosely. I have never seen salmon returns so low on the 
Kuskokwim River, where I have lived my whole life, or on the Yukon 
River, where I have traveled many times and have many friends and 
family members who live there. This crisis is unlike any other in 
living memory.
    Chinook and chum salmon numbers have declined precipitously during 
the past several years. 2021 was the eighth year that Chinook runs were 
too low to support subsistence fishing needs and the first year that 
once-abundant chum salmon returns were lower than Chinook runs. \3\ 
These low return numbers resulted in significant restrictions on 
fishing for both species to preserve stocks and meet escapement goals. 
Due to the high reliance on wild food, primarily salmon, in the region, 
these restrictions have a direct and outsized impact on the rural 
subsistence users along the Kuskokwim River and Yukon River and have 
increased the pressure on other fish stocks as communities sought to 
replace Chinook and chum salmon with other food sources. \4\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \3\ Id. at 6.
    \4\ Id. at 7; see also Robert J. Wolfe & Joseph Spaeder, People and 
Salmon of the Yukon and Kuskokwim Drainages and Norton Sound: Fishery 
Harvests, Culture Change, and Local Knowledge Systems, AM. FISHERIES 
SOC'Y SYMPOSIUM 70, 373 (2009).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    In 2022, the multi-species salmon collapse continued and resulted 
in the ``complete closure of much of the coho salmon run,'' making the 
2022 season ``the most restricted subsistence fishing season ever seen 
on the Kuskokwim.'' \5\ In addition, the 2022 chum salmon run appeared 
``to be the second lowest chum salmon return on record, better only 
than the 2021 return.'' Not long ago chum salmon ``used to return to 
middle and headwaters tributaries in the millions, feeding more than 
just human subsistence users, but bears, vegetation, and other life. 
The lack of chum salmon in tributary valleys has the potential to 
significantly affect the health of the Kuskokwim ecosystem.'' \6\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \5\ KUSKOKWIM RIVER INTER-TRIBAL FISH COMMISSION, KUSKOKWIM RIVER 
SALMON SITUATION REPORT 3 (Oct. 3, 2022).
    \6\ Id. at 5.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    On the Kuskokwim, Yukon, and in the Bering Strait region, over 100 
tribal communities are being greatly impacted by these low salmon runs. 
And while we are being restricted to the point of being unable to catch 
a single salmon, the State of Alaska and some federal management 
agencies are carrying on business as usual.
Current Fisheries Management Structures Are Unwilling to Address the 
        Salmon Crisis
    Since time immemorial, our people relied on our Traditional 
Knowledge to take care of and steward the Kuskokwim River and Yukon 
River so that fish would return the following summer. We managed the 
salmon harvests in accordance with our traditional rules and values, 
and we managed it well. Yet now State management and disjointed federal 
management have resulted in this crisis.
    Taking State management first, as one of the leading Alaska law 
treatises states, ``[i]t is a fact of Alaska political life that the 
Alaska Department of Fish and Game is dominated by non-native urban, 
sport, and commercial hunting and fishing interests.'' \7\ The State 
has long prioritized commercial and sport fishing, to the detriment of 
our subsistence resources. This is not a new issue. Congress has been 
to Bethel before and heard the same messages from our aunts and uncles 
and grandparents before us.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \7\ DAVID CASE & DAVID VOLUCK, ALASKA NATIVES AND AMERICAN LAWS 294 
(3d ed. 2012)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Forty-six years ago in 1977, the House Subcommittee on General 
Oversight and Alaska Lands came here, to Bethel, and held an afternoon 
hearing at Bethel High School. At that hearing, Representative Udall 
told attendees that Congress wanted to make ``decisions knowing what 
your needs are and what you think and what you believe.'' \8\ And at 
that hearing, our elders asked Congress to (1) protect our subsistence 
rights, and (2) curtail State management of subsistence resources.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \8\ Inclusion of Alaska Lands in Nat'l Park, Forest Wildlife 
Refuge, & Wild & Scenic River Sys. (1977): Hr'gs on H.R. 39 Before the 
Subcomm. on Gen. Oversight & Alaska Lands of the House Comm. on 
Interior & Insular Affs., 95th Cong., pt. XIII, at 2 [hereinafter GOAL 
Hearings, Part XIII].
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    For example, Charlie Kairaiuak testified that the federal refuge 
that was then being contemplated by Congress ``should be run by 
cooperative management between Federal Government and the local people 
because we do not trust the State anymore.'' \9\ When asked about the 
draft bill's proposal for local subsistence boards, Glen Fredericks 
testified that he thought it was a good idea because ``we have better 
relations with the federal government,'' specifically the Department of 
Interior and its U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. \10\ Harold Sparck spoke 
to the failures and hostility of state management: ``Right now, we have 
our people lock-stepped into a system of laws and regulations that 
prohibits them from being the way they are. We have laws that make 
people criminals and they are only practicing their lifestyle.'' \11\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \9\ Id. at 21.
    \10\ Id. at 10 (exchange between Mr. Fredericks and Representative 
Seiberling).
    \11\ Id. at 28.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    These comments left an impression. At a hearing in the Interior a 
week after the Bethel hearing, Representative Udall stated ``[o]n this 
subsistence question, my bill gives priority to subsistence use. If 
there is one thing we have heard all over this State, it is the 
emphasis by the Native people on the importance of subsistence.'' \12\ 
Committee member Representative Seiberling likewise confirmed that in 
``all of the native villages'' he had visited, ``the natives prefer to 
have the'' federal government ``instead of the State because their 
experience with State management has'' not prioritized subsistence 
users \13\--a criticism for which Alaska Governor Jay Hammond candidly 
admitted to the Subcommittee that there was ``some justification, I 
must admit.'' \14\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \12\ Id. at 114.
    \13\ Id. at 115.
    \14\ Inclusion of Alaska Lands in Nat'l Park, Forest Wildlife 
Refuge, & Wild & Scenic River Sys. (1977): Hr'gs on H.R. 39 Before the 
Subcomm. on Gen. Oversight & Alaska Lands of the House Comm. on 
Interior & Insular Affs., 95th Cong., pt. XII, at 12.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Three years later Congress enacted the Alaska National Interest 
Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA). In Title VIII of ANILCA, Congress 
expressly recognized that subsistence is ``essential to the Native 
physical, economic, traditional, and cultural existence and to non-
Native physical, economic, traditional, and social existence.'' \15\ In 
order to ensure these values were protected in perpetuity, Congress 
provided rural residents a priority for customary and traditional 
subsistence uses above other purposes on federal lands and waters. \16\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \15\ 16 U.S.C.  3111(1).
    \16\ 16 U.S.C.   3102(2), (3), 3112, 3114.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    But ANILCA's protections apply only to federal lands and waters. On 
State lands and State waters (extending out to three miles offshore), 
State management still effectively prioritizes commercial and sport 
interests. For example, the State Board of Fisheries has been unwilling 
to take any action to reign in intercept fisheries. These State-managed 
fisheries continue to catch enormous amounts of salmon, while salmon 
returns to our rivers are at historic lows.
    And even on federal lands and waters the State is not acting in the 
best interests of our communities and rural subsistence users. For 
example, the State is currently fighting federal management of the 
federal waters of the Kuskokwim River. In U.S. v. Alaska, case no. 
1:22-cv-00054-SLG, the State of Alaska filed a brief on September 1, 
2023, in which it argued that the Katie John line of cases should be 
overturned, which would end the federal subsistence priority, the 
regional advisory council framework, and local co-management of the 
river, all of which AVCP suggested to Congress over forty-five years 
ago.
    As for the federal government, its salmon management is disjointed. 
While tribal communities in our region work cooperatively with the U.S. 
Fish and Wildlife Service of the Department of Interior on in-river 
management, fisheries management 3 to 200 miles offshore is governed by 
the North Pacific Fishery Management Council (NPFMC) and the Department 
of Commerce. Like the Alaska Board of Fisheries, the NPFMC is dominated 
by members who are employed by or are otherwise loyal to large, private 
commercial fishing interests (many of which are located out-of-state 
and are in some cases foreign-owned). And like the State of Alaska, the 
U.S. Department of Commerce has done little to protect salmon stocks 
and, by extension, our communities.
    Together the Alaska Department of Fish and Game and the U.S. 
Department of Commerce have overseen the long-term, catastrophic 
decline of salmon runs in Western and Interior Alaska. Neither have 
taken substantial actions to preserve what is left of our salmon runs, 
much less restore them. There is simply no sense of urgency--both 
continue business as usual, and in so doing ignore the health and 
cultural wellbeing of our YK Delta tribal communities.
    As Elder Dorothy Napoleon told Congress here in Bethel over four 
decades ago, ``AVCP is concerned about the future of the people living 
here and their children's future.'' \17\ AVCP remains committed to 
protecting and maintaining the region's natural resources so that 
current and future generations of rural residents can continue to 
practice a traditional subsistence way of life. Current salmon 
management is fractured, inadequate, and inequitable. It is time for a 
new path. Please (1) amend ANILCA to protect, once and for all, Alaska 
Native and rural subsistence hunting and fishing rights, and ensure our 
peoples' ability to co-manage these resources, and (2) consider 
amendments to the Magnuson-Stevens Act or other legislation that will 
prioritize salmon recovery, include our Traditional Knowledge, and 
honor the trust responsibility that the United States government owes 
to our tribal communities.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \17\ GOAL Hearings, Part XIII, at 18.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    I see today's hearing as turning point in this crisis, because it 
signals your willingness to support our region, and Our Way of Life. 
AVCP and the nearly 100,000 Alaska Natives who are being impacted by 
this crisis thank you.

    Senator Murkowski. Thank you, Chairman.
    Chief Ridley?

 STATEMENT OF HON. BRIAN RIDLEY, CHIEF/CHAIRMAN, TANANA CHIEFS 
                           CONFERENCE

    Mr. Ridley. Thank you, Senator, for having us here. I want 
to thank YKHC and the other native organizations here for 
hosting us.
    My name is Brian Ridley and I am the Chief-Chairman of the 
Tanana Chiefs Conference, which serves 37 federally recognized 
tribes within interior Alaska. I am a tribal member of the 
Native village of Eagle, located on the Yukon River at the 
Canadian border. My family is Han Gwich'in and we have 
relatives on both sides of the Canadian border, which is why we 
meeting true escapement goals are so important to me. The 
tribes along the Yukon have completely shouldered all of the 
ramifications of the salmon collapse, yet they were not the 
cause of it.
    The State of Alaska is telling us that the only way that 
our salmon stocks can be rebuilt is in hatcheries. However, 
recent science clearly demonstrates that hatcheries are not the 
solution, as the State and others suggest. Calling for millions 
more in research is a stall tactic by the industry to keep 
doing what they have been doing.
    As of today, prohibited species catch of salmon is over 
130,000 salmon. While Federal staff and North Pacific Fisheries 
Management Council managers say it is only 1 to 3 percent of 
the catch, we know that every salmon counts.
    Trawlers throw away our fish and keep fishing, while our 
fisheries are closed, our smokehouses are empty, and our people 
are criminals for catching just one fish. Our children have 
never handled salmon. Our fishermen are depressed, and the 
results are devastating our communities.
    Here is what we and our member tribes have been doing. Our 
tribes implemented a self-imposed moratorium which allowed the 
U.S. to meet Chinook salmon escapement goals into Canada in 
2018. To provide protein, sustenance, and heritage, we are now 
supporting commercial fisheries by buying salmon for our 
people. In 2022, we distributed over 90,000 pounds of salmon, 
including purchase, shipping, storage, and packaging. And in 
2023, we distributed another 90,000 pounds.
    You want to subsidize commercial fishermen for fishing too 
much? Then you can pay our million-dollar expense as we try to 
buy salmon for our people.
    We tried to seek State Board of Fish action to mitigate, 
intercept and protect subsistence fisheries as required by the 
law. They took no action, and in a three to four vote, two of 
the four said it was all about the money. The problem with 
North Pacific Fisheries Management Council and the State Board 
of Fish is these boards are made up of industry representatives 
responsible for over-fishing our oceans.
    We also briefed and requested intervention from our State 
legislature, to no avail. We briefed and requested Secretarial 
intervention and use of withdraw authority, to no avail.
    With little choice, we finally have engaged in litigation 
in an attempt to have NOAA/NMFS follow the law. I am here to 
ask you, the SCIA, Congress, and the Federal Government, to 
uphold the promise Congress made to our people during land 
claims. I am here to ask you to uphold your trust 
responsibility to our tribal governments and citizens as 
enshrined in Federal Indian law.
    We are urging the Committee and the Administration to help 
bring our fish back before they go extinct and are an 
endangered species. Stop subsidizing the pollock and cod 
industries through USDA purchasing surplus fish under the 
Section 32 program. This only rewards over-fishing.
    Stop minimizing the impact of trawlers and of bycatch and 
the long-term cumulative impacts associated with this practice. 
In any other harvest of fish and wildlife, the word for 
``bycatch'' is wanton waste. It is illegal and goes against our 
Native traditional values.
    Amend and reauthorize the MSA to provide for disaster 
declaration and subsequent relief for loss of subsistence 
fisheries. Add at least two tribal seats to the North Pacific 
Fisheries Management Council. Relocate the National Marine 
Fisheries Service from the Department of Commerce to the 
Department of Interior to center sustainability of fisheries 
and food security over economic interests.
    Introduce legislation recognizing Alaska Native tribal 
hunting and fishing rights. Utilize and encourage DOI 
Secretarial authority to protect the subsistence needs of the 
Alaska Native people.
    If we made a mistake, it was trusting the State and Feds to 
manage a resource that we managed for thousands of years. In 
the short 65 years, our fish are nearly going extinct.
    The bottom line is the only path forward is co-management 
or management by our Native people. We are not trying to shut 
down trawling, but get them to cut back and share in the 
conservation.
    The biggest issue that I see is our fish are trying to make 
it through the State Area M and then the Federal Bering Sea. We 
are just trying to get all those areas to cut back a little bit 
to help us conserve and bring back our fish.
    Thank you. Mahsi' Choo.
    [The prepared statement of Mr. Ridley follows:]

Prepared Statement of Hon. Brian Ridley, Chief/Chairman, Tanana Chiefs 
                               Conference
    My name is Brian Ridley and I serve as the Chief-Chairman of the 
Tanana Chiefs Conference, which serves 37 federally recognized 
sovereign Tribal governments and 43 tribal communities located in the 
Interior Alaska whose homelands approximate the size of Texas. I am a 
Tribal Citizen of Eagle, Alaska, located on the Yukon River at the 
Canadian border. My family is Han Gwichin and we have relatives on both 
sides of the Canadian border. The Tribes along the Yukon, particularly 
those upriver, have completely shouldered all of the ramifications of 
the salmon collapse, yet they are not complicit in the decline.
    The indigenous people of the TCC region have been living in a 
relationship with salmon since time immemorial. Western scientists 
recently documented our customary and traditional use of salmon in the 
Tanana Valley beginning at least 11,000 years ago. This is the earliest 
evidence of human relationships with salmon in all of North America. 
Our people are salmon people. Our health and the health of the salmon 
are linked, the salmon suffer and our people suffer.
    The science is clear, it is not a debate: all Yukon River salmon 
stocks are in dire peril. The State of Alaska is telling us that the 
only way that Canadian Chinook and fall chum salmon stocks can be 
rebuilt is with hatcheries. However, recent science clearly 
demonstrates that hatcheries are not the solution as the State of 
Alaska and many others have suggested.
    Many things contribute to the declines of Yukon River salmon 
populations, from climate change, heat stress, interception fisheries, 
bycatch, competition with hatchery fish, ichthyophonus, rising ocean 
temperatures and ocean acidification. However, we must focus on those 
areas within direct human control and we must take management actions 
immediately. Calling for more research is not enough.
    Salmon bycatch in the Bering Sea commercial fisheries, including 
pollock, has been blamed by many for the demise of salmon fisheries in 
the Yukon River and throughout coastal western Alaska.
    There's a reason for this: as of today, the prohibited species 
catch of salmon is over 130 thousand salmon, the vast majority of which 
are chum. While federal staff and NPFMC managers continue to diminish 
the impact of salmon bycatch in federal fisheries of the Bering Sea, we 
know that every salmon matters whether it's in the Gulf of Alaska, 
Bering Sea, or attempting to reach spawning grounds in Canada on the 
Yukon River. Trawlers throw our fish away and keep fishing. While our 
fisheries are closed. Our smokehouses empty.
    All but bycatch allows the pursuit of annual fishery disaster 
declarations for salmon fisheries for the Yukon River. Bycatch, on the 
other hand, is controlled by the North Pacific Fishery Management 
Council, and not an allowable cause for a declaration of fisheries 
disaster under the MSA. Most troubling is the fact that federal fishery 
disaster declarations are largely for commercial fisheries economic 
losses. However, under the MSA, loss of a subsistence fishermen may 
receive a disaster declaration if an economic fishery disaster hinders 
the customary and traditional selling, bartering, and trading economy 
of the fishery.
    This is absolutely the case along the Yukon River, where depleted 
salmon runs have prevented our salmon people from fishing, and from 
participating in traditional economic practices of selling, bartering, 
and trading. Further, totally unaddressed through existing federal 
processes is the loss of Tribal food sovereignty and food security, the 
ability to teach our children and transmit Indigenous Knowledge related 
to salmon stewardship, including providing for healthy salmon and 
salmon populations, processing, preparation, and storing. Entire social 
networks, health, and wellbeing has been devastated. Our children have 
never handled salmon, our fishermen slump into depression and the 
results are devastating our communities.
    While the state and federal government have continued conducting 
studies on the impacts of climate change, debating the impacts of 
bycatch and intercept fisheries, and subsidizing commercial fisheries, 
here is what we and our member Tribes have been doing:

   We have not fished. We implemented a self-imposed moratorium 
        in an attempt to allow spawning fish the best possible chance, 
        which resulted in meeting Chinook salmon border passage goals 
        into Canada that year.

   We have left fish camps empty--many of our children have not 
        fished in their lifetime.

   We were told to buy 7.5 inch mesh mets for our people, so we 
        bought 7.5 inch nets

   We were told to buy 6 inch nets for our people, so we bought 
        6 in nets

   We were told to buy 4 inch nets for our people, so we bought 
        4 in nets

   To provide protein, sustenance, and heritage, we are now 
        supporting commercial fisheries by buying salmon for our 
        people; in 2022 we distributed over 90 thousand pounds of 
        salmon including purchase, shipping, charters, storage, and 
        packaging, and in 2023 we distributed another 90 thousand 
        pounds.

   We have educated ourselves on ocean fisheries science;

   We have spent thousands on legal action and advocacy 
        including:

         -- Ensuring passage of Resolutions at the Alaska Federations 
        of Natives and National Congress of American Indians urging for 
        the mitigation of intercept fisheries and trawler fleet 
        bycatch;

         -- Facilitating historic Tribal representation to seek BOF 
        action to mitigate intercept and protect subsistence fisheries 
        as required by law--they took no action in a 3 to 4 vote, not 
        unanimous;

         -- Continuing attendance at the North Pacific Fisheries 
        Management Council to address ongoing bycatch and destructive 
        trawler fleet fishing practices--again to no avail, as these 
        boards are made up of industry representatives responsible for 
        overfishing our oceans;

         -- Briefed and requested intervention from our state 
        legislature--to no avail;

         -- Briefed and requested Secretarial intervention and use of 
        withdrawal authority--to no avail;

         -- Left with little choice, we finally have engaged in 
        litigation in an attempt to have NOAA/NMFS follow the law.

    I am here to ask you, the SCIA, Congress and the Federal 
Government, to uphold the promise Congress made to our people during 
land claims. I am here to ask you to uphold your trust responsibility 
to our Tribal Governments and citizens as enshrined in Federal Indian 
Law.
    We are urging the Committee to work with the Alaska Congressional 
Delegation, including Congresswoman Peltola, the US House and Senate 
Natural Resources Subcommittees, and the Administration to help bring 
our fish back. Our asks:

   Stop subsidizing the pollock and cod industries through the 
        USDA practice of purchasing `surplus' pollock and cod trawled 
        from the Bering Sea under the section 32 program.

   Stop minimizing the impact of trawlers and of bycatch, and 
        the LONG TERM CUMULATIVE IMPACTS associated with this practice. 
        In any other harvest of fish and wildlife, the word for 
        `bycatch' is wanton waste.

   Amend and reauthorize the MSA to:

         -- adequately provide for Disaster Declaration and subsequent 
        relief for loss of subsistence fisheries and the ways of life 
        they support;

         -- add at least two Tribal seats to the North Pacific 
        Fisheries Management Council appointed by the Secretary of the 
        Interior.

   Relocate the National Marine Fisheries Service from the 
        Department of Commerce to the Department of the Interior to 
        center sustainability of fisheries ecosystems and food security 
        over economic interests of multi-billion dollar industrial 
        commercial fishing corporations without regard for ecosystem 
        impacts.

   Introduce legislation recognizing Alaska Native Tribal 
        Hunting and Fishing Rights.

   Per the Congressional Promise, utilize DOI Secretarial 
        Authority to ``protect the subsistence needs of the Natives.'' 
        This could include the entire Yukon River, and critical state 
        and federal waters of the South Alaska Peninsula currently 
        managed by the Alaska Board of Fisheries, and bycatch hot spots 
        within the Bering Sea.

   Ensure Congress, and all agencies within the federal 
        government, within the Departments of Commerce, Agriculture, 
        Interior, and State uphold their Federal Trust obligations to 
        the federally recognized Tribes of all Alaska as mandated by 
        Federal Indian Law.
    Mahsi' Choo.
    Attachment

    The Tanana Chiefs Conference (TCC) appreciates the opportunity to 
submit additional written testimony regarding the ``The Impact of the 
Historic Salmon Declines on the Health and Well-Being of Alaska Native 
Communities along Arctic, Yukon, and Kuskokwim Rivers.''
    TCC is an intertribal consortium of 42 Tribal communities, 
including 37 federally recognized Indian Tribes, located throughout 
Alaska's interior. TCC serves approximately 18,000 Alaska Natives in 
Fairbanks, where our headquarters is located, and in the rural villages 
located along the 1,400 miles of the Yukon River and its tributaries. 
Our villages are remote, often without road access, and largely 
inaccessible by car. Alaska Native residents must overcome many 
challenges to sustain healthy communities, educate our children, ensure 
our safety, and care for our elders. Given the complicated land status 
in Alaska, Tribes often lack designated territory to provide services 
or the ability to adequately protect the lands they have for future 
generations. Compounding these challenges, we now have a Yukon River 
without fish, whether caused by climate change, years of mismanagement, 
commercial overfishing, or any other reason, means our people face 
severe food insecurity.
    The indigenous people of the TCC region have been living in a 
relationship with salmon since time immemorial. Western scientists 
recently documented our customary and traditional use of salmon in the 
Tanana Valley beginning at least 11,000 years ago. This is the earliest 
evidence of human relationships with salmon in all of North America. 
Our people are salmon people. Our health and the health of the salmon 
are linked, the salmon suffer and our people suffer.
    TCC appreciates the questions of Senator Murkowski during the 
hearing and would like to provide responses below.
What does it mean when your primary food source is not available?
    TCC's member tribes and beneficiaries depended on salmon as a 
significant portion of their diets. The Eastern Interior Regional 
Advisory Council includes 20 TCC member tribes. \1\ Reviewing data from 
the Alaska Department of Fish and Game Community Subsistence 
Information System, \2\ during the 1980s and 1990s, salmon species made 
up 68 percent of their subsistence harvest, which was equivalent to 
1,051,366 edible pounds. In the 2000s and 2010s, salmon species made up 
62 percent of their subsistence harvest, which was equivalent to 
368,677 edible pounds. The Western Interior Regional Advisory Council 
includes 19 TCC member tribes, \3\ and during the 1980s and 1990s, 
salmon species made up 55 percent of their subsistence harvest, which 
was equivalent to 974,385 edible pounds. In the 2000s and 2010s, salmon 
species made up 44 percent of their subsistence harvest, which was 
equivalent to 200,199 edible pounds. It can be estimated that salmon 
comprised 53 percent of the diets of tribal community members in the 
TCC region.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\ https://www.doi.gov/subsistence/regions/ei_communities
    \2\ https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/sb/CSIS/
index.cfm?ADFG=harvInfo.fedSubData
    \3\ https://www.doi.gov/subsistence/regions/wi_communities
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    When salmon is not available, TCC tribal members face a food 
insecurity crisis.

        1.  Many villages are far removed from well-stocked grocery 
        stores. Access to fresh fruit, vegetables, and healthy meat and 
        fish are limited, too expensive, and not a replacement for 
        harvesting wild foods.

        2.  Availability of other fish species are not available. The 
        salmon crash has increased regulations on the Yukon River, 
        which limits tribal members' ability to subsist for other 
        species. Gear type on the Yukon River allows four-inch nets, 
        which many of our tribal members do not have or do not have the 
        means to purchase. In the summer of 2023, it was reported to 
        TCC at subregional meetings that Tribal members attempted to 
        target white fish and other non-salmon species and had little 
        to no success.

        3.  Hunting is not a viable supplement or replacement for 
        salmon. Village residents continue to witness increased numbers 
        of outside hunters in their traditional use areas, impacting 
        traditional hunting opportunities for species that would be 
        targeted in years of poor salmon runs. Additionally, game is 
        facing similar climate change challenges with changes in 
        weather, seasons, and food sources available to them.

    It is important to highlight that salmon does not only affect 
humans. Salmon is the primary food source for a number of our animal 
relatives and the lack of salmon is creating havoc in the ecosystem. 
During salmon runs, bears will selectively eat the fattiest parts of 
the salmon, leaving the carcass behind that provides food to other 
species, like wolves, fox, birds, and insects. Nitrogen from salmon is 
further spread to trees through feces expelled from wildlife. Lastly, 
nutrients not absorbed flow back in the stream to the ocean, where tiny 
organisms eat and regenerate the ocean's ecosystem. The lack of salmon 
is disrupting the ecosystem that had provided for generations under 
tribal stewardship.
    When the primary food source is not available in our villages, it 
means our tribal members have no alternatives. Their only option is to 
purchase low-quality foods, often times high in sugar and starch, from 
local grocery stores to feed their families because it is the only 
thing they can afford. Not having salmon, our primary food source, is a 
form of cultural genocide. Our tribal members are once again forced out 
of our ways of life to conform to Western civilization.
What are the impacts when families cannot harvest together?
    Harvesting salmon is ceremonial. What is eaten and what is left 
untouched are often life lessons retold from the elders to their young 
through storytelling. Each family member at camp is responsible for a 
job and share a sense of community and responsibility. Fish camp is 
hard work and builds life skills. Traditional hunting, fishing, and 
gathering embodies who our Tribes are as people, and provides important 
context and foundation to our way of life.
    Our bodies are on a cycle attuned to the environment. When the 
mosquitoes are out in full force, the sun is up deep into the night, 
and the cottonwood starts to fly, it signals it is time for fish camp. 
When there is no fish camp, we cannot do what the land tells our bodies 
to do. It creates an imbalance. We cannot satisfy this urge, and people 
face a sense of loss. There is nothing that can replace this tradition.
    Consider this analogy, imagine Christmas--each year your family has 
a tradition of putting up the Christmas tree, decorating, gathering, 
each person is responsible for a dish, opening presents, etc. Imagine 
if one year your whole community lost the ability to celebrate 
Christmas. Imagine how you would feel without the tradition and 
togetherness. Imagine how your children would feel without the feeling 
of wonder and excitement. Now imagine, you could not celebrate 
Christmas for four years and you have young children that have never 
experienced it.
    When our families cannot harvest salmon, it has reverberations that 
devastate individuals, families and communities. We mourn the salmon. 
We mourn the rituals and ceremonies. We mourn our way of life.
Are you concerned that we will continue to see greater healthcare and 
        mental health challenges when you do not have traditional food 
        sources?
    At its base, fishing provides access to healthy nutrients and fats 
that help combat food related diseases, such as diabetes, heart 
disease, and stroke. The act of going to fish camp, preparing camp, 
fishing, and processing fish is hard, physical activity. From dusk to 
dawn, families are working. Also, it helps families stay busy and 
maintain focus in the present moment, which is ideal for mental health.
    TCC provides healthcare and mental health services to the Interior 
42 communities. We are very concerned about the impacts on healthcare 
and mental health. In fact, TCC is already seeing the lack of healthy 
nutrients and fats impacting our tribal members. Over the last 10 
years, the salmon crisis is likely a contributing factor to the number 
of diabetic and pre-diabetic patients due to increased food insecurity 
and lifestyle changes.
    The Alaska Native diabetes prevalence statewide increased from 5.2 
percent in 2009 to 6.3 percent in 2019. \4\ Diabetes prevalence for 
Interior Alaska in 2019 was 6.9 percent, 0.6 percent above the 
statewide prevalence. TCC's data for Interior region Alaska natives had 
the following increases in diabetic and pre-diabetic data:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \4\ https://health.alaska.gov/dph/Chronic/Documents/Diabetes/
burden/2019_AlaskaDiabetesBurdenReport.pdf

------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Increase in
   patients with      2013 to 2016      2016 to 2019      2019 to 2023
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Diabetes            24.6%             11.3%             24.6%
Pre-diabetic        21.9%             19%               70%
 patients
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Between 2019 to 2023, there was a 70 percent increase in pre-
diabetic patients. The lack of salmon is clearly already affecting our 
health and will continue to decline our tribal member's health. TCC is 
very concerned that in the long term, we will see an increase in cancer 
prevalence and other diseases due to the food insecurity and lack of 
quality food our tribal members are facing. Alaska will then be facing 
a health crisis in addition to a salmon crisis.
Are we incorporating the input of local people who have the local 
        knowledge given on how the salmon is managed?
    The state management is antagonistic with tribal subsistence 
activities as the state prioritizes commercial and recreational fishing 
and hunting activities. Commercial and recreational users generate 
revenue for the State of Alaska and the State places a premium on those 
users' ability to hunt and fish. Subsistence users do not have the same 
voice in the State's decisionmaking process and our needs and access to 
subsistence opportunities are not treated on par with those of 
commercial and recreational users.
    The Alaska Board of Fisheries and Alaska Department of Fish and 
Game (ADF&G) continue to remain largely unconcerned about the dwindling 
Yukon River salmon returns. For example, despite 23 years of 
ineffective state management in improving returns of the Yukon River 
Chinook salmon as a Yield Concern established in 2000, no higher level 
of Stock of Concern designation has been made to be consistent with 
their own Sustainable Salmon Fisheries Management Policy (5 AAC 
39.222). Yukon River Chinook salmon should at a minimum be considered a 
Stock of Management Concern, if not the most severe Conservation 
Concern given that ADF&G Commissioner's statements that the only viable 
way of rebuilding Canadian-origin Chinook and chum salmon is through 
hatcheries, which TCC and Yukon River Intertribal Fish Commission both 
oppose.
    Further, federal agencies defer to the state and its management 
decisionmaking which undercuts tribal subsistence users and traditional 
and local knowledge. The federal government and agencies have a trust 
duty and obligation to ensure that state management decisions impacting 
tribal subsistence users are not rubber stamped. Federal agencies 
should plot their own management course and decisions in partnership 
with tribes when state management decisions undercut tribal sovereignty 
and disadvantage tribal subsistence users.
    For local and indigenous knowledge to be adequately included in 
salmon management and research, it must be fully integrated into how 
decision are made. This would include:

        1.  Having Alaska Natives tribal representative seat on the 
        Board of Fish and North Pacific Fisheries Management Council in 
        a meaningful not tokenized way. This has long been a request of 
        TCC, and is the only way to ensure indigenous knowledge is 
        included in decisionmaking.

        2.  Provide ample opportunity for Alaska Native participation 
        in Board of Fish and North Pacific Fisheries Management Council 
        processes, including testimony and participation in ``committee 
        of the whole'' through ensuring online and telephonic 
        participation options. Currently, the Board of Fish boasts it 
        represents the best public process of fisheries management in 
        the United States, yet with meetings only held in urban centers 
        is still largely inaccessible to those it impacts the most. 
        Alaska Natives spend hundreds of thousands of dollars annually 
        to travel and participate in the Board and councils, yet they 
        receive no funding to do so.

    As recognized by the Office of the President and the Office of the 
Secretary, the federal and state government must include Indigenous 
knowledge when making management decisions. Alaska Native subsistence 
users must be integrated into process, management, research, and 
decisionmaking at all levels.
How do you build capacity on co-management?
    Tribes have been stewards of the land since time immemorial and our 
Indigenous knowledge is invaluable. Tribes offer solutions based on 
Indigenous knowledge from administration, financial management, and 
planning, to documented observation and data collection networks, to 
regulatory analysis. Tribes have already proved they can effectively 
manage the lands and waters. We have been on these lands for over a 
millennia, and before colonization, you could not see evidence of our 
ancestors on the land.
    The lack of co-stewardship agreements is due to the lack of 
permanent, recurring and noncompetitive funding. You build capacity on 
co-management by not only talking about co-management and co-
stewardship, but also by allocating adequate and recurring funds that 
reflect the government's commitment. Three co-management organizations 
in Alaska receive Bureau of Indian Affairs Tribal Management/
Development Program line item Alaska Subsistence Projects funding. They 
must apply and compete for this funding annually, and receive it a year 
and a half after the start of the fiscal year.
    The Departments should work to fully implement Joint Secretarial 
Order No. 3403 (Nov. 15, 2021) to ensure tribes have a meaningful role 
in the management and stewardship of federal lands of special 
geographic, historic, and cultural significance. Tribes must be 
afforded the opportunity and adequate funding to manage federal lands 
of special geographic importance. To achieve this, Tribes should be 
provided 638 contracts for this management and the Departments should 
include a request for increased, noncompetitive, recurring funding for 
Alaska tribes into its budget request to Congress. The request should 
include a specific budget line item for tribal natural resources 
management in Alaska.
Ideas on how to fix the disjointed salmon management?
    TCC continues to face difficulties on salmon management. Salmon do 
not know boundaries. On their migration from the spawning grounds to 
the ocean and back, they go through matrices of jurisdiction, which 
impedes change. Often, TCC and Tribes are faced with one Board saying 
it is the responsibility of the Council and then have the Council say 
it is the responsibility of the Board, all of which prevents any 
significant action in salmon management.
    TCC calls for an ocean to headwaters permanent interagency Yukon 
River Salmon effort for comprehensive management assessment of Yukon 
River Salmon led by Tribes to address the disjointed salmon management.
Proposed management activities that have been rejected?
    1. In December 2021, TCC, along with other regional Tribal 
organizations, submitted an emergency petition to the Secretary of 
Commerce asking her help to address the severe and unforeseen 
ecological, economic, social, and public health concerns affecting 
Western and Interior Alaska communities due to the salmon crisis. 
Specifically, the petition asked the Secretary to take emergency action 
to eliminate Chinook salmon bycatch and set a cap on chum salmon 
bycatch in the Bering Sea pollock trawl fishery in the 2022 season. It 
also asked the Secretary to engage in meaningful consultation with 
Western and Interior Alaska Tribes to develop long-term measures to 
reduce salmon bycatch, ensure the long-term health of salmon stocks in 
Western and Interior Alaska, and meet the subsistence needs of 
communities in the regions. The Secretary denied our request for 
emergency action on January 25, 2022. The petition and the denial 
letter are posted on TCC's website here: https://www.tananachiefs.org/
emergencypetition-to-reduce-salmon-bycatch-denied/.

    2. In October 2022, TCC and member Tribes participated in a tribal 
consultation meeting with the Department of the Interior and the 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on fisheries protection 
and restoration issues. During the consultation, tribal leaders and 
subsistence users throughout the region stepped forward to demand 
action from the federal and state governments for the devastating 
salmon decline that has been impacting Tribes on the Yukon River. No 
significant action has happened.

    3. In February 2023, the Alaska Board of Fisheries failed to adopt 
Proposal 140 that aimed to reduce the allowed commercial fishing times 
and catch area by 60 percent in Area M during the month of June to 
protect Arctic-Yukon-Kuskokwim chum salmon from severe commercial 
interception. Instead, the Board of Fisheries approved the industry 
plan to reduce fishing time by 12 percent. Alaska Native peoples from 
throughout the Arctic-Yukon-Kuskokwim walked out of the meeting after a 
failed vote of 3-4 for their proposal.

    4. In October 2023, the North Pacific Fishery Management Council 
meeting was held where the Council reviewed a preliminary analysis on 
the Bering Sea Chum Bycatch Management. TCC and the Yukon River Inter-
Tribal Fish Commission asked the Council to take immediate regulatory 
action and define the set of alternatives to analyze to reduce Western 
Alaska Chum and Chinook prohibited species catch, specifically 
requesting the Council to include a zero Chum and Chinook cap in its 
analysis despite industry perspectives saying that such an alternative 
is unrealistic. The Council approved analyzing a set of alternative 
that change current Chum bycatch management measures, but failed to 
include a zero Chum and Chinook cap as requested by Tribes.

    Despite all these and other asks by TCC and the Interior Alaska 
Tribes calling on the federal and state governments for action on the 
salmon decline, no significant action has taken place.
Ideas to improve subsistence management now without legislation?
    TCC urges the Department of Interior to initiate a rulemaking to 
update the regulations governing Title VIII of the Alaska National 
Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA). TCC has prepared and attached 
a list of several substantive changes that will ensure tribal members 
will have better access to subsistence opportunities while improving 
the management of subsistence activities in Alaska. The revisions can 
be categorized as follows:

    1. Organization Changes:

        a.  Relocating the Office of Subsistence Management within the 
        Office of the Secretary; ensuring adequate Subsistence User and 
        Tribal representation on the Board; and ensuring appropriate 
        appointment of Regional Advisory Council Members.

        b.  Relocating the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) 
        within the Department of the Interior. This was the original 
        location of NMFS until 1970.

    2. Support the Federal Trust Responsibility: Clarifying Delegation 
of Authority to Federally Recognized Tribal Governments.

    3. Clarify Procedural Processes: Clarifying Emergency Procedures 
and ensuring Regional Advisory Councils inform federal decisionmaking 
affecting subsistence.

    TCC would also ask the Departments to review the 2010 Federal 
Subsistence Management Assessment. The recommendations outlined in that 
report were largely ignored but are still relevant today.
    TCC wants to emphasize the importance to prioritize fish disaster 
funds to subsistence fishermen and tribal consortiums. The most 
troubling fact is that federal fishery disaster declarations are 
largely for commercial fisheries economic losses. Under the Magnuson 
Stevens Act, loss of a subsistence fishermen may receive a disaster 
declaration if an economic fishery disaster hinders the customary and 
traditional selling, bartering, and trading economy of the fishery. 
Unaddressed through existing federal processes is the loss of Tribal 
food sovereignty and food security, the ability to teach our children 
and transmit Indigenous Knowledge related to salmon stewardship, 
including providing for healthy salmon and salmon populations, 
processing, preparation, and storing. Entire social networks, health, 
and wellbeing has been devastated. Our children have never handled 
salmon, our fishermen slump into depression and the results are 
devastating our communities. In fact, to provide protein, sustenance, 
and heritage, TCC is supporting commercial fisheries by buying salmon 
for our people; in 2022 we distributed over 90 thousand pounds of 
salmon, including purchase, shipping, charters, storage, and packaging, 
and in 2023 we spent over $850,000 to distribute another 90 thousand 
pounds.
    Salmon is life to our people living on the Yukon River. Our 
Athabascan people are resilient and have relied upon many species of 
animals and fish to survive for millennia and they continue to do so 
today. Protecting subsistence, including salmon, and our traditional 
way of life are top priorities for TCC. The preservation of Yukon River 
salmon goes beyond securing food--it is about being able to practice 
our traditional activities and being able to share that knowledge with 
our future generations.
    The salmon population is facing extremely challenging environments. 
A variety of factors are impacting our salmon, including warming ocean 
and river temperatures, water levels, bycatch of salmon in the 
commercial fisheries in the Bering Sea, disease and parasites, and poor 
diet among other stresses. Salmon cannot recover if they cannot make it 
to the spawning grounds. Every salmon counts and there is a critical 
need to err on the side of conservation during severely depressed 
escapements to ensure their livelihood for future generations.
    TCC thanks you for your leadership and for conducting this 
important hearing. It is our sincere hope that this hearing and its 
advice will not be a hollow undertaking like so many consultations, but 
that it will result in actual action and change to salmon management 
that will lead to more salmon reaching their spawning grounds.

        The Attachment--Proposed Federal Subsistence Management CFR 
        Amendments--NOVEMBER 8TH 2022 has been retained in the 
        Committee files.

    Senator Murkowski. Thank you, Chief Ridley.
    We will now turn to Chairman Samuelson.

 STATEMENT OF JONATHAN SAMUELSON, CHAIR, KUSKOKWIM RIVER INTER-
                     TRIBAL FISH COMMISSION

    Mr. Samuelson. [Geeting in Native tongue.] Good afternoon. 
My name is Jonathan Samuelson. I was raised right here on the 
front streets of Bethel where my family gathered and worked on 
fish ever summer. Eventually, I made my way up the river, pits 
stops in Aniak and Red Devil, and then we resettled in McGrath, 
where I learned of the very, very utmost importance of 
escapement and fish that need to make it all the way up the 
river.
    Every summer, my family returns to Georgetown, which is 
right in the middle of the river, and we put away fish for 
winter. At least we try. That is where we go to spend time with 
our people and our kin.
    Welcome to my first home, Senator. Please understand that 
there is not enough time to go into detail how grateful we are 
for your support in our co-management work and efforts in 
helping to get funding trickle down to tribes and the 
commissions here on the river, and all of our rivers. I do want 
to take one moment to acknowledge the veterans who are here 
today and are from our region.
    I serve on the tribal council for the Village of 
Georgetown. I serve as Vice President of the Kuskokwim 
Corporation, my village corporation. I serve as the current 
chair of the Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, and 
I have to wear all these hats to leverage the indigenous and 
holistic approaches to stewardship. I have to go to all of 
these things and be all these things just to have our world 
view and our lens visible.
    Our salmon, our neqa, they are not corporate or tribal or 
Federal or State. They are our source of nutrition and our 
source of wellness. The ecosystem health and the connectedness 
that we understand as indigenous people and stewards of these 
lands and waters has the answers to the salmon crisis. It is 
not on me that we walked through the emergency room to get 
here, at this beautiful new facility, because we are in a state 
of emergency.
    Tribal co-stewardship has already been doing the work of 
reparation to the trauma our salmon have faced. We have already 
been rebuilding our stocks, we have been doing everything that 
we can to make sure the salmon is sustainable and has a chance 
of a future. It just goes to show that the knowledge that we 
all carry and the things that we know have the answers. The 
answers are here, and we are ready and willing to lead this 
work.
    From the late 1980s to 2018, our region has had an increase 
in the suicide rate by 143 percent, 143 percent. These are 
lives not reaching their potential, providers, aunties, uncles, 
grandparents, not reaching their potential. When you couple 
that with Chief Ridley's message of 137,000 salmon in bycatch, 
lives not reaching their potential, wasted. Fish are missing 
from our ceremonies, they are missing from our potlaches, our 
grieving processes.
    One of the hardest illnesses to combat comes from not being 
able to share. We are meant to be able to share with our 
aunties, to share with our invited guests fish, salmon. We 
cannot do that. Our protocols are being broken, our values are 
being challenged, and our way of life is at risk, and that only 
elevates our unwellness.
    We are not new to salmon declines nor are we new to 
colonization, erasure, or genocide. Our resilience, however, 
continues to be stretched thinner and thinner and tested. We 
find ourselves having to advocate more and more just for access 
to a way of life that is designed for community and collective 
well-being, let alone the time to breathe and practice those 
ways of life.
    Economics and food security need to be touched on, but I 
won't spend too much time there. I will note, my people have 
not put me here to fight for a commercial fishery, but there 
has not been viable commercial fishery on the Kuskokwim River 
for well over a decade.
    We are here for cultural sovereignty and security. You will 
hear the cries from our people. You will hear and see the pain 
in just a little while that continues to grow in our region.
    Alaska needs support for co-stewardship efforts in these 
ways: pushing the National Marine Fisheries Service to develop 
co-stewardship agreements with us; pushing for at least two 
voting seats on the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council. 
We need non-competitive, dedicated, stable funding so that we 
are not forced to fight amongst each other as we have been 
forced to do in many other aspects of our lives. We need 
designated tribal seats at the North Pacific and on all their 
associated bodies.
    Congress needs to amend ANILCA to secure our traditional 
hunting and fishing rights in every part of every river of 
Alaska. Senator, you have the amazing opportunity to lead this 
charge with your peers.
    The Federal Government has a trust responsibility to 
uphold. Closer to home, we have to trust our Congressional 
delegation will work for the health and sustainability of all 
of Alaska.
    I want to trust that these comments will not be forgotten 
after the box is checked. I want to trust that you know the 
action that needs to be taken and policy that needs to be 
changed.
    I want to note that five minutes is not enough time, and 
similarly, we are forced to try to teach our people to be 
genuine human beings in 6 to 12 hour windows or not at all in 
the Yukon, where there is no fishing opportunity, where there 
are children who have never seen or touched a salmon. Who are 
salmon people; who are meant to carry our existence into the 
future.
    I want to trust that we will give back to our children a 
world with healthy salmon.
    [The prepared statement of Chair Samuelson follows:]

Prepared Statement of Jonathan Samuelson, Chair, Kuskokwim River Inter-
                         Tribal Fish Commission
    My name is Jonathan Samuelson and I serve as the current Chair of 
Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission (KRITFC). I was born and 
raised on the Kuskokwim River and am of Yupiaq and Dene decent. I am a 
citizen of the Native Village of Georgetown, for whom I am the duly 
appointed Commissioner to KRITFC. I was raised right here on the lower 
Kuskokwim in Bethel, finished growing up near the headwaters in 
McGrath, and spent my summers with my family in the mid-river. My 
ancestors have fished and stewarded in our traditional ways for 
generations and my family and I return each year to Georgetown to 
harvest, cut, dry, and smoke neqa, salmon.
    In May 2015, the KRITFC was formed as a consortium to represent the 
33 federally recognized Alaska Native Tribes that are located along the 
Kuskokwim River. This historical unity of the Tribes was driven by our 
understanding, and insistence, that we must have at least a 
comanagement role if our salmon and way of life are to survive. Each 
tribe appoints a Commissioner to the KRITFC who is authorized to make 
decisions on behalf of the Tribe. The Commissioners elect seven of 
their own members to serve on an Executive Council, and five 
representatives to serve as In-Season Managers alongside U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service (USFWS) to make collaborative in-season fishery 
decisions, per the 2016 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between 
KRITFC and USFWS. \1\ KRITFC is guided by the wisdom of our Elder 
Advisors--the late Robert Lekander and Caggaq James Nicori--as well as 
our Traditional Knowledge and the best available Western science. 
KRITFC strives to achieve consensus in all decisions and to work 
together, river-wide, with our Tribes.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\ ``Memorandum of Understanding between United States Department 
of the Interior U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Alaska Region and 
Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission,'' May 11, 2016, https://
static1.squarespace.com/static/5afdc3d5e74940913f78773d/t/
5dcb2a0ebc75324ecc635451/1573595663976/MOU_Final_wSignatures.pdf
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Senator Murkowski, I appreciate the opportunity to share KRITFC's 
perspectives on the historic, as well as contemporary, impacts of 
salmon collapses on the health and well-being of our Arctic- Yukon-
Kuskokwim (AYK) communities. It is my hope that these comments--and the 
comments of the other Expert Witnesses and the public--will illuminate 
the crisis that has unfolded in our communities and ecosystems with 
immense, interconnected consequences for our well-being, including our 
physical, cultural, and spiritual health; and prompt meaningful action 
from Congress for our salmon and Tribes.
    Before beginning, I would like to extend my gratitude to Senator 
Murkowski and her staff for holding this Senate Committee on Indian 
Affairs (Committee) field hearing in our region, and in the homelands 
of our salmon. Senator, we are grateful for your support of KRITFC's 
Tribal costewardship and fisheries research work since our inception, 
and this field hearing is one more example of your engagement with our 
Tribes. I also want to say quyana to the Association of Village Council 
Presidents for encouraging and organizing this event, as well as to the 
many Tribal and community leaders who traveled to Bethel to gather and 
raise their voices today.
    For over a decade, Kuskokwim Tribal communities have experienced 
multi-species salmon declines with devasting impacts for our food 
security and physical health, culture and knowledge exchanges, 
traditional and commercial fishery economies, and ecosystem balance. 
Taryaqvak, gas, Chinook salmon were the first to precipitously decline 
around 2009, followed in recent years by chum and coho salmon. \2\ 
These declines have prompted consecutive years of fishery closures to 
all user groups, including rural and Indigenous subsistence fishing 
families, to conserve and rebuild salmon runs by getting as many 
spawners as possible to lay their eggs in the gravel. The 2022 and 2023 
fishing seasons were some of the most restrictive seasons on record 
because they presented some of the worst salmon returns in living 
memory. \3\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \2\ See KRITFC, ``2021 Kuskokwim River Salmon Situation Report,'' 
September 21, https://static1.squarespace.com/static/
5afdc3d5e74940913f78773d/t/61f30d22d43e4066d2fb4d8
f/1643318621130/FINAL+Kusko+Salmon+Situation+Report_to+print.pdf. 
KRITFC, ``2022 Kuskokwim River Salmon Situation Report,'' February 17, 
2023, https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5afdc3d5e74940913f78773d/
t/6442d7509d059e4a859eada
7/1682102125040/2 
022+Kusko+Situation+Report_Feb+23_complete+fpbp_printed.pdf.
    \3\ KRITFC, ``2022 Situation Report,'' 3. See also KRITFC, ``2023 
End-of-Season Summary,'' October 2023, https://static1.squarespace.com/
static/5afdc3d5e74940913f78773d/t/65382f244a92ca079706dd80/
1698180924749/Kuskokwim_EOS+Summary_final_linked+copy.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Year after year, our communities are sacrificing our harvests, 
salmon protein, and time at fish camp--core elements of our traditional 
ways of life--to protect vulnerable salmon populations and strive to 
meet spawner escapement goals. Yet we are not seeing similar sacrifices 
on the part of other fisheries, like Alaska Peninsula (Area M) 
commercial salmon fisheries and Bering Sea pollock trawl fisheries, 
that impact the strength of our salmon and, in turn, of our 
communities.
    It is key to understand that the health and well-being of our 
Alaska Native communities on the Kuskokwim is intrinsically linked to 
the health of our salmon, ecosystems, and economies. When our salmon 
are healthy, our people, our land, our river, and our non-human 
relatives are healthy. These health benefits mutually reinforce one 
another; they are interconnected.
    In times of salmon abundance, our families can put away enough fish 
to sustain our children, Elders, and everyone in between through the 
winter. We are physically healthier because we can rely upon the 
protein, omega-3 fatty acids, and vitamin D from salmon to meet our 
nutrient needs \4\ instead of buying food from our stores, which often 
has low nutritional content at exorbitant prices, exacerbating both 
poverty and high rates of diet-related diseases like cancer, heart 
disease, and diabetes. \5\ We are mentally healthier because the 
practicing our traditional ways of life and spending time at fish camp 
releases endorphins, discourages the use of substances, and connects 
our Elders with our youth. \6\ We are financially healthier because we 
spend less money buying processed food and on healthcare costs due to 
poor nutrition, \7\ and we may earn money from smallscale commercial 
salmon fisheries. Our ecosystem is healthier from the marine-derived 
nutrients of salmon eggs and spawned-out salmon carcasses, sustaining 
the health and abundance of other traditional food sources like moose, 
bears, caribou, berries, and migratory birds; these consequently 
sustain us and our physical, financial, and cultural health. Salmon are 
the heart of it all. \8\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \4\ R. Singleton, G. Day, T. Thomas, J. Klejka, D. Lenaker, and J. 
Berner, ``Association of Maternal Vitamin D Deficiency with Early 
Childhood Caries,'' Journal of Dental Research 98, no. 5 (2019). 
https://doi.org/10.1177/0022034519834518. Alaska Native Tribal Health 
Consortium, ``Alaska Native Health Status Report,'' 2021, http://
anthctoday.org/epicenter/publications/HealthStatusReport/Alaska-Native-
Health-Status-
Report-3rd-Edition.pdf.
    \5\ ANTHC, ``Health Status Report,'' 2021. Valerie B.B. Jernigan, 
Kimberly R. Huyser, Jimmy Valdes, and Vanessa W. Simonds, ``Food 
Insecurity Among American Indians and Alaska Natives: A National 
Profile Using the Current Population Survey-Food Security Supplement,'' 
Journal of Hunger and Environmental Nutrition 12, no. 1 (2017). https:/
/www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19320248.2016.1227750.
    \6\ See for example Karie Marie Norgaard, ``The Effects of Altered 
Diet on the Health of the Karuk People,'' 2005, https://
sipnuuk.karuk.us/system/files/atoms/file/
AFRIFoodSecurity_UCB_SaraReid_001_009.pdf.
    \7\ ANTHC, ``Health Status Report,'' 2021.
    \8\ See for example Jessica C. Walsh, Jane E. Pendray, Sean C. 
Godwin, Kyle A. Artelle, Holly K. Kindsvater, Rachel D. Field, Jennifer 
N. Harding, Noel R. Swain, and John D. Reynolds, ``Relationships 
between Pacific Salmon and Aquatic and Terrestrial Ecosystems: 
Implications for Ecosystem-Based Management,'' Ecology 101, no. 9 
(2020), 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1002%2Fecy.3060.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    It is also imperative to understand that salmon declines are 
nothing new to our Tribes. The Traditional Knowledge of our Elders and 
Western science alike record periodic oscillations in all salmon 
species' historic abundance. For instance, chum salmon experienced a 
steep decline in the early 2000s before climbing up in abundance again. 
\9\ Similar trends in Chinook salmon abundance have occurred for 
generations. \10\ Over millennia, our Tribes have honed the values and 
traditions of our Indigenous stewardship to adapt to salmon declines: 
listening to our Elders' wisdom to take only what we need and can 
process, share in times of abundance and scarcity, and honor the life a 
salmon gives to our nets by not wasting a single part of it. Our 
reciprocal stewardship relationship with the salmon has fostered both 
of our health and well-being on the Kuskokwim; we have evolved together 
over millennia to sustain one another.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \9\ KRITFC, ``2022 Situation Report,'' 6.
    \10\ Ibid., 4.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    What is new to our communities are salmon collapses without 
successive rebounds in abundance. This happened first with Kuskokwim 
Chinook salmon, whose populations have stabilized but not risen in 
abundance despite the co-management of KRITFC and USFWS and attainment 
of rebuilding escapement goals at the expense of our communities' 
harvests. Chum and coho salmon are also now showing indicators of this 
trend in continued low abundance. We believe, through the data of both 
Traditional Knowledge and Western science, that this is influenced by 
the climate change and the removal of Indigenous voices and stewardship 
practices from contemporary fisheries management.
    Climate change can be linked to many factors cumulatively 
contributing to today's salmon catastrophes, including pre-spawn 
mortality \11\ and spawner/egg nutrient deficiency \12\ due to 
freshwater heat stress, declined juvenile survival in the first year at 
sea, \13\ and decreased marine prey abundance \14\ linked to decreases 
in female body and egg size. \15\ We now consider salmon that return to 
the Kuskokwim to spawn as ``climate change survivors'' holding the 
genetic strength to withstand these stressors that is crucial to their 
offspring's survival. While climate change is not easily or directly 
controllable by fishery management entities like the National Marine 
Fisheries Service (NMFS) and USFWS, addressing the impacts of 
commercial fishery bycatch and meaningful integration of Tribes into 
management processes are. Yet it is climate change that receives the 
blame for our salmon crises without considering the fallacy of Western 
management principles that have eroded thousands of years of Indigenous 
stewardship principles and pushed salmon over the brink.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \11\ Vanessa R. von Biela, Lizabeth Bowen, Stephen D. McCormick, 
Michael P. Carey, Daniel S. Donnelly, Shannon Waters, Amy M. Regish, 
Sarah M. Laske, Randy J. Brown, Sean Larson, Stanley Zuray, and 
Christian E. Zimmerman, ``Evidence of Prevalent Heat Stress in Yukon 
River Chinook Salmon,'' Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic 
Sciences 77, no. 12 (2020), 1878-1892. https://doi.org/10.1139/cjfas-
2020-0209.
    \12\ Kathrine G. Howard and Vanessa von Biela, ``Adult Spawners: A 
Critical Period for Subarctic Chinook Salmon in a Changing Climate,'' 
Global Change Biology 27, no. 7 (2023), 1759-1773. https://doi.org/
10.1111/gcb.16610.
    \13\ James M. Murphy, Kathrine G. Howard, Jeanette C. Gann, Kristin 
C. Cieciel, William D. Templin, Charles M. Guthrie III, ``Juvenile 
Chinook Salmon Abundance in the Northern Bering Sea: Implications for 
Future Returns and Fisheries in the Yukon River,'' Deep Sea Research 
Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography 135 (2017), 156- 167. https://
doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr2.2016.06.002.
    \14\ William W. L. Cheung and Thomas L. Fr''hlicher, ``Marine Heat 
Waves Exacerbate Climate Change Impacts for Fisheries in the Northeast 
Pacific,'' Scientific Reports 10, no. 6678 (2020), 1-10. https://
doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-63650-z.
    \15\ Jan Ohlberger, Daniel E. Schindler, Randy J. Brown, Joel M.S. 
Harding, Milo D. Adkinson, Lara Horstmann, and Joe Spaeder, ``The 
Reproductive Value of Large Females: Consequences of Shifts in 
Demographic Structure for Population Reproductive Potential in Chinook 
Salmon,'' Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 77, no. 8 
(2020), 1292-1301. https://doi.org/10.1139/cjfas-2020-0012.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    KRITFC's collaborative management partnership with USFWS--now in 
its eighth year under our MOU--has started to change fishery management 
practices within the Kuskokwim drainage. Through this government-to-
government partnership, local, Indigenous people work alongside USFWS 
to make fishery management decisions based on Traditional Knowledge, 
local observations, and the best available Western scientific 
information for the benefit of rural subsistence users and salmon. We 
are not seeing commensurate changes to fishery management practices in 
the Bering Sea and North Pacific Ocean under NMFS' and the North 
Pacific Fishery Management Council's (NPFMC) guidance that have 
immediate impacts to AYK salmon, and thus to AYK community health. Our 
co-stewardship only goes so far when it conserves returning adult 
salmon but does not encourage conservation-based management during the 
bulk of their lives in the marine environment.
    Subsistence communities are the only fishery stakeholders presently 
forced to make sacrifices during this unprecedented salmon crisis. It 
is horribly painful for our Tribes to adhere to selfimposed harvest 
sacrifices with devasting consequences to our health and simultaneously 
hear NMFS and NPFMC leadership sternly declare, if not scold us, that 
our recommendations to meaningfully reduce salmon bycatch in the 
pollock fishery--to reduce one manageable stressor to salmon 
abundance--are not ``practicable'' because they may reduce commercial 
trawl fishery profits without making a `significant' difference to 
salmon abundance. \16\ It seems some sacrifices are deemed necessary, 
while others inconceivable, to maintain the status quo. It is quite 
clear that our Elders' wisdom to create no waste and to balance what we 
take from the ecosystem with what we give (a very basic principle of 
sustainable ecological management) is being ignored. That our Tribes 
have elevated these discrepancies to no avail for decades, and loudly 
in recent years, is even more disheartening.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \16\ See for example Jon Kurland, comment on the record, North 
Pacific Fishery Management Council, October 8, 2023, 09:23:50, https://
www.youtube.com/watch?v=3X_KhP9Mmkk. 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Despite our historical stewardship of salmon and traditional foods 
in the Bering Sea, our voice has been erased from modern-day marine 
fishery management; decisions are made without the consent of our 
sovereign Tribal governments; and we have no appeals process to address 
this systemic disempowerment and inequity. KRITFC wants to change this 
regime, and we want to work together to strategize solutions for the 
long-term survival of AYK salmon and Tribes.
    To do so, we ask this Committee to continue to support co-
stewardship efforts in the AYK and Bering Sea regions, including 
through support for Tribal representation in management processes. 
Developing strong co-management relationships between Tribes and 
federal agencies is critical and has proven successful for stabilizing 
and recovering declining species while also safeguarding the cultures 
and health of Tribal and subsistence communities. KRITFC urges you to 
push federal agencies, including and especially NMFS, to work with us 
to develop co-stewardship agreements that integrate our voices, values, 
and Traditional Knowledge into management practices. We also urge you 
to support adding two voting Tribal seats to the NPFMC, appointed by 
Alaska Native Tribes to the Secretary of Commerce, via the 
reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and to encourage the NPFMC 
to create designated Tribal seats on all the associated bodies that 
support its decisionmaking.
    Senator Murkowski, we applaud the work you have done to support AYK 
salmon populations through Congressionally directed spending in support 
of research, monitoring, and comanagement. We are grateful for your 
critical work to pass the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which is now 
funding the Gravel-to-Gravel Initiative--a new initiative co-led by 
federal agencies and Tribes to recover salmon and restore their habitat 
in the AYK region. We appreciate your support for greater Tribal 
representation on the NPFMC. We especially thank you for your 
leadership to include language in the Fiscal Year 24 Appropriations 
Bill to reposition the Office of Subsistence Management to the Interior 
Secretary's Office; as well as for your role in codeveloping the 
December 2021 Salmon Roundtable and the Alaska Salmon Research Task 
Force with Senator Sullivan and the late Rep. Young.
    It is now critical to take another step toward meaningful, 
cooperative trust relationships to develop meaningful, decisive 
management actions with the inclusion of our stewardship and 
Traditional Knowledge. Our Tribes understand salmon, and we want to 
sustain them for the health and wellbeing of our ecosystems, and for 
this and future generations. KRITFC asks you, Senator, to lead this 
Committee to help federal agencies like NMFS to see the value in 
broadening their knowledge base with the inclusion of our stewardship 
and Traditional Knowledge; and encourage these agencies to work 
directly with us and other AYK Tribes and Tribal organizations to 
respond to our salmon and corresponding health crisis. To do this, we 
know we will all need to sacrifice and shift away from status quo 
management and harvests. We know that redesigning management regimes 
will not be simple, but it will be most effective when centered on 
Indigenous voices; aimed toward holistic, justice-driven actions; 
inclusive of Traditional Knowledge; and responsive to the 
interconnectedness of our community and ecosystem health. This is the 
path forward to sustaining well-being, food security, economic 
opportunity, and environmental justice for this and future generations, 
and we ask for the Committee's help realizing this.
    KRITFC believes it is possible to strengthen the resilience of the 
ecosystem to restore and maintain a healthy, biodiverse system that 
provides for salmon returns to our rivers and streams, in turn 
providing for our health. But it will take a broad range of knowledge, 
commitment, and sacrifice by all--not just Tribes. We must be willing 
to work together with respect, recognize each other's needs, and be 
willing to sacrifice to meet the tremendous challenges ahead. This is 
especially critical in today's era of climate change and its resounding 
cumulative impacts unlike anything any of us have seen before, but to 
which we must respond rapidly. Just as Congress and the federal 
government have shown throughout history their power to remove Tribes 
from policy solutions, you also have the power to change the course of 
this disaster by bringing us to the table. Let our Tribes help the 
federal government, and one another, to address salmon declines, 
climate change, and the impacts on our communities. As our Elders tell 
us, we will all be closer to wellness if we work together.
    We look forward to further discussions and work with you, Senator 
Murkowski, and with this Committee toward our common goal: to protect 
and restore salmon and revitalize the health of our communities and 
ecosystems.

    Senator Murkowski. Thank you, Mr. Samuelson.
    Next, we will hear from Chair Ulvi.

STATEMENT OF KARMA ULVI, FIRST CHIEF, VILLAGE OF EAGLE, ALASKA; 
                 CHAIRWOMAN, YUKON RIVER INTER-
                     TRIBAL FISH COMMISSION

    Ms. Ulvi. Thank you, Honorable Lisa Murkowski, and Indian 
Affairs Committee. My name is Chief Karma Ulvi. I am the First 
Chief of the Native Village of Eagle and the Chairwoman of the 
Yukon River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission.
    I am here today to provide this testimony on behalf of 38 
tribes of the Yukon River that have joined the commission so 
far. Despite the thousands of years we have been practicing our 
ways of life and stewarding salmon for future generations, 
colonization of Alaska by settlers to extract and commodify our 
resources has in a few short centuries dramatically affected 
our tribal ways of life.
    The lack of salmon fishing opportunities on the Yukon River 
jeopardizes our ability to teach our children those ways of 
life and how to properly steward our tribal resources for 
future generations.
    The salmon decline is not a new issue. We have witnessed 
drastic salmon decline since settlers first came to Alaska. 
Over 100 years ago, in 1905, a report to Congress on conditions 
and needs of Alaska Natives stated that the rush of prospectors 
had literally swept the country clean, denuding it of life, 
leading to destitution and semi-starvation.
    The report directly called for a moratorium on commercial 
fishing North of the Aleutians, due to the importance of Yukon 
and Kuskokwim fisheries to the Interior. This call has been 
made numerous times since, and has never been implemented.
    During the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act debates of 
1971, which supposedly resulted in the extinguishment of our 
aboriginal hunting and fishing rights, and for which we were 
never compensated, a Congressional promise was made, a promise 
that the Secretary will take any action necessary to protect 
the subsistence needs of the Natives.
    This includes using their withdrawal authority on 
appropriate lands or water and classify them in a manner which 
will protect Alaska Native subsistence needs and requirements 
by closing appropriate lands or waters to entry by non-
residents, when the subsistence resources are being slammed, 
are in short supply or otherwise threatened. The promise has 
never been realized.
    In recent decades, the return of salmon to the Yukon River 
have continued to decline and resulted in State and Federal 
fisheries disaster declarations and closures to commercial 
salmon harvest. More recently, the continued collapse of Yukon 
River Chinook and chum salmon returns has resulted in closures 
to sport and recreational salmon fishing and priority State and 
Federal subsistence salmon fisheries, with profound impacts to 
tribal food security.
    Decades of poor salmon returns have resulted in our 
relatives and neighbors in Canada not being able to practice 
customary and traditional indigenous fisheries for 20 to 30 
years, and tribal communities in Alaska now face those same 
challenges.
    In 2020, there were directed Chinook and summer chum salmon 
subsistence six-inch mesh gillnet fishing opportunities on a 
reduced schedule on the lower and middle Yukon River. There was 
also a limited commercial fishery using the nets for summer 
chum salmon down in the lower river.
    There were also directed subsistence gillnet fishing 
opportunities for fall chum salmon in 2020 for downriver and 
middle Districts 1 through 4, some on reduced subsistence 
fishing schedules. But on August 12th, subsistence fishing was 
closed without any directed fall chum subsistence gillnet 
fishing provided for Districts 5 or 6, which includes every 
village from Tanana up, both the Yukon and Tanana Rivers. This 
is why upriver residents often testify that they have been 
closed for subsistence salmon gillnet fishing for four years, 
and not just three like the middle and lower river.
    This has been a problem under State management of the Yukon 
River. Commercial fishing rights for those living downriver are 
shutting down our subsistence fishing upriver. This flies in 
the face of both State and Federal subsistence priority laws.
    We have had no directed summer chum salmon subsistence 
gillnet harvest opportunities on the Yukon for the past three 
years. This is also true for fall chum for the most part. 
However, there was a limited directed Yukon fall chum 
subsistence gillnet fishery in 2023 on the Teedriinjik drainage 
that opened on September 15th.
    Tanana Chiefs Conference urges this committee to work with 
the Department of Interior Bureaus to formalize a Federal-
tribal co-stewardship fishery management partnership between 
the Yukon River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife, U.S. Bureau of Land Management, U.S. National Park 
Service, and the U.S. Geological Survey Alaska Science Center 
based upon the model of the Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish 
Commission.
    The conservation of wild Yukon River Chinook salmon and the 
tribal ways of life they support, not to mention the United 
States treaty obligations to Canada, would all benefit greatly 
from such a formalized fisheries management partnership that 
directly involves Yukon River tribes and our extensive 
indigenous knowledge.
    Mahsi' Choo.
    [The prepared statement of Ms. Ulvi follows:]

   Prepared Statement of Karma Ulvi, First Chief, Village of Eagle, 
      Alaska; Chairwoman, Yukon River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission
    My name is Karma Ulvi, and I am the First Chief of the Native 
Village of Eagle and the Chairwoman of the Yukon River Inter-Tribal 
Fish Commission. I'm here today to provide this testimony on behalf of 
all the Tribes of the Yukon River that have joined the commission so 
far. As Tribes keep joining the commission, our number of Member Tribes 
keeps changing, so I believe we now have 30 Tribes participating. We 
are hosting our biennial meeting next week in Anchorage at the Eagan 
Center.
    Despite the thousands of years we have been practicing our ways of 
life and stewarding salmon for future generations, colonization of 
Alaska by settlers to extract and commodify our resources has in a few 
short centuries dramatically affected our tribal ways of life. The lack 
of salmon fishing opportunities on the Yukon River jeopardizes our 
ability to teach our children those ways of life and how to properly 
steward our tribal resources for future generations.
    The salmon decline is not a new issue, we have witnessed drastic 
salmon declines since settlers first came to Alaska. Over one hundred 
years ago in the 1905 Report to Congress on Conditions and Needs of 
Alaska Natives it stated that the ``. . . rush of prospectors has 
literally swept the country clean, denuding it of life. . .leading to 
destitution and semi-starvation.'' (Emmons, 1905) The report directly 
called for a moratorium on commercial fishing north of the Aleutians 
due to the importance of Yukon and Kuskokwim fisheries to the interior. 
This call has been made numerous times since and has never been 
implemented.
    During the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act debates of 1971, 
which supposedly resulted in the extinguishment of our aboriginal 
hunting and fishing rights and for which we were never compensated, a 
Congressional promise was made--a promise that the Secretary will 
``take any action necessary to protect the subsistence needs of the 
Natives.'' This included using their withdrawal authority on 
``appropriate lands or waters and classify them in a manner which would 
protect Alaska Native subsistence needs and requirements by closing 
appropriate lands or waters to entry by non-residents when the 
subsistence resources of these lands are in short supply or otherwise 
threatened.'' This promise has never been realized.
    In recent decades, the returns of salmon to the Yukon River have 
continued to decline and resulted in state and federal fishery disaster 
declarations and closures to commercial salmon harvests. More recently, 
the continued collapse of Yukon River Chinook and chum salmon returns 
have resulted in closures to sport and recreational salmon fishing and 
priority state and federal subsistence salmon fisheries with profound 
impacts to tribal food security. Decades of poor salmon returns have 
resulted in our relatives and neighbors in Canada not being able to 
practice customary and traditional indigenous fisheries for 20-30 
years, and Tribal communities in Alaska now face these same challenges.
    In 2020, there were directed Chinook and summer chum salmon 
subsistence 6-inch mesh gillnet fishing opportunities on a reduced 
schedule on the lower and middle Yukon River (see Table 2 of 2020 
Summer Season Summary). There was also a limited commercial fishery 
using dip nets for summer chum salmon in the lower river.
    There were also directed subsistence gillnet fishing opportunities 
for fall chum salmon in 2020 for downriver and middle Districts 1-4, 
some on reduced subsistence fishing schedules, but on August 12 
subsistence fishing was closed without any directed fall chum 
subsistence gillnet fishing provided for Districts 5 or 6, which 
includes every village from Tanana up both the Yukon and Tanana rivers. 
This is why upriver residents often testify that they have been closed 
to subsistence salmon gillnet fishing for 4 years and not just 3 years 
like the middle and lower river. This has long been a problem under 
state management of the Yukon River: commercial fishing provided for 
those living downriver and then shutting down our subsistence fishing 
upriver. This flies in the face of both state and federal subsistence 
priority laws.
    We have had no directed Chinook or summer chum salmon subsistence 
gillnet harvest opportunities on the Yukon River for the past three 
years: 2021-2023. This is also true for fall chum for the most part. 
However, there was a limited directed Yukon fall chum subsistence 
gillnet fishery in 2023 on the Teedriiinjik (Chandalar River) drainage 
that opened on September 15, but only residents of Arctic Village and 
Venetie really had the opportunity to benefit.
    During the 10-year period between 2013 and 2022, the Yukon River 
Chinook salmon Canadian border passage goal of 42,500--55,000 fish has 
been achieved only 50 percent of the time under State of Alaska 
management (not met in 2013, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022).
    In contrast, the formal federal fisheries management partnership 
between the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge and the Kuskokwim 
River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, to which Tanana Chiefs Conference 
is a signatory, has consistently met the State of Alaska's Kuskokwim 
River Chinook salmon drainage-wide escapement goal. In fact, during the 
10-year period between 2013 and 2022, the goal has been met 90 percent 
of the time. The only year the drainage-wide goal was not met was in 
2013, which was the last year that the State of Alaska managed the 
entire Kuskokwim River subsistence salmon fishery.
    Interestingly, our staff at TCC and YRITFC has evaluated Chinook 
salmon escapement goal performance outside the TCC region to see how 
state management compares to the Yukon and Kuskokwim drainages. What we 
found is a disturbing pattern that I feel compelled to bring to your 
attention:

   In the 10-year period 2013-2022, the Copper River Chinook 
        salmon escapement goal was met 60 percent of the time (not met 
        in 2014, 2016, 2020, 2021). The State of Alaska lowered the 
        goal beginning in 2021.

   In the 10-year period 2013-2022, Bristol Bay's Nushagak 
        River Chinook salmon escapement goal was met 60 percent of the 
        time (not met in 2017, 2019, 2020, 2022).

   In the 10-year period 2013-2022, the Unalakleet's North 
        River Chinook salmon escapement goal was met 40 percent of the 
        time (not met in 2013, 2016, 2017, 2020, 2021, 2022).

    Tanana Chiefs Conference urges this Committee to work with the 
Department of the Interior Bureaus to formalize a Federal-Tribal co-
stewardship fisheries management partnership between the Yukon River 
Inter-Tribal Fish Commission (YRITFC), US Fish and Wildlife Service, US 
Bureau of Land Management, US National Park Service, and the US 
Geological Survey's Alaska Science Center.
    Based upon the model of the Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish 
Commission, the conservation of wild Yukon River Chinook salmon and the 
tribal ways of life they support, not to mention the United State's 
treaty obligations to Canada would all benefit greatly from such a 
formalized fisheries management partnership that directly involves 
Yukon River Tribes and our extensive Indigenous Knowledge.

    Senator Murkowski. Thank you, Chair Ulvi.
    Next, we turn to Mr. Dan Winkelman.

  STATEMENT OF DAN WINKELMAN, PRESIDENT/CEO, YUKON-KUSKOKWIM 
                       HEALTH CORPORATION

    Mr. Winkelman. Good afternoon, Vice Chairman Murkowski and 
members of the committee. I am Dan Winkelman. I am Deg Hit'an 
Athabascan Indian from Anchorage with family from McGrath and 
Shageluk, and a rural tribal member of the Shageluk Native 
Village. I am also the President and CEO of the Yukon-Kuskokwim 
Health Corporation. Thank you for the opportunity to testify on 
salmon today.
    A healthy lifestyle begins at home, and for generations, 
families in this region have relied upon the return of salmon 
to subside throughout the year. This renewable natural resource 
has been vital to our health and culture. Since we have not had 
the fishing opportunities we used to, I am going to remind 
everyone today of what we have been missing from a nutrient 
perspective. It is not just negatively affecting our culture 
and well-being, but our good health. The health benefits of 
Alaska salmon are well-known. Alaska salmon is a complete high-
quality protein as well as a key source of marine Omega-3 fatty 
acids, and is naturally high in many essential vitamins and 
minerals, including Vitamin D, selenium, and potassium.
    Protein is known to promote satiety and stabilize blood 
sugars. It also helps provide lean body mass, and is necessary 
to make hormones and enzymes.
    Omega-3 fatty acids lower triglycerides and increase levels 
of good cholesterol. Lower triglycerides and increased high-
density lipoproteins can lead to decreased risk of death 
following a myocardial infarction, and reduce complications 
following other cardiovascular events. It can also decrease 
inflammation in the body and improve brain health.
    Selenium is one of the most critical nutrients for 
maintaining and improving immune function, while potassium 
deficiency is of concern across the United States and can lead 
to increased hypertension, kidney stones, and poor bone health.
    The health benefits of Alaska salmon are supported by 
scientific studies. Traditional diets in the YK region have 
incorporated salmon at higher rates than consumed in other 
parts of the Country. Studies conducted in the YK region have 
shown that people who consume moderate amounts of fish are less 
likely to develop some chronic diseases.
    In addition, studies published in the Journal of the 
American Medical Association, not specific to the YK region, 
involving hundreds of thousands of participants eating modest 
amounts of fish, especially species higher in amounts of Omega-
3 fatty acids such as our wild salmon eaten in the YK region, 
found that it reduces risk of coronary death by 36 percent and 
total mortality by 17 percent.
    Accordingly, the USDA recommends a diet rich in vitamin D 
and Omega fatty acids, and current dietary guidelines from US 
Department of Health and Human Services and the USDA recommend 
that Americans increase their seafood intake to at least twice 
per week.
    Until the recent salmon closures, the people of the YK 
region have easily met these recommendations with many people 
consuming salmon almost daily. A diet rich in nutrient dense 
foods like salmon, when compared to energy dense foods like 
pasta and other western shelf stable foods, translates to only 
needing a small portion of the food to reap the health 
benefits. Access to nutrient dense foods and consuming smaller 
portions helps to maintain healthy weight and decreases 
development of diet-related health conditions.
    However, when fish is not available, meals are supplemented 
with store-bought, highly processed foods that contain added 
sugars, salts, saturated fats, and often less protein. Diets 
become more energy dense instead of nutrient dense which can 
lead to an increase in unhealthy weight gain and increased 
rates of chronic disease development. Often, I have providers 
tell me that they see this has become a problem in the last 
decade or so here in the YK region.
    Finally, when fish and other nutrient-dense seafoods are 
not accessible in the region, we are deprived of this 
culturally significant food that is well known to be the 
lifeblood of our region.
    Significantly more scientific research monies need to be 
appropriated to determine why our salmon are not returning and 
how we can develop solutions to mitigate against this current 
salmon disaster we are living through, so our grandchildren do 
not have to live through it too. With these vital monies, the 
University of Alaska and Federal agencies like NOAA could 
become the experts needed for ending this crisis, or at least 
assist the Federal, State and tribal governments with 
developing science-based solutions so that we can rebuild our 
important salmon runs.
    It is also time that while we continue the good work of 
restoring our wild salmon runs, we also debate in the region 
whether king and chum salmon hatcheries on both the upper Yukon 
and Kuskokwim Rivers can provide more salmon fishing 
opportunities while we continue to rebuild our wild stocks. 
Hatcheries would not replace our wild runs, but would 
supplement and provide in a pinch while we continue to work and 
restore our stock, similar to the very successful State of 
Washington's programs for wild and hatchery management.
    I have always found it strange that during times of severe 
fishing restrictions that only the subsistence users bear the 
largest burden for conservation, and that Alaska's two largest 
rivers do not have the large king and chum salmon hatcheries to 
supplement our decreasing wild stocks. This is even more 
inequitable when you see other areas around the State like 
Steward and Valdez with large hatcheries, silver salmon runs, 
that almost every year produce tens of thousands of salmon for 
sport fishers.
    In conclusion, the recommendations that you hear today from 
myself and others will help to improve the availability of our 
salmon, our nutritious food for Alaska Natives whose health 
care status, despite years of significant progress, continues 
to lag behind other populations in Alaska and the rest of the 
United States.
    Quyana, thank you for the time opportunity to provide 
testimony today.
    [The prepared statement of Mr. Winkelman follows:]

  Prepared Statement of Dan Winkelman, President/CEO, Yukon-Kuskokwim 
                           Health Corporation
    Good afternoon Vice Chairman Murkowski and members of the 
committee. I am Dan Winkelman and the President and CEO of the Yukon-
Kuskokwim Health Corporation (YKHC). Thank you for the opportunity to 
testify on salmon.
    YKHC is a tribal health organization of 58 federally-recognized 
Alaska Native tribes which was formed to administer a comprehensive 
health care delivery system for the communities of the Yukon-Kuskokwim 
region. For more than fifty years, we have provided health care 
services to the people of the region under a Self- Governance Compact 
with the Indian Health Service under Title V of the Indian Self-
Determination and Education Assistance Act.
    YKHC serves a remote, isolated service area approximately the size 
of the State of Oregon. This region is the traditional home to Alaska's 
indigenous Yup'ik, Cup'ik, and Athabascan people, and is not connected 
to the road system. As of the 2010 Census, 89 percent of the residents 
are Alaska Native, around half of the population speaks the Yup'ik or 
Cup'ik language at home, and most follow a subsistence lifestyle.
    YKHC provides a wide variety of community, social, and population 
health services to all 30,000 residents of the region. Our health 
system includes 41 village clinics, 5 subregional clinics, a regional 
hospital, skilled nursing facility and other regional services and 
programs.
A. Alaska Salmon Promotes Healthy People and Culture
    A healthy lifestyle begins at home, and for generations families in 
this region have relied upon the return of salmon to subside throughout 
the year. This renewable natural resource has been vital to our health 
and our culture.
    The health benefits of Alaska salmon are well known. Alaska salmon 
is a complete, high-quality protein, as well as a key source of marine 
Omega-3 fatty acids and is naturally high in many essential vitamins 
and minerals including vitamin D, selenium, and potassium.
    Protein is known to promote satiety and stabilize blood sugar. It 
helps build lean body mass and is necessary to make hormones and 
enzymes. Omega 3 fatty acids lower triglycerides and increase levels of 
good cholesterol. Lower triglycerides and higher HDL can lead to 
decreased risk of death following a myocardial infarction and reduced 
complications following cardiovascular events. It can also decrease 
inflammation in the body and improve brain health. Selenium is one of 
the most crucial nutrients for maintaining and improving immune 
function; while potassium deficiency is a concern across the United 
States and can lead to hypertension, kidney stones, and poor bone 
health.
B. Studies Support the Health Benefits of Salmon
    The health benefits of Alaska salmon are supported by scientific 
studies. Traditional diets in the YK region have incorporated salmon at 
higher rates than consumed in other parts of the country. Studies 
conducted in the YK region have shown that people who consume moderate 
amounts of fish are less likely to develop some chronic diseases. \1\ 
In addition, studies not specific to the YK region involving hundreds 
of thousands of participants eating modest amounts fish, especially 
species higher in amounts of Omega 3 fatty acids such as the salmon 
eaten in the YK region, reduces risk of coronary death by 36 percent 
and total mortality by 17 percent. \2\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\ Makhoul Z, Kristal AR, Gulati R, et al. Associations of very 
high intakes of eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acids with 
biomarkers of chronic disease risk among Yup'ik Eskimos. Am J Clin 
Nutr. 2010;91(3):777-785. doi:10.3945/ajcn.2009.28820
    \2\ Mozaffarian D, Rimm EB. Fish intake, contaminants, and human 
health: evaluating the risks and the benefits. JAMA. 2006 Oct 
18;296(15):1885-99. doi: 10.1001/jama.296.15.1885. Erratum in: JAMA. 
2007 Feb 14;297(6):590. PMID: 17047219.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Accordingly, the USDA recommends a diet rich in vitamin D and Omega 
fatty acids, and current dietary guidelines from US Department of 
Health and Human Services and the USDA recommend that Americans 
increase their seafood intake to twice per week.
C. Lack of Salmon Negatively Impacts Our Health and Culture
    Historically, the people of the YK region have easily met the 
recommendations above with many people consuming salmon almost daily, 
until recent salmon closures. A diet rich in nutrient dense foods 
compared to energy dense foods, translates to only needing a small 
portion of the food to reap the benefits. Access to nutrient dense 
foods and consuming smaller portions helps to maintain healthy weight 
and decreases development of diet-related health conditions.
    However, when fish is not available, meals are supplemented with 
store-bought, highly processed foods that contain added sugars, salts, 
saturated fats, and often less protein. Diets become more energy dense 
instead of nutrient dense which can lead to an increase in unhealthy 
weight gain and increased rates of chronic disease development. 
Finally, when fish and other nutrient-dense seafoods are not accessible 
in the region, we are deprived of this culturally significant food that 
is well known to be the lifeblood of the region.
D. Appropriate Funds for Scientific Research
    Significantly more scientific research monies need to be 
appropriated to determine why our salmon are not returning and how we 
can develop solutions to mitigate against this current salmon disaster 
we are living through so our grandchildren do not have to live through 
it too. With these vital monies, the University of Alaska could become 
the experts needed for ending this crisis, or at least assist the 
federal, state and tribal governments with developing science-based 
solutions so that we can rebuild our important salmon runs.
    The recommendations that you hear today will help to improve the 
availability of our salmon, our nutritious food for Alaska Natives 
whose health care status, despite years of significant progress, 
continues to lag behind other populations in Alaska and the rest of the 
United States.
    Quyana for the opportunity and honor to provide testimony today.

    Senator Murkowski. Thank you, Mr. Winkelman.
    Next, we turn to Ms. Nicole Borromeo, Executive Vice 
President, AFN.

         STATEMENT OF NICOLE BORROMEO, EXECUTIVE VICE 
           PRESIDENT, ALASKA FEDERATION OF NATIVES; 
          ACCOMPANIED BY BEN MALLOTT, VICE PRESIDENT, 
                       EXTERNAL RELATIONS

    Ms. Borromeo. Quyana, Chair Murkowski, for the opportunity 
to testify today. My name is Nicole Borromeo and I serve as the 
Executive Vice President and General Counsel for the Alaska 
Federation of Natives. I am joined today by AFN's Vice 
President of External Relations, Ben Mallott.
    AFN was established in 1966 to achieve a fair and just 
settlement of our aboriginal land claims. We remain the largest 
statewide Native membership organization in Alaska, 179 tribes, 
154 for-profit village Native corporations, 9 for-profit 
regional corporations, and 10 regional nonprofit tribal 
consortia that contract and compact to administer Federal 
programs under the Indian Self-Determination Act, our current 
members.
    On behalf of AFN, I would like to provide testimony 
regarding a matter of the utmost importance to Alaska Native 
people, and that is protecting our ways of life, which everyone 
in this room knows is centered on subsistence. Fish is not just 
about food. Although fish sustains our people across multiple 
generations and multiple regions in nearly every village and 
community of the State, it also sustains our cultural practices 
and traditions, which includes passing those traditions on to 
the next generation.
    This fish crisis has the potential to erode those cultural 
practices and what is most important to us, our families, and 
our community relationships. The fish crisis is also negatively 
affecting our relationship with the Federal and State 
governments. This is a complex challenge that requires a bold 
new consensus. It requires realigning Federal and State laws 
and policies and also requires the State and the Federal 
government and Alaska Native entities, including those regions 
that rely heavily on commercial fishing, to work together in 
true partnership.
    The State's most recent decision to challenge the Katie 
John rulings and the rural subsistence priority of ANILCA in 
Title VIII is wrong. U.S. v. Alaska, a case now in Federal 
court, will determine the future of Katie John and whether or 
not the rural subsistence priority continues.
    However, this is just the latest round of the conflict 
between State and Federal subsistence management. This threat 
comes at a time when the critical need for a rural subsistence 
priority due to the shortage of fish is greater than ever.
    Climate change and international tensions in the Arctic 
around fisheries also threaten our way of life. ANSCA and 
ANILCA were both bargains between the Federal Government, State 
of Alaska, and the Alaska Native communities, all 12 regions. 
Those laws must be honored, particularly in light of the fish 
crisis and recent attacks on our subsistence way of life by the 
State. Alaska natives are going to look for protections in 
Federal law and ways to strengthen Federal law.
    AFN resolution 2301, adopted at this year's annual 
convention, calls on the Biden Administration and the U.S. 
Congress to do everything in their power to protect our 
subsistence way of life, including amending ANSCA to reinstate 
terminated aboriginal hunting and fishing rights and amending 
ANILCA to strengthen our Title VIII protections.
    Congress should support and invest in Alaska Native peoples 
to increase our capacity to protect our interests in the lands 
and waters, and to be fully engaged in cooperative 
relationships and dialogue as opposed to litigation, which the 
State is pursuing. These situations require alignment and 
working together.
    Senator Murkowski, please continue to lead Alaska to 
achieving this bold new consensus. AFN will stand with you and 
we will provide whatever help is needed. Our people cannot be 
confined to conflicts of the past. This is a new day. Our 
subsistence way of life must have unconditional Federal 
support, and the State of Alaska must show willingness to seek 
a different path forward other than litigation.
    Quyana very much for your attention and your commitment. We 
know you traveled a long way in a record snowstorm. We know you 
are committed to helping us protect our way of life.
    I welcome the opportunity to answer questions later.
    [The prepared statement of Ms. Borromeo follows:]

Prepared Statement of Nicole Borromeo, Executive Vice President, Alaska 
                         Federation of Natives
I. Introduction
    Thank you, Vice-Chair Murkowski, for inviting me to testify today 
on ``The Impact of the Historic Salmon Declines on the Health and Well-
Being of Alaska Native Communities Along the Yukon and Kuskokwim 
Rivers.'' My name is Nicole Borromeo, and I am the Executive Vice- 
President and General Counsel of the Alaska Federation of Natives 
(AFN). \1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\ Shareholder of Doyon, Limited, the ANCSA regional corporation 
for Interior Alaska, and the Board Chairman for MTNT, Ltd., the ANCSA 
village corporation representing four Interior Alaska villages. Member 
of the Alaska Redistricting Board; the U.S. Census Bureau's National 
Advisory Committee on Race, Ethnicity, and Other Populations; and the 
U.S. Department of Energy's Indian Country Energy and Infrastructure 
Workgroup. Founding Board Member of Justice Not Politics Alaska, a 
nonpartisan organization promoting the independence of Alaska's 
judiciary. Mentor in the Color of Justice Program. J.D., University of 
Washington; B.A., the University of Alaska-Anchorage. I reside in 
Anchorage with my husband and our four children.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    AFN is the oldest and largest statewide Native membership 
organization in Alaska. Our membership includes 179 Alaska Native 
tribes, 154 for-profit village Native corporations and 9 for-profit 
regional Native corporations established pursuant to the Alaska Native 
Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA), and 10 regional nonprofit tribal non-
profits or consortia that contract and compact to administer federal 
programs under the Indian Self Determination and Education Assistance 
Act. The mission of AFN is to enhance and advance the cultural, 
economic, and political voice of the Alaska Native community on matters 
of mutual concern, including subsistence hunting and fishing, which is 
the foundation of Alaska Native ways of life.
    Today, I want to provide testimony regarding a matter of utmost 
importance for Alaska Native people: subsistence and protecting our 
ways of life. The challenge of the fish crisis is a complex issue that 
requires a bold new consensus, with the federal and state government 
working closely with the Alaska Native community. Instead of working 
toward such a consensus, the State is currently pursuing another 
unnecessary round of litigation through U.S. v Alaska. AFN has 
intervened in the suit on behalf of the entire Alaska Native community. 
We are in a different place after surviving the pandemic and we want to 
spend our time and resources building a bright new future where Alaska 
Natives thrive and our ways of life are flourishing--not relitigating 
old battles that, at best, maintain the status quo or, at worst, result 
in a further erosion of our fishing (and hunting) rights.
    AFN therefore calls for a bold new consensus that realigns federal 
and state laws and policies to build on the existing capabilities of 
the Alaska Native community and does not hold us down--or try to 
conquer, divide, or ignore us. The consensus must be based on trust, 
shared information, and an agreed upon pathway to accomplish our 
collective goals. Shared information and knowledge must include clear 
data about the warming of the waters, the movement of fish stocks, 
increased competition, and conflict. Changes must be made to ANCSA and 
Title VIII of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act 
(ANILCA) to give us the solid foundation we need to be fully 
contributing members of the larger society. We do not want half 
measures; we want full capabilities under the law to protect our ways 
of life.
    Senator Murkowski, you will be called on to lead Alaskans in 
achieving this bold new consensus. We will stand with you and provide 
whatever help is needed. We cannot be stuck in the conflicts of the 
past. It is a new day. Our subsistence way of life must have 
unconditional federal support. And the State of Alaska must show the 
willingness to sit down and talk and seek a different path forward.
II. Summary: Our People and Fish
    AFN was formed in 1966 to protect Alaska Native ownership and use, 
primarily for subsistence purposes, of our lands. For the first five 
years, AFN focused exclusively on obtaining a fair and just land 
settlement with the U.S. Congress. Alaska is the traditional homeland 
for Alaska Native peoples. As such, we claimed traditional use and 
occupancy over the majority of the entire state to, among other things, 
meet the subsistence needs of our people. Subsistence was, and remains, 
the core aspect of our cultures and people's way of life for over 
12,000 years.
    U.S. v. Alaska, \2\ a case now in federal court that will determine 
the future of the Katie John cases and the rural subsistence priority, 
is just the latest iteration of the conflict between State and federal 
subsistence management. This threat comes at a time when the critical 
need for the rural subsistence priority, due to the shortage of fish, 
is greater than ever.
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    \2\ No. 22-cv-54 (SLG) (D. Alaska).
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    Alaska Native peoples have lived and thrived on these lands and 
managed subsistence resources long before the United States or the 
State of Alaska existed. Despite this, in recent decades the Alaska 
Native community has repeatedly been caught between those two entities 
and forced to fight to ensure the continuation of our ways of life. 
Those struggles highlight why selfdetermination matters--we want to be 
the drivers of our own future. And as part of those efforts, we want to 
strengthen federal, State, and tribal relationships. Recent Supreme 
Court decisions, including Haaland v. Brackeen, have affirmed the 
federal trust responsibility. Alaska Native people are not a service 
population, but a trusted partner and federal policies should reflect 
that. Funding and other resources are needed to strengthen and scale up 
those relationships.
    AFN is proud of the hard work and resilience of our people who live 
off the land and waters. Continuing this way of life takes deep 
knowledge of the land, the animals, and the fish, which give themselves 
to us to nourish our families and communities. This way of living 
requires traditional knowledge passed on from generation to generation. 
It requires getting up every day and doing the hard work. This is 
something we have in common with Indigenous people across the Arctic, 
in Canada, Greenland, and Russia. For the United States to have 
credibility in the Arctic, the federal relationship with Alaska Natives 
must matter and be strong.
    In our view, the preeminent challenge before us is fish--the 
warming of the waters, the movement of fish stocks, the increased 
competition, and resulting conflicts. It will define our future and 
that of our country. Fish is not just about food, although fish 
sustains our people across multiple generations, in nearly every 
village and community in the State. It is about sustaining our cultural 
practices and traditions, which includes passing those traditions on to 
our next generation. The fish crisis has caused unsettling change and 
has the potential to rip apart our cultural practices and what is most 
important to us: our family and community relationships. The fish 
crisis also threatens our relationships with the federal and State 
governments.
    Instead of focusing all efforts on devising solutions to the fish 
crisis, the federal and State governments are at a continued state of 
impasse over jurisdictional issues, threatening our inherent rights to 
hunt and fish and our subsistence priority in federal law, which allows 
Alaska Native villages to feed our families in times of shortage. AFN 
urges the U.S. Senate Indian Affairs Committee to do everything in 
their power to stop this conflict. The State of Alaska is wrong to 
challenge Katie John and the rural subsistence priority. This Committee 
must stand with the Alaska Native people and protect Katie John and 
Title VIII of ANILCA. The real impacts of the fish crisis require our 
best efforts in science-based research, domain awareness of what is 
happening with the warming of the waters, movement of fish stocks, 
increased competition including from international sources, and 
conflict, and proactive resourcing of efforts to mitigate and adapt to 
these challenges.
III. Background and Briefing
A. ANCSA and ANILCA
    As noted above, AFN was initially established in 1966 around the 
issue of Alaska Native land claims, which, for Native peoples, was of 
utmost importance because large amounts of land are necessary to be 
able to continue the traditional subsistence practices that sustain 
Native ways of life. A Federal Field Committee report, which became the 
basis for the land settlement legislation, had three important 
conclusions: Alaska Native peoples and our land-based cultures (i) are 
very different from other Alaskans and Americans, (ii) covered nearly 
\2/3\ of the entire State of Alaska, and (iii) subsistence activities 
require over 60 million acres of land. \3\ To that end, AFN devoted 
significant efforts from 1966 to 1971 towards securing a fair and just 
land settlement; protection of traditional culture practices and the 
ability to continue the Alaska Native subsistence way of life was 
central to those negotiations. Those efforts resulted in the passage of 
the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act.
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    \3\ Federal Field Committee for the Development and Planning in 
Alaska, Alaska Natives and the Land (1968).
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    In enacting ANCSA, Congress made clear that it ``expected both the 
Secretary [of the Interior] and the State to take any action necessary 
to protect the subsistence needs of [Alaska] Natives.'' \4\ The Alaska 
Native community believed that Congress' plain expectation that the 
State of Alaska and the federal government would do everything in their 
power to protect Alaska Natives' ability to continue hunting, fishing, 
and gathering on their own land and the public domain would be 
fulfilled. Unfortunately, that promise was not kept, and Congress 
sought to remedy that issue and protect Alaska Native subsistence in 
1980 when it enacted VIII of the Alaska National Interest Lands 
Conservation.
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    \4\ See H. Conf. Rep. No. 92-746, at 37 (1971), as reprinted in 
1971 U.S.C.C.A.N. 2247, 2250 (Conference Committee Report).
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    Title VIII of ANILCA gives a user priority to customary and 
traditional subsistence uses by rural residents on federal public lands 
(and waters) in times of shortage. \5\ Notably, ``[e]arly drafts of 
Title VIII protected only subsistence uses by [Alaska Natives]. When 
the State advised Congress that the Alaska Constitution might bar the 
enforcement of a preference extended only to Natives, Congress 
broadened the preference to include all `rural residents''' at the 
State's behest. \6\
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    \5\ 16 U.S.C.   3111-3126 (Title VIII),  3114 (rural subsistence 
priority).
    \6\ Kenaitze Indian Tribe v. Alaska, 860 F.2d 312, 313 n.1 (9th 
Cir. 1988).
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    Although the subsistence priority was expanded to include all rural 
residents, the economic and cultural survival of Alaska Natives was the 
principal reason why Congress enacted Title VIII. Representative Morris 
Udall ``lodged a detailed discussion of the pending [final] bill in the 
Congressional Record,'' in which he noted Title VIII's

         [M]anagement provisions which recognize the responsibility of 
        the Federal government to protect the opportunity from 
        generation to generation for the continuation of subsistence 
        uses by the Alaska Native people so that Alaska Natives now 
        engaged in subsistence uses, their descendants, and their 
        descendants' descendants, will have the opportunity to 
        determine for themselves their own cultural orientation and the 
        rate and degree of evolution, if any, of their Alaska Native 
        culture. \7\
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    \7\ 126 CONG. REC. 29, 278 (Nov. 12, 1980) (extended remarks of 
Rep. Morris Udall).

    Importantly, Congress also included in ANILCA's Title VIII an offer 
to the State: the option of managing subsistence on federal public 
lands--in addition to the authority it already had over State and 
private (mostly ANC) lands--if the State enacted a law of general 
applicability containing the same rural subsistence priority. \8\ The 
ability to manage a unified statewide system was, and remains, the 
State's incentive to comply with Title VIII's provisions.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \8\ 16 U.S.C.  3115(d).
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    It is impossible to overstate the importance of fish in the context 
of Alaska Native subsistence. For many Alaska Native peoples living in 
rural villages, preserving their ways of life and ensuring their food 
security depends on their ability to subsistence fish. Fish is more 
than just a food source--its part of our culture and identity. When 
subsistence resources are taken away--as has happened in the past under 
State jurisdiction \9\ or in man-made disasters such as the Exxon 
Valdez spill in 1989--the result is economic and cultural catastrophe 
for the families who rely on those resources.
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    \9\ For example, after the Northwest Arctic Caribou Herd crashed in 
1976, urban sport hunters sued to reverse a decision allocating the 
limited caribou for Native villages' subsistence practices. This 
resulted in the State having to fly store-bought foods to Native 
villages. Id. In 1978, the State arrested several Alaska Native elders 
for operating traditional subsistence fishwheels on the Upper Tanana 
River during a period the State Board of Fish reserved exclusively for 
sport dip-netting. See Alaska Fed'n of Natives, THE RIGHT TO SUBSIST: 
FEDERAL PROTECTION OF SUBSISTENCE IN ALASKA 6 (2010).
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B. The Importance of Subsistence to Alaska Native Peoples
    Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) research shows that 
subsistence food harvest by Alaska residents represents less than one 
percent of the fish harvested annually in Alaska. \10\ Commercial 
fisheries account for about 98.6 percent of the statewide harvest. \11\
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    \10\ Subsistence in Alaska: A Year 2017 Update 2, Division of 
Subsistence, ADF&G https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/static/home/subsistence/
pdfs/subsistence_update_2017.pdf. Subsistence food harvest (fish and 
game) represent about 0.9 percent, personal use fishing and hunting 
represent about 0.2 percent. Id.
    \11\ Id.
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    ADF&G research also shows that 95 percent of households in rural 
Alaska consume subsistencecaught fish. \12\ Moreover, ADF&G's 2020 
subsistence harvest report calculated that subsistence fisheries 
provide 56.8 percent of the wild foods harvested by rural Native 
villages for subsistence purposes, with salmon comprising the largest 
portion of the total harvest at 32.3 percent. \13\ Subsistence harvests 
provide 25 percent of the caloric requirements of rural populations in 
Alaska. \14\ Harvests range by area, however, with people living in the 
most remote, roadless regions that often have no access to affordable 
groceries harvesting approximately 300-400 pounds per person each year 
and rural southcentral communities, which are generally on the road 
system, harvesting 145 pounds per person. \15\ And while the Alaska 
Native population makes up a substantial portion, i.e., approximately 
55 percent of the population of all rural areas in the state, \16\ in 
the most remote, roadless regions, the Alaska Native population 
comprises a much larger majority: 82 percent. \17\ Subsistence, and 
fish in particular, feeds many of those communities. Most rural Native 
village economies are made up of a combination of cash and subsistence, 
with extremely limited sources of cash income. Subsistence harvest and 
use (for personal and group consumption) is an integral part of 
community relationships. The cost to replace wild food harvests (both 
fish and game) in rural Alaska is estimated to be about $170-$340 
million annually, or about $97-$193 million to just replace the 56.8 
percent comprised of fish. When subsistence resources (or the legal 
right to harvest them) are taken away, they cannot be replaced by 
substitutes. \18\
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    \12\ The ADF&G Division of Subsistence, Alaska's Economies and 
Subsistence, https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/static/home/library/pdfs/
subsistence/ak_economies_subsistence.pdf.
    \13\ Food Production and Nutritional Values of Noncommercial Fish 
and Wildlife Harvests in Alaska, ADF&G Division of Subsistence (2019) 
https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/static/home/subsistence/pdfs/
Wild_Harvest_Notebook.pdf.
    \14\ Subsistence in Alaska: A Year 2017 Update 3, Division of 
Subsistence, ADF&G https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/static/home/subsistence/
pdfs/subsistence_update_2017.pdf.
    \15\ Id. at 3.
    \16\ James A. Fall, Alaska Population Trends and Patterns, 1960-
2018 at 11, ADF&G Division of Subsistence, Alaska Department of Fish 
and Game (2019) https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/static/home/library/pdfs/
subsistence/Trends_in_Population_Summary_2019.pdf.
    \17\ Alaska Native Population, Alaska Native Policy Center, https:/
/firstalaskans.org/wpcontent/uploads/2014/03/ANPCa3.pdf; see also U.S. 
Census Bureau, Percent American Indian and Alaska Native Alone or in 
Combination, Total Population by County: 2020, https://
public.tableau.com/shared/NMZXRS84J?:showVizHome=n (showing the Alaska 
Native population makes up 96.9 percent of the Kusilvak Census Area, 
88.5 percent of the Bethel Census Area, 88.1 percent of the Northwest 
Arctic Borough, 82.6 percent of the Nome Census Area, 79.9 percent of 
the Dillingham Census Area, and 77.2 percent of the Yukon-Koyukuk 
Census Area).
    \18\ See Food Production and Nutritional Values of Noncommercial 
Fish and Wildlife Harvests in Alaska at 3-4.
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*ERR14*C. AFN Resolution 23-01
    Each year at the Annual AFN Convention, delegates submit and pass 
resolutions to set the goals and priorities of the organization. The 
resolutions voted on and passed by the delegates and membership guide 
AFN's advocacy priorities and work on subsistence, health and wellness, 
public safety, education, land, and natural resources, economic 
development, and selfdetermination. AFN resolutions record the 
aspirations, priorities, and vision of the Alaska Native community.
    Resolution 23-01 is an AFN Board-sponsored resolution adopted at 
the AFN Convention on October 21, 2023. Resolution 23-01 recognizes the 
multi-decade fight to protect Alaska Native subsistence, which our 
people rely on to sustain our traditional ways of life and to ensure 
our food security.
    Resolution 23-01 calls on the federal government to do several 
things:

        1.  For the Department of Interior and DOJ to aggressively 
        protect Alaska Native hunting and fishing rights in court
        2.  For the White House and Secretaries of Interior and 
        Agriculture to use their full authority to protect Alaska 
        Native subsistence users
        3.  For Congress to repeal the section of ANCSA that terminates 
        Alaska Native aboriginal hunting and fishing rights and replace 
        that section with an affirmation of those inherent rights; and
        4.  For Congress to revisit and strengthen Title VIII of ANILCA 
        to permanently protect the right of Alaska Native people to 
        engage in subsistence fishing and hunting in Alaska's navigable 
        waters and to adequately fund those efforts.

    AFN's members strongly supported Resolution 23-01 and it passed 
easily at the Convention, with a few minor amendments from delegates 
that strengthened the resolution's wording. The resolution reflects how 
important protecting the subsistence way of life is to our people. AFN 
is calling on the executive and legislative branches of the federal 
government to do everything in their power to ensure Alaska Native 
subsistence is protected and strengthened. A copy of Resolution 23-01 
is attached to this testimony for your reference. *
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    * The information referred to has been retained in the Committee 
files.
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D. Threats to Subsistence
a. Climate change
    The Arctic Council has affirmed that the Arctic is warming three 
times faster than the rest of the world. \19\ Climate change has many 
effects on Alaska's people, including damaging and changing ecosystems 
and altering the distribution of marine living resources. Climate 
change, including marine heatwaves, are expected to increasingly have 
significant impacts on the availability of fish. Those changes, in 
turn, threaten the traditional lifestyles of Alaska Native communities. 
Changing fish migration patterns, combined with the high cost of non-
subsistence foods, are exacerbating food insecurity and making 
traditional subsistence lifestyles more difficult.
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    \19\ National Strategy for the Arctic Region 5 (2022).
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b. The State's efforts to undermine Alaska Native subsistence
    ANILCA's Title VIII offers the State of Alaska the option of 
managing subsistence on federal public lands if the State enacts a law 
of general applicability containing a rural subsistence priority. 
Unfortunately, in 1989 the Alaska Supreme Court held in McDowell v. 
State of Alaska that the Alaska State Constitution does not allow for a 
rural subsistence priority. \20\ As a result of McDowell, the State's 
ability to take over subsistence management on federal lands via 
implementation of a rural preference pursuant to Title VIII is 
contingent upon amending the Alaska Constitution.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \20\ 785 P.2d 1, 9 Alaska 1989) (holding that the rural user 
priority for subsistence hunting and fishing was unconstitutional under 
sections 3, 15, and 17 of article VIII of the Alaska Constitution).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Instead of concentrating its efforts on amending the Alaska 
Constitution to allow a rural subsistence priority, which AFN would 
assist with, the State is instead doing everything in its power to 
undermine federal Title VIII authority and the rural subsistence 
priority. For example, in U.S. v. Alaska, \21\ a case now proceeding 
before the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska, the State of 
Alaska recently outright challenged the validity of the Katie John 
cases and therefore the rural subsistence fishing priority provided by 
Title VIII of ANILCA. If the court overturns Katie John, there will no 
longer be a rural subsistence priority and management of all 
subsistence fisheries will be in the hands of the State. Moreover, 
subsistence fishing will be open to all Alaskans even during times of 
shortage.
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    \21\ No. 22-cv-54 (SLG) (D. Alaska).
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    The State's forward attack on our ways of life poses a significant 
threat. The State's ``all Alaskans'' policy already threatens the food 
security and continued ways of life of Alaska Native people living in 
rural communities. If that policy was also extended to federal lands 
and waters within those lands, the continued existence of our people 
living in rural villages will be further jeopardized. State management 
also presents other difficulties; for example, the State has enacted 
laws creating non-subsistence use areas where subsistence is not 
allowed. Within these nonsubsistence use areas are Native villages on 
the Kenai Borough and other areas. The State's non-subsistence use 
areas prioritize commercial fishing and make it impossible for Alaska 
Native people living in those areas to carry out their traditional 
subsistence practices.
c. International pressures on marine fisheries
    Internal pressures on struggling Arctic fisheries also present a 
significant threat to subsistence. Both Russia and China increasingly 
seek to influence the Arctic, including fisheries. Chinese and Russian 
dual flagged fishing ships and China's desire to control 90 percent 
plus of the fish protein in the world to feed its own population are 
both situations that we are monitoring with concern.
E. Proposed Solutions
a. Legislation
    As called for in AFN Resolution 23-01, Congress should repeal 42 
U.S.C. 1603(b), the section of ANCSA that terminates Alaska Native 
aboriginal hunting and fishing rights. Congress should replace that 
section with an affirmation of those inherent rights. Congress should 
also revisit and strengthen Title VIII of ANILCA to permanently protect 
the right of Alaska Native people to engage in subsistence fishing and 
hunting in Alaska's navigable waters and to adequately fund those 
efforts.
b. Customary Trade Agreements
    ANILCA's definition of ``subsistence uses'' includes ``the 
customary and traditional uses by rural Alaska residents of wild, 
renewable resources for . . .customary trade. . . .'' \22\ By federal 
regulation, ``customary trade'' is defined as ``exchange for cash of 
fish and wildlife resources . . .not otherwise prohibited by Federal 
law or regulation, to support personal and family needs; and does not 
include trade which constitutes a significant commercial enterprise.'' 
\23\
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    \22\ 16 U.S.C.  3113.
    \23\ 50 C.F.R.  100.4.
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    An Indigenous Free Trade Agreement for the Arctic to allow for 
customary trade among Native people across the Arctic and Alaska 
presents a unique opportunity. Such an agreement would push the 
customary trade provision further than ever before, allowing Alaska 
Native people to provide for our own food security.
c. Increasing federal/tribal dialogue and sharing of research
    The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and other 
federal agencies can and should do better when it comes to conducting 
and sharing research with Alaska Native peoples regarding warming 
oceans and movement of fish stocks. It is imperative to share this data 
with Alaska Native peoples--we must have this information to further 
our understanding and develop systems for adaptation. We know things 
will not stay the same and in order to improve resilience, we must have 
up-to-date data and information.
d. Funding
    Funding co-management and strategic tribal/federal partnerships is 
also of the utmost importance. Existing co-management relationships and 
programs, including pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act are 
severely underfunded and understaffed. Agencies should focus on 
improving current co-management relationships and programs and 
increasing funding for them.
    Alaska Natives need a seat at the table to manage fish and game 
resources that we depend upon for sustenance and to practice our rich 
and diverse cultures. Although we have traditional knowledge of 
resource management that goes back centuries, we need to build capacity 
in order to continue and grow more co-management projects. There is a 
crucial need for targeted funding to enhance the skills and abilities 
that will allow us to achieve measurable and sustainable results.
    There is also a need to educate our young people on western ideas 
of resource management so that they can bridge the gap with traditional 
ways of management and use the best practices and knowledge of both 
styles. Funding for programs that train Alaska Natives on the job and 
for scholarships to study resource management at universities would be 
a huge boost to comanagement projects statewide.
e. Federal Subsistence Board recommendations--identified but no 
        implemented
    Federal subsistence management also has room for improvement: we 
have offered many recommendations in the past to improve the Federal 
Subsistence Board (FSB). Attached by reference is a letter from AFN to 
U.S. Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar dated January 7, 2009 and a 
supplemental letter dated January 21, 2010. * U.S. Secretary Ken 
Salazar had the Department of Interior undertake an exhausted review of 
the FSB. Over 200 hours of hearing and meetings were held to gather 
input. Unfortunately, only two improvements have been implemented so 
far--the addition of two new rural seats.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    * The information referred to has been retained in the Committee 
files.
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f. U.S. v. Alaska
    The U.S. Senate Indian Affairs Committee should file an amicus 
curiae brief in U.S. v. Alaska, standing with Alaska Native people. The 
Committee should invite the Governor of Alaska to testify and outline 
in detail his efforts to work with Alaska Native people and engage in 
constructive dialogue. The Committee should encourage dialogue and 
respond to the urgent requests of the Alaska Native people.
g. Compacting
    The U.S. Senate Indian Affairs Committee should use tools our 
government uses when they want to match up goals and accountability: 
compacting. The Association of Village Council Presidents (AVCP) in 
Bethel would like to be able to demonstrate the potential of a domestic 
version of the Millennium Challenge Compact, which the United States 
uses with middle- and low-income countries to accomplish goals. The 
five-year commitment of resources in the compact, which is negotiated, 
with an option to renew for another five years, is ideal to advance as 
a first step.
    Internationally, the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) is a 
resounding success and has a demonstrated history. Domestically, in the 
United States, we have found compacting in health care, Bureau of 
Indian Affairs services, and even in state programs with child welfare 
and the new pilots in compacting in education which is just beginning. 
This modern tool should take the place of year-to-year grants, or 
competitive grants and become a floor for the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta 
region. Authorization for a pilot would greatly help match up our 
country's goals in the fish crisis with the multi-faceted approaches 
needed to move ahead. The Committee would find the leadership of AVCP 
very willing to sit down and negotiate goals and assume responsibility 
and accountability.
IV. Conclusion
    Thank you again for inviting AFN to testify as part of today's 
hearing on ``The Impact of the Historic Salmon Declines on the Health 
and Well-Being of Alaska Native Communities Along the Yukon and 
Kuskokwim Rivers.'' We are happy to supplement our written testimony if 
requested. In sum, the protection of subsistence ways of life was of 
top priority for Alaska Natives when both ANCSA and ANILCA were 
enacted. Congress recognized this too. Alaska Native peoples now look 
to the federal government to uphold its side of the bargain and protect 
Alaska Native subsistence and ways of life. The State is currently 
unwilling, and its ``all Alaskans'' approach is unworkable for the 
Alaska Native community. Protecting our subsistence way of life through 
maximum self-determination is critically important to Alaska Natives, 
particularly as Native peoples cope with climate change and continued 
marginalization by the federal and state governments. But AFN and the 
Alaska Native people will keep pushing and will be here if the State 
changes its mind and wants to work with us. We hope for a day when the 
fight is not one to maintain the status quo.

    Senator Murkowski. Quyana, thank you.
    We next turn to Tisha Neviq'aq Kuhns, who is the Vice 
President of Land and Natural Resources at Calista.

 STATEMENT OF TISHA NEVIQ'AQ KUHNS, VICE PRESIDENT OF LAND AND 
             NATURAL RESOURCES, CALISTA CORPORATION

    Ms. Kuhns. Thank you, Vice Chair Murkowski and members of 
the committee. Thank you for convening this field hearing on 
the massive decline of Arctic Yukon and Kuskokwim salmon.
    My name is Tisha Neviq'aq Kuhns, and I am from here, 
Bethel, Alaska and currently live in Anchorage. My parents are 
Carlton and Lucy Kuhns, and my grandfather was the late Chief 
Joe Lomack of Akiachak. I am a tribal member of Akiachak Native 
Community and a Calista shareholder.
    I currently serve as Vice President of Land and Natural 
Resources for Calista. Calista is the regional Alaska Native 
Corporation created by the ANSCA of 1971 to resolve the land 
claims of the indigenous people of the YK Region. We have 
nearly 37,000 shareholders. About 20,000 shareholders live in 
the region.
    One of our most important traditional values is to share 
fish with our elders and with others who are physically unable 
to provide for themselves. Our elders tell us that when we 
share our catch, we would be fruitful in the years to come and 
blessed with more fish.
    Instead, we are experiencing a historic salmon crash. 
Alaska Natives have borne the brunt of the conservation burden; 
conservation burdens must also be shared equitably.
    Our elders also taught us that the traditional economies of 
hunting, fishing, and gathering are our inherent rights as 
Alaska Natives. Our elders, who either did not understand or 
were not proficient in the English language, taught us that the 
State and Federal governments cannot legislate over our right 
to procure food to avert hunger, they cannot legislate over our 
cultures.
    The status quo cannot continue, and the fix must start with 
revising ANCSA to restore Alaska Native traditional hunting, 
fishing, and gathering rights. With the expectation in ANCSA's 
legislative history that Alaska Native hunting and fishing 
rights would be upheld by any action necessary, Section 4(b) of 
ANCSA, which has been interpreted as extinguishing ``any 
aboriginal hunting and fishing rights that may exist'' in 
Alaska, must be revised.
    Congress later tried to remedy this injustice with ANILCA. 
However, ANILCA's initial Alaska Native subsistence priority 
was changed in the eleventh hour to a rural subsistence 
priority. This leaves urban Alaska Natives with no protections. 
Even the inadequate compromise for a rural subsistence 
preference was soon thereafter held to conflict with Alaska's 
constitution.
    So the responsibility for administering the rural 
preference transferred to the Federal Government and the 
protected areas shrank from all Alaska to only Federal lands. 
This checkerboard of conflicting State and Federal management 
systems largely fails to protect Alaska Native subsistence 
rights and has wounded Alaska Natives for decades.
    Congress's protections of Alaska Native access to marine 
mammals, migratory birds, and halibut in offshore waters are 
beneficial, but are too limited. Congress's failure to amend 
ANCSA to uphold Alaska Native subsistence rights is a violation 
of the Federal Trust responsibility.
    Congress expected that the State and the Secretary of 
Interior would take any action necessary to uphold Alaska 
Native subsistence rights, and over 50 years later it must be 
apparent that Congress cannot neglect its responsibility any 
longer. Studies are useful, opportunities like this to speak 
before this Committee are much appreciated, but what we need 
now is action.
    Too often events like this hearing today are only held to 
appease and quiet the Native peoples. Calista urges the 
Congress to take up a bill to revise ANCSA Section 4(b) to 
restore Alaska Native subsistence rights. We need real action 
following this hearing to uphold Alaska Native subsistence 
rights.
    Quyana for your time, and thank you to YKHC for hosting and 
the inter-tribes for inviting us to have this hearing today. 
Thank you.
    [The prepared statement of Ms. Kuhns follows:]

Prepared Statement of Tisha Neviq'aq Kuhns, Vice President of Land and 
                 Natural Resources, Calista Corporation
    Chairman Schatz, Ranking Member Murkowski, and Members of the 
Committee, thank you for convening this field hearing on the massive 
decline of Arctic, Yukon, and Kuskokwim salmon.
    My name is Tisha Neviq'aq Kuhns, and I am from Bethel, Alaska and 
currently live in Anchorage. My parents are Carlton and Lucy Kuhns, and 
my grandfather was the late Chief Joe Lomack of Akiachak. I am a Tribal 
Citizen of Akiachak Native Community and a Calista Shareholder.
    I currently serve as Vice President of Land and Natural Resources 
for Calista. Calista is the regional Alaska Native Corporation created 
by the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971 to resolve the land 
claims of the Indigenous people of the Yukon-Kuskokwim Region. We have 
nearly 37,000 Alaska Native Shareholders, with approximately 20,000 
Shareholders remaining on our ancestral Homelands in the Yukon-
Kuskokwim Region.
    One of the most important Traditional values is to share fish with 
our Elders and others who are physically unable to provide for 
themselves. Our Elders tell us that when we shared our catch, we would 
be fruitful in the years to come and blessed with more fish. Instead, 
we are experiencing a historic salmon crash. Alaska Natives have borne 
the brunt of the conservation burden; conservation burdens must also be 
shared equitably. Our Elders also taught us that the Traditional 
economies of hunting, fishing, and gathering are our inherent rights as 
Alaska Natives. Our Elders, including many who either did not 
understand or were not proficient in the English language, taught us 
that the state and federal governments cannot legislate over our right 
to procure food to avert hunger, they cannot legislate over our 
cultures.
    The status quo cannot continue, and the fix must start with 
revising ANCSA to restore Alaska Native Traditional hunting, fishing, 
and gathering rights. With the expectation in ANCSA's legislative 
history that Alaska Native hunting and fishing rights would be upheld 
by any action necessary, Section 4(b) of ANCSA extinguished ``any 
aboriginal hunting and fishing rights that may exist'' in Alaska.
    Congress later tried to remedy this outright robbery of our right 
to procure food security with ANILCA. However, ANILCA's initial Alaska 
Native subsistence priority was changed in the eleventh hour to a rural 
subsistence priority. This leaves urban Alaska Natives with no 
protections. Even the rural subsistence preference conflicts with 
Alaska's constitution so it can only be administered on federal lands 
and a broken dual-management system emerged. This checkerboard of 
conflicting state and federal management systems largely fails to 
protect Alaska Native subsistence rights and has wounded Alaska Natives 
for decades. Congress's protections of Alaska Native access to marine 
mammals, migratory birds, and halibut in offshore waters are 
beneficial, but are too limited. Congress's failure to amend ANCSA to 
uphold Alaska Native subsistence rights is a violation of the Federal 
Trust responsibility.
    Congress expected that the state and the Secretary of Interior 
would take any action necessary to uphold Alaska Native subsistence 
rights and over 50 years later it must be apparent that Congress cannot 
neglect its responsibility any longer. Studies are useful, 
opportunities like this to speak before this Committee are much 
appreciated, but what we need now is action. Too often events like this 
hearing today are only held to appease and quiet the Native peoples. 
Calista urges the Congress to take up a bill to revise ANCSA  
4(b) to restore Alaska Native subsistence rights. We need real action 
following this hearing to uphold Alaska Native subsistence rights.

    Attachment

 AMENDING SECTION 14(C)(3) OF THE ALASKA NATIVE CLAIMS SETTLEMENT ACT--
                              OCTOBER 2023
    What is Section 14(c)(3) of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement 
(ANCSA)? Section 14(c)(3) of ANCSA required every Native Village 
Corporation to turn a portion of the lands it received under the Act 
over to the State of Alaska to be held in trust for the eventual 
creation of a municipal government in the Village. 43 U.S. Code  
1613(c)(3).
    Why does Section 14(c)(3) need to be amended? Since ANCSA's passage 
fifty years ago, ANCSA's vision of established municipal governments in 
every Village has failed to materialize. There are a number of Village 
sites, where conveyances to the State Municipal Land Trust (MLT) have 
not yet taken place or have not been finalized with a signed 14(c)(3) 
agreement. In the case of many rural Villages, the land is still being 
managed in apparent perpetuity by the State MLT, an office that is 
underfunded and overtasked. The State of Alaska does not have the 
resources to adequately manage these lands indefinitely, nor did the 
drafters of ANCSA intend that result.
    S. 2615--Alaska Native Village Municipal Lands Restoration Act of 
2023. Introduced by Senators Murkowski and Sullivan, S. 2615 seeks to 
address the failure of 14(c)(3). The bill permits Village Corporations 
to regain their lands in instances where municipal corporations have 
not been established.
    Proposed Section 3 Amendment to S. 2615. A further amendment to S. 
2615 is being requested, specifically applicable to Village 
Corporations and Tribes located within the Calista Region. Under the 
proposed amendment:

   A Village Corporation that re-acquires lands pursuant to 
        Section 2 of the bill (S. 2615) is permitted to transfer such 
        lands, either by sale or gift, to the federally-recognized 
        Tribe located nearby. This transfer is conditioned upon the 
        approval of the regional Alaska Native corporation that owns 
        the subsurface rights to these lands.

   Thereafter, at the option of the Tribe, the Tribe may 
        transfer such lands to the Secretary of the Interior to be 
        recognized as Indian Country, as defined by 25 U.S.C. 1151, 
        under the jurisdiction of the Tribe (in restricted fee status 
        or held in trust by the United States for benefit of the 
        Tribe).

    Conclusion. The ANCSA's unfulfilled promise of establishing 
municipal corporations in every Village underscores the urgent need to 
return the lands to Village Corporations or the Villages themselves. 
The Calista Region has long grappled with economic disparities, 
infrastructural deficits, and limited access to essential services, 
placing it in a disadvantaged position compared to many other areas. 
Empowering Alaska tribal governments with jurisdiction over Indian 
Country could stimulate economic and infrastructural development.

    Language to be included in the S. 2615--Alaska Native Village 
Municipal Lands Restoration Act of 2023:

    1. SEC. 3. OPTION TO TRANSFER VILLAGE MUNICIPAL LANDS TO TRIBAL 
GOVERNMENT.
    2. (a) A Village Corporation re-acquiring lands under section 2
    3. hereof is authorized to transfer such lands by sale or gift to 
the
    4. federally-recognized Tribe located within or in close proximity 
to
    5. said lands, provided, that the regional Alaska Native 
corporation as
    6. owner of the subsurface of said lands consents to such transfer.
    7. (b) At the option of the Tribe, the Secretary of the Interior
    8. shall within 90 days (i) take such lands into trust status upon
    9. transfer of title from the Tribe, or (ii) acknowledge such lands 
as
    10. owned by the Tribe in restricted fee status. Such lands
    11. shall be considered Indian Country pursuant to 25 USC 1151.
    12. (c) This section shall only apply to the Village Corporations
    13. and the Tribes located within the area of the Calista Region
    14. Corporation defined under 43 USC 1606(a)(4).

    Senator Murkowski. Thank you so much.
    Our final witness today is Mr. Charles Menadelook.

STATEMENT OF CHARLES MENADELOOK, SUBSISTENCE DIRECTOR, KAWERAK, 
                              INC.

    Mr. Menadelook. Hello. Thank you, Senator Murkowski, for 
being here and thank you, everybody, for being here.
    I don't have a summary written out. I guess how I will 
start out, if you read my presentation that I had two days to 
prepare, my main, the main reason that I wrote it was to give 
you the realization that in my opinion, and I am not a 
researcher, I am not a scientist, I am just a subsistence 
resource program director.
    But in my opinion, if we don't do anything, we will run out 
of salmon, we will run out of marine mammals in the northern 
Bering Sea within the next five or six years. The reason I say 
that is because the environment in the Bering Sea is changing 
so fast that it is doing an upheaval in all populations that 
live in the Arctic. When I say northern Bering Sea, I mean from 
the Pribilof Islands to the Diomede Islands. That is the 
northern Bering Sea. And that is the part of the Pacific Ocean 
that is being affected the most in our region.
    The reason I say that is because we are having pollock that 
weren't traditionally in our waters in large numbers, they are 
becoming more prevalent. And they eat everything. That has 
wide-ranging consequences for the entire Bering Sea, including 
salmon. They eat everything, they eat what the salmon eat, they 
eat what every other fish eats.
    So I just wanted to let you know that that is the main 
thing I worry about. We are already seeing the consequences of 
it, we are seeing seals that have no hair, that have lesions. 
If you look into symptoms of starvation, those are two of them. 
So our Bering Sea is changing.
    To get back on the subject, I just wanted to bring that up, 
but I think the main thing that we have to try to do is to 
change the way that the salmon is managed. Right now, it is 
managed under max sustainable yield. That means that it is 
managed toward a maximum commercial yield, instead of any other 
yield.
    I see it in every meeting I have been to with the fish 
managers, the Federal managers and the State. They all operate 
under the same thing, how to best keep commercial fishing 
alive. That is what is killing the salmon.
    Just to go into the issue of bycatch, in 2021, I did a 
little bit of research, and I promised my boss that I wouldn't 
bring up numbers, but I can't help it. By 2021, the average 
bycatch for the pollock fishery was 141 million pounds. That is 
all species, including salmon. By 2021, that average had 
dropped down to 33 million pounds.
    My main question, and I didn't write this in my 
presentation, I probably should have, my biggest question is 
what happened to 111 million pounds of bycatch, out of a 10-
year average of 141 million pounds? There is 111 million pounds 
missing.
    What does it mean? Does it mean that the Bering Sea cannot 
sustain the levels of bycatch that it has for the last 10 years 
and the fish populations, all species are crashing? Is that 
what it means?
    My point is, we don't know, and neither do you, neither 
does the State. They need to find out why, and not continue the 
level of bycatch that is going on right now. They could very 
well kill everything within the next couple of years if that 
train continues.
    Thank you, that is all I have.
    [The prepared statement of Mr. Menadelook follows:]

    Prepared Statement of Charles Menadelook, Subsistence Director, 
                             Kawerak, Inc.
    Thank you, committee members, for inviting me and giving me the 
opportunity to testify today.
    Kawerak, Inc. is the regional nonprofit organization that provides 
many services to the 20 Federally recognized tribes in the Bering 
Strait/Norton Sound region. One of which is advocating for subsistence 
user's and subsistence resources alike.
    There are a lot of effects that are difficult to quantify into the 
parameters of this committee hearing, the ``impacts'' are widespread 
and heartfelt as is evidenced by many testimonials given to both the 
State of Alaska; Board of Fish, and the Northern Pacific Fisheries 
Management Council for decades and have fallen on deaf ears. Alaska 
Communities have long voiced their opposition through testimony to both 
Fisheries Management bodies. Over the history of the state of Alaska 
and federal Management of Fisheries both bodies have operated with the 
Commercial Harvest given the priority even when stocks originating from 
our waterways and rivers are depleted to the point that Subsistence 
Fishing is not allowed. In times of hardship subsistence users bear the 
burden of conservation, not allowed to harvest a single salmon. Not 
only have subsistence users faced closures, but we have also been given 
citations and confiscation of gear. Where is the equality in the 
decisionmaking process when subsistence users are not allowed to 
harvest a single salmon to feed themselves or family members, river 
systems cannot meet escapement goals, yet the commercial fishing 
industry is allowed to either target salmon in the State of Alaska 
intercept fishery in the millions where almost a single salmon cannot 
pass or the federal high seas trawling industry is allowed to bycatch 
hundreds of thousands of salmon and toss them all over board. Another 
area where both the state or the federal agencies pass the blame is 
climate change, lets blame climate change for everything that is 
happening and still allow millions of salmon to be targeted or wasted. 
While climate change is a serious issue, that is nothing that any of us 
have control over. Sound management would be to take control over the 
things we can manage and let's work together, state & feds, on how more 
salmon will make it western Alaska to meet or exceed escapement goals 
and make the state or federal fisheries accountable. For decades Area M 
fisherman denied allegations that they were ``chum chucking'' or 
throwing dead salmon overboard. During the 2023 intercept fishery 
season the Alaska State Troopers cited several Area M boat captains for 
``chum chucking''. Again, in times of closure how is it fair that the 
subsistence user is not allowed to harvest a single salmon, bear the 
burden of conservation, our river systems cannot meet escapement goals, 
yet industry is allowed to waste thousands upon thousands of salmon.
    Traditional subsistence activities for salmon have included Set 
Net, Seining, Drying, Smoking and storing frozen salmon in our 
freezers. In the olden days not only were salmon caught to feed 
families, but salmon were caught to feed dog teams which were the work 
horse so to speak of the native communities across Alaska, as well as 
bartered with amongst other communities.
    Traditional Subsistence Activities were not just to sustain us but 
became a part of who we are and how we lived in Alaska. The definition 
of Subsistence in Websters Dictionary is this ``the action or fact of 
maintaining or supporting oneself at a minimum level.'' Obviously or 
not, this definition is not totally accurate in how we view 
subsistence. This is not who we are. We take pride in our traditional 
subsistence activities because we do this to feed our loved ones and 
our communities . For instance, families divide the salmon we catch and 
dry them into bundles of 50 dry fish to give to our sisters and 
brothers families and our close relatives who we know do not have 
access to make their own dry fish. This is Traditional Subsistence.
    As an Inupiaq man I cannot comment with any authority on the 
impacts to our Health. What I can speak with authority on are the 
impacts to our subsistence way of life and the resource, Salmon.
    The southern Seward Peninsula faced a chum salmon closure that 
lasted nearly 30 years. Fishing gear was limited to Rod and Reel only, 
this was in an effort to conserve any chum salmon caught and they were 
to be released back in to the river system alive. When chum salmon 
stocks finally started meeting escapement goals on the southern Seward 
Peninsula we were the only subregion in the state that had a Tier II 
Chum Fishery. Consequently, during the late 1980s and early 1990s 
Kawerak has tried to bring up the Area M intercept Fishery which has 
been proven to be taking salmon in the millions bound for western 
Alaska and the federal high seas fishery where hundreds of thousands of 
salmon are tossed overboard and wasted.
    Salmon By-catch. By law trawlers are allowed to catch and discard 
species that are not targeted in their harvest of a species. In this 
case Pollock.
    The current system will only recognize that there are fewer fish in 
the by-catch category because there were fewer fish caught at the time 
of harvest and not that there are just less fish in the population. If 
this inability or unwillingness to recognize salmon populations being 
affected remains the norm, then we will see the by-catch numbers 
continue to fall until the salmon populations become extinct. And the 
same will be true of all species of fish caught as by-catch.
    Thank you for the chance to testify and warmest regards.

    Senator Murkowski. I want to thank each of you for your 
written comments and what you have shared here for the 
committee and community.
    We can get really technical when we talk about subsistence. 
You have your RACs, you have boards, you have dual Federal-
State management system who qualifies, and all that. But at the 
end of the day, what it really comes down to is how you not 
only feed your families, but how you keep your culture and 
traditions alive.
    As I am listening, I am reflecting on how important this 
conversation is for us in this room, but for us to carry this 
to Washington, D.C. I don't believe that most people in America 
can relate to being salmon people. Most people in America don't 
relate to one food source. When you think about our farmers and 
ranchers, they don't call themselves the people of the cows or 
the people of the chickens.
    And I don't mean to be light, but it is a reality that you 
are connected to a resource, a food resource, a specific 
resource, that of the salmon. Or maybe you are the people of 
Anaktuvuk, and you are the caribou people, you are the walrus 
people, the whale people.
    That is why it is so important that your connection to this 
resource be shared in a way that people from Washington, D.C. 
and other parts of the Country may not be able to quickly 
grasp. So because the name of this hearing is the impact of the 
salmon declines on the health and well-being of our Alaska 
Native community in these regions, I am going to ask several of 
you, when you rely on salmon for your food source, it is not 
just because it is what is on sale. It is because it is what 
you have. When you don't have it, what do you do?
    Chairman Ridley, you mentioned that there were substantial 
efforts to purchase salmon to be able to distribute to 
families. I would like to hear from those of you that live here 
with your families in rural Alaska how you actually are dealing 
with the food insecurity, the challenges with replacing these 
wild food sources.
    Because if I go to most people, most of my colleagues, they 
will say, well, if it is not salmon season, eat something else, 
go to the store, and you eat something else. So I am trying to 
make an impression in the record here about what it means when 
your primary food source is no longer available.
    I want to have you reinforce that. As we got off the 
airplane today, some stranger welcomed me. He said, I am so 
glad you are here, I am so glad you are here listening to the 
people talking about salmon. He said, you realize that a gallon 
of milk here in Bethel is $12 a gallon. So it is not like you 
can replace things by going to the grocery store.
    I think it was you, Chairperson Tikiun, as well as Chairman 
Ridley, you mentioned the impact on young people. Chairman 
Ridley, I think you mentioned the issue of suicide. We think 
about, when we can't teach our children in the ways of the land 
and the ways of our culture, what else replaces that?
    I am going to ask for a little bit of unstructured 
conversation around these themes for the next five minutes or 
so. I called out a couple of you, if you would choose to speak 
to it. I don't know how we are handling this, because we 
apparently only have one mic. We will just pass it along.
    We will start down there with Chairman Tikiun and Chairman 
Ridley.
    Mr. Tikiun. With the salmon crash that is happening in our 
region, and the impact it has had on our whole region here, not 
only in our area here but other regions of the State, some of 
the teachings that we had as we were growing up, the sayings 
that we had, those and the camps, when I was growing up, we 
always fished as a group. A lot of people fished together as a 
family group. And we all met each other and we shared our fish. 
That is what we did.
    Those that were fishing, at the time if they got too many 
fish, they would share with all the other people, the other 
fish camps in the area. Everybody did that. My mother at that 
time would accept fish from somebody else that had had gotten 
too many, and we would do the same thing. We would share with 
all the other family members and others that had issues with 
motors. At that time, they didn't have a lot of equipment. 
Everybody shared everything that they had, motor parts, nets, 
things like that.
    You don't see that now. Now, you have real small groups of 
families that are just the family itself, you don't have the 
kinship with the other family members. That is what I see. And 
that is being lost, the way I have seen it. That's being lost.
    Senator Murkowski. Thank you for that.
    Brian?
    Mr. Ridley. The thing that I want to mention is that we had 
the attorney general up here this summer. I am glad we got to 
spend some time out in the rural areas, to be able to show him 
how expensive a gallon of milk is, fuel, all that kind of 
stuff.
    But I go back to 2022, the summer, I had an elder talk to 
us from our region who said they lived through the Great 
Depression, but they didn't even know there was a Great 
Depression, because we had all that we needed. We had all the 
fish and game that we needed.
    I think about that today, the old CFO in me, or banker in 
me seeing the economy the way it is, cost of living, all that 
kind of stuff and all the issues we are dealing with. If our 
people had the fish and the game and all those things, we would 
have full freezers and all those things about the economy 
wouldn't even matter. But that is not the case.
    Across our region, it is not just fish, it is moose and 
caribou issues that we are running into. As the salmon have 
gone away, we have had to rely more on sheefish and whitefish, 
and now those numbers are starting to drop. It is like this 
perfect storm going on across our region. That is why it is 
such a big priority to us.
    The one thing I did want to mention, because I had to cut 
so much out of my written comments that you have, is that 
recently we documented our customary and traditional use of 
salmon back 11,000 years. I believe it is the earliest evidence 
in North America proving how far back our people were salmon 
people, and that when the salmon suffer, our people suffer.
    Senator Murkowski. Thank you, Brian.
    Let me ask you, Chairman Samuelson, about the impact that 
we are seeing on our young people when these cultures, as 
Chairman Tikiun has noted, you are not doing the community 
gathering and the sharing so much. The impact that we are 
seeing, whether with mental health issues, drugs and substance 
abuse issues, as a young person who grew up all up and down 
these rivers, what are you seeing in regard to impacts when 
families are not able to harvest together?
    Mr. Samuelson. At the height of the pandemic, we ran into 
hunting season. My brother is the provider for my family when 
it comes to moose. On September 12th or so, he called and said, 
I have COVID, I don't know if I can go out. A day or two later 
he called and said, I went out, I got a moose, because I have 
no choice.
    The provider role in our communities is so important. I 
always get shaky when I talk about these things. When we are 
forced to deviate from our traditional ways of life, it only 
amplifies our unwellness. Our way of life and our cultural 
knowledge, the way that we be in the world is our path to 
wellness, and we know that.
    So when we are forced to go off that track and we have no 
means to get back to wellness, we end up with things like 
mental illnesses, suicide, physical unwellness because we are 
not actively out there doing this activity, spiritual 
unwellness that leads to all these things.
    In our way of being, we are meant to get the next 
generation ready, we are always getting ready, that is what the 
Yup'ik people say, for whatever is next, the season, life, we 
are always getting ready. So we are not able to do that.
    And as a younger person in the indigenous community, I am 
worried that I don't have enough time and knowledge to take up 
and lead my people, and that there is even less for me to give 
to the next generation. It all circles back to our health and 
well-being. I know this is a roundabout way of answering your 
question, but there is no way to silo the answers and the 
ecosystem. If we are hungry for fish, the bears are hungry. If 
the bears are hungry, they are eating something else. They are 
eating something else and there is less of those moose and 
caribou for us to supplement our diets.
    We have no choice but to be aware of every part and piece 
of the ecosystem, because everything is connected. And it all 
comes back to the fish at the heart of it. So our people 
really, really suffer when everything is not in balance.
    Senator Murkowski. Thank you for that. It was very 
thoughtful.
    I want to ask one more question on health. Mr. Winkelman, 
you outlined a great deal for us in terms of just the 
nutritional value of salmon. We get that. It is vitally 
important.
    But as the head of the Yukon Kuskokwim Health Corporation, 
are you concerned that we will continue to see greater health 
care challenges out in this region, as people do not have the 
nutritional food source and have to turn to the less 
nutritional, whether it is pasta or chips or whatever it is?
    Also on the mental health issues. We just had a hearing in 
the Indian Affairs Committee on the fentanyl crisis among 
Alaska Native peoples. Some of the statistics that we are 
seeing, some of the deaths that we are seeing in small, small 
villages in this area as well due to fentanyl. Share just a 
little bit anecdotally if you can on some of the health 
consequences of not having the access to salmon as well as some 
of the mental health considerations you are seeing.
    Mr. Winkelman. Yes, there are two things going on. When you 
are not able to go fishing, you are not able to do the physical 
activity, so there is that that you lose, the actual physical 
activity that is helping to keep you at a healthy weight. Then 
you are not able to go get the food. So we have seen increasing 
weights out here as our diets have changed to more western 
diets.
    If you look at this region and you look at the history of 
how much we actually eat from traditional foods, it is actually 
one of the highest in the entire State, with the exception of 
the North Slope. So we are still doing well with foodstuffs and 
how much we eat per pound over a year.
    But it is definitely decreasing, and has already decreased 
evidently for Yukon people and Kuskokwim people. Coastal people 
still have an ocean to fish from, the way the regulations are 
out there, which are different than what we are dealing with on 
the river system.
    But definitely the activity, there is less activity, more 
using four-wheelers to go check the mail at the post office 
when you are in the village, and less walking, less physical 
activity, less hunting opportunities, less fishing 
opportunities.
    Then if you look at, I was just touring, had the Alaska 
Mental Health Trustees out here, and we toured for three days 
and took them to four different villages, both up on the Yukon 
and here on the Kuskokwim, and then out on the coast. They 
could not believe how well attended; we were literally in those 
four villages with half a room full of this many people. 
Because people are concerned about their kids and schools.
    What is happening in our school system, we are not able to 
develop the support systems that are needed, the schools don't 
have enough money to have enough counselors, not just for the 
kids that are having behavioral health issues, but also the 
teachers that are there, that are dealing with the children, 
and what happens after a suicide attempt.
    I just heard that in Kwethluk, from the superintendent 
there, then also from their leadership there about, there was a 
gentleman, Boris [phonetically]. Boris held up, when we were 
talking, he held up this thing, I am holding up a cell phone. 
And he goes, this is killing our kids. He is very worried about 
all the dramatic changes that I just talked about and that we 
just listened to for the last hour.
    It is not just the subsistence needs and the lack of 
opportunities, but it is, what are you going to do with these 
kids? What are they doing? Because that is how we grow our kids 
up, is through their attachment to the land and the wonderful 
subsistence opportunities that we have out here in our region, 
which is like nothing other.
    As that is becoming more restrictive, it is changing our 
interactions with our children, and our children are looking 
for other things to do. You mentioned drugs, they may turn to 
that, they may turn to booze, they may turn to other things, 
things that are online that little kids shouldn't be doing. All 
those things Boris was really concerned about and expressed 
that to the Alaska Mental Health Trustees, which I was so happy 
to have out here, and show them the actual behavioral health 
needs out here in our region, which are tremendous, and how we 
need to develop more solutions with mental health care.
    Senator Murkowski. Thank you for that.
    I want to switch gears a little bit here to co-management, 
as several of you have mentioned this afternoon.
    We had a hearing in the Senate Energy Committee about 10 
years ago on subsistence. One of the key takeaways from that 
was the need for Native people to have a seat at the table, 
equal voice in management of subsistence resource. You have the 
local knowledge, you know the whole ecosystem, as we are 
talking about here, better than anyone. I think that this is an 
area where the Federal Government really can and should extend 
a hand as an equal partner. There is a lot more that can be 
done here.
    We have tried to better facilitate better co-management 
opportunities with Native organizations and tribes across the 
board, including the work of the inter-tribal fish commissions, 
contracts for data collection, other research in mammal co-
management groups. But I think there is a lot more we can be 
doing here.
    So I want to ask both you, Mr. Samuelson, and you, Ms. 
Ulvi, with regard to the Kuskokwim Inter-Tribal Fish 
Commission, and the work that you are doing there, are we 
incorporating the input of local people who really do have the 
local knowledge of these rivers and the salmon? Do you feel 
that that input, that local input, is given the appropriate 
weight in terms of how salmon are managed in these rivers? Then 
the same question directed to you as well, Chairwoman Ulvi, 
with your experience on the Yukon.
    Mr. Samuelson. Thank you for that question. The fish 
commissions were born in 2015 out of necessity, our salmon 
crashed, they weren't rebounding like we had seen in the past, 
because there have been crashes before, followed by rebounds. 
We still haven't seen that rebound since 2012.
    So our fish commissions, the tribes on our rivers and our 
watersheds realized we had to organize in a way to give our 
fish a chance. It has been an uphill battle ever since. On the 
Kuskokwim, we advocate for Federal management, because of the 
trust responsibility. There is no mechanism through current 
regulation with the State of Alaska that ensures subsistence as 
a priority. So we have to turn to our Federal partners here.
    We do have a working MOU with Fish and Wildlife Service, 
and new efforts such as the Gravel to Gravel Keystone 
Initiative are working to incorporate and elevate indigenous 
voice and knowledge. But at the end of the day, without 
authority and true co-stewardship, we operate as advisors.
    Senator Murkowski. So let me ask on that, I want to get 
your input on this. Because again, what we set this up to do 
was to facilitate exactly that, to get the local knowledge 
incorporated, to have the voices truly listened to. So there is 
a difference between kind of being in an advisory capacity and 
really feeling like you are part of that decision making.
    Do I take your comment to believe that you don't really 
feel that you are at that equal level in terms of decision 
making?
    Mr. Samuelson. I think we have made a lot of progress on 
both sides, to have that meaningful co-stewardship and everyone 
sitting at the table. What worries me is that it is very 
dependent on who is in that position at the U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service. The agreements don't run with the agency, or 
the government. They kind of run with the people. And we are 
here to stay.
    So I don't want to diminish the great work that the 
Commission and the Fish and Wildlife Service have done, and the 
progress that we have made as this demonstration project, but I 
do want to just note that there are no permanent protections 
for that co-stewardship.
    Senator Murkowski. Let me ask Chairwoman Ulvi.
    Ms. Ulvi. The Yukon, Kuskokwim has come a long way with co-
stewardship. The Yukon is a little different because we have 
State and Federal waters like a checkerboard running all down 
the Yukon.
    As we are trying to get co-stewardship of the river, we see 
that there is a lot of, in the Federal processes, there should 
be government-to-government consultations with the tribes that 
are not necessarily happening. That would help a lot, to let us 
have a seat at the table and to hear our concerns and how we 
can help in managing the resources.
    Senator Murkowski. Ms. Borromeo, I want to bring you into 
this conversation about management of subsistence resources. In 
your written testimony, and you have also spoken a little bit 
to it, the importance of co-management, the tribal-Federal 
partnerships, the need to build capacity to continue and to 
grow co-management. In your view, how do we do it?
    Ms. Borromeo. Thank you, Vice Chair Murkowski. We do it 
through the mechanisms that we already have in place with 
Federal law. ANILCA allows for demonstration projects, so let's 
have a demonstration project on co-management. Let's fund it.
    You have taken a huge step forward by moving the Office of 
Subsistence Management under the Secretary of Interior, thank 
you for that. I know it was a lot of work, me constantly 
calling you and asking you to carry the heavy load. I can't 
imagine. But you always answered the phone.
    So that would be one way that we could move this forward. 
And our track record is clear, that when we do manage our own 
world, we have places like YKHC, like ANMC, that didn't happen 
overnight. When I was a kid, and I still remember receiving 
services at ANS downtown on Fourth Avenue. I think a lot of 
people in this room do. We can collectively agree that our 
health care system managed by Alaska Natives is light years 
ahead of what it used to be when it was managed 100 percent by 
Indian Health Service.
    So if we were able to manage the resource, if we have 
funding that was stable for a dedicated period of time that we 
knew was available to us, and we could work across regions to 
really further co-management, that is what I would recommend.
    In addition to the Kuskokwim River fish commission, Yukon, 
too, Ahtna also has a co-management structure that it is ready 
to go too. So let's not just have one demonstration, let's have 
fish and game at the same time. Thank you.
    Senator Murkowski. Thank you.
    Several of you have mentioned either here at the table or 
in your written testimony that the salmon management in the 
Federal Government is disjointed. I would certainly echo that. 
But you mentioned cooperation with Fish and Wildlife in the 
region that doesn't necessarily extend to the North Pacific 
Fisheries Management Council, and the Department of Commerce. 
Both of them have management responsibilities for salmon.
    So any ideas on how to fix this? Again, to address the lack 
of co-stewardship agreements with Commerce agencies, with NMFS, 
how we are better able to put tribal voices into the marine 
management. I guess in addition to asking if you have specific 
ideas as to how you might fix it, have any of the folks from 
the Commerce Department actually visited the region to talk 
about co-management? I don't know the answer to that. Everyone 
is shaking their heads. You would be the ones, if anybody knew 
if they were coming out here.
    That is very telling to me, that there is a real gap there, 
when you don't even have somebody from the Department that you 
can identify that has come out to say, hey, what can we do on 
this. So this is kind of an open-ended question to those of you 
as to whether or not you have any specific ideas as to how we 
can address this lack of co-stewardship agreements with these 
agencies at the Federal level.
    Mr. Menadelook. Senator, we have had meetings with your 
staff, Dr. Rob Foy, and there was another lady that was for the 
Office of Protected Species that came by. She seemed like she 
was pretty amenable to what we were talking about.
    But I will let you know that when I did my, I call it my 
end of the world speech, the numbers that I gave to him, he 
said that I would be a person to watch and that he would 
personally send me the correct numbers.
    Well, I will let you know right now, those numbers I just 
gave you are from their own website and their reports. So they 
are what I extrapolated myself without looking to him. But just 
to let you know that he told me that he would personally send 
me the right numbers. So I never heard from him.
    I will say as far as co-management and co-stewardship with 
NOAA, I haven't seen it yet. Otherwise we would be in some 
really big discussions right now. Thank you.
    Senator Murkowski. So, one of the things that I often hear 
is that on Federal lands and waters, our subsistence resources 
and habitat are not being actively managed to ensure viable 
resource populations. We hear that part of the problem is 
conflicting statutes, missions of the differing land management 
agencies. I get that. But what ends up happening, 
unfortunately, is you are working against facilitating healthy 
subsistence populations instead of facilitating them.
    So I am curious to know around the table if you would agree 
with that and whether or not there are management activities 
that in your view the Federal land management agencies like 
Fish and Wildlife Service should be taking to actively manage 
subsistence resources.
    Then, another question that I don't know the answer to is 
whether or not any of these Native organizations have proposed 
management activities that have been rejected by any of our 
Federal managers. In other words, you have presented proposals 
and suggestions and they have been rebuffed. Again, I throw 
that out to anyone down the line.
    Mr. Menadelook. I think in my view and with co-management 
of the AMBCC, the Alaska Migratory Bird Co-Management Council, 
the biggest problem that we run into is funding.
    The funding for the 11 regions that are in the AMBCC, only 
is like $300,000. You cannot co-manage a species or all species 
of birds with only $300,000. I have seen some regions in Alaska 
that are operating on $15,000. How are you supposed to co-
manage anything with that type of money? And these numbers are 
current. This is not 50 years ago. This is this year.
    So we really do need your help in getting money. If you are 
serious about talking about co-management, you have to look at 
getting more funding for it. Thank you.
    Senator Murkowski. Thank you, Mr. Menadelook. Also to 
recognize that these competitive grants are also equally 
problematic.
    Anybody else want to weigh in there? Yes, Chief Ridley.
    Mr. Ridley. I just wanted to say, the more I learn about 
this entire process and was kind of shocked at how it all works 
or doesn't work, I think the big focus that we have right now 
is with co-management or whatever, we are still running up 
against the board that I mentioned, the North Pacific Fisheries 
Management Council and the State Board of Fish, those seats. We 
fight like heck and we get one Native person on there, but it 
is one out of eight or ten or whatever it is.
    So trying to find some way to improve that and make sure 
the different user groups are accounted for, with us it has 
been education as far as I feel like that group has only cared 
about the industry. You go to the meetings, that is all they 
talk about, well, the industry told us we need to do this, so 
that is what we are doing.
    And I feel like somehow, maybe I am being too simplistic, 
is that we have to be able to manage State waters, Federal 
waters, holistically. Because as I mentioned, our fish are 
going through all these different waters, they don't care, we 
don't care. I mean, before there was a State, we didn't have 
these borders to deal with. Now we have these different, oh, 
well, this is Federal, this is State. Somehow, we have to get 
our arms wrapped around it to where we are managing as a whole 
and the folks in the Bering Sea realize they are affecting our 
fish.
    As I said, even if they are saying, oh, but it is only 1 
percent of our catch is your salmon, that is over 100,000 of 
our fish. That will be huge, when we only have 15,000 kings and 
15,000 fall chum making it into Canada. An extra 130,000 would 
go a long way.
    Senator Murkowski. We have come onto the end of the time 
that we were going to do the formal testimony here. But I want 
to ask one more question, and I think it is highly appropriate, 
because I think perhaps each and every one of you has asked or 
recommended some kind of legislative fix to Title VIII of 
ANILCA or other legislative action to affirm Native hunting and 
fishing rights in Alaska. Know that I absolutely hear and 
understand the fears that you have about the future of 
subsistence, and really the bitterness that is out there that 
has been caused by the recent legislation to effectively defend 
the status quo here.
    I agree with you, I think we have a system that is broken. 
The history of Title VIII and what we all lived through, maybe 
some of you are too young, but what many of us lived through as 
a State on subsistence in the recent past makes it really hard 
to envision how we are actually going to get to a unified 
system of management.
    But it is absolutely a conversation that we have to have, 
and I am really glad that AFN started it at the convention last 
month.
    I think we recognize, as important as your Federal 
delegation is, and we all work hard on these issues, Federal 
legislative changes are just tough. They are, particularly on a 
statute like ANILCA. We simply have to have everybody on board, 
we have to have people pulling together. I don't mean to be 
discouraging, I am trying to be very pragmatic and clear-eyed.
    We have some serious divisions in Congress these days on 
just about everything. So as we move into these difficult 
conversations, I think the more honest we can be with one 
another is so important.
    Know that I am absolutely not dismissing changes to ANILCA 
or any other legislation here. But I am just going to ask, for 
just a moment, because believe me, I got the message here, in 
my notes I think I underscored each time somebody mentioned it.
    But I would like you to help me out. If you think there 
are, if you have any suggestions that we can perhaps help 
advance administratively, at the Federal level right now, in 
other words, ideas that we can put in place to help improve 
subsistence management now without legislation. I ask this 
because what I am hearing from you is families are in need, 
communities are suffering. Alaska Native people in this region 
are suffering because the resource is not there.
    I do not have that magic button that can put fish back in 
the river now. We all know that. So as we suffer through 
challenging, hard times right now, and as we work to try to 
change things legislatively, recognizing that that too takes 
time, are there perhaps things that can be more immediate in 
what we can do?
    I mentioned to you the Office of Subsistence Management. 
Several of you have raised that perhaps having that office 
under the direct supervision of the Secretary does help move 
the needle here.
    I am going to turn the mic to you, Nicole, because you 
mentioned in your written testimony that AFN has offered on 
numerous occasions recommendations to improve the Federal 
subsistence board, and only two of those recommendations have 
been implemented since you did that a dozen years or so ago.
    Is there anything more we could do with that at the 
administrative level? Again, what more we might be able to do 
from a co-management perspective to help address the non-
competitive based funding issue?
    I am going to throw it out here. This is the last chance 
that you all will have the mic here. So we are going to be 
respectful of time, but these are really important suggestions 
for me as we try to wrap up this end of the discussion.
    I am going to turn to Nicole first.
    Ms. Borromeo. Thank you, Senator.
    Moving the Office of Subsistence Management under the 
Interior Secretary was, as I said, a step in the right 
direction. I think we have to give that careful oversight and 
make sure that that office also has the funding and autonomy to 
really perform how it is supposed to.
    That, just continuing to let them know in your friendly 
ways that you are keeping an eye on how that relationship is 
developing, and if that office is able to better perform for 
Alaska would go a long way.
    Your second question about co-management and what else we 
can do, thinking outside of the box, it might be an opportunity 
right now to have another discussion about hatcheries. I know 
that has been something that has been hit or miss in the Native 
community and across the State in years past. But our way of 
life is changing, our food sources are changing, and fish isn't 
coming back.
    So if we can at least cultivate that here, and maybe that 
is an opportunity for Native people to get involved in co-
management, is in administering those hatcheries. I think you 
might find support from the Secretary of Interior for those 
ideas right now. I was speaking with her recently about a tribe 
in California that had sent some of its cohort to New Zealand. 
Their streams went dry and their fish weren't coming back. So 
that tribe went down to New Zealand and brought some of its 
original stock back, and they are repopulating their streams.
    We have to figure out a way to make sure that the resource 
returns. Management isn't the only path forward. There has to 
be different avenues. Thank you.
    Senator Murkowski. Other comments from anyone on the panel?
    Mr. Samuelson. Thank you. People in the river systems are 
doing everything they can. We have been for a long time. We are 
essentially starving so that our fish have a chance.
    What we need is ideally, authority to make decisions on 
behalf of our salmon relatives, rather than fill seats here and 
there and hope to have influence. Authority can come without 
changing the law. That delegation can come down.
    I have three quick quotes for you. ``When I was growing up, 
as a boy, learning to fish from my mom down near Tuntutuliak, 
she taught me that we have to let these fish go, because there 
are people way up the river who need them, too.'' One of our 
elder advisors at the Fish Commission.
    ''We need to reconsider this vote, because we have no idea 
what we voted on.'' The Federal Subsistence Board, on Kuskokwim 
River Fisheries in a meeting on the record. We need to 
reconsider this vote, because we have no idea what we voted on.
    So we need at least equal representation on the Federal 
Subsistence Board. It is made up of people who have no 
connection to our way of life, to our region, to our salmon. 
But they have that decision making authority.
    ''Well, I guess that is the end of a people and a way of 
life,'' someone who sits on the North Pacific Fisheries 
Management Council, when talking about the Yukon. ``The end of 
a culture.''
    The latter two quotes are from people who have decision 
making authority on us and our relatives and our ways of life. 
We need mandated tribal seats at every one of these bodies as a 
start to the answer. We need tribal involvement at every step 
of the way. Because our elders trained us to think, we have to 
let these fish go, because other people need them too, versus, 
we are going to take as much as we can and hope that we have 
some more again.
    It is a simple shift. We don't need Congressional action 
for some of these items. We just need that mandated co-
stewardship. And as I mentioned before, we are ready and 
willing to do this work and to lead this work.
    Mr. Tikiun. The one thing I would like to say is on the co-
management, the different agencies or different tribes have 
been talking about co-management. I know on Kuskokwim, it is 
happening down here in Bethel.
    But we need both the State and the Feds to talk together 
also. That is where some of the issues are coming from. Unless 
we get that done, we are going to continue to have that problem 
on down the line. Those two agencies, the State, also need to 
sit down and talk together.
    That is one thing we could do. Otherwise, we are just going 
to come, okay, one thing on co-management, another thing, move 
on down, another litigation will come up, unless some kind of 
agreement is made between the two agencies. Thank you.
    Senator Murkowski. Thank you.
    Mr. Ridley. If I may, our friends in the Ahtna area, I have 
heard them say, hopefully co-management is just a stepping 
stone to whole management by Native people. That is what I 
would hope, is that we could get to that point.
    Like I said, the more I learn about this process, be it 
State or Federal, the more I have concerns that it has been so 
politicized. I said that when I testified last spring in 
Juneau, and the chair of the Finance Committee agreed, she was 
shaking her head about how politicized the process has gotten.
    Then I think, to touch briefly on the State lawsuit 
currently, they are claiming they have a subsistence priority, 
but clearly, they don't.
    Finally, one of the things we have been hoping for is with 
MSA reauthorization, trying to get the tribal seats. As I 
understand it, there is a bit of gridlock happening and issues 
in D.C. So if there is anything we can do to help you get that 
pushed through, by all means let us know. We would be happy to 
partner with you to try to get that.
    Again, it is not going to be a perfect solution, but 
hopefully it is a stepping stone in the right direction. Thank 
you.
    Senator Murkowski. Thank you.
    Ms. Ulvi. Senator, I was just wondering if we could take 
some time and write up some things, some realistic expectations 
for you and send that after this meeting. Would we be able to 
do that?
    Senator Murkowski. That is actually a perfect lead, because 
what I was going to do next, after thanking everyone, was to 
remind you all that the record will remain open for two weeks 
now. So anything that you might wish to supplement for the 
record will be included as part of that.
    Again, what you provided the committee in advance with your 
written testimony is incorporated, everything that has been 
shared here today verbally will be included, and anything that 
you would like to supplement, and I really appreciate your 
raising that and offering that. Because I know sometimes it is 
not fair, you are going to get home, you are going to wake up 
at 3:00 o'clock and say, I wish that I had said, or offered up 
this as an option. Please know that we would welcome those, not 
just as an afterthought, but really to fully supplement the 
record. Thank you for raising that.
    Any final questions? Mr. Menadelook?
    Mr. Menadelook. This is not a question, but I just wanted 
to say sorry about my doom and gloom presentation.
    [Laughter.]
    Mr. Menadelook. The one thing I do want to say, I do talk 
to my nieces and nephews. This has started, since I have 
started this job, I tell them they need to go fishing. They 
need to go snow hunting. Because I don't think it is going to 
be around much longer.
    Thank you.
    Senator Murkowski. Thank you. Thank you for sharing in ways 
that are both informative and personal. I appreciate that a 
great deal.
    With that, we will now take a break, about 15 minutes, get 
up and stretch, walk around the room, then we will reconfigure 
something up here and go into the public comments section. 
Thank you.

    [Recess 2:55 p.m. to 3:26 p.m.]

    PUBLIC LISTENING SESSION

    Senator Murkowski. This is the public listening session 
portion of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, our field 
hearing to examine the impact of the historic salmon declines 
on the health and well-being of Alaska Native communities along 
the Arctic, Yukon, and the Kuskokwim Rivers.
    So as was mentioned previously, this session is being 
broadcast live on the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs 
website. It will also be part of the field hearing official 
record.
    This public listening session is very important. It is 
extremely important because again, this is Congress' 
opportunity to hear directly from the public at large. We had 
invited witnesses, it was important to be able to hear from 
certain tribal leaders, from those that are involved in 
different leadership levels associated with subsistence. This 
is the opportunity to hear from the public.
    So I want to outline at the start how we are going to 
conduct this part of the session. We had a sign-up sheet at the 
back of the room. I think everyone who wished to sign up to 
speak has done so. There are 35 individuals who have signed up. 
I will call people in the order that they have signed up to 
come up to the front here to speak.
    When you come up, I would ask that you please provide your 
name for the record. You will be given three minutes for your 
comments. I know that three minutes is not nearly adequate. I 
understand that, and I hope that you know that we don't mean to 
be disrespectful in saying only three minutes to share. But as 
you can see, with 35 people that have signed up who all wish to 
weigh in, in order for us to keep this within a two-hour-plus 
time parameter, we will have to try and respect the time 
limits.
    We will have a timer right up front. So when your time is 
up after three minutes, you will see that the clock is up. You 
will also hear a small buzzer, not too annoying. But again, we 
want to make sure that we are respectful to everybody who has 
come and who has asked for their moment to speak.
    If you would like to add further comments after your three 
minutes, we have a side room in the back. Cordelia and Angela 
are standing back there waving at you. They are super-nice 
ladies. They are going to give an opportunity for you to go in 
the back room there and to record additional remarks. There 
will not be a three-minute time clock back there. So you can 
share on the record.
    So what you state up here will be part of the record, and 
then we will incorporate your additional remarks afterwards. 
Again, we want to be fair to everyone with their time up here. 
But we will be generous in making sure that you feel you have 
that opportunity to be fully heard.
    I am going to call up the first three names to kick this 
off, so you know where you are in the timeline. When you come 
up, I would ask for you to speak into the handheld mic, and 
hold the mic very close to your mouth. Our translator is having 
a difficult time hearing if you do not put the mic close. So it 
is going to be uncomfortable. But please do it anyway.
    We are cognizant that this is flu and COVID season, so we 
will have wipes that you can wipe down the mic when you move 
from person to person. But please, please put it close to your 
mouth.
    Again, thank you for the time that you are giving us. Thank 
you for your respectful comments, not only to the committee, 
but to your friends and neighbors here in the region. So the 
first three names on the list are Beverly Hoffman from Bethel, 
Vivian Korthuis from AVCP, and Gloria Simeon from here in 
Bethel. Beverly will come first, then Vivian and then Gloria.
    Welcome, Beverly.
    Ms. Hoffman. Senator, I did take you out when the salmon 
crashed about a decade ago. You saw the fish camps, and you 
talked to the people. But I want to say quyana to everyone who 
has come to Bethel today to hear us, and to thank our folks 
that were up here with you to tell our story.
    My name is Beverly Hoffman. I was born and raised right 
here in Bethel, Alaska. I am a tribal member, shareholder. But 
today I am speaking for myself. I have worked hard to be a good 
steward of this land and water. I am a subsistence gatherer, 
and I have been all my life.
    It saddens me that we are here today in this place in this 
time. For too many years our fish racks have been empty, 
leaving us frustrated and our hearts saddened.
    I am 72. I have sat on these advisory councils for several 
decades, State, Federal, North Pacific Marine Fishery, all 
advisory. I still stay informed of all these groups, even 
today, including the Intertribal Fish Commission, which I truly 
support.
    We have been talking about the reasons for our salmon 
declines for over two decades: trawlers, climate change, mining 
impact risks. So now here we are at this crucial point in time. 
We, the people of the YK region, have been restricted from 
fishing for king salmon, while trawlers continue to throw the 
same salmon overboard. The crab, halibut, and other species are 
also affected.
    For many years, we have testified to protect our food. We 
are the stewards of the land, the water, the oceans, pleading 
for something to be done. There is much I want you and policy 
makers to do. First, address the specific waste of the trawling 
industry. You don't need legislation to do that, to reduce 
trawler bycatch. The industry is destroying the ocean nutrients 
over-fishing. Our Yukon and Kuskokwim ecosystem depends on a 
healthy salmon spawning river. We lose our salmon; we lose 
everything we love.
    Second, there must be reform in fishery management on both 
State and Federal levels, as there is too much emphasis on 
commercial operations and very little protecting our way of 
life and the gathering of our subsistence foods. I felt 
relieved to hear you talk at AFN about this situation.
    Third, it is disheartening to see large extraction open pit 
mines like Donlin and others being developed on our salmon 
spawning rivers. I request we do a new environmental impact 
statement on Donlin. Climate change has caused warming 
temperatures that impact our salmon. We need that new data.
    It is my hope you will hear the difference, and that you 
will do all you can to work with us and protect us as we 
continue to fight for our very existence.
    Quyana.
    [Applause.]
    Ms. Korthuis. Good afternoon. My name is Vivian Korthuis, 
and I am sorry for my voice. I am fighting a cold.
    I serve as the Chief Executive Officer for the Association 
of Village Council Presidents. I would like to thank Senator 
Murkowski and members of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs 
and all your staff for organizing this field hearing to hear 
directly from our tribes and our people in the region.
    When the AVCP, Kawerak, TCC, and AFN first made the request 
for a Congressional field hearing in September of 2021, we were 
two years into the salmon crash. Now, we are in year four. This 
empty bag represents empty smokehouses and freezers all across 
western Alaska in our villages. I have shared this many times 
before. It is just a symbol of things that are happening in our 
communities and our homes and our individual lives across the 
region.
    The crash has been extremely devastating for families and 
communities in the AYK region, involving more than 100 tribal 
communities. Just in our region alone, there are 30,000 people 
who are directly impacted. Some may think that what is 
happening in our villages is not important. But it is 
jeopardizing the way of life of our communities.
    What is happening in our villages is really unfair. Our 
subsistence fishing has the least impact on the salmon crash. 
Yet we are the only ones being restricted and prevented from 
practicing our way of life. No one else is being asked to take 
hold or not make any changes.
    We need immediate action to find solutions to this crisis. 
It will take a holistic approach to make changes that will 
allow the salmon to recover. Everyone has a role to play.
    I believe that the AYK salmon crash is a test for the 
Arctic Strategy for the Federal Government. The 2022 National 
Strategy for the Arctic emphasizes four pillars: security, 
climate change, environmental protection, and economic 
development.
    Alaska is the geopolitical center of the United States. The 
salmon crash in our region is the test of the United States' 
ability to respond to a crisis in the Arctic. How will the 
United States mitigate the impacts of changes in our 
environment and protect and restore the salmon?
    To the rest of the Country, we are located on the edge of 
the map. In my mind, I want to make sure that the tribes in 
Alaska, even if we live in the most remote parts of the United 
States, matter.
    In closing, Senator Murkowski, subsistence matters, our 
villages matter, salmon matters, and our way of life matters. 
Thank you.
    [Applause.]
    Senator Murkowski. Excuse me one moment. This is a question 
to staff. For those who have written comments, would we like 
them to provide the committee with those written comments as 
well?
    Yes, okay. So Vivian and Beverly, if you have written 
comments, if you could provide us with those. No pressure on 
the rest of you who do not have full-on written beautiful 
comments. I just noticed that several of them did.
    Gloria, welcome.
    Ms. Simeon. Thank you. And thank you, Senator Murkowski, 
for making this opportunity available for us, and for YK for 
making the space available.
    My name is Gloria Simeon. I am a citizen of the 
Orutsararmiut Traditional Native Council. I am a woman of the 
Kuskokwim River and a user, the ultimate end user who bears the 
burden of conservation on our resource.
    I would like to start with a gentle reminder that the 
United States Government is the trustee of all matters 
pertaining to American Indians and Alaska Natives. This 
includes our very being, our tribal rights, our land and 
resources, as well as our health, education, and welfare.
    Furthermore, it is incumbent upon them to protect these 
rights for generations to come. The obligation is a trust 
responsibility.
    The United States has the most laws to protect the 
environment and agencies to enforce those laws. Yet the fact is 
these laws actually hasten environmental degradation and 
repression, and are made to favor industry. These agencies have 
sole discretion to issue permits. We have found that they are 
not always neutral in granting their permissions.
    The State of Alaska, as we know, is controlled by pro-
extraction industry, pro-development and industry are 
prioritized over the best interests of 229 tribal nations and 
their citizens. Decisions are made impacting us and our ability 
to survive on our own homelands, laws and regulations are 
passed threatening our access to resources we have relied on 
since time immemorial, threatening not only our survival, but 
the survival of generations to come.
    Regionally, our own regional and subregional and village 
corporations also threaten our survival. When tribal interests 
and survival are in conflict with ANSCA corporations and 
resource development, corporations win. At what cost?
    What do we truly use when we use our land, water and food 
that sustains us? We belong to this land. It has sustained us 
for millennia. We have nowhere else to go. To us, subsistence 
is not a way of life; it is our life.
    The looming threats to our survival and ability to access 
our resources are climate change, deep sea trawling and bycatch 
allocations, and the proposed Donlin. These are a threat to our 
ability to subsist on our traditional and customary foods, most 
importantly salmon.
    We are discovering far-reaching ripple effects of climate 
change. The skin of our tundra has gotten very thin and 
unstable. River banks are eroding at an alarming rate. 
Increasingly hot summers have left our land vulnerable to 
lightning strikes and fire. Mitigation can be achieved with 
calling an extraction-based development that threatens the 
First People of this land.
    Deep sea trawl bycatch can be controlled by regulation as 
well as stopping the development of the proposed Donlin Mine. 
This is not the time or the place to develop the world's 
largest open pit mine on the backs of the tribal nations of 
this region. Those nations have already spoken.
    In 2019, 35 tribal nations of the AVCP region opposed the 
proposed Donlin Mine. Let their voices be heard. Failure to do 
so will be a death blow to my river, to my people, and our 
survival, before we go extinct. The loss of our critical salmon 
is ripping and tearing apart the fabric of who we are as Yup'ik 
and Dene people and practicing our traditional and customary 
ways of life, which is not a way of life, it is our life.
    And fish camp is not an activity, it is a frame of mind. 
Thank you.
    [Applause.]
    Senator Murkowski. Thank you, Gloria.
    The next three in line are Christina Changsak from Russian 
Mission, Fritz Charles from Bethel, and Henry Hunter., Sr., 
from Bethel.
    Ms. Changsak. Good afternoon, Lisa. My name is Christina 
Changsak from Russian Mission. I am a wife, a mother, and a 
grandmother.
    We use our subsistence way of life all year round. For many 
years on the Yukon we haven't fished, and I want to teach all 
my kids and grandkids to fish, because when I am gone, I want 
that tradition to be known.
    This spring, we had a flood which tore down how many fish 
camps that used their places to fish. Unfortunately, we didn't 
get to fish much, or not at all.
    So we have an all year round subsistence way of life. 
During summer, we have fishing, toward fall we have bear and 
moose hunting, in winter we have ice fishing. So we are always 
busy with subsistence and it is a really big thing for us.
    Then in the summer time, Yukon has been, we were on a six-
inch mesh net, and then how many years ago we were brought down 
to four-inch. And you know, Yukon is a big river that, a four-
inch, you can't catch anything with that.
    So I testified in Anchorage with the Board of Fish, too, 
and I let them know, a four-inch on the Yukon River, that big 
of a river is too small, that they should reconsider bringing 
it back up to six-inch.
    Our only ways in and out of our village is by air. So our 
village has two stores, so pretty much everybody relies on 
subsistence. And if the weather is bad and the stores run out 
of things, how many days do we need to wait? So I am really 
happy there is our subsistence.
    That is why I am advocating for our salmon, because we 
haven't fished so many years. How many of our grandchildren and 
children crave the fish that we smoke? Even my two-year-old 
granddaughter asked me for fish, which I couldn't provide for 
her. To see a two-year-old asking, Oma, can I have fish, and I 
had to reply to her that we didn't get to fish.
    I think it would be nice if the Board of Fish and everybody 
would think of, we have limited and everybody else should get 
limited, too. Because it hurt us, especially in the interior 
Yukon where we were so deprived of all the big places, and we 
don't get much it like Bethel and Anchorage and everything 
coming by freight.
    I see my time is up. Thank you.
    Senator Murkowski. Thank you, Christina.
    [Applause.]
    Senator Murkowski. Fritz Charles?
    Mr. Charles. Hello. My name is Fritz Charles. Thank you, 
Senator Murkowski, for being out here.
    Year after year, dignitaries come out to our region. Year 
after year, we are telling the same problem to the dignitaries, 
to the Senators, to the State officials, the Federal 
Government, with little to no outcome. You see, I have been a 
fisherman, subsistence end user for my village, and year after 
year, since the early 1990s, what has been done? Nothing. 
Nothing.
    They come out here to our region, feed us breadcrumbs, and 
go back home to Washington, D.C. or Juneau. We are tired. No 
more. Should we even be fighting for our subsistence lifestyle, 
my subsistence lifestyle that I want to pass down to my 
children and grandchildren? I don't know about the rest of you, 
but we are tired.
    We want to see some actions. No more, another 15, 20 years 
of oh, let's do a study. Let's study this with NOAA, with North 
Pacific Fisheries Management Council, no more studies. We need 
to put a cap on trawlers in Area M. That is what we need today.
    [Applause.]
    Mr. Charles. No more. So you go back home to Washington, 
D.C., Juneau, you come back to me and my people with end 
results. It is time for a change. Don't get me wrong; I have 
the upmost respect for the politicians and the dignitaries that 
came out here today. But we are tired. No more.
    And maybe some day soon, we will see a change, change that 
will better our cultural way of life, which today we are 
practicing cultural genocide from the Federal and the State 
government. Let's change that.
    The way we are going, yes, we are going to see extinction 
of salmon within 10 years. And nobody wants that. I know my 
pockets aren't deep enough for extra money for trawlers. That 
is what everything is run on, money. Money is power.
    Thank you.
    [Applause.]
    Senator Murkowski. Thank you, Fritz.
    Henry Hunter, Sr.
    Mr. Hunter. Good afternoon. Thank you for giving me the 
opportunity to address you.
    I would like you to take a look at this picture. This 
picture says a thousand words. I want my grandsons and my 
granddaughters in years ahead to be able to do this, to dry 
fish.
    Last year, I testified before the North Pacific Council on 
the bycatch, the number of bycatch of salmon that was supposed 
to be heading to Alaska. I also testified to the State Fish and 
Game Board on Area M, to put regulations on it. It is like 
talking to a brick wall to me. Seems like there is no action 
taken every day on when we tell them our issues.
    There has to be, like Mr. Charles before me mentioned, 
there has to be action taken. This year, we have had 
regulations on our Kuskokwim. We had windows. In other words, 
we possibly fished on Monday and then we were shut down.
    The regulations on Norton Sound are the same way. They have 
regulations on the Kuskokwim the same way. On the Yukon, they 
can't even fish any more. That is what I am afraid of. I am 
afraid there is going to be no more fishing on the Kuskokwim 
and also for our neighbors up north in the Norton Sound area.
    Like Fritz Charles said, I would like to see some 
regulations done on the North Pacific Council. When I addressed 
the North Pacific Council last year, I wanted the regulations 
to make sure that the reports of bycatch is true. Why is our 
salmon declining? Is it because of climate change? That could 
be a part of it. But also, there are a lot of people saying 
``bycatch,'' it is high sea fishing.
    The other one is the commercial fishing. The State of 
Alaska supports commercial fishing. If you are a subsistence 
fisherman, you can forget the State of Alaska supporting you.
    We need regulations, like Mr. Charles said, on Area M. That 
is the only way we can get, I am trying to say let's all share. 
The Native way is to share. That is what the North Pacific 
Fisheries Council and Area M should be doing. They should be 
sharing. But they don't.
    So I asked the State Fish and Game Board to put regulations 
on Area M. Those fish are coming up to the Norton Sound area, 
to the Yukon, and to the Kuskokwim. One year we advocated with 
Senator Olson, he introduced Senate Bill 138 or 128, I can't 
remember. The only way it went to, it went to the committee. 
And those people in the committee stopped it. It didn't go 
before the floor.
    We need to advocate for the State administration to be more 
friendly to the Native people in the State of Alaska. Thank 
you.
    [Applause.]
    Senator Murkowski. Thank you, Mr. Hunter.
    Next up, we have Evon Waska from Bethel, followed by Ray 
Oney, from Alakanak, and then Nick Andrew, Jr., from Marshall.
    Mr. Waska. Thank you for being here, quyana, [phrase in 
Native tongue] about time. What Mr. Charles says to Mr. Hunter, 
and I assume the committee that was up here, AFN, we watched 
you last year, giving your heart-felt testimony. It was real. 
But it fell on deaf ears. Board of Fish rejected our proposals, 
all the testimony given, it all fell on deaf ears, rejected. 
Like you, we were disappointed. But we have a local radio, 
KYUK, I encourage my people to stand up, not stay down. I am 
glad I see you up here. When we are with you, I recognize you.
    And enough falling on deaf ears. It is for real. I am 
seeing abandoned fish camps, no fish on the racks, undue stress 
on Mom and Dad. Why? There are no fish on the racks, and there 
is that uncertainty.
    Mom and Dad taught us, all my Natives here and listening in 
on the radio, we are here for you. Mom and Dad taught us as 
soon as the breakup began and the ice went out, all the debris, 
Dad would go set nets. Why? They know the salmon are coming. It 
was knowledge.
    It was our way of life, our cultural identity. They would 
know they were coming. It started from smelts, king salmon, 
chums, reds and then silvers. And the whole purpose was they 
passed it down to us to sustain us through these long winter 
months. We are here 365 days a year. And that is our way of 
life.
    Now it is being broken. Like I told you, we are seeing 
abandoned fish camps. Lack of fish on the fish racks. Why? We 
are on restrictions. When I say that, they gave us 6 hour, 12-
hour periods and we no longer use king gear. King gear webbing 
is 8 inch to 8 and a half, back in my dad's day, growing up. 
Now they restrict the Yukon people to 4 inch. That is for 
whitefish.
    Why do they do this to us? It is our right to subsistence 
fish and hunt. This is our land. I saw the [indiscernible] 
station this summer. I asked my friend there, hey, what is 
that? There was somebody fishing. And these people go down and 
get fish, restrictions. There were no restrictions on Area M, 
False Pass. [Indiscernible] commercial fishing. And these 
trawlers continue dumping.
    You want an answer to the decline and how to fix that? You 
need to stop the trawlers on the dumping and this commercial 
fishing. Area M and False Pass, you need to make a law to have 
the escapement from western Alaska. Why? Right there, that is 
our food source.
    And these, they mentioned the mine as a high item. I don't 
want mines here. Like I said, the Kuskokwim and Yukon Rivers 
and the Arctic Rivers, the salmon is our food source.
    Thank you for being here and having this forum. It is about 
time. I hope, as Fritz said, Mr. Charles, this needs to stop. 
No more falling on deaf ears, it is really happening. And it 
can be fixed. It is time to deliver the answer. Enough 
listening to the problem.
    Thank you.
    [Applause.]
    Senator Murkowski. Mr. Ray Oney.
    Mr. Oney. Thank you very much, Senator Lisa Murkowski, for 
being with us today on this historic day, as you said. As you 
see on this print up here, the impact of the historic decline 
of the salmon here on the health and well-being of the Alaska 
Native communities along the Arctic, Yukon and Kuskokwim 
Rivers.
    My name is Raymond Oney. I come from the village of 
Alakanuk, which spills out to the Bering Sea. So we are kind of 
the people that indicate when the salmon arrives along the 
coastal villages and the ones that notify us about any fish 
that are coming into the Yukon.
    We haven't seen those fish returns for many years, many 
years. When I say many years, at least for 20 years, because we 
have seen the decline of the salmon, ever since the State 
became a State and regulations kept coming into effect that 
affect us to gather the resources that we have depended on, 
especially with the salmon. The salmon is who identifies us as 
people of the Yukon River. And as you heard, many a time we 
haven't had an opportunity to subsist or to even put salmon on 
the table, even to taste.
    I recall when the elders heard that they were not going to 
be allowed to harvest Chinook salmon, the elders cried. They 
relied on that resource from their ancestors, from their 
parents and their ancestors that taught them that way of 
living. That was the only way of living that we knew.
    And if you look at the census of the State of Alaska, most 
of our people in rural villages are hunters, fishers, and 
trappers. Many of our people are documented that way, hunters, 
fishers and trappers. That is what I still am today, a hunter, 
fisher, and trapper. We are very fortunate that you are here to 
listen to our people, in hopes of bringing back the salmon to 
our people.
    I know one way, as with the late Ted Stevens, he did 
buyback. I don't know if you recall [indiscernible], but they 
bought back a lot of trawlers, that reduced the trawlers in the 
Bering Sea. That needs to be done again in order to try and 
sustain our salmon for the Yukon.
    We have sacrificed a lot on the Yukon, from salmon gear to 
fishing times, of the whole people on Yukon River, put in some 
type of sacrifice in hopes of getting them back, not knowing 
there is another area that is not controlled, that is 
contributing to the decline that we see today.
    Hopefully, after this, when you go back, hopefully we will 
see some outcomes as a result of this testimony that you will 
be hearing from our people. That is the only thing we have now, 
is hope. You are our only hope to make things change.
    Thank you.
    [Applause.]
    Senator Murkowski. Thank you, Mr. Oney.
    Next, we have Nick Andrew.
    Mr. Nick Andrew. Thank you to our Senator. I am happy you 
are here.
    I am going to address my people and also the dignitaries 
who are here. We come from the Yukon Kuskokwim Delta region, 
the size of Oregon. Everything is up in the stratosphere here 
where we live. The cost of living, crime, violent crime, all 
the disparities in the book are here.
    I am from Marshall, Alaska, on the lower Yukon River. I am 
a hunter, fisher, and gatherer. I was born into a culture that 
prioritized food and shelter. Food meant salmon. It meant 
smoked salmon, it meant salted salmon, salmon in the freezers. 
On the Yukon River, Madam Senator, the Yukon River has seen 
restrictions for 40 years, 40 years, that is more than half my 
lifetime, three-quarters of my lifetime we were put on 
conservation.
    We bear the brunt of the conservation. We, the end users, 
the little people, the people that matter, have been silenced, 
we have been ignored, we have been marginalized by the very 
government that is here to protect our interests as citizens of 
the United States of America.
    People, in my village, the fish camps are empty. The 
cultural activity that involved family is gone, meaning cutting 
salmon, preparing salmon, spending time with family, sharing 
with the elders. That has been broken.
    There was a time our world was complete, when the rivers 
were teeming with salmon, on both rivers. Our people were 
happy. Not only the people, but the animals that rely on the 
salmon also were happy.
    We need some answers. We need to be heard. We cannot accept 
this as a government formality for turning a deaf ear on the 
poor.
    Thank you.
    [Applause.]
    Senator Murkowski. The next three individuals are Tim 
Andrew, from Bethel and Marshall, Jim Simon from Salcha, and 
then Martin Andrew from Kwethluk.
    I would remind everyone again, keep the mic as close to 
your mouth as you are comfortable, and if you wish to add 
additional comments to your testimony, the room in the back 
where Cordelia is is where you can go to supplement.
    Mr. Andrew?
    Mr. Tim Andrew. Thank you, Senator, and welcome to the 
Committee on Indian Affairs. I wish the remainder were here to 
listen to the heartbeat of the people of the region, the people 
of the village, people who have experienced these very critical 
crashes that we have seen in our salmon.
    Within the people that I have seen up here in the 
committee, I have seen [phrase in Native tongue], I have seen 
[phrase in Native tongue], I have seen [phrase in Native 
tongue], I have seen [phrase in Native tongue], all these 
values that people are fighting for to retain our salmon, 
retain our cultural way of life, return to sharing our salmon 
that we harvest with our elders, with the people that we feed.
    This past summer, I was at home in the community of 
Marshall, attending my son's funeral. The fishermen or the 
tribe applied for a harvest permit. They were only allowed five 
salmon to feed the entire people, people that were coming into 
his house, and other guests from other villages. We had to 
share those five salmon, and they were small fall chum.
    Meanwhile, the waste continues. All we want to do is 
accommodate our guests, all we want to do is feed our families, 
all we want to do is continue with our ceremonies, the beat of 
the drum is common throughout the entire area. The guy from 
Eagle, and the guy from the Kawerak area, the lady from Angoon, 
and all the Native people in Alaska want to continue to beat 
that drum, beat that drum of sharing our salmon resources.
    Like the late Andy Parker said from St. Mary's, subsistence 
without ceremony is just food. Without the first catch, without 
the first catch of the salmon, without the first catch of the 
moose, without the ceremonies that we continue, we beat the 
drum, and it is just food. So the cultural component and the 
importance of harvesting salmon is what defines us.
    As Chief Seattle said, I believe it was Chief Seattle, when 
you cut down the last tree, when you take the last gold out of 
the land, when you take the last tree, when you take the last 
salmon, you can never eat money.
    We want our salmon. We want an end to this going in one ear 
and out the other.
    I see that my time is up. Thank you, Senator.
    [Applause.]
    Senator Murkowski. Thank you, Mr. Andrew.
    Next, Jim Simon, from Salcha.
    Mr. Simon. Thank you very much, Senator Murkowski, and the 
remainder of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs.
    My name is Dr. Jim Simon. I am a consultant with the 
Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, Yukon River 
Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, Ahtna Inter-Tribal Resource 
Commission, and Tanana Chiefs Conference.
    But just speaking on my own behalf, my family is originally 
from the Ahtna region, for multiple generations, not Natives. 
Just growing up with the subsistence litigation that began 
there in the 1980s turned into me pursuing a whole career in 
trying to defend, restore, and protect tribal hunting and 
fishing rights.
    I spent 14 years running the Subsistence Division for the 
Arctic Yukon Kuskokwim region as well, with Tim and others on 
the Arctic Yukon Kuskokwim Sustainable Salmon Initiative. I 
want to share some thoughts with the committee.
    It seems the State and Federal agencies are always 10 to 20 
years behind indigenous knowledge. I remember more than 20 
years ago, when I went to the Department of Fish and Game, 
people along the Yukon talking about the declining size of 
fish, the change in their shape and morphology, suggesting that 
something was happening in the ocean, decades ago.
    Now, that is why we are hearing so much about research. The 
research should have been decades ago. Now we need action.
    There were so many good discussions by your panelists, your 
invited speakers today. I think there is an interesting report 
that was published last year called Bridges to a New Era Part 
2: a Report on the Past, Present and Potential Future of Tribal 
Co-Management on Federal Public Lands in Alaska, by Professors 
Monte Mills and Martin Nie, which I encourage the committee to 
investigate. My reading of that report basically says we don't 
need additional acts of Congress to implement tribal co-
management and co-stewardship on Federal public lands in 
Alaska. The road map is already present.
    I want to also share some observations about escapement. It 
is a real pleasure to work as a consultant to the Kuskokwim 
River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission. I think what they are 
demonstrating in managing alongside the Federal Government, the 
Federal waters of the Kuskokwim, has demonstrated that in the 
past 10 years, from 2013 to 2022, this drainage-wide escapement 
goal for Chinook salmon has been met 90 percent of the time. 
The one year that it wasn't matched was in 2013, when the State 
of Alaska was still managing the run.
    So the Commission's co-management, 100 percent escapement 
goals met, whereas the State ranges from 40 to 60 percent 
across the State. Thank you. I have so much more to say, but 
thank you.
    [Applause.]
    Senator Murkowski. Thank you, Mr. Simon.
    Next, we have Martin Andrew from Kwethluk.
    Mr. Martin Andrew. Good afternoon. First, I would like to 
welcome you to the Yup'ik and Cup'ik lands in the western 
region. We are here addressing Arctic, Yukon and Kuskokwim 
Rivers in regard to our salmon.
    This past summer, me and my wife, with the was little 
opportunities that we had for salmon fishing, we also provided 
for four other families that we share, because that is a large 
part of our culture, sharing. It brought back, looking at my 
four- and five-year-old grandsons as they were helping us, 
hanging up some smoked jerky on the drying racks, that brought 
me back to the very same age when my parents instilled in me 
those same values. I just wanted to share that before I said my 
next piece.
    Over this past year, as we all know, at the Board of Fish 
meeting, we have heard the outcry from the regions. When the 
salmon stock of fish and/or game, when the surplus, when the 
populations are getting low, I just wanted to point out, and it 
is also in the statutes, that all other consumptive uses are to 
be stopped. Lastly, the subsistence preference would be tapped 
into last.
    But we all know that it is backwards. I for one as a 
parent, grandparent, provider of salmon not, only to my family 
and our extended family, I want you to look into that. That is 
coming from near and dear, from my heart.
    Thank you.
    [Applause.]
    Senator Murkowski. Thank you, Mr. Andrew.
    The next three in line are Earl Samuels, from Napaskiak, 
Joseph Asuluk from Toksook Bay, and Joseph Joseph from 
Kongiganak.
    Mr. Samuels. Thank you. Welcome. I will get right to the 
point.
    I would like to say before I came over here, I asked 
people, they said, where are you going, I said, I am going over 
to a fish meeting; you are going to be wasting your time. We go 
to meeting after meeting and meeting, we don't see the product 
as yet.
    Area M was mentioned, yes, we went to that, we voiced our 
concerns, but now I have go back to old Harold Sparck days, we 
don't have representation down in Area M. When I went down to 
the meeting, I recognized it. It took us 40 years to realize 
that.
    YK, Kuskokwim, up north, lack of representation in Area M. 
Except the interception pressure that affects all of us, all up 
and down both rivers and up and towards Nome and Kotzebue.
    I want to say, to add to those regulated groups, instead of 
two members, add a member from the lower Yukon, lower 
Kuskokwim, and the Nome and Kotzebue area, to the North Pacific 
Group, that we have equal voice across, that we have a say. 
Right now we don't have a say. Even on the Fish and Game Board, 
we have lost out by one vote. Made me realize that we are in 
trouble out here.
    Back in 2007, when we first started learning about the 
bycatch, I got a phone call from Dillingham, bycatch number was 
high, almost 80,000 that year, in five years, you guys are 
going to have a tough year, you are going to struggle. Five 
years came along, sure enough we had that salmon crash. Bycatch 
makes a difference out here.
    I am not a scientist; we didn't go to school. Traditional 
knowledge came in. That was the question. But sometimes I feel 
traditional knowledge is a value to be in these meetings, but 
we are not, because we are not scientists, we didn't go to 
school, we didn't go to college. We learned from our elders. 
That is our traditional knowledge, and that could be used a 
little bit more.
    The frozen fish, I feel sorry for you guys out in the 
Yukon. Try to thaw out a salmon and try to make it into dried 
fish. It is almost difficult, but it is a meal. We are happy. 
We won't be able to make the fish do, it deteriorates badly.
    When we were down there at Area M, people from there wanted 
to give us fish, we said no, we can't. But the time it gets to 
region, and we are thankful, it deteriorates too much, 
sometimes inedible.
    Trawlers were mentioned. I hope we can [indiscernible] this 
here or take us back. If you look at the marine mammals, two 
trawlers came into Kuskokwim Bay at a time of conservation. 
Thirty miles from Queen??, 30 miles from Queen??, Kipnuk, they 
are raking the bottom. Our elders used to tell us, watch the 
bottom of the ocean. That is where the small fish will eat. The 
trawlers are destroying that out here.
    Back in the early 1990s, we had a trawler off the cost of 
Kipnuk, once a thriving halibut fishing ground. They came in, 
you could see the barge from the village, the trawler. The 
following year, no more halibut. It is going to be the same 
effect again, rake out the bottom. It takes in everything.
    If you look at the catch we used, harvesting king salmon 
last year, just barely made 30,000. To average that out to 20 
pounds of fish if we are lucky. That is almost 600,000 pounds 
of salmon.
    There is billions of waste. That doesn't include the marine 
mammals that are out there, seals, salmon, whatever is in the 
ocean, they are also being affected.
    Kodiak, look at those guys. What is happening to the 
[indiscernible] crab? Last year, they couldn't even have a 
season. It is affecting that, everything out there, the ocean 
is changing.
    I wanted to mention, when I listened to this panel right 
out here, before those regulations go any further, this is the 
group that they have to go through first. If they vote on 
something, let this group do the final approval of that vote.
    Our elders used to say, don't leave this building until you 
figure it out. Lock that door until you figure it out. When we 
go to the meetings, there is no locked door. We just listen. In 
one ear, and out the other. Like Fritz said, hopefully 
something will come out of this.
    Co-management was mentioned. Sure, we can co-manage. But we 
are an overly regulated people. They tell us when we can fish, 
tell us when we get up, tell us when to go to the bathroom. We 
are over-regulated. Regulated by the State, regulated by the 
Federal guys. Maybe they need to put their heads together and 
makes themselves a co-management group themselves. Because they 
are managing the same people, us, the same salmon. The same way 
with every other every other game.
    It is that way with moose, too. We are regulated on the 
moose. Elders tell us too, be careful. If you argue too much or 
fight about it, there is going to be none. And that is what we 
see now. We are playing catch-up now. Yukon River lost their 
ability to go out, Kuskokwim is next.
    When I saw the Area M people testify, that reminded me of 
back when we once had a thriving king salmon season on the 
river. We fought to try to keep it. We lost. We have been a 
conservative people here for over 40 years to watch the salmon 
to come back. Every year, we hope it comes back. There is no 
king salmon yet.
    One year I remember, no fish for king. They let us focus on 
the chum, chum that once the old-timers fed to their dogs. 
Sure, we didn't like it, but we adapted. We can learn. Even the 
chum was valuable, there is cultural and spiritual value to the 
chum. That was almost gone. Last year we got a few.
    Because of the Area M late start-out, I am hearing it 
started late, they fought for their three openings for a week 
and they got it. Because of that delay, we profited, benefited 
from that fishing. We caught a little bit more salmon than we 
did in the past.
    So thank you.
    [Applause.]
    Senator Murkowski. Joseph Asuluk.
    Mr. Asuluk. I am going to speak my own language. Quyana.
    [Speaking in Native tongue.]
    [Applause.]
    Senator Murkowski. Thank you, Mr. Asuluk.
    Joseph Joseph, from Kongiganak.
    Mr. Joseph. Thank you. Thank you for giving me the 
opportunity to stand before you, Senator Murkowski.
    The truth of the matter is whether we like it or not, as 
Alaska Natives, we, you and I, are the most regulated people in 
the world. You and I, we are the most regulated people in the 
world.
    What I would like to say to Senator Murkowski, on the 
Federal side and on the State side, before this civil unrest 
gets to the next level, there needs to be stricter regulations 
for the intercept fisheries and the bycatch fisheries. Because 
if this civil unrest gets to the next level, it is going to be 
messy.
    Thank you.
    [Applause.]
    Senator Murkowski. The next three individuals are Nathaniel 
Amdur-Clark from Anchorage, followed by Stanislaus Sheppard, 
Mountain Village, and Myron Naneng, here in Bethel.
    Mr. Amdur-Clark. Good afternoon, Senator.
    Nathaniel Amdur-Clark, I am an attorney at Sonosky, 
Chambers, and outside counsel for the Kuskokwim River Inter-
Tribal Fish Commission.
    I would like to take a moment to speak with you a little 
bit from your oversight role over Federal agencies that are 
helping to regulate the fishing, especially on the Kuskokwim. 
Often, folks get up here to tell you about all the things that 
are going wrong. Today I get to talk for just a moment about 
something that went right.
    I think you probably know some of this back story, or maybe 
even all of it. During the fishing season of 2021, the State 
started doing a whole bunch of things that were blatantly 
illegal, including telling people to fish when it was illegal 
under Federal law for them to do so.
    For years, the Federal agencies have often stood back and 
taken the route of going along to get along. This is a case 
where the Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Department of 
Justice didn't do that. They filed suit on behalf of the 
Federal Government and also the people of Alaska in order to 
protect the rural subsistence priority and the continued 
viability of the rural subsistence priority on the Kuskokwim 
and by extension, the rest of the State.
    In your conversations with the folks from the agencies, I 
hope that you can use your place to say thank you, and to 
provide support for the continued doing the right thing by 
those agencies, including in the expansion and the ways that 
have been spoken about so eloquently by everyone who has spoken 
much better than I have today.
    Thank you for the time. I appreciate it.
    [Applause.]
    Senator Murkowski. Thank you, Nathaniel.
    Stanislaus Sheppard, from Mountain Village.
    Mr. Sheppard. Good evening, Senator Lisa Murkowski.
    [Speaking in Native tongue.]
    My name is Stanislaus Sheppard. I was born and raised in 
the Lower Yukon Mountain Village. I was raised in the 
subsistence way of lifestyle. My Eskimo name is [phrase in 
Native tongue].
    The majority of the speakers up here already spoke up to 
what I was thinking of speaking about. As I am getting older, 
my focus is on fighting for our subsistence. Back in 1986, the 
late Harry Wilde, Sr., when I got onto the tribal council, he 
pulled me aside, and he said, I am going to train you, teach 
you how to fight for subsistence, because in your lifetime, you 
guys are going to have this big trend of no subsistence. Sure 
enough, we are living that right now.
    But along that scenario, he said the most important thing, 
and the majority of my classmates and the younger generation 
never really paid attention to what is very important. I am on 
these different committees, which I will not name because I am 
speaking on my behalf. [Phrase in Native tongue.] I am making 
sure the elder understands.
    Harry went down to fish [indiscernible], he told me, I am 
going to teach you how to fight for subsistence. It is very 
important. Because later on, when I was on that council, we had 
a salmon crash in the Yukon River. And the late 
representatives, the people that go up and testify that were on 
these committees, the late John Hanson, Harry Wilde, the late 
Johnny Thompson, and Stan from Ketchikan, they fought to close, 
to reduce Area M False Pass. I didn't know what they did, but 
it worked.
    Soon after, two years after [indiscernible], we had our 
salmon coming back. So when this past spring, I went to go 
testify at the Board of Game. Everybody, over 300 people were 
there to testify for Proposal 140 to reduce the fishing in Area 
M False Pass. But everybody was thinking, in that area, was 
thinking we are not going to be able to fish. No, it is just to 
reduce your hours, to allow the salmon, which is proven 
Scientifically that they come by False Pass and come up to 
Norton Sound, Yukon, Kuskokwim.
    So after that proposal was thrown down, I attended the 
North Pacific Fishery meetings, and I am trying to make this 
fast. There was little more than half the testifying people 
that were there at the Board of Fish. They made their point 
across, reason being that after all the testimony was said, Mr. 
Chairman was sitting there, we all know how they sit, looking 
at the crowd, you guys would be looking at the board right 
here.
    Mr. Chairman, the one that was sitting on the left side of 
him spoke to everybody, everybody that attended the North 
Pacific meeting. He acknowledged, and I wanted to come up and 
add Senator Lisa Murkowski's wording when she said crisis. That 
North Pacific Council member addressed the public, or the 
people that were there. He said, it seems to me that the Yukon 
is in a humanitarian crisis. And yet he made the board 
understand that humanitarian crisis needs action to be taken. 
No action has been taken ever since that.
    My time is up. Thank you very much.
    [Applause.]
    Senator Murkowski. Thank you, Mr. Shepperd.
    Myron Neneng is next.
    Mr. Neneng. Good afternoon, Senator Murkowski and welcome 
to Bethel.
    Senator Murkowski. Thank you.
    Mr. Neneng. It seems like back in 1997 I spoke to your dad 
and got our subsistence hunting for spring hunting of migratory 
birds. Our subsistence rights were recognized. I never had an 
opportunity to thank your dad, but today we are talking about 
another issue that is very important to our people.
    My name is Myron Neneng. I am originally from the village 
of Hooper Bay out on the coast. I fished on the Yukon 
commercially as well as subsistence. I fished here on the 
Kuskokwim, and I have even gone out to Kuskokwim Bay for 
subsistence fishing.
    One of the things that was raised today was that the treaty 
obligation that probably many of our people on the Yukon as 
well as the Kuskokwim don't realize exists today, the Yukon, 
Canada king salmon, Chinook salmon escapement objective. That 
was done back in 1996. Every year since that time, with the 
number that at one time was 75,000 has been reduced down to 
about 45,000, and has not been met for a substantial period of 
time.
    When the issue was first raised, I asked the commission of 
Fish and Game at that time and my co-negotiators, I think we 
ought to deal with the in-State fishery concerns first before 
we go to negotiate with another country. A week later, I got a 
letter from the commissioner of Fish and Game, thank you for 
your service, but your services are no longer needed.
    Because we have had this decline of salmon, salmon stops on 
the Yukon as well as the Kuskokwim since the 1990s. I remember 
we have had to have a few commercial fishery disaster 
declarations, working with Senator Stevens. He appropriated 
money, money that was used for studies, allocated to the 
University of Alaska Fairbanks. I have not seen anything 
regarding the results of those studies that were done back 
then. Nothing.
    On the inter-country treaty that currently exists on the 
Yukon River, the people on the Yukon as well as on the coast 
bear the burden of conservation to try and meet the escapement 
objective. Are the bycatch included? No. Is bycatch or 
interception down in Area M included? No. Because there were 
representatives from the Yukon that were considered to be part 
of the State of Alaska negotiating team.
    And here we are today, whatever we provided in terms of 
testimony to the Board of Fish, North Pacific Fisheries 
Management Council, every time we raised a concern about 
declining salmon runs on the Yukon and the Kuskokwim, the first 
response that we get from both of those entities, North Pacific 
Fisheries Management Council and State of Alaska, their 
response is anecdotal, we didn't have time for a study to be 
done by someone who may have had a degree, but I wouldn't say 
what kind of degree.
    Today, we are in this situation that needs to be addressed. 
North Pacific Fisheries Management Council, Department of 
Commerce, need to be included in that treaty agreement to 
reduce that bycatch. State of Alaska, Area M fisheries, also 
has to be included in that treaty agreement. Because the burden 
of conservation is borne primarily by those who live along the 
coast, like my home village of Hooper Bay, Scammon Bay, Chevak, 
and the whole river system of the Yukon River.
    None of those other areas that we know that intersect that 
are doing the bycatch are not included. What is wrong with that 
scenario?
    The people that have always been asked to bear the burden 
of conservation have been us, the Yup'iks, Cup'iks, Athabascans 
that live out here in western Alaska and even up north, our 
friends up north in Norton Sound. We are the ones that have had 
to bear that burden of conservation, and I hope Senator, that 
we have an opportunity to do something about this, either by 
legislation or amending that treaty to have them all included.
    Thank you very much.
    [Applause.]
    Senator Murkowski. The next three individuals on the list 
are Eliza Mark, Amy Sparck, and Nikki Pollock.
    Ms. Mark. Thank you, Senator Murkowski. I am Eliza. 
[Greeting in Native tongue.]
    I have a question about, in Japan, is there like a plant, 
something like that that affected the salmon, I think?
    Senator Murkowski. I think, Eliza, you are referring to the 
Fukushima nuclear plant that was taken out in the typhoon years 
ago. There is an issue now with regard to the stored water from 
the cleanup of that being released. I believe that is what you 
are speaking to.
    Ms. Mark. Yes. Thank you. Quyana.
    [Applause.]
    Senator Murkowski. Amy Sparck.
    Ms. Sparck. [Greeting in Native tongue]. My name is Amy 
Sparck, daughter of Lucy Sparck, Cup'ik of Chevak, and the late 
Harold Sparck of Baltimore.
    It is so great to be known this way, by fellow Natives, by 
who your parents are. In Alaska, it is great to know each 
other, because our parents know each other. I worked for Lisa's 
dad at the Senate Energy Subcommittee years ago.
    Today, I work at the Bering Sea Fishermen's Association as 
Executive Director representing 128 communities in the 
Kuskokwim, Yukon, and Norton Sound region. Being fairly certain 
that you understand the impacts of our historic salmon crashes, 
I can share what I hope to be some steps toward solutions for 
restoration and fisheries management. We need equal decision-
making representation in Federal fisheries management, in this 
case the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council. The 
advisory and appeals process is essentially titular and 
ineffectual.
    We need co-management with tribes and full dedicated 
funding. Gravel to Gravel is a good start, a multi-agency 
agreement with the Department of Interior, U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service, and BLM and tribes.
    Stop allowing the status quo so as to not affect industry 
harvest to the extent practicable in fisheries management. 
Rather, to the extent practicable, use your plenary powers to 
help us find the source of our salmon crashes, and allow our 
fish to return from the Bering Sea and Area M using our 
traditional ecological and subsistence knowledge.
    Do it now, because you don't want Alaska to be the next 
devastating American dust bowl. We can help. We are here to 
help, that is why we are all here. Reach out any time that you 
think you need any kind of unified presence with you in 
Washington, D.C., and we will be there.
    Quyana. Thank you for making your way to Bethel and holding 
this meeting here.
    [Applause.]
    Senator Murkowski. Thank you, Amy.
    Nikki Pollock.
    Ms. Pollock. Quyana, everybody. Thank you for the 
opportunity to provide comment.
    I want to take this moment to say quyana to all our 
veterans today on Veterans Day. I also want to mention that 
Alaska has the highest rate or shares of veterans, veteran 
residents, according to the 2022 U.S. Census Bureau at 10.1 
percent. So thank you, thank you all for your service. 
Furthermore, Alaska Natives and American Indians serve in the 
U.S. Armed Services at higher rates than any other U.S. service 
group.
    My name is Nikki Pollock. [Phrase in native tongue.] I am 
an ONC tribal citizen. I am Yup'ik from the river. I have a 
background in nursing, I graduated in 2010 through the 
University of Alaska as a registered nurse. I have been a 
lifelong Kuskokwim fisherwoman, subsistence gatherer, and I am 
a mother and have spent my entire life on the river, just like 
many of us here.
    I want to speak to the disparities that are affecting our 
people, particularly our health and well-being. I want to talk 
about the amounts necessary for subsistence. This jar is what 
we now use to put our jarred fish weight in our families. Our 
fish camp alone has six families that we feed. This is a jar 
that we used to use about 10 years ago. We used to use larger 
jars. I don't have any of those anymore, because we don't use 
them in our family, because there is simply not enough fish to 
go around.
    It is no surprise that there are direct correlations with 
health consequences and increasing insecurity for food, 
housing, and economics. We know through various research 
studies that these insecurity factors have been directly linked 
to the range of adverse health effects that are plaguing our 
tribal citizens today.
    I want to speak to the disproportionate rates that our 
Native people, who make up less than 3 percent of the overall 
United States population, are experiencing at greater rates 
than our non-Native counterparts, and that is throughout the 
entire United States. That is for nine out of ten of the 
leading causes of death in America. Native people, American 
Indians, have nine out of the ten highest causes of death. We 
surpass them.
    In 2020, there was a report that was given out by the 
Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium that created a very 
disparaging picture of the health of our Native people. We are 
experiencing higher rates of cancer, heart disease, 
cerebrovascular disease, mental health issues, and diabetes, 
compared to our non-indigenous counterparts.
    Consequently, we are experiencing the physical and mental 
health impacts directly related to the food quality, quantity 
and cultural and political and economic conditions in our 
region. We are facing that.
    It has been directly, these health issues can be directly 
and indirectly related to the decline in salmon.
    As you heard today from many of the invited witnesses, 
there is a nutritional component, there is a well-being 
component related to our culture. We are experiencing that, 
which is why Alaska Native people in particular from our region 
are experiencing significantly greater health disparities and 
poorer outcomes, which is directly related to our fish.
    Thank you for your time.
    [Applause.]
    Senator Murkowski. Thank you, Nikki.
    Next, we will hear from Sophie Swope, from Bethel, Nels 
Alexie, and Carlie Jacob [phonetically] from Napaskiak.
    Ms. Swope. Thank you so much. My name is Sophie Swope. I am 
an activist for the people here in [Native phrase]. I sit on 
the tribal council as well as the City of Bethel's council, and 
I serve as the vice mayor. I think this is a very important 
setting for us to come and share, have discourse on something 
that creates the culture of who we are and the mentality we 
hold as Yup'ik, Cup'ik, and Athabascan people. Thank you for 
holding this hearing, Senator Murkowski.
    We have heard from a large range of leaders, and you can 
see that this issue has a complexity that is all-encompassing. 
I would first like to note that the City of Bethel has seen 
economic impacts like the historical salmon declines. I am sure 
that touches every community in the region besides Bethel.
    Before I go into something that I am very passionate about, 
I heard this on the radio by Evon Waska, and I am very happy 
that I was able to hear this. He mentioned that the pure fact 
that we are indigenous people, limited in our subsistence 
fishing and ability to go out and provide food for ourselves, 
while out on the ocean, they have no restrictions. They are 
able, well, there are restrictions, but they are beyond what 
they should be.
    That is a form of discrimination that goes against the 
Civil Rights Act of 1964. Discrimination not only of race, but 
our religion. One way, Our way of life, something that must be 
understood by both Congress, Department of Interior, NOAA, and 
the Department of Commerce. So I hope that can go forward and 
be shared, that it is that important.
    Being salmon people and the protection of these resources 
to maintain the richness is what makes us, what is our State's 
slogan, North to the Future. It is not the oil. Tulsa, Oklahoma 
already pioneered that. It is not the gold, that led to 
colonization of the Country. We are north to the future because 
we have the majority of the Nation's tribes, tribes who still 
have wild, free-flowing rivers and salmon still coursing in 
that scene. We hold to the way of life that a majority of the 
Nation has lost touch with. It is up to us to uphold that and 
share it back with the rest of our people in our Nation. It is 
a way of life that we should all be holding.
    So as we look forward, I think it is important that we look 
at the mercury content that will be coming with the development 
of Donlin gold, and all that will come with that. There is a 
wide scale probability, 33 percent to 66 percent probability of 
a small but important spike in mercury concentrations. That is 
a neurotoxin. What would it to do to people?
    Just before I stop here, there is an increase in morbidity 
and mortality related to psychosocial distress, such as 
depression, anxiety, suicide, substance abuse, and changes to 
family structure, with a likelihood of 66 to 90 percent.
    With all of this in mind, I really hope that we could move 
forward with a just path and that the tribes are listened to 
and heard, and their opposition to this project as a majority 
of the tribes are opposed.
    I have written a letter to hand out to you, Senator Lisa 
Murkowski. Thank you so much.
    [Applause.]
    Senator Murkowski. Thank you, Sophie.
    Next, we have Nels Alexie.
    Mr. Alexie. [Greeting in Native tongue.] I am going to have 
a fairy story, but thank you so much for those who have shown 
your support to our people, to ourselves. First, this is about 
the history, the historic salmon declines. Before that, you may 
not believe it but if you don't want to believe me, don't 
believe me.
    There was a fish and its name was Kuputkuk [phonetically]. 
People used to use it for a fire starter. Kuputkuk is the title 
of the story. Kuputkuk was mis-used by my own people. This was 
years ago before I was even born. I guess no one, a Native 
person in this room, has heard the story about it. It was mis-
used; that is why it disappeared. And the people were warned. 
They did not listen.
    My fish rack, I did not hang anything on my fish rack last 
summer, not a bit. And I am getting clumsy, too.
    The openings and the hours, I want to use a [indiscernible] 
word, were just like feathers. On certain days, certain hours I 
cannot go fishing. That is why I cannot get fish to fill up my 
rack.
    On the closures, when it is closed, we are told, do not 
fish. But there are some other species that we would like to 
catch besides chums or kings. And when I asked, can I go 
fishing, they say no, [indiscernible].
    So if there is a closing for certain species, there should 
be, still the river should be open to get our fish besides chum 
and the king. And the declines, chums were going up, up and 
down, they will disappear. My own people have told me chums are 
going to decline. They will disappear. But they have come back.
    But even that happens, if you keep quiet, not fight over 
with it, it may come back quicker. Some of the Native people 
may have heard about that. [Phrase in Native tongue], that is 
what we are doing right now, we are crying about the salmon, 
even though we laugh and talk about it, we are crying, making a 
loud noise, preachy noise. Back in the 1950s, silvers were 
declining. I did not know it was declining.
    The old lady came in and she said, [phrase in Native 
tongue], James, cut more salmon this morning, fill up a cup. 
And that was James [indiscernible]. I have seen that. And then 
12-mile border and Russian ships being chained down at the bay. 
When they pushed off, we had more fish coming in. That is the 
time when Ted Stevens shipped them out, 200 miles out.
    I am over time. Thank you for this day. And some day I will 
tell you a story.
    [Laughter, applause.]
    Senator Murkowski. Thank you, Mr. Alexie.
    Next up, we have Carlie Jacob from Napaskiak.
    Mr. Jacob. I have a question to ask. First, my name is 
Carlie Jacob from Napaskiak. I am a member of the tribal 
council. And like everybody else, I am a subsistence gatherer.
    I have traveled four to file miles round trip upriver to 
harvest moose. I traveled 200 miles round trip to Yukon to 
harvest moose because of lack of openings. I started fishing 
when I was seven years old, with my grandfather and my father. 
They taught me the difference between right and wrong, how to 
survive, and how to gather and harvest. I am teaching my 
children and my grandchildren the same thing like my 
grandfather taught me.
    Back in my teenage years, growing up, when I started 
fishing, I was on my own. I had no liberties, no one telling me 
what not to get, what not to do, all that, before 
[indiscernible]. But I am not used to being in a big crowd like 
this, bear with me.
    There is a question I would like to ask, I don't know where 
it came from. But I suppose Fish and Game brought this up to 
the management, and the management were like, okay, let him 
start using four-inch fish net. Is using four-inch fish net 
hurting or damaging or injuring salmon? So I am asking to 
discontinue using four-inch nets. Where I am from, downriver, 
Napaskiak, that river out there my fishing area. Lots of people 
come, and they harvest fish [indiscernible]. Discontinue using 
four-inch nets. Discontinue it.
    I too am having enough of this. I want to fill up my rack, 
just like everyone else. Back in my teenage years, I filled up 
the rack on my own, two families I do. This is a hardship. Two 
families. Imagine me fishing for two families for myself, my 
family, and the other family.
    We are having a lack of openings, lack of hours. We need 
more time. I need more time and I need more days to harvest 
salmon for myself and the other families.
    Discontinue using four-inch nets. Stop it. They are killing 
my salmon out there. Thank you.
    [Applause.]
    Senator Murkowski. Thank you, Mr. Jacob.
    Next, we have Laureli Ivanoff from Unalakleet, Dora 
Wassillie from Kasigluk, and then Daniel Nelson from Napakiak.
    Ms. Ivanoff. Hello, Senator Murkowski, and to the committee 
members. I am Laureli Ivanoff. I am Inupiaq and Yup'ik from 
Unalakleet. I continue to make my home there.
    I am the executive director for Native Peoples Action, and 
we are a statewide advocacy group working to protect our Alaska 
Native hunting, fishing and harvesting rights.
    The traditional harvesting culture in Alaska Native 
communities remains really strong. It is vibrant and necessary, 
not only for a livelihood, but for our health, sense of 
identity and the food sovereignty we rely upon to pass down a 
way of life central to who we are as indigenous Alaskans.
    The rivers, the land and the Bering Sea ecosystem are what 
uphold our values that are central to our identities as Alaska 
Natives. The imbalance of the ecosystem and the decline in 
salmon throughout the AYK threatens our food sovereignty, our 
food security, and the culture that has sustained who we are 
through a tumultuous history of colonization. Most of us in 
this room can agree that current fisheries management 
structures do not honor our subsistence rights, and are 
unwilling to address the salmon crisis.
    Our pleas for a meaningful bycatch avoidance in the Federal 
Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska trawl fishery fall on deaf ears, 
and it is no wonder. A great environmental and social injustice 
is the fact that the Federal fisheries fall under the 
Department of Commerce, and are not managed for sustainability. 
So the halibut, the sea lions, whales, salmon and all species 
incidentally caught as bycatch are not seen as species we 
should all respect, but are simply seen as collateral damage in 
a $1.3 billion fishery.
    Alaska Native tribes need representation on the North 
Pacific Fishery Management Council. Not giving us a place is 
continuing the dark legacy of eco-colonialism.
    This reality is unjust, not simply for Alaska Natives 
communities, whose economies and ways of life are centered 
around the health of the land and waters, but it is unjust for 
the species that rely on balance, that rely on knowledge and a 
mindset that is currently missing in western science and the 
current management systems.
    It is so very clear to me that the systems today need a 
paradigm shift. Relationships of respect and reciprocity with 
the land, waters, and the species we rely upon must be 
incorporated in all areas of management.
    But for now, I would like to highlight the fact that the 
State of Alaska has at every possible turn worked against 
federally protecting hunting, fishing, and harvesting rights. 
The State is once again trying to overturn the Katie John line 
of cases, which would erase the Federal subsistence priority 
for Native residents.
    Congress needs to amend ANILCA to protect once and for all 
Alaska Native rural subsistence hunting and fishing rights and 
ensure our people's ability to co-manage these resources.
    Thank you. Quyana for your time and consideration.
    [Applause.]
    Senator Murkowski. Quyana, thank you, Laureli.
    Next, we have Dora Wassillie.
    Ms. Wassillie. Good evening. First, I would like to thank 
our Creator for us to get together here. To put myself aside, I 
would like to express that subsistence way of living with our 
regulation.
    I have always put God first in everything, in our meetings, 
at home, or reaching out anywhere in the world. That is all I 
need to say. And always have faith, hope, and trust 
[indiscernible] with way of our believing. And always pray for 
our future, for our grandchildren, great grandchildren, and for 
all people. We all matter. Thank you.
    [Applause.]
    Senator Murkowski. Thank you, Dora.
    Next, we have Daniel Nelson from Napakiak.
    Mr. Nelson. My name is Daniel Nelson. I have grown up 
shooting, and I have a hearing problem. And now after I got the 
slight pneumonia, it affects my body, like shaking, and 
sometimes it affects my, what I am talking about.
    But I am glad to attend, and welcome, Lisa Murkowski. 
First, I would like to ask you if you have a Yup'ik name?
    Senator Murkowski. I have a Tlingit name, Aan shaaw tk'i. I 
do not have a Yup'ik name.
    Mr. Nelson. I was going to say, if you do not have a Yup'ik 
name, maybe [phrase in Native tongue] will be fine, Washington, 
D.C.
    First of all, we have enough facts and statistics on this 
Area M fishery. Matter of fact, the senior elder who talked, 
who said enough is enough, I think enough is enough. We have 
been on this fishing closure for some 20 years, and the 
villages around the Yukon and Kuskokwim are cooperating. When 
they say no fishing, we don't fish.
    Even though we are not fishing, this Area M, which is the 
False Pass, those guys out there are making, they are hardly 
getting nothing. Let me get my notes.
    So what I was thinking is there are a lot of villages in 
this Kuskokwim River and Yukon River, and up the Kawerak River. 
There are lots, even up past this international river we call 
Yukon River, Canadian people. Canadian Yup'ik, I think they are 
experiencing this, some collapse restrictions.
    So what I was thinking, because we got in the facts that a 
lot of permit holders in the Yukon and Kuskokwim, in the past 
20 years we never fished to make money out of this river in 
Yukon right now. This Area M, they are fishing and making 
money.
    I think it is not very fair. Because one time Fish and Game 
guys came to my village, Napakiak, check if the fish numbers 
were dropping. The first to drop is commercial fishing. But the 
migratory salmon route is through False Pass. Everybody knows 
that.
    Then the facts are like I mentioned earlier, when State or 
Federal closes this river for no fishing, we don't go out and 
fish. That is what we do.
    Then there are a lot of numbers and complaints and 
resolutions. I think this Federal Government, I think it is 
time to--it was my idea to close that Area M fishery for five 
years. The reason I picked five years is according to the Fish 
and Game biologist, the fries that come out of this river to 
the ocean to grow up, they spend five years out there in the 
ocean until they return to our river to spawn again. But 
returning, I believe they are picked up at Area M.
    There are two rivers, I know, like [indiscernible] down 
there. That is District Five. Because the tribal government 
controls the Anishka [phonetically] River, no sports fishing. 
Nobody's going in there to go picnic, with a rod and reel and 
catching all the fish or trying to find gold. They have good 
restrictions on that river.
    So as this Bristol bay, they have a clean river, they have 
good control of the river, not to let outside people come in 
and make too many messes. The one thing that surprised me is 
that salmon and chum are declining. Last year, they had a 
record number of fish pulled in, commercially, commercial 
fishing. I might kind of work, work around why salmon are 
declining in number, but the reds are just zooming up in the 
Bristol bay, in record numbers.
    Senator Murkowski. Thank you, Mr. Nelson.
    Mr. Nelson. Yes. So that goes along with snow crab, out in 
the ocean. I don't know where the snow crab are disappearing. 
So what do you think the Feds can do to close Area M for five 
years? In five years, first, second, third, fourth and fifth, 
if you close that Area M we are going to see the true numbers 
of fish coming up the rivers, rather than the guesses. Then if 
it is truly Area M, we can get more chum swimming up the rivers 
like Yukon and Kuskokwim, even Norton Sound. If that happens, 
let's see the Area M closed.
    Last of all, this global warming is getting worse. It is 
going to get worse every year. It affects all the animals on 
the land, and the villages are sinking; permafrost is sinking. 
Even the waters are getting warm. That affects our salmon. They 
are cold-blooded.
    That is all I have to say. I wish they would close that 
Area M for five years, and we would see the truth in five 
years. Thank you.
    Senator Murkowski. Thank you for your comments.
    We still have about 10 more individuals that have signed up 
to testify. So we will move next to Gabe Canfield, Kungunna, 
then Ray Watson, and it looks like Gabriel Buster from 
Alakanuk.
    Ms. Canfield. Thank you, Senator Murkowski, for bringing us 
together today in this field hearing on the Western Alaska 
salmon crash. My name is Gabe Canfield. My Inupiaq name is 
Kungunna. I flew in from Anchorage today, but I am from all 
over the State. I was born in Fairbanks, and I grew up in 
Ketchikan, down in southeast, and my parents are from Wales in 
Northwest Alaska.
    I am the policy coordinator for the Yukon River Drainage 
Fisheries Association, and you may also know me as a member of 
the third cohort of the Arctic Youth Ambassadors program. I 
want to take a moment and call attention to the fact that we 
have had little youth representation thus far at this 
testimony.
    We see way too often that youth are almost entirely shut 
out from spaces, whether they are not invited or the space is 
too intimidating. We want to hear more youth voices in spaces 
like this, because this is youth's future. We are going to be 
dealing with this salmon crash for years into the future when 
we go into management situations. I want to make sure that we 
have some youth representation when we go forward in that.
    Given that, I would like to take this time to call 
attention to the cost that this salmon crisis has brought forth 
to our community members of all ages. I don't mean to bring 
these forward to be pessimistic, but to paint a full picture of 
some of the effects that I have seen in my short time in the 
role of policy coordinator.
    The first thing that we have seen here from this crisis is 
the physical effects, the actual, tangible results of not 
having salmon in our rivers. We don't see birds, bears, wolves, 
and animals alongside the banks of our rivers whenever there is 
a salmon crash. We don't see our neighbors at fish camps, and 
we don't see our children [indiscernible] fish. We don't see 
the salmon's bright bellies, and we don't see the smoke rising 
from the smokehouse and the scent of dried fish filling the 
air. We don't see the kings, chums, and cohos that have been 
coming for 100 generations or more.
    We can see the cultural costs and impacts of this. We see 
less of our traditional foods in our homes, less potlachs and 
gatherings, less fish camps, less fish skin arts and handcrafts 
that we adorn throughout our lives. We see mental health 
impacts from not practicing our culture, and falling into 
harmful habits that have taken up our time in lieu of gathering 
our fish.
    We see monetary costs in our community members, who spend 
their own money to get more expensive and less valuable foods. 
We see the cost of people who rely on their own resources to 
fly to Anchorage, to Juneau, Fairbanks, Washington, D.C., and 
beyond to testify on the loss of this incredibly important 
resource in the hopes of seeing some real change.
    We see the cost of just trying to live our traditional ways 
where it takes so much more paychecks. It is almost untenable 
without grants or loans when gas is over $10 a gallon in some 
communities. The cost of taking out our boats is almost not 
worth it without the chance of getting our salmon.
    We can see indirect effects across our State that impacts 
beyond just Western Alaska and our communities. The pressure on 
the Copper River salmon run from necessary reliance on 
fisheries outside of Western Alaska has been a documented 
impact. Alongside the outrage over the State of Alaska's 
predatory control program, when it would not be necessary with 
the predator's salmon subsistence be protected from 
exploitation in the Bering Sea.
    These costs are just some examples of the huge impacts to 
Western Alaska that, if we don't act soon, it will not just be 
our community members who will be experiencing the salmon 
crisis, I can guarantee that there are going to be future 
impacts Alaska-wide. We can't even begin to imagine what those 
are yet.
    We want to be able to see action and see our salmon come 
back to our rivers. Our community members have been speaking 
about this since the founding of YRDFA, and long before it.
    Quyana for listening, and I hope that this gets to the ears 
of folks in D.C. I appreciate it.
    [Applause.]
    Senator Murkowski. Thank you, Gabe. It is good to have 
youth representation. I appreciate that.
    Ray Watson.
    Mr. Watson. Welcome, Senator.
    I just wanted to talk about maybe some things that need to 
happen. You have heard from the leadership here of what has 
happened. And we know that, in 2015 I am the one who called a 
meeting. I am the one who called a meeting in June, 2015. Myron 
was there, I was there, in which the result was the Fish 
Commission. That was the result of people coming together and 
trying to find a solution to an existing problem.
    We thought at that time that tribal leadership, we had a 
tribal priority. On top of that, we had the elders. We wanted 
to practice our traditional ways.
    It has been about eight years now, and we are still 
talking. That is the sad thing, we are still talking. I don't 
know if I will be here in eight years, but I am hoping there 
will be some positive results down the road.
    To look at it from an empathetic perspective, you need to 
go back to the Senate Committee and say, this is what Ray said. 
This is the cultural impact. Ray said it like this. There is 
not going to be any Thanksgiving this year. That is what Ray 
said. We can't have Thanksgiving, you can't practice that 
culture, you get with your family, you can't have that bonding. 
You can't do that.
    But that is exactly what is happening to our people on both 
rivers, the Yukon and the Kuskokwim. Let them feel that, 
because that is what we are feeling.
    And you talk about the impacts, the mental health impacts, 
if you are trying to teach the younger generation about [phrase 
in Native tongue], growing up in fish camp, providing, cutting 
the fish, there is a big void there. There is a big void there, 
because if you don't allow the people to practice Thanksgiving, 
they are going to lose that, what that bonding is in family.
    That is exactly what is happening. Working in the treatment 
center, I know I am talking to the younger generation. They 
don't know, because that resource doesn't exist right now. It 
doesn't.
    Hopefully, we will come back maybe this time next year with 
results. That is what leaders do. We deliver, right? Come back 
and say, this is what you brought to us, and this is what I 
have to report. That is what I hope is evolving, especially 
with Area M, the bycatch, all of these things. We need to have 
these results on record.
    In closing, I would like to thank you for your support for 
the veterans. As a service-connected veteran I appreciate your 
support.
    Thank you.
    [Applause.]
    Senator Murkowski. Thank you for your service, Ray.
    Next, we have Gabriel Buster from Alakanuk.
    Mr. Buster. Thank you, Senator Murkowski, for being our 
support. We are going to believe that.
    We have to start from here and I believe, there are so many 
things going on right now. I believe NASA is already in our 
villages, in the next town of [indiscernible]. They are taking 
samples. If they can get some funding to do some testing, they 
can start from the source. We don't know what started it, but I 
believe it is from the big earthquake, too, it is part of that.
    But we know that NASA people told us that from the air, 
they can see thousands of miles of debris from the washout, 
when the water went down from the tsunami. We know that was 
part of that. They told us that, and we know that. That time we 
asked for NASA's help, and they came.
    I believe they can help us more, if they can get funding to 
pick up all that debris. It is hurting the sea lions, the 
seals, we know that, too. And probably even the fish too, we 
don't really know. I understand that with that being said, we 
need your support for funding these, I don't know if they are 
private companies. We know there is thousands and thousands of 
miles of debris from it, there is so much [indiscernible] from 
that disaster.
    All the things that we are speaking and, it should be 
instead of telling you what is going on it should be 
[indiscernible] when there is anger, it doesn't work with love 
in your heart. We need to do that, so we can be heard.
    Thank you.
    [Applause.]
    Senator Murkowski. Thank you, Gabriel.
    Next, we go to Daniel Smith, from Goodnews, Jennifer Hooper 
from Bethel, and then Boyd Blihovde from Anchorage.
    Daniel Smith, go ahead.
    Mr. Smith. Hello, my name is Daniel Smith. I am an 
alcoholic. Welcome. I come from the Native village of Goodnews 
Bay.
    I first went into recovery in 2018. Before then, I had a I 
had no voice, no strength. I wouldn't even have been able to 
come up and talk to you today until I became a recovering 
alcoholic. I realize that a lot of my peers, they are perishing 
due to their addictions to alcohol or drugs. Maybe some of them 
are perishing on the way to the fishing grounds or hunting 
grounds.
    Growing up, I was always told that we were the future 
leaders of our village. How can we effectively lead our 
communities? How can we become effective teachers? How can we 
become effective leaders, and how can we preserve our culture 
and our tradition if we are drunk or in jail? That is the 
elephant in the room that I feel no one is talking about.
    In one week, we had three boating fatalities in this region 
and one in Dillingham. So I didn't prepare anything to talk 
about, and I am hoping that our tribal leaders, the State and 
Federal Government will become a stronger advocate for recovery 
and wellness. Thank you.
    [Applause.]
    Senator Murkowski. Thank you, Daniel. I appreciate your 
saying that and encouraging us all in that important message.
    Next is Jennifer Hooper, from Bethel.
    Ms. Hooper. Can I please pass on my time, Senator?
    Senator Murkowski. Thank you, Jennifer. The next is Boyd 
Blihovde.
    Mr. Blihovde. Thank you, Senator Murkowski. My name is Boyd 
Blihovde, I am the former refuge manager at Yukon Delta 
National Wildlife Refuge, just across the street there is our 
office. I am currently the Gravel to Gravel coordinator in the 
regional office of the Fish and Wildlife Service.
    There is so much I would like to say, but I decided to 
focus on one concern related to salmon declines. One major 
problem is that people who live outside this region don't 
acknowledge that there is a salmon crisis at all. The first 
step in solving a problem is admitting that there is a problem 
in the first place.
    I wanted to acknowledge that the people here in the 
Kuskokwim region have known that there is a problem for many 
years. The Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission 
realized that there is a major problem with their salmon runs 
since as early as 2015, and they did something about it. Their 
locally led and tribally centered voices were the voices that 
led the agencies to the conservation table. Their voices led 
the agencies to acknowledging that there is a problem in the 
first place.
    I want to say thanks from the bottom of my heart to the 
Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission and to all of you 
who live in this local area for all that you do. However, even 
today, in my personal opinion, there are those outside this 
region who don't acknowledge the salmon crisis.
    I want to share a bit of a story about what happened when I 
got here. When I first got here in 2020, we were only concerned 
about Chinook salmon. Today, the people of this region suffer 
restrictions on not just Chinook salmon, but Chinook, chum, and 
even silver salmon.
    The Fish and Wildlife Service recognizes more needs to be 
done. Therefore, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service regional 
director in Anchorage, Sara Boario, and the BLM State Director, 
pushed to create a new Keystone Initiative called Gravel to 
Gravel. We have initiated the Gravel to Gravel Keystone 
Initiative with leadership of the tribes at the center of that 
initiative. We recognize that this initiative won't solve all 
the problems related to the salmon crisis, but it will bring 
Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funds to this region to 
prioritize salmon restoration, co-stewardship and ecosystem 
resilience.
    Again, I want to thank all of you for being here and for 
speaking up on this issue. Thanks.
    [Applause.]
    Senator Murkowski. Thank you for your good work. Thank you.
    Next on our list we have Alissa Nadine Rogers from Bethel.
    Ms. Rogers. Thank you, Senator Murkowski. In all due 
respect, I am going to pass it on to the next person behind me, 
then I will go next.
    Senator Murkowski. Kara Domnick.
    Ms. Domnick. [Greeting in Native tongue.] My name is 
[phrase in Native tongue] Kara Domnick. I work for ONC Natural 
Resources, and I love my job. I was born and raised here in 
Bethel by my parents, Gerald and Rose Domnick.
    For my testimony, I want to focus on the strong and 
important ties between mental health, our current addiction 
crisis, and our subsistence way of life. So I would like to 
share part of my personal story with all of you.
    I am in my tenth year into a successful recovery from a 
very bad opiate addiction. My family spent tens of thousands of 
dollars on trying to find outside treatment that would help me, 
with little success.
    It wasn't until I was brought back home to my community and 
was involved in local and culturally based recovery programs 
before my true recovery began. My family made a huge effort to 
reconnect me with my traditional ways of life during that time, 
and I was given the opportunity to rediscover myself and what 
was truly important to me. The river and the tundra became my 
peace. In the end, it was what made my life feel whole and 
meaningful again.
    I may not have been here today if I didn't have that 
connection and access to my culture and subsistence 
opportunities. Our people are facing a substance abuse crisis, 
and many of our people believe that we need to find our own way 
of healing ourselves. We have one, and it is a deeper 
connection to our culture and our way of life. I am proof.
    With the declining salmon numbers comes further separation 
from our culture. How is this going to affect our mental 
health? How much worse will it get? I fear for our people.
    Salmon truly does equal life for our people, and life 
should be a priority, and so should our subsistence. Quyana.
    [Applause.]
    Senator Murkowski. Thank you for sharing that, Kara.
    Now, Alissa Nadine Rogers.
    Ms. Rogers. Thank you. First, I want to give you a hug. No 
one has given you a hug since we have been here.
    Senator Murkowski. I had a lot coming in, thank you. I love 
it.
    Ms. Rogers. Quyana. Veterans, thank you all for your 
service, and I apologize on behalf of our Country to our 
Vietnam vets. You are acknowledged and you are honored for your 
service.
    I am [phrase in Native tongue] Alissa Nadine Rogers, 
representing the YK Delta's people and its resources. I am a 
Native leader in the making, following in the footsteps of my 
elders and our chiefs.
    We are the world's largest and the United States' most 
sustainable resource. These standing presence in our Federal 
Government as the world's greatest economic GDP powered 
provider. Your answer is simple, Senator Murkowski. Through co-
management, development of a U.S.A. government agency that is 
strictly dedicated to Alaska's health and well-being of our 
resource management, that is governed by Alaska Natives, giving 
Alaska equal government power to ensure change in the right 
direction of managing our resources, covering resource issues 
from policies, fishery impacts like bycatch, erosion, suicide, 
health restoration, environmental conservation, mining like 
Donlin and Pebble, air quality, water quality, laws, 
regulations, ANILCA and so much more this department can 
provide, Senator Murkowski.
    One more thing. Please immediately lower our prices in all 
our communities, so we can afford food and resources to replace 
the restricted food that we can only watch go by as our 
stomachs grumble, as we choose to keep our children warm and 
fed.
    When I was a little girl, my mother used to go to bed 
hungry because she had to choose between keeping a roof over my 
head, keeping me fed, keeping me taken care of, and I would 
share my little piece of jello that I had every night with her, 
and she said no, you eat it.
    Once again, Senator Murkowski, as I have asked your dad at 
AFN when I was 11 years old, help me end suicide. Help me 
protect our Native rights. Help me restore our resources for 
future generations. And most of all, help me save Alaska.
    Thank you, Senator Murkowski, for your time, and thank you 
for coming to Bethel.
    [Applause.]
    Senator Murkowski. Thank you, Alissa. Very powerful and a 
very fitting way to end the public testimony. Those are all the 
names that have signed up to present today.
    I want to share with you my deep appreciation. For some of 
you comments that you shared are very deeply personal. That you 
were willing to share them today is very meaningful, know that.
    Know also that as I sit and I take notes, and think about 
next steps, because I don't want you to feel that this 
afternoon was a waste of your time, that it was just yet one 
more opportunity to say something that was going to go in one 
ear and out the other.
    I heard that. I heard that and I carry that responsibility 
with me.
    I have actually been challenged on this, on even having 
this field hearing here in Bethel. I have been challenged from 
others who have said, well, if you go and listen, you might 
then own the problem. That is right. You have elected me to 
represent you and do a hard job. And part of that hard job is 
trying to navigate some of what we have heard today.
    So believe me, this is not a check the box. This is not 
something that I had to do. This is something that I want to 
do, because I hear you. And I know, I know the comment that was 
made just a little bit ago by Boyd, who mentioned that there 
are a lot of people outside the who perhaps don't understand or 
acknowledge the crisis that you are feeling within this region, 
and how it is impacting you. So part of my job is to convey the 
urgency here.
    One of the other things that I have also heard is that the 
traditional knowledge that you bring to the table has led long 
before much of the science or the actual management actions 
that come, because again, your people who have lived, not only 
in the region now, but you have listened to your parents and 
your grandparents about what was in place before, what they 
saw, what you are now seeing, and what you can project out.
    We need to be paying attention to that aspect of knowledge 
that you bring to the table. That is as key as anybody with a 
Ph.D. who is studying fisheries management.
    So you have given me a great deal to consider here today, 
along with my staff. I want to be able to report back, that was 
another challenge that was just mentioned, report back. That is 
your job as an elected leader. And I may report back and say, 
we haven't made progress in this area, or maybe that direction 
was not where we needed to go. But I owe it to those of you who 
have come, those of you who have spoken, those who have just 
listened. But those who are living with the reality that your 
way of life is being threatened right now.
    As Vivian reminded us all at the beginning, your way of 
life matters. So know that I carry that with me back to 
Washington, D.C. when I go back to work there on Monday.
    Thank you for the time that you have given me, and know 
that together, we have some work to do. Thank you very much for 
your time.
    With that, the Committee is now adjourned.
    [Whereupon, at the hearing and listening session were 
adjourned.]

    Additional Statements for the Record

                STATEMENT OF STANISLAUS SHEPPARD

    Mr. Sheppard. My name is Stanislaus Sheppard. I was born 
and raised in Mountain Village on the lower Yukon. I sit on the 
tribal council and many different other committees.
    I spoke earlier about that we had our salmon crash in the 
1980s, mid to early 1980s, maybe. And when we had the salmon 
crash, the previous people that were advocating for the Yukon 
River, the late Harry Wilde, the late John Hanson, the late 
Johnny Thompson and a couple other more that I don't really 
recall their names, they fought with the Board of Game and 
Board of Fish and other entities that had particular ability to 
control the pollock fishery, Pollocks Pass in Area M.
    They somehow managed to close that fishing area, or reduce 
the hours for a period of a year maybe. Then after that, about 
two years later, we started seeing more salmon returning back 
to the river.
    The difference between then and now, when then it was 
automatically reduced, the fishing, so that salmon were allowed 
to pass on their migration at the False Pass Area M to the 
Bristol Bay, Kuskokwim, Yukon, and Norton Sound, automatically 
they reduced it. Compared to nowadays, four or almost five 
years now, when asked to put the same restrictions back then in 
the 1980s, now because of the money that the pollock fishery 
makes, and the money that False Pass and Area M makes, the 
percentage of fishermen that do the most fishing, there are set 
nets, there is drifting, and there is purse seine fishing.
    The purse seine fishing is the one that is doing the most 
damage. Because a person from Chignik over there are the Board 
of Fish meeting last fall, last spring, he said the purse seine 
fishermen are doing the majority of the damage, interception, 
chum chucking, and not only that, that the majority, maybe 80 
percent of the purse seine fishermen are from the lower 48.
    So they have to try and do the same actions as they did 
back in the 1980s right now. The big difference right now is 
that the Board of Fish, the North Pacific Fisheries, the False 
Pass Area M, they are not taking any action to reduce fishing 
in the pollock fishery.
    The only thing that they are doing is, we need more 
studies, can you do studies, while they continue to intercept 
the fish, chum chucking, while pollock fishing continues to 
keep going, and then this bycatch salmon. I don't see why they 
couldn't reduce the time, and pollock fishery have an A season 
and B season.
    When I went to the North Pacific Fisheries Council meeting 
in Nome about 10 years ago, 11 years ago, they gave this report 
on B season and A season. I think it was in October, November, 
December, November and December were the highest bycatch that 
was recorded in the two months, November and December. When I 
testified, I said, wouldn't it make sense if they reduced the 
pollock fishing in November and December, when their bycatch is 
the highest.
    I think they took a little action on that and said they 
reduced, but I think they are back up to that point of not 
really having any restrictions in the month of November and 
December.
    So what I think would make it work right now, instead of 
department and all these other organizations that have control 
over the pollock fishery and False Pass and Area M to reduce 
the fishing while the study is being conducted. A majority of 
the answers they provide to the people that testify is that 
global warming, ocean temperature rising, there were three 
major definitions they gave and the two most important ones 
were global warming and warming of the ocean temps.
    Thank you.

                STATEMENT OF CHRISTINA CHANGSAK

    Ms. Changsak. My name is Christina Changsak. I want to add 
to my testimony. I forgot about the cost of living. Because in 
order to fish, our gas prices right now are $7.50 a gallon. 
Then the cost of food has gone up and the cost of sanitary 
supplies also has gone up. Lack of jobs, it is hard for us to 
pay for gas, because we use gas to go fishing, to set net, to 
dip net, and to put away our harvest.
    I will add that our way of life, summertime we are really 
active in our fishing. We don't take more than what we need. I 
support maybe three, four families and my kids do help us to 
fish. My boys help my husband set net, check net, while my 
girls help me to cut the fish, brine the fish and hang.
    I would like to see the Yukon have even three, four, five 
openings next summer. That way we can have fish for our winter 
use. And it is a big part of our diet. I know there is a lot of 
stuff in the fish that is needed for our body. And I know a 
lack, because I noticed the change in my body, without having 
the fish.
    Please consider that, and to talk to the Board of Fish to 
add a couple more people from the village areas to sit on their 
council. Because they don't really know what goes on in the 
villages. They are mainly people that sit there from out-States 
or in big cities compared to us people that live locked in the 
little bays, where our only access is by plane in and out. So 
that way they could hear and see what we go through.
    I think that is it.

                   STATEMENT OF SOPHIE SWOPE

    Ms. Swope. I am Sophie Swope from Bethel, Alaska. I am 
continuing my testimony from earlier. I had to skip over 
portions due to the time limit.
    It is important to look back at the historical declines. 
For the future, though, what is our access to salmon or better 
yet, what is the safety of even consuming the salmon going to 
look like when Donlin Gold is here developing on our salmon 
spawning tributaries?
    I am astonished to look at the health impact assessment 
showing a wide scale possibility, 33 percent to 60 percent of a 
probability of a small but important increase in mercury 
concentrations in our hair, if our consumption patterns of fish 
do not change during the lifetime of the mine.
    So, our populations will just have neurotoxins in our 
bodies. What will this mean for the health of our population 
today, and what will that mean for our future offspring? Or how 
about our mental health?
    While we may from the outside look as if we are 
economically depressed and that somehow justifies extraction 
from Canadian mining companies against the desire of our 
tribes, Donlin Gold is not going to relieve any depression at 
all. Not economic, not mental depression. And on that note, it 
will actually exacerbate mental health issues in the area. The 
health impact assessment quotes this as a negative impact: 
increase in morbidity and mortality related to psychosocial 
distress, such as depression, anxiety, suicide, substance 
abuse, and changes to family structure with a likelihood of a 
whopping 66 to 90 percent.
    These likelihoods and probabilities just for the 
development of a simple mining project, well, not to simple, it 
is the largest pure gold mine in the world, is pretty intense 
when it comes to what our tribes value, what our traditional 
values are.
    With all of this in mind, that all the tribes, well, not 
all, but the majority of the tribes in the region and two of 
the larger entities that represent all of 56 tribes have been 
asking and will continue to ask that another look needs to be 
taken and that we have a supplemental environmental impact 
statement that fully encompasses our concerns and the reality 
of what the impacts would be if a tailing stem failure did 
happen.
    So I would just really encourage Senator Lisa Murkowski and 
the Committee on Indian Affairs that you please govern us for 
the health and well-being of our people, one that is worth so 
much more than relationships to corporations that relationship-
building and the sponsorships they provide anyone. Our 
relationship, the fact that we are salmon people is worth so 
much more than any for-profit corporate interest and any of 
what you are doing, the important jobs that you hold.
    We are your constituents. Our healthy future needs your 
help to make sure that these things are addressed and resolve.
    Thank you.

          STATEMENT OF [SPEAKER NAME NOT ON RECORDING]

    Speaker. I was going to say, to add to that, but due to 
time constrictions that I had, I provided testimony on record, 
I have the records and the transcripts of the State of Alaska 
when they interviewed me in 2010.
    In that document, it stated that I grew up in the fish 
camp, I was one of the last that grew up in the fish camp. I 
never came to Bethel, only for the Fourth of July, and then in 
August to come to start school. So I am one of the last of the 
generations, those days in the mid-19602.
    I wanted to offer that when Senator Lisa Murkowski said 
short of legislation, what needs to happen, because legislation 
will take a long time, I know that, but I think even something 
as simple as crossing the lines, crossing parties and getting a 
compromise on this one issue, because the red and blue are 
always at it, you know that.
    What needs to happen is we need to come together, even in 
the committee, the Senate committee, to recognize that this is 
the systematic starvation of a people, people in peril. That is 
exactly what is happening here. I don't know what it will take, 
a presential order or whatever, that doesn't take any 
legislation. An order from the President that at least 
recognizes that we have a problem here with the Natives in 
Alaska.
    Even the recognition, Federal recognition, is a good start. 
That is how I would like to complete my testimony.
    Thank you.

                   STATEMENT OF JEFF SANDERS

    Mr. Sanders. I am Jeff Sanders. I live in Bethel and have 
lived here continuously since 1971.
    I am 76 years old, and I want to speak to salmon and in the 
YK Delta.
    I would like to speak first of all to trawler impacts on 
our fisheries. I believe that the trawling participants in what 
has been labeled as a mid-water trawl fishery for pollock have 
done an excellent job with limiting their bycatch, particularly 
of king salmon, which there seems to be the most pressure for 
them to do. Their yearly catch seems to be down from a high of 
122,000 when the ended up in our rifle sights, I guess you 
could say, to a manageable 10,000 to 15,000 yearly. That is a 
[indiscernible].
    So to ask them or accuse them of too much bycatch on king 
salmon, for instance, I think is a wrong path to take. I think 
if there is going to be problems that we find with this 
fishery, they are going to be smoking gun types of problems. 
What I mean by that, I would illustrate with the example of 
when the Japanese High Seas Gillnet Fishery was eliminated, the 
first time we really found out there was more of a problem than 
what we thought there was was when a man named Major did a 
study, and demonstrated that there was a significant amount of 
dropout. So we were undercounting their catch of king salmon. 
This is when they were targeting salmon in what was called at 
the time the doughnut hole, which was an area that was created 
by Magnuson-Stevens regulation.
    Another example of a smoking gun would be, and putting 
those examples into the trawl fishery, which I am talking 
about, a number of scientists as of late have talked about the 
fact that this fishery that is supposed to be a mid-water trawl 
fishery is actually in the shallow Bering Sea, oftentimes hard 
on bottom fishery, which creates bycatch and habitat problems 
that we don't normally attribute to the fishery. I think we 
need to fund more research to find out if that is true, and if 
it is true, the percentage of time they actually hard on the 
bottom.
    Most recently, with the report that they had captured eight 
orcas and I believe killed seven of them, and the fact that 
they were in front of the trawl where they couldn't be captured 
and not following the trawl to pick up injured or easy-to-
harvest salmon would lead me to believe there are some other 
problems there, to where we are undercounting the impact of 
that fishery. I think more research needs to be dedicated to 
that.
    Understanding, I like to make some comparisons to the 
Japanese High Seas Fishery. That was not eliminated because 
they were catching, technically, it wasn't eliminated because 
they were catching our king salmon, technically, it was 
eliminated because of the damage it was doing to birds and 
other animals. The dagger that actually put an end to it was 
when Harold Sparck and Don Mitchell went to Washington, D.C. 
court and rescinded their marine mammal taking permit. I think 
that is something that could happen to this fishery. I am not 
advocating that it should. I would actually like to see this 
fishery succeed because of the massive amount of ocean protein 
that they furnish for the rest of the world. But I don't want 
it to succeed on the backs of weaker stocks that are in their 
path.
    The other issue I would like to focus on is the Area M 
intercept of all kinds of weak stocks. Certainly, the stocks 
that we have on the Kuskokwim and the Yukon are weak when 
compared to the massive red runs that they are supposed to be 
targeting, the Bristol Bay red runs. They seem to be operating 
this fishery basically in conflict with international resolve 
that these fish, salmon are to be harvested. The optimal way to 
harvest salmon is in their terminal areas. There are a number 
of reasons that area cited by the international community. The 
one thing I like is that it prevents us from overharvesting 
weak stocks.
    The State manages this fishery. I would suggest they should 
have oversight from the Federal managers through a salmon 
management plan with the Council to provide oversight for this 
fishery, so that they don't overharvest the weak stocks that 
come through, which are the western Alaskan chums and both 
[indiscernible] chums that go into the Yukon and the single 
runs that go everywhere else. I think there should be a lot of 
scrutiny put on their salmon management plan, and their salmon 
management plan should take care of this.
    This fishery should be consistent with international norms 
and not the normal standby that we are Alaskans, we do things 
differently, and we really hate Federal oversight, because that 
is not the issue here. Federal oversight is needed to make this 
fishery compliant with international norms.
    It is also needed to protect the Yukon fall chum which goes 
into Canada. Its harvest is restricted everywhere outside of 
Canada to produce numbers that are actually a government-to-
government, Federal-State department, the State department 
transboundary agreement to deliver certain amounts of fish to 
the border.
    People in the river are doing that. Managers are doing 
that. The only people who aren't doing that are the ocean 
fishers.
    And we need to establish funding to develop a much better 
genetic outline, because that seems to be, we don't do calving 
studies anymore, or still pattern analysis. We need to step up 
our genetics, so if this fishery can persist in the area called 
Area M, we need to find out when other fish, when weak stocks 
are in the area where the fishing is being conducted, and do 
our upmost to avoid them. We may find out that we can avoid 
them, which would basically abolish the fishery.
    Thank you. I realize I have used more time than most people 
get.

                  STATEMENT OF TIMOTHY ANDREW

    Mr. Timothy Andrew. My name is Timothy Andrew. I am from 
Bethel [indiscernible], I provided testimony within the 
attributed time limit, but it wasn't enough time. I wanted to 
make sure that the committee heard that.
    We are the people of the drum; we are the people of the 
land. Salmon is a very, very important element to our culture, 
cultural well-being, cultural health, cultural sharing, 
cultural love for one another, and for other people.
    We are true stewards of the land from. Without the drumbeat 
of our people, the salmon, the moose, the caribou, and other 
wild natural resources that surround us that we utilize for our 
food and for all the values that I have given earlier, without 
our drumbeat, our people are no more. Our resources will be no 
more as well.
    So it is important that we continue to have every element 
of our food to provide for our committees, for our people, the 
people that we love, for our subsistence ceremonies. If we stop 
beating the drum, our people, our resources will be no more.
    Thank you.

                   STATEMENT OF EARL SAMUELS

    Mr. Samuels. I am Earl Samuels from Napaskiak. I want to 
add on just a short little brief talk about the fish camp. 
Three minutes was not enough.
    Our local area of fish camp is, we call it school. You have 
probably heard it many times in testimony. The fish camp is a 
place where you bring your family and youth. It is kind of like 
a home school. That is where they learn how to make a fire for 
smoking, learn how to gather wood, the particular kind of wood 
you need to smoke a salmon. You don't smoke it with driftwood, 
you have to learn how to go out and get the right wood with 
your elder, the right cottonwood.
    This was part of the knowledge we passed down to our young 
ones, from a young age. Fire-starting, fish camp is a good 
place to learn that. One year, I taught my young grandkids to 
learn to start a fire old-time style, rubbing sticks together, 
a skill that once our elders had. We don't have it any more. We 
rely on big lighters and matches.
    Fishing, we spend time teaching youth how to use the right 
net, the length of net. That was another thing brought out 
here, the net size was brought up. We teach our youth how to 
hang a net against damage, how to fix it, and where to fish. 
You just can't go out in the river to go fish. There are 
certain areas that are good, certain areas that don't fish. 
That is what we pass on.
    The ladies, we have girls at a young age that learn how to 
cut, first with the smaller whitefish and to the smaller 
salmon. We are losing that. We don't do this enough. The 
cutting skills we are starting to lose. How to cut the fish, 
there are certain ways you cut a whitefish, there is a certain 
way you cut a chum salmon. There is a certain way to cut a king 
salmon. All different types, three different ways of cutting 
fish, so it can dry better and to know when to put that fish in 
a smokehouse.
    Here on the Kuskokwim, we are taught how to watch the fish 
dry, when it starts to form oil, then it is time to put it in 
the smoker. That is some of the things we try to teach our 
youth.
    With the lack of fish, to go back just a little bit, we 
were taught to catch as many fish as you can. When I asked the 
elder why, the elder responded, in famine, you never know when 
fish will come in abundance. If you live through the famine, he 
said, you will understand. We are fortunate we never had famine 
in our region.
    We didn't have stores years ago; we truly knew how to 
subsist. We have grocery stores, but even now, we can't rely on 
the grocery stores. A good example, Yukon, Kuskokwim, bad 
weather. We are without airplanes for days and weeks, affecting 
the food chain. We can't really rely on that store.
    When people want to go to the store, out in this area in 
the summer, even in the winter, they go to the river. Even in 
the winter time, the whitefish are very important to the diet.
    I wanted to add on, and you truly have to understand a 
subsistence way of life. I heard it out on the floor just 
briefly. If you live it and understand it, then you truly know 
the way of food security and subsistence. If you don't 
understand it, a lot of people don't, I think I see even the 
board members don't understand. The Fish Board, the North 
Pacific Board.
    Earlier I said it would be nice to add extra seats to the 
North Pacific, even to the Fish and Game Board, add an extra 
seat for members of Kuskokwim, add an extra seat for members of 
the lower Yukon, add an extra seat for people in western 
Alaska. That is three extra seats. I know they could add that 
on. We might have to try. They are appointed, I believe. That 
would be an addition to benefit the region.
    Just a slight addition. I wanted to add on, years ago, the 
Kuskokwim was an abundance, abundance of fish, king salmon, 
silver salmon. But now we can see a change, just the red salmon 
coming into the rivers now. Kings are lacking, chums are 
lacking, but the red salmon once never was in this river. In 
the last few years now, they are the dominant salmon. That is 
what we are targeting now.
    The king salmon come in first, early spring, the salmon 
that we once fished for, hung up and dried. Now it is the 
salmon, elders say, it is a salmon that we just want to taste. 
All we want is a meal on the table. That is all we are asking.
    If you go to the other areas, Area M, I noticed, is 
slightly different to me. They were fighting to put money on 
the table for use of the salmon, the fish they are catching. I 
could see that the trend was similar to the Yukon-Kuskokwim 
years ago when we had the abundance of king salmon. Area M 
people have to realize that they can do damage to what both 
Kuskokwim and Yukon can do. Pretty soon, there will be no more 
fishing in Area M, which will three times impact our region. I 
don't think they see the overall picture.
    The same goes with the trawlers out there. Sure, it is the 
economic base, but it is affecting all of us across Alaska. 
Something has to change. Internationally, lack of enforcement 
out there, international laws are different, that was another 
thing that was brought up, was jurisdiction down there. Are 
their fishing in Federal waters or State waters? Always the 
jurisdiction.
    I would like to see that Area M even, the consequences like 
we have, try it out. Reduce some of the fishing hours down 
there and see what happens to the rest of Alaska. I remember 
one year Area M did have a strike. They struck for a couple of 
weeks and we benefited. There was so much fish out here, and we 
figured out why later, it was because of the strike. We 
benefited out here.
    Thank you.
    Just to add on to the comment there, I heard the CEO of 
YKHC read his testimony. Omega-3 was brought up, a vitamin. 
Vitamin D was brought up. Where do we get our vitamin D now? It 
could be from the lack of salmon all these years, we go in for 
our medicals, the doctor says, your vitamin D is low. Vitamin D 
plays a huge role in the body. The Omega oils from the salmon 
play a big role in the body to stay healthy.
    Where do we go to get these vitamins now here at the YK? 
Our hospital now. Unacceptable. There is no reason why we have 
to go to the hospital to pick up these extra vitamins.
    I see the fish meeting is here at the hospital. The fishing 
regulations and salmon rules are broken. I thought it was kind 
of neat to have the salmon hearing here at the hospital. If our 
body is broken, we go to the hospital, here, right here in this 
building, talk to the doctors, they give you the tools to try 
to get better.
    I thought it was appropriate to get the hearing here, 
because the salmon rules and regulations are broken out here in 
western Alaska. Hopefully with today's testimony, things could 
change. We just need to be heard. If we can get people on the 
fish boards or fish commissions to listen, listen and take 
action, that would benefit the region, we wouldn't be here 
today. Thank you.
    That was just a time out. You heard mid-size earlier. 
During the testimony, [indiscernible] Kuskokwim area and the 
Yukon area once fished with 300-foot size nets. Some 45 meshes 
deep on the Yukon, some more were in the past. Now they are 
regulated to fish on the Kuskokwim here, net restrictions came 
into place.
    Maybe this is a tool to save the king, the salmon. Maybe it 
wasn't. Maybe the State Fish and Game people fished in the 
fishery and [indiscernible] maybe they have to do their own 
study. But locally, this size net [indiscernible] locally they 
are saying we are doing more damage to the king salmon, they 
are bumping the nets, they are rolling off, and they are dying.
    Maybe the Fish and Game should do a study of that. Where we 
once fished with the eight-inch net, now we are restricted to 
the 100-foot long, or the 150-foot nets, six inches or less in 
mesh size. That is a [indiscernible] size. Sometimes in the 
beginning of the season, 75-foot or 100-foot net, six inches or 
less, or four inches.
    We don't mind, as long as we catch any kind of fish to put 
a meal on the table. But like I said, we are overregulated 
people. Just what we need.
    Last summer, we had one, two, three, four openings. The 
first opening, it was like combat fishing out there. Commercial 
fishing is what it looked like. One area had 23 boats. How are 
you supposed to manage a river with that many people in the 
river? That has to change, how you manage the river, who can go 
out and fish. You can divide up the days, I guess, I don't 
know, they could have figured it out.
    The good spots on the river, there are not too many of 
them. The set net time, they say, oh, the set net, 100-foot 
net, go on the river and try to set a net. People making the 
rules set netting [indiscernible]. If you take a square area of 
the river, you will be lucky if you find two set net spots.
    Same way on the Yukon River, those are issues, problems. 
So, we have to put our heads together. Everybody has to work 
together, listen to each other before there are no more salmon 
to regulate. Thank you.

                   STATEMENT OF ROBERT ENOCH

    Mr. Enoch. This is Robert Enoch. I am from Tuntutuliak, 
Alaskan, near the mouth of the Kuskokwim.
    I just want to share a couple of things concerning the 
salmon. First, salmon, they came across an information that was 
[indiscernible], salmon, I believe in 1972 or 1982. I can't 
remember exactly which year it was done down in Area M or False 
Pass. There was a tagging study, and from that tagging study, 
20 something, in excess of 25 percent of the fish that were 
caught here on the Kuskokwim that were tagged down there, that 
is the number I came across only from the Kuskokwim River, 
something like more than 25 percent of the fish that were 
tagged down in False Pass were caught in the Kuskokwim.
    That is, when you put spawning rivers, like Bristol Bay, 
Kuskokwim, Yukon, Norton Sound, that is a pretty significant 
number that shows how much salmon are intercepted down there 
that swim through there.
    The other thing, one thing I wanted to share also is that 
fish camp, back before the Fish and Game, the State Fish and 
Game started regulating our salmon fishery, our life, some of 
the people who come into the, we are the stewards of the land, 
our resources. We said, looking at our parents before their 
time up to their time, before the State, before our life became 
regulated, there was plenty of salmon.
    I am from near the mouth of the Kuskokwim. Back before the 
State Fish and Game, there was always a return, my people 
caught their fish and stopped fishing when they had their 
quota. They had their own quota. So that way upriver, they 
still got their fish. That is the kind of stewards our people 
were. They still are. They still could be. Because up until 
restrictions were placed on us, we were still practicing the 
same way, caught what we needed and then stopped fishing. That 
allowed the salmon to escape to their spawning grounds.
    Just wanted to share that in case it is thought about in 
the committee, in the policy making processes. Thank you.

                   STATEMENT OF NIKKI POLLOCK

    Ms. Pollock. Quyana for the opportunity to provide comments 
today. In particular, quyana to our veterans. Alaska has the 
highest root share of veteran residents, at 10.1 percent, 
according to the 2022 United States Census Bureau.
    Alaska Natives and American Indians also serve in the U.S. 
Armed Forces at higher rates than any other U.S. group. 
[Speaking in Native tongue] Senator Murkowski and the Senate 
Committee on Indian Affairs, thank you for your time, 
attention, and presence. Your presence is your present, each 
and every one of you.
    My name is [phrase in Native tongue] Nikki Pollock. I am an 
Orutsararmiut, ONC tribal citizen, Yup'ik and Athabascan. I 
also work for the Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission. 
Furthermore, I am a mother, trained and experienced registered 
nurse, and lifelong Kuskokwim fisherwoman and subsistence 
gatherer.
    We have all spent, those who are here today, have spent 
most of our life growing up at fish camp and on the river, 
surrounded by family, friends, and traditional values and 
language. The Yup'ik culture represents Alaska's largest ethnic 
population in southwest Alaska. The Yup'ik, Cup'ik and 
Athabascan cultures and values are part of our daily lives. We 
speak our original language and practice a substitute lifestyle 
to this day.
    The Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, ANTHC, reported 
in 2020 approximately one in five or 20.3 percent Alaskans were 
Alaska Native or American Indian. At that time, an estimated 
148,085 Alaska Native people lived in Alaska.
    The U.S. Census Bureau from 2017 to 2021 population 
estimates a total of about 23,429 Alaska Natives and American 
Indians in our Calista region. Between 2010 and 2020, the 
Alaska Native population increased overall by 5 percent. 
Notably a third of our Alaska Native population within the 
State is under the age of 20. Additionally, the largest growth 
of Alaska Native population has been within the 65 to 79 age 
group.
    According to the United States Census Bureau, in 16, there 
were 10.2 million Alaska Natives and American Indians in 
combination or alone, which constitutes about 2.4 of the United 
States total population. Yet despite being less than 3 percent 
of the overall United States population, our indigenous people 
are plagued with multiple diet-related illnesses, and surpass 
our non-Native constituents in disproportionately outrageous 
numbers, in many chronic conditions and poor health outcomes.
    The estimated median household income for Alaska Native 
people is about $49,959, significantly lower than Alaskan 
Whites. The unemployment rate in 2020 for the Bethel Census 
Area was about 11.56, and the Kusilvak Census Area was about 
19.98 in that area, up 2 percent from 2019.
    Considerably, there are fewer jobs in the villages. 
Additionally, our youth have less high school completion or 
higher educational attainment as compared to our non-Native 
constituents and other Alaska Native people statewide.
    Furthermore, I wanted to add that out of the 574 federally 
recognized tribes in the United States, our region, in Alaska 
there is about 40 percent of the entire United States tribes 
here in Alaska. Then out of the entire United States tribes, 
about 10 percent of them are in this region.
    Furthermore, the Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish 
Commission represents tribal voices as co-managers for 
fisheries resource here on the Kuskokwim, which represents 
about 5 percent of the United States tribes.
    A background of our geological and logistic area, the YK 
Delta is a region of Alaska approximately 58,000 square miles, 
comparable to the size of the State of New York. Alaska's vast 
size and remote locations make it difficult to transport and 
store food in many rural communities. We rely on air taxis, 
snow machine and barge to import our goods.
    Many areas do not have roads that connect us together with 
urban Alaska. We lack reliable transportation infrastructure, 
leading to logistical complications. Severe weather during the 
winter months, coupled with the high cost of shipping in these 
areas accounts for the high cost of living and doing business.
    Heating fuel and unleaded fuel is about $7.00 a gallon, 
avgas for aviation gas is about $10.18 a gallon. A round-trip 
to Anchorage is about $500.
    Some background considerations and historical influences. 
Over the past 100 years, the local economy has evolved from one 
of total subsistence to a combination of cash economy. Hunting, 
trapping, and fishing remains a vital part of our diet and 
supplements our finances. Furthermore, the arts and crafts that 
are made with these natural materials add to our local 
economies.
    Western society and the indigenous people who first made 
contact in 1741. Documentation between 1841 and 1863 from 
Russian missionaries reported the fur and fishing trades 
activities of our region's people. For over the next 100 years, 
there were numerous voyages to Russian America before it was 
sold to the United Staes in 1867, when Alaska joined as a 
territory.
    The first economic development in the region began in the 
1900s with the onset of mining operations from 1907 to 1909, 
when gold was discovered in the Kuskokwim. In 1959, Alaska 
became a State. In 1971, the Alaska Native Claims Settlement 
Act was signed. ANCSA created our 12 regional corporations and 
over 230 village corporations. The establishment changed the 
model of co-ownership of land to a corporate model that managed 
the lands and monies on behalf of our shareholders and 
established the Federal trust responsibility.
    Prior to western contact and colonization, Alaska Natives 
lived exclusively off the land, water and air. In Yup'ik, we 
call the Creator [phrase in Native tongue], that is the 
Creator. We still practice that today. When we get anything 
from the land, we always give thanks to [phrase in native 
tongue] because our Creator is the one who has provided with 
these resources.
    Anyhow, ANTHSC reports that the traditional Alaska Native 
culture has a lot in common with the people who are thought to 
be the healthiest people in the world, eating off the land, 
living in close-knit communities, and sharing values, a sense 
of connection and purpose. The subsistence lifestyle needs a 
lot of physical activity too, amongst other things. 
Furthermore, the routine natural movement is one of the most 
impactful ways to increase lifespan, and a common habit among 
the world's longest-lived population.
    Most of our communities originated from traditional hunting 
areas or fish camps. Historically, Alaska Natives have followed 
the seasons and food sources. We are salmon people who 
demonstrate great reverence for our food and way of life. 
Indigenous people have resiliently carried forward these 
traditions and still practice these nomadic seasonal camps.
    Today, we have contemporary fish, moose, and berry camps, 
which help meet our most basic needs to provide supplementation 
of these nutrient-dense traditional foods. However, our way of 
life is experiencing a cultural loss. It is happening before 
our very eyes.
    The decline in salmon is directly related to the increase 
in poverty, hunger, decrease in quality of life and life 
expectancy, increases in disease and chronic illness, and 
therefore, a greater need for overall costly services.
    The Federal Government has a trust responsibility to ensure 
that tribal citizens have access to their trust-protected 
resources. Per the Executive Order EO12898, the Environmental 
Justice Law requires Federal agencies to identify and address 
adverse effects relating to the health or environment of their 
actions on minorities and low-income people.
    The obstruction of tribal sovereignty and food sovereignty. 
Alaska Natives have faced precipitous changes imposed in a 
relatively short amount of time. It has been 156 years since we 
have joined the Union, and 64 years since we have joined 
statehood. Notably, in 2022, since the inception of the State 
of Alaska, tribes have finally been legislatively recognized in 
the Alaska State government, 63 years after joining statehood.
    This speaks to the governmental and institutional 
marginalization of our First Nations people. Alaska Natives and 
their tribes have been disenfranchised through governmental 
process, particularly with the State of Alaska, who failed to 
even acknowledged sovereign First Nation people who have been 
here since time immemorial. There needs to be equitable 
distribution of the burden of conservation. We can no longer 
tolerate profit over our people.
    We continue to endure here time, location, and frequency 
limitations. Yet little to no meaningful action is taken to 
reduce bycatch on the Bering Sea or Area M. Alaska Natives can 
no longer sustain to feed the world. We can hardly feed 
ourselves here on the river.
    Food is literally being taken off of our plates to feed 
others. The lack of food sovereignty forces us to choose less 
nutritional food items, which have greater cost and overall 
less value.
    Denying access to traditional foods. There are drastic 
changes that have occurred within our lifetime, with our 
relationship to salmon. Subsistence has become a distant memory 
for some, due to less access, more restrictions, and health 
complications and financial challenges. These drastic lifestyle 
changes have caused various inequities for Native Americans.
    Many restrictions have been imposed on indigenous people of 
the Kuskokwim River. Tribal governance, sovereignty, and food 
sovereignty are not being honored the way that they should be 
upheld by the Federal trust responsibility. Alaska Natives on 
the Kuskokwim River have been criminalized, fined, and placed 
on probation for illegally fishing during closures simply to 
feed their families.
    Additionally, expensive gear has been seized by law 
enforcement, taking away some of the only modalities that these 
people have to use to feed their families. Additionally, the 
United Nations recognizes access to traditional foods as a 
basic human right, important for our survival. Access to salmon 
is also a matter of religious freedom.
    The benefits of salmon, the nutritional benefits. The 
salmon are a traditional primary protein source, low in fat, 
high in protein, packed with Omega-3 fatty acids and other 
essential vitamins and minerals. Wild fish are the best 
nutritional food choice not only which prevent the onset of 
diet-related illness, it is one of the best medicines and 
treatments for those costly and burdensome conditions.
    There is a saying that goes, one ounce of prevention is 
worth a pound of cure, a well-known idea that it is better to 
prevent an issue from occurring rather than having to correct 
it after the onset of the occurrence.
    It is more costly to correct rather than to prevent. Fish 
are the missing vital element in our diet, cultural, and in 
general, life.
    Vitamin D. Fish are an important source of vitamin D, which 
is important for our bone, muscle, brain and immune health. 
Through research and data, we know that there is a specific 
correlation of maternal vitamin D deficiency with early 
childhood caries, directly related to the decrease in 
traditional marine diet since the 1960s.
    Per the United States Army, we know that shorter hours of 
sunlight causes increased risks of health. The 2017 article 
states that Vitamin D is a hormone produced by the skin when 
exposed to sunlight. It also plays an important role in both 
physical and mental health.
    With prolonged hours of darkness during the winter, 
Alaskans seldom get enough sunlight to produce a sufficient 
supply of vitamin D, per the National Library of Medicine. The 
National Center for Biotechnology Information states that 
Alaska Native children experience one of the highest reported 
rates of severe early childhood caries related to vitamin D 
concentrations in Alaska Native child-bearing women in the 
Yukon Kuskokwim Delta region, which have been steadily 
decreasing since the 1960s due to current low levels that 
directly correlate to the decrease in traditional marine diet.
    Not only are we missing out on nutritional vitamin D, but 
indigenous people are also missing out on the Vitamin D that 
goes along with exercise in the summer months while harvesting 
and processing our catch. Because of this decrease in access, 
there is an increase in sedentary lifestyle, which worsens the 
obesity effects Alaska Natives are facing at greater rates, 
coupled with other health issues. Not meeting our basic needs 
adversely affects our quality of life and quantity of life, 
causing overwhelming physical, emotional and spiritual 
distress.
    Vitamin D is also known to regulate mental health. On our 
longest day of the year, our summer solstice, June 21, we get 
about 24 hours of sunlight. Despite this amount of sunlight, in 
severe contrast, with the shortest day of the year on December 
21, the winter solstice, when we get about 7 hours of sunlight. 
When we go to school, it is in the dark. When we go home, it is 
dark.
    The younger Alaska Native generations have been documented 
with lower serum concentrations of vitamin D as compared to 
older Alaska Natives. This indicates that there is a 
generational movement away from traditional lifestyles and 
diet. This indicates that traditional foods were historically 
responsible for maintaining adequate levels of vitamin D among 
indigenous populations in Alaska, rather than sunlight.
    Omega-3 fatty acids. O3FAs help to reduce blood pressure 
and triglycerides, which helps reduce heart disease by 
preventing plaque-filled arteries. Furthermore, these fatty 
acids help to decrease the likelihood of heart attacks and 
strokes. Additionally, O3FAs are good for brain and eye 
development, as well as function. We know that O3FAs are 
important for healthy pregnancy and infant brain development in 
utero and in early childhood development. Furthermore, O3FAs 
are good for brain health and demonstrated to assist in mental 
cognition and disease prevention throughout our lifespan.
    O3FAs are also known to elevate mood and can help improve 
mental health. Also, they have anti-inflammatory properties.
    Food security and poverty. It is no surprise that there is 
a direct correlation with health consequences and increasing 
food, housing, and economic insecurity. Through various 
[indiscernible] studies of these insecurity factors, they have 
been directly linked to a range of adverse health outcomes, 
including mortality.
    The Kuskokwim River amounts necessary for subsistence. 
Kuskokwim indigenous people have sacrificed their primary food 
source. As a result, Chinook escapement has been achieved for 
the past decade, including in 2023. Since the decline of salmon 
in the Kuskokwim indigenous peoples, ANS have not been met 
since 2020 for over a decade. Despite our valiant efforts, 
there is a hemorrhage of modifiable factors of the excessive 
bycatch in the Bering Sea and Area M.
    This year alone, in the lower Kuskokwim, with heavier 
restrictions and enforcement, our people harvested a total of 
11,929 chum salmon, a traditional food source that many Alaska 
Natives use for half-dried fish. Yet in the same year, 2023, 
the Bering Sea catch totaled 109,400 chum, and if that wasn't 
shocking enough, Area M's June 2023 harvest totaled 198,700 
chums. Notably, these stocks included Asian and coastal 
[indiscernible] stocks and not all of them were bound for our 
river; nonetheless, every fish counts, especially since we have 
to bear the burden of conservation.
    We need to address the underlying issues that directly 
affect our Kuskokwim River and wild salmon stocks. There is a 
multiple species collapse threatening the health of our 
ecosystem and well-being. We do not have adequate access to the 
most basic traditional food source, due to overharvesting by 
bycatch that they are seeing in Area M.
    In 2021, when we had our worst run in history, they had 
their best. Can you believe that? It is so backwards to me. I 
get so fired up. And we do not have access to our most basic 
food source. Yet the commercial industry is self-policed and 
has less restrictions and enforcement. Yet in 2023, there were 
nine citations for commercial vessels not retaining all their 
catch, also known as chum chucking, which greatly affects the 
genetic testing composition needed to identify these salmon 
stocks and their origin, which the North Pacific Fisheries 
Management Council and NOAA constantly want more data.
    We need to know the genetics: how did it go from 56 percent 
down to like 18? When we know that they are chum chucking, we 
just don't have proof of it, but this year we do because law 
enforcement was increased in the State jurisdiction. Do you 
know what they finally did? This was the first year that they 
ever used helicopters to go out and see these vessels chucking 
chums with long-range photography capabilities. That is how 
they caught them, because they didn't see law enforcement 
coming in, so they could stop doing what they were doing, 
change their behavior before they got caught. They got caught 
because that is what they do. We knew it was happening. It has 
been a problem, but we just didn't have any evidence. Now we 
do. It is a really important consideration to me.
    Poverty and loss of our salmon. Not only are we 
experiencing shrinkflation in our grocery stores, with 
increasing prices, but we are also seeing shrinking fish sizes 
and higher cost of subsistence, which impacts our food 
security. We are struggling to feed our families.
    Growing up, many Alaska Natives, like my mother, had to 
supplement their diet with salmon prior to eating a meal like 
supper. This was to help feed their bellies with food items 
that provided enduring energy. This was normal practice, and 
still goes on today. However, it has been impacted by the 
decline of salmon, adding to the overall local hunger crisis 
and diet-related illness.
    To complicate matters even worse, our indigenous people 
have some of the highest rates of poverty and hunger in the 
Nation. According to ANTHC 2021 Health Status Report, about 
34.9 percent of Yukon-Kuskokwim Alaska Natives experience 
poverty. Over one in four people in our region are experiencing 
poverty. That is greater than a third, as compared to 24 
percent of other Alaska Natives statewide and the 7.2 percent 
of non-Natives statewide.
    The American Heart Association states that one-fourth of 
all Alaska Natives and American Indians live in poverty per 
Federal guidelines. Thus, lower socioeconomic status is an 
important indicator in the determination of cardiovascular 
health. Furthermore, our Native people in the YK Delta are 
experiencing access issues with basic water and sanitation.
    The report also demonstrates that about 21 percent, almost 
one in four households are without water and sewer services. 
Access to in-home water and wastewater services has a positive 
impact on public health, and can help stop the spread of 
disease and illness.
    Because of the lack of food and food insecurity, there is a 
greater need for government commodities and services. The high 
cost of living makes accessing perishable, healthy foods 
challenging. One gallon of milk is about $13. Five dozen of 
eggs here in Bethel, $45. Subsistence food items have 
historically sustained our people. However, due to the decline 
in salmon, we are unable to meet our most basic food needs.
    When we do get the opportunity to harvest salmon, we have 
observed that the salmon are returning smaller, adding to less 
overall food available. We hardly see any large fish anymore. 
The significant decline in salmon has been documented and 
observed over the last 60 years. What was once a reliable food 
source is now insufficient to sustain our most basic needs. 
This adds to the overall food shortage.
    Kuskokwim people have limited access to food that 
represents a significantly large portion of our diet, food that 
is central to our lives and provides the bulk of our energy. 
There is an overall absence of food, exacerbated by the decline 
in salmon. There is greater reliance on store-bought, shelf-
stable food, and other non-perishable items, public assistance 
and other government commodities. Additionally, there is 
greater reliance on government funded programs which address 
food insecurity, such as school lunches and elder meals.
    The State of Alaska Division of Public Assistance, who 
administers the SNAP program, is about 6,000 cases behind, 
backlogged. SNAP beneficiaries are waiting on process, 
intensifying the food hunger. Government commodities have 
historically replaced traditional diets. This can be seen in 
our Native diet and culture. For example, prior to contact, we 
didn't have vegetable oil, sugar, or flour to make fried bread. 
Now it has morphed into a staple of our diet.
    Another example of government commodities replacing our 
diet and changing our preference tastes, agoda, Eskimo ice 
cream. Historically, agoda was made with rendered animal fat. 
Now, most Natives use Crisco, a type of lard made of vegetable 
oil. Shipments of fish have been imported to villages to 
replace missing salmon stocks at times arriving inedible.
    The lack of adequate social resources in remote Alaska. The 
State of Alaska 2020 to 2024 Strengthening the System, Alaska's 
Comprehensive Integrated Mental Health Program, identifies that 
the State has the following gaps in their services, which 
continue to exist in the comprehensive behavioral system. Some 
of the most significant areas of lack are residential 
psychiatric facilities, community-based crisis services, 
residential and outpatient behavioral services with case 
management, medication assisted treatment for substance abuse 
and associated recovery and support, adequate workforce and 
detoxification services, as well as affordable living with 
housing.
    These services in remote Alaska need significant 
improvement.
    The adverse health effects of the decrease in salmon. The 
salmon crisis on the Kuskokwim River has demonstrated extreme 
adverse impacts on the tribal health of western Alaska. Alaska 
Natives in the region have alarmingly higher rates of diet-
related illness such as cancer, heart disease, cerebrovascular 
disease, mental health issues, and diabetes, as compared to our 
non-indigenous counterparts. Consequently, we are experiencing 
the negative impacts of our physical and mental health directly 
related to our food quality, quantity, culture, and political 
and economic conditions. These impacts are directly and 
indirectly related to the decline in salmon and changes in the 
composition of specific nutrients in our diet.
    According to the CDC, diabetes, Alaska Natives and American 
Indians have a greater chance of diabetes than any other racial 
group. Diabetes is the leading cause of kidney failure and 
other costly conditions that require numerous medications, 
dialysis, or even kidney transplant for survival. Additionally, 
there are other serious complications, such as blindness and 
amputation. Additionally, significant risk for cerebrovascular 
disease, which includes stroke. Kidney failure from diabetes is 
amongst the highest of any race for Alaska Natives and American 
Indians.
    Cancer. Cancer was the first leading cause of death in 
Alaska Native people, both sexes combined, as well as Alaska 
Native females, from the 2014 to 2018 period, according to 
ANTHC. The Alaska cancer mortality rate for Alaska Native 
people is higher for both sexes combined, which is 
significantly higher than all U.S. races.
    Native people have the highest rate of colorectal, kidney, 
lung, and stomach cancers as compared to our non-Native 
counterparts. Between 1999 and 2015, evidence shows that 
incidental rates of liver, kidney and breast cancer have 
significantly increased.
    Cardiovascular. Heart disease is the second leading cause 
of death among Alaska Native people for both sexes combined. 
The Alaska Native mortality report between 1980 through 2018, 
ages 75 plus, heart disease was the leading cause of death for 
Alaska Native people, both sexes combined.
    Cerebrovascular disease. Data reveals that Alaska Natives 
and American Indians have a greater risk to be diagnosed with 
cardiovascular disease. Furthermore, they have the highest 
rates of stroke compared to the rest of our United States 
constituents of any other racial group or ethnic group.
    Our region has the highest rate here in the YK Delta, our 
region has the highest rate of mortality due to cerebrovascular 
disease, out of all regions of Alaska Natives throughout the 
State.
    Psychiatry.org states that Alaska Natives and American 
Indians have disproportionately higher rates of mental health 
problems, as compared to the rest of the United States. The 
mental health issue, coupled with substance use disorders, 
post-traumatic stress disorder, suicide and depression. 
SAHMSA.gov indicates that 10.2 percent of Alaska Natives and 
American Indians over the age of 18 have a substance use 
disorder.
    Suicide rose 20 percent from 2015 to 2020 in the United 
States for Alaska Natives and American Indians as compared to 
our non-Native counterparts.
    Depression is related to dietary deficits, coupled with 
mental health issues related to the loss of cultural identity 
and esteem. Additionally, social isolation from the decreased 
subsistence activities and congregation during meals should 
also be factored in, particularly intensified by the COVID 
pandemic.
    The loss of identity and culture is affecting our people. 
The loss of cultural practices has resulted in less 
opportunities to interact and engage with family during 
harvesting and processing, which impacts our cohesion. The 
younger generation are not getting sufficient and frequent 
time, developing subsistence skills. The loss of belonging and 
cultural identity results in distress, furthermore impacting 
self-esteem and perception.
    The loss of heritage and tradition has resulted in the loss 
of knowledge, language and practices. There have been 
monumental missed opportunities for demonstration of important 
survival skills. Cultural traditions related to salmon 
harvesting are an important way of our life and survival 
skills. It helps us connect to our past and present history by 
utilizing these skills, which promote cultural values and 
beliefs.
    This provides us with a sense of identity, community, and 
belonging. We learn valuable life skills, such as patience with 
our process, taking care of our catch from beginning to end, 
not wasting. We learn the natural indicators and observe them. 
We watch the pattens in animals and weather.
    Furthermore, we learn to appreciate and not play with our 
food or waste. Literally almost everything from a fish gets 
eaten or used, from the head to the tail, and literally almost 
everything in between.
    Historically, Native people have made clothing out of fish 
items to survive these harsh elements. Modern utilization of 
fish skin includes Native arts and crafts, such as earrings and 
baskets, the vertebrae are also used.
    Weight issues. American Indian and Alaska Native adults are 
50 percent more likely to be obese than non-Hispanic whites. 
People who are overweight are more likely to suffer from high 
blood pressure, high levels of blood fat, diabetes, all risk 
factors for heart disease and stroke.
    Health challenges associated with chronic health 
conditions. Chronic diseases are defined broadly as a condition 
that lasts one or more years and requires ongoing medical 
attention or limited activities of daily living or both. Many 
chronic diseases are caused by a short list of risk behaviors, 
including tobacco use and exposure to second-hand smoke, poor 
nutrition, including diets low in fruit and vegetables and high 
in sodium and saturated fats, physical inactivity and excessive 
alcohol use.
    Mortality rates. Alaska Native people all-cause mortality 
rates, both sexes combined, during 2014 to 2018 was 51 percent 
higher than the United States all races. Let me repeat that. 
The Alaska Native people all-cause mortality rates for both 
sexes combined from 2014 to 2018 was double the United States 
all race rate. Alaska Native people, both sexes combined, had 
significantly higher rates than the United States race, all 
United States races, for the top 10 leading causes of death, 
which includes, cancer, heart disease, unintentional injury, 
suicide, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, chronic liver 
disease, cerebrovascular disease, alcohol abuse, homicide and 
influenza.
    The decreased access to our traditional rich protein source 
has significantly impacted the people of the Kuskokwim in 
various ways, which is demonstrated by the 10-year lower life 
expectancy of 69.2.
    Higher infant mortality rate and disproportionately 
inadequate qualify of life. In 2021, an Alaska Native health 
status report revealed significant adverse health impacts to 
our physical and mental health, as well as well-being, which 
can be directly and indirectly tied to our decrease in our 
salmon diet. The report identifies Alaska Native statewide age-
adjusted mortality rate per 100,000 for leading cause of death 
include cancer, heart disease, and unintentional injury. For 
these three causes of death accounted for almost half, 47.2 
percent, of all deaths during this time.
    Furthermore, between 2016 to 2019, the Alaska Native 
mortality rates were significantly higher in Alaska than our 
non-Native counterparts, for all, all 10 leading causes of 
death. It is crazy. I can't believe it.
    Compared with non-Natives, I am going to just skip over 
this because I would like for the Senate Committee on Indian 
Affairs to reference the Alaska Native Mortality Report that I 
referenced that shows these graphs. But I am going to skip over 
that, because that is a little bit lengthy.
    But between 2014 to 2018, ANTHC epidemiology research 
demonstrates that Alaska Native people and the Yukon Kuskokwim 
service region led the unintentional mortality rate throughout 
the Alaska regions. Notably, it is the third leading cause of 
death for all Alaska Natives.
    Yet there has been an improvement, by 39 percent, of the 
decrease in mortality rate for unintentional injury in the YK 
region since the last assessment had been done. But we still 
lead the State, we still lead out of all regions for Alaska 
Natives. Unbelievably, during the same time period, our region 
had a suicide increase of 143 percent. Let me repeat that: 143 
percent increase in suicide between 1980 and 1983, and 2014 and 
2018. The YK Delta has the third highest rate of suicide in all 
regions for Alaska Natives. Our region has the second highest 
rate of alcohol abuse related mortality, as well as the second 
highest rate for mortality for homicide out of all regions for 
the State for Alaska Natives.
    The YK Delta Alaska Natives are documented to experience 
higher rates of cerebrovascular mortality throughout the entire 
State at 73 percent as compared to the statewide average of 
51.9, affecting our region's males more than our females.
    We also have the highest rate of influenza and pneumonia 
mortality rates. YK region has almost double, at 55.3 percent, 
compared to the State average of 27.2 for both males and 
females. We also have higher rates than average for congenital 
malformation and peri-natal mortality rates.
    Cultural and spiritual impacts. Cultural identity, 
belonging, language, values and tradition. English is often 
taught as a second language in our communities, because our 
Yup'ik language and tradition and culture are so important to 
us. Bethel, Alaska has a kindergarten through sixth grade 
Yup'ik immersion school named Ayaprun Elitnaurvik, with an 
indigenous developed curriculum. In our culture, our elders are 
highly respected and valued and cared for. Elders mentor 
younger generations on important life skills and traditional 
knowledge. Data shows that Native elders aren't living as long 
as they should, and have a significantly shorter life 
expectancy by about 10 years. When our elders aren't living as 
long as they should, or as healthy as they should, we lose 
valuable opportunities for intergenerational connectivity and 
information sharing.
    At traditional fish camps is a place where extended family 
and friends gather every summer. Elders and adults and youth 
work side by side to process and store fish, berries and other 
food, while passing down cultural knowledge. Fishing and 
processing our catch are a longstanding, important aspect of 
our active daily living skills. These practices hold great 
cultural and religious ceremonial purposes. Fish are the 
literal, literal fabric and glue that hold our communities and 
DNA together. Protein, you need protein for DNA synthesis. You 
need it for your DNA to be able to function.
    The fabric and glue, that is the fabric and glue that holds 
our communities and DNA together, literally.
    Fishing and processing brings us together and teaches us to 
work together to achieve basic needs. These interactions are 
important for value and knowledge sharing, intergenerational 
connectivity and development of personal life skills.
    These gatherings surrounding fish are of upmost importance 
for creating long-lasting, positive impacts that ensure 
cultural survival. The ongoing experience of cultural loss has 
rippling impacts on our culture and personal identity, our 
self-esteem, our morale and mental health issues.
    Cultural survival. Fish are an important part of our 
cultural survival. It is an imperative time that we reclaim our 
culture and traditional values and food. It is time to act now 
before permanent cultural loss and destruction is irreversible.
    One thing that I didn't get to expand on is, there is also 
less food for our dog teams and general ecosystem. People have 
mentioned that today with the fish.
    That brings me to my next comment about, the salmon crisis 
now is in stark contrast to previous abundance in recent 
memories. Most young people from this region can recall when 
there was abundant fish. The river banks used to be sprinkled 
with spawned-out salmon, an almost forgotten memory for some. 
It has been years since we have seen spawned-out salmon 
carcasses on the river banks, perhaps indicating that there is 
more than just human food insecurity due to the decrease in 
salmon, not just limited to humans.
    Even when there was abundance, Native values were shared, 
never to take more than what we needed, to respect our food, to 
care for others. The local people bring unique perspectives and 
provide expert, first-hand experiences of these historical 
events, and should always be an important consideration in the 
decision-making process and co-management.
    Furthermore, religious and ceremonial contexts, as you have 
heard today by Tim Andrew, one of our local respected elders, 
in 2023, elders have been asking if they could go out and fish 
to feed their families during funerals. It is sad that we 
aren't able to practice our culture. There isn't enough fish to 
feed, even at these major life events that historically we have 
always had enough fish. That was what we put on the table to 
feed everybody. And not just in the summer, but throughout the 
winter, we always had enough to get us through the next season.
    And then so disparaging: salmon are an important part of 
our social celebrations when we congregate together, 
particularly at these life events of birth, marriage, and 
death. Forced assimilation imposed on us have limited our 
cultural practices and have caused our indigenous people not to 
practice their customary traditions.
    Health care costs related to decreased dietary salmon. 
There are both direct and indirect costs associated with 
chronic conditions and poor health outcomes. Disease management 
is more costly than prevention, especially in western Alaska. 
Our geographical location and isolation increases the cost of 
services exponentially. The only way in and out of our region 
is by air or barge. This adds to the direct and indirect costs 
associated with the decline in salmon on the Kuskokwim River.
    Thirty years ago, Alaska's per capita spending on health 
care was about the same as the national average. In the early 
2000s, however, expenditures in Alaska began to grow and kept 
growing. Alaska's per capita expenditures on hospital care now 
are 50 percent higher than the national average, and 80 percent 
higher for clinical services.
    This is related to our geographical location, labor costs, 
transportation costs by air and barge, lack of market 
competition, and increased Medicare costs. Alaska's Medicaid 
costs are about 56 percent greater than the national average. 
The expense to provide services to vulnerable and isolated 
underserved people like ourselves comes at a higher price.
    The social burden. Per the November 1st, 2023 American 
Diabetes Association Report findings, the total annual cost of 
diabetes in the United States was at $412.9 billion. Direct 
costs of diabetes was $306.6 billion, and the indirect was 
$106.3 billion. One out of every four dollars in health care is 
from a diabetes diagnosis. On average, people diagnosed with 
diabetes have 2.6 times more medical expenditures than if they 
didn't have that diagnosis.
    Chronic disease, such as heart disease and cancer and 
diabetes are the leading cause of death and disability in the 
United States. They are also the leading drivers for the 
Nation's $1.4 trillion annual health care costs. There is a 
rising cost of service for Centers for Medicaid and Medicare 
Servies, which impacts society at large.
    Other related illnesses, co-morbidities, medications, 
frequent appointments, labs, other diagnostics, related 
transportation costs, hospitalization, end fees, home care, 
long-term care, surgical intervention, physical therapy, 
ancillary services, emergency room services, medics, the list 
goes on.
    The economic impacts due to decreased salmon. In the YK 
Delta, reliance on the land is not just a way of life. It is a 
necessity. The monetary economic supplements are traditional 
subsistence economies. As a result, our people have a marked 
connection to the land that is deeply rooted in our culture and 
traditions. Salmon is a central part of our food security diet 
and traditional economy.
    Historically, we bartered and shared, and this helped 
extend our finances and purchase less unhealthy grocery food 
items. But the reduced productivity due to illness and 
disability should also be considered. This includes the lost 
work days, restricted activities, mortality, permanent 
disability due to illness, early retirement, and as I 
mentioned, death. A burden to individuals and families and 
communities, and ultimately society.
    Reducing or eliminating adverse effects caused by salmon 
decline would significantly improve our overall quality of life 
and at the same time meet our most basic nutritional needs, as 
well as reducing medical costs, furthermore, increasing 
productivity and workforce development. It is ascertainable to 
quantify the financial impacts of the salmon decline here on 
the Kuskokwim river and throughout the entire State, using 
similar methods to other tribal communities, such as California 
Karuk Tribe, who have faced similar experiences as Alaska 
Natives regarding the negative impacts of our health and well-
being due to salmon decline and the associated costs in 
financial terms.
    However, it must be greatly stressed that the loss of 
culture is priceless and needs to be protected. It is the 
Federal Government's trust responsibility. Immediate action is 
needed now to prevent continued cultural and health 
disparities.
    Thank you.

                            A P P E N D I X

 Prepared Statement of Kevin Whitworth, Executive Director, Kuskokwim 
              River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission (KRITFC)
    Dear Chairman Schatz, Vice Chair Murkowski, and Members of the 
Committee,

    On behalf of the Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission 
(KRITFC), I express my gratitude to Senator Murkowski and this 
Committee for holding this historic field hearing in Bethel, Alaska, on 
November 10, 2023, to solicit insight and experiences of the state of 
our Arctic-Yukon-Kuskokwim (AYK) region communities' health and well-
being after years of salmon declines. We submit these written comments 
to complement those provided during the Witness Panel by our Chair, 
Jonathan Samuelson.
    KRITFC is an inter-Tribal consortium representing the 33 federally 
recognized Tribes of the Kuskokwim River watershed, located in rural 
western Alaska, in fisheries management, research, and monitoring. Our 
27 appointed Commissioners, 7 Executive Council members, 5 In-Season 
Managers, and Elder Advisors work to protect and sustain our Kuskokwim 
salmon fisheries and traditional ways of life using both Traditional 
Knowledge and the best available Western science. Since 2016, KRITFC 
has collaboratively managed Kuskokwim salmon fisheries with U.S. Fish 
and Wildlife Service, pursuant to our Memorandum of Understanding 
authorized by the statutes of Title VIII of the Alaska National 
Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA). This cooperative partnership 
has allowed local, Indigenous people to work with the federal 
government to make fisheries decisions for the well-being of our salmon 
and our communities--an especially critical partnership given the state 
of our salmon today (see attached KRITFC 2023 End-of-Season Summary; 
also, KRITFC 2022). *
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    * The information referred to has been retained in the Committee 
files.
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    Forty percent of the nation's Tribes reside in Alaska; the AYK 
region encompasses 52 percent of Alaska Native Tribes; and nearly 15 
percent of Alaska Native Tribes are represented by KRITFC. These 
Indigenous communities throughout the Kuskokwim drainage have 
experienced multispecies salmon declines for over a decade, first seen 
with the decline of Chinook salmon around 2009 followed by recent 
collapses in chum and coho salmon. These multi-species, multi-year 
salmon declines wreak havoc on the health and well-being of our 
communities and ecosystems, with our health, culture and traditions, 
economies, and environments--interconnected through salmon--thrown off 
balance.
    Shifts in salmon abundance are nothing new to our families; over 
millennia we have adapted our Yup'ik, Cup'ik, and Dene stewardship 
practices to respect, protect, and harvest salmon in times of abundance 
and scarcity. However, our Tribes' exclusion from contemporary salmon 
management as well as the pervasive effects of climate change are 
impacting present-day salmon declines in new ways. Unlike cyclical 
rises and falls of salmon populations, we now see recordbreaking low 
returns of salmon without subsequent surges in abundance. This is 
concerning for the well-being and sustainability of present and future 
generations of Kuskokwim fishing families.
    Moreover, salmon declines are acutely contributing to nutritional, 
physical, and mental health crises afflicting our communities. Despite 
representing less than 3 percent of the overall U.S. population, our 
Indigenous populations disproportionately surpass non-Native citizens 
in many chronic conditions, diet-related diseases, and mental 
illnesses, including diabetes, heart/cardiovascular disease, 
cerebrovascular disease, and cancer. Many of these preventative 
conditions, exacerbated by high poverty rates and exorbitant food and 
living expenses in our region, cause early death. From 2014-2018, the 
mortality rate of Alaska Native people was 51 percent higher than that 
of all other races in the U.S., and our life expectancy at 69.2 years 
is 10 years less than the national average. Suicide has increased 143 
percent in our region since the early 1980s, and the rates of suicide, 
substance abuse, and homicide in the AYK region are among the highest 
in Alaska (see ANTHC 2021). These health disparities can be directly 
linked to the absence of salmon: our primary traditional food, which 
has sustained us nutritionally through its abundance of vitamins, 
minerals, and protein, as well as culturally as the center of our 
families, languages, and seasonal calendars of harvest and traditions. 
Salmon has provided for our Peoples' wellbeing, longevity, and way of 
life throughout generations, and we are suffering its absence today.
    Senator Murkowski asked the Witness Panel members during the field 
hearing what we do to replace wild food sources, like salmon, when they 
are in such states of collapse. When our wild salmon are gone, many in 
our off-the-road-system communities supplement their diets with 
processed foods, often at further risk to their health. They may 
purchase these at double, if not triple or quadruple, the price of 
goods in the Lower 48 at the sole grocery store in their village. They 
may rely on SNAP benefits, WIC benefits, or food boxes to put food on 
their tables. Several Tribal governments and organizations have 
purchased tens of thousands of dollars of salmon fillets from other 
parts of Alaska, like Bristol Bay, to distribute fish to their 
citizens. Some people turn to other traditional foods, like whitefish 
and moose, to try to fill gaps in their freezers left by salmon, but 
even these are fewer and farther between with climate change and the 
depletion of salmon from the ecosystem. There is nothing that can truly 
replace salmon at the center of our diets; often, people go without, 
and they go hungry.
    Our situation is dire, and it indicates we need a fundamental shift 
in our fishery management systems to account for climate change, 
maintain ecosystem balances, and protect our traditional foods and ways 
of life. KRITFC asks this Committee to foster these changes by:

   Supporting co-stewardship efforts between Tribes and federal 
        agencies, such as the Gravel-to-Gravel Keystone Initiative.

   Urging the Department of Commerce and National Marine 
        Fisheries Service to Consult with and engage in co-stewardship 
        with our Tribes, including those that are not coastal but 
        depend on foods from the Bering Sea and North Pacific to 
        sustain our health and well-being.

   Supporting the elevation of Traditional Knowledge in 
        fisheries and wildlife management, including and especially by 
        enacting legislative changes to increase Alaska Native Tribal 
        representation on management bodies like the North Pacific 
        Fishery Management Council and Federal Subsistence Board.

    Again, we thank you, Senator Murkowski, for visiting our home--and 
the home of our salmon--to listen to our stories. Tsen'anh, Quyana. We 
look forward to continuing to work with this Committee to find 
meaningful, just remedies to our salmon, health, and cultural crisis.
                                 ______
                                 
   Prepared Statement of the Arctic-Yukon-Kuskokwim Tribal Consortium
    Dear Chairman Schatz, Vice Chairman Murkowski, and Members of the 
Committee, Thank you for this important opportunity to share our 
perspective on the impacts of the sudden and devastating salmon 
collapses occurring in our region over the past few years. It is our 
hope that sharing our experiences, and proposed solutions, will provide 
you with a sense of how serious this crisis is, and also a clear 
understanding of our federal policy priorities for response and 
recovery. We submit these comments to enhance and follow-up on the 
witness testimonies of our organizations' leaders, including Chair 
Thaddeus Tikiun (Association of Village Council Presidents), Chief/
Chair Brian Ridley (Tanana Chiefs Conference), Chair Jonathan Samuelson 
(Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission), and Chair/Chief Karma 
Ulvi (Yukon River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission).
    Indigenous peoples of the Arctic-Yukon-Kuskokwim (AYK) regions have 
lived and been stewards of our land and waters since time immemorial. 
Salmon in particular have supported our Indigenous communities' 
physical, mental, cultural, spiritual, and economic health and well-
being through millennia. We have seen times of high and low salmon 
returns, and in times of low abundance we have conserved salmon, 
listening to the wisdom of our Elders, to protect and safeguard future 
abundance while providing for the most vulnerable members of our Tribes 
and communities.
    We are the first salmon stewards of Alaska, and our communities are 
now witnessing severe changes across the entire AYK and Bering Sea 
ecosystem. Climate change is affecting every link in the food chain, 
including critical subsistence species like salmon and marine mammals. 
At the same time, we are facing the impacts of a more powerful 
industrial fishing fleet that is removing millions of pounds of biomass 
from nearshore and offshore waters more swiftly than ever. The 
cumulative impacts of climate change and this immense extraction of 
biomass from the Bering Sea ecosystem make it near impossible to 
imagine species like salmon ever being able to recover without 
significant changes to how we manage these ecosystems.
    Tribal members feel extremely disempowered in the fishery 
management process--we don't have representation on the North Pacific 
Fishery Management Council (NPFMC) that makes decisions, and we see 
time after time that our advocacy and testimony do not shape or 
influence how the Council acts. We see this disempowerment at the 
Alaska Board of Fisheries, too. It is horribly painful to hear federal 
fishery managers sternly declare, if not scold us, that our 
recommendations and pleas are simply not ``practicable'' because they 
would cause a burden or reduction in profits for the commercial fishing 
fleet and probably wouldn't make a difference. There is no broad base 
of knowledge working to develop strategies to provide for salmon 
returns and vibrant commercial fisheries. AYK salmon runs are being 
allowed to wither away while status quo management continues. We are 
told The United States of America can't address this catastrophe 
regardless of how strong a contributor commercial fisheries is to the 
current status of salmon runs, because such actions can only be done to 
the extent practicable--and it wouldn't be practicable to explore and 
initiate management actions that might limit commercial fisheries.
    Our Tribes want to be at the table. We know that if the State of 
Alaska and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) took concrete 
and meaningful steps to support AYK salmon survival in the marine 
environment, we could reach a better regime that offers salmon 
returning to Western Alaska a chance to survive. But Tribes have no 
power or voice in the processes that determine these outcomes. And 
unlike other Federal actions, there is no appeal process. As we 
continue to advocate at public forums like the Alaska Board of 
Fisheries and the NPFMC, we urge you as members of the United States 
Senate to pursue the following policy recommendations for the benefit 
and continued survival of AYK salmon and the communities that rely on 
them.
    We believe it is possible to strengthen the resilience of the 
ecosystem to restore and maintain a healthy, biodiverse system that 
provides for salmon returns to our rivers and streams. But it will take 
a broad range of knowledge, commitment, and sacrifice by all--not just 
us subsistence users along the rivers. We need more federal support in 
finding solutions that will share the burden of sacrifice across all 
stakeholders to ensure to long-term viability of salmon. That's what 
we've learned from our Elders--that in times of shortage we share in 
the sacrifice to provide for salmon survival and ensure continued 
abundance for all salmon-reliant Alaskans, especially future 
generations.
    We hope our comments impress upon you the importance of Tribal 
voices, Local & Traditional Knowledge, and cooperative management in 
the fishery management process and the critical importance of immediate 
action that can make a difference in long term survival of salmon and 
our tribes. Subsistence communities are the only fishery stakeholders 
who are being forced to sacrifice during this unprecedented salmon 
crisis. We believe that we can work together with other fishery 
stakeholders and the federal government to share the burden of 
sacrifice.
Increased Opportunities and Funding for Co-management
    Developing strong co-management relationships between Tribes and 
federal agencies is critical for addressing the ongoing salmon crisis 
and recovering salmon populations. Co-management has proven to be the 
best path for stabilizing and recovering declining species while also 
safeguarding the cultural nourishment of Tribal and subsistence 
communities. Tribes in Alaska can point to numerous examples where our 
direct role in management has resulted in better outcomes for migratory 
birds, moose, seals, and marine mammals.
    We appreciate Senator Murkowski's work to assist AYK salmon 
populations through Congressionally-directed spending in support of 
research, monitoring, and co-management. We also appreciate Senator 
Murkowski's support for greater Tribal representation on the North 
Pacific Fishery Management Council, and leadership in including 
language in the Fiscal Year 24 Appropriations Bill to reposition the 
Office of Subsistence Management to the Interior Secretary's Office. 
Similarly, we are extremely grateful for the Senate's critical work to 
pass the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which is now funding the 
Gravel-to-Gravel Initiative--a new initiative co-led by Department of 
Interior agencies and Tribes to recover salmon and restore their 
habitat in the AYK region.
    Co-management of Tribally-significant species must be broadened to 
encompass species that are not facing a conservation concern. 
Currently, cooperative management in our region is only triggered when 
a conservation concern arises. Tribes should be at the table as co-
managers for every species that has relevance to Tribes and subsistence 
ways of life, regardless of conservation status. We urge you to push 
federal agencies to work with us to develop co-stewardship agreements 
for federally-managed lands and fisheries, on which our Tribes have 
lived and subsisted for generations.
    We especially wish to see greater opportunities for co-management 
of fishery resources with the NMFS. Indigenous and Traditional 
Knowledge must be incorporated into federal fisheries monitoring, 
research, management, and regulatory decisionmaking processes. Emphasis 
should be placed on co-production of knowledge; bringing Tribal leaders 
and TK-holders into the research and information-gathering process 
early on; and, importantly, seating TK-holders at management tables to 
bring TK to decisionmaking processes.
    For co-management to succeed, words and intentions must be backed 
up with dollars. It is critical that statements in support of co-
management and co-stewardship be paired with concrete resources to 
support co-management efforts in Alaska. Dedicated, stable, and non-
competitive annual funding for each regional Tribal fisheries co-
management organization, and any other Tribal organization engaged in 
co-management of living resources, is needed to support co-management 
operations.
    Tribes are also in need of resources to participate in the fishery 
management and science process. Tribes in the Yukon and Kuskokwim 
regions must have access to non-competitive resources and training to 
support implementation of long-term community-based monitoring of 
salmon abundance and harvest.
Consultation on All Decisions Affecting Tribally-Significant Resources
    As the witnesses to this hearing confirmed during the question-and-
answer portion of the field hearing's panel, the AYK Region has seen 
little engagement from the Department of Commerce--specifically NMFS--
on matters of co-stewardship and including Alaska Native Tribes in 
fisheries management. We support increasing co-stewardship efforts with 
NMFS, including through the emerging Gravel-to-Gravel Initiative. At a 
minimum, we have asked NMFS to initiate Tribal Consultation on all 
decisions regarding Bering Sea fisheries and related resources. 
Consultation has historically been underused by the agency and the 
Alaska Regional Office. Going forward, NMFS must ensure that Tribes are 
consulted on all decisions regarding Bering Sea fisheries and related 
resources, as we are the Alaska families directly impacted, and told to 
sacrifice.
    Until Tribal seats are added to the NPFMC, as well as afterward, 
the results of those Consultations must be considered by the agency's 
voting representative on the NPFMC and incorporated into Council 
decisionmaking with findings.
Tribal Representation in the Management Process
    We strongly support adding two voting Tribal seats, appointed by 
the Tribes, to the NPFMC via MSA Reauthorization. We also strongly 
support Tribal representation on all advisory bodies, committees, and 
plan teams that support the NPFMC's decisionmaking. We support expanded 
Tribal representation on the Federal Subsistence Board (FSB). Currently 
the FSB membership is imbalanced, in favor of federal agency 
representatives. We urge DOI to add additional public Tribal seats on 
the FSB through rulemaking and increase the number of support staff 
available to support Tribal representatives serving on the FSB.
Fix the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund to better support AYK 
        Salmon
    For Western Alaska salmon populations to have a chance at recovery, 
NOAA must reform the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund to address 
other drivers of salmon decline besides habitat loss. PCSRF is 
currently heavily weighted in favor of endangered salmon stocks in 
developed or urbanized watersheds. Yet we know salmon decline due to 
stressors other than habitat loss--this is what we are experiencing in 
Western Alaska.
    The AYK Sustainable Salmon Initiative is doing critical work 
monitoring and collecting harvest data for declining salmon stocks in 
our region. But for these efforts to be effective, we need to be able 
to access PCSRF funding that is sufficient to meet in-region research 
and restoration needs. With its myopic focus on habitat and populations 
that are on the brink of extinction, PCSRF is ill-equipped to help 
salmon weather the growing impacts of climate change.
Conclusion
    The salmon crisis affecting the AYK Region has far-reaching impacts 
that touch the mental health, physical wellbeing, food security, and 
cultural expression of Tribes and subsistence communities. Our people 
are consistently made to bear the full burden of conservation for 
declining salmon stocks, while the state and federal governments 
prioritizes the economic profits of commercial fisheries over the food 
security of river communities. Tribal participation in the fishery 
management process, especially through co-management, offers a 
promising path forward to safeguard the health of AYK salmon 
populations, but we need help to secure Tribal representation on the 
NPFMC, bring federal agencies like NOAA and NMFS to the table, and 
ensure stable funding exists to support co-management. We also urge you 
to act to safeguard our subsistence ways of life, which are currently 
under threat.
    We stand ready to work with the members of this Committee, and all 
members of the United States Senate, to recover AYK salmon populations 
and ensure healthy lands and waters region-wide.
                                 ______
                                 
                 Prepared Statement of Beverly Hoffman
    Senator, Lisa
    Quyana to everyone who has come to Bethel today to hear us! My name 
is Beverly Hoffman, I was born and raised in Bethel Alaska and have 
worked hard to be a good steward of our land and water. I am a 
subsistence gatherer and have been for all my life. It saddens me We 
have come to this place in time. For too many years our fish racks have 
been empty leaving us frustrated our hearts saddened.
    I'm 72, I have sat on Fishery advisory councils both state and 
Federal as well as the North Pacific Marine Fishery Advisory council. I 
stay informed of all these groups even today including the Kuskokwim 
Intertribal Fish Commission.
    We have been talking about the reasons for our salmon declines for 
over two decades. Trawlers, climate changes, mining risks. So now we 
are at a crucial point in time. We, the people of the YK Region have 
been restricted from fishing for King Salmon while trawlers continue to 
throw this same salmon overboard. That crab, halibut and other species 
are also affected.
    For many years we have testified to protect our food. We are the 
real stewards of the land, the water the oceans pleading for something 
to be done. There is much I want you and policy makers to do. First, 
address the specific waste of the Trawling industry. The industry is 
destroying the ocean nutrients overfishing.
    Our Yukon and Kuskokwim ecosystem depend on healthy salmon spawning 
rivers. We lose our salmon, we lose everything we love here.
    Second, there must be reform in fishery management on both state 
and federal levels as there is more emphasis on commercial operations 
and very little protecting our way of life and the gathering of our 
subsistence foods. I felt relieved to hear you address that at AFN.
    Third it is disheartening to see large extraction open pit mines 
like Donlin and others being developed on our salmon spawning rivers. I 
request we doing a new Environmental Impact Statement on Donlin. 
Climate change has caused warming temperatures that impact our salmon. 
We need that new data. The risk is too great.
    It is my HOPE that what you hear today will make a difference in 
your decisionmaking and you will use your voice to protect all that we 
love in our region. All that keeps us here despite the high cost of 
fuel and the price of our groceries. This land and the Kuskokwim River 
is our food source and you policy makers must do all you can to work 
with us and protect us as we continue to fight for our very existence. 
Quyana.
                                 ______
                                 
           Prepared Statement of the Aleut Corporation (TAC)
    Thank you for the opportunity to provide testimony by The Aleut 
Corporation (TAC) concerning declining salmon numbers and fisheries in 
our region.
    The Aleut Corporation (TAC) is the regional Alaska Native 
corporation representing the Unangax-/Aleut region. TAC's mission is to 
maximize dividends and opportunities for our shareholders. Many of 
those opportunities revolve around the fisheries in our communities. 
Our current and primary economy is fish.
    As Alaska Natives, we deeply empathize with the challenges 
communities of the Arctic-Yukon-Kuskokwim (AYK) region are facing and 
understand the urgency with which these issues must be addressed. We 
need to come together with a unified voice to demand solutions. Any 
solution that allows for the cutting down of another region based in 
fear, or sacrificing one community's livelihood for another is 
unacceptable and counterproductive.
    Harvest data and science tell us that the Area M chum catch numbers 
will not solve the Western Alaska chum failures. We encourage the 
Committee to seek out the information and use that information to 
formulate possible solutions. Simply closing or further restricting 
Area M fisheries will only devastate more families who do not have 
economic or subsistence alternatives. Claims surrounding inflated chum 
bycatch numbers in Area M have been contradicted by state biologists, 
emphasizing the importance of relying on verified data. The opposition 
to closing the Area M fishery by the Alaska Department of Fish & Game 
is based on evidence linking poor marine smolt survival to changing 
oceanic conditions--not the fisheries in Area M. Efforts to address the 
AYK fishery crisis should not come at the expense of dismantling other 
small fishing communities.
    Our Unangax communities are also enduring declines in our fisheries 
as well as experiencing structural roadblocks to realizing the benefit 
of our fisheries resource. We continue to see those impacts on our 
smaller communities, resulting in reduced budgets, families leaving 
tribal homes, and school closures. Instead of seeking scapegoats, we 
should embrace voluntary industry-led efforts for expanded research, 
and innovative management approaches that consider the long-term 
impacts on all communities.
    The decline in salmon numbers in the AYK region highlight a more 
profound, existential threat. Issues like ocean acidification, climate 
change, and ecosystem destabilization fuel the urgent need for a united 
front to find sustainable solutions. Depriving communities of their 
livelihoods will not address the root causes of the AYK crisis but 
instead exacerbate the challenges we collectively face.
    The Aleut Corporation urges a collaborative, science-based approach 
that fosters unity and addresses the real sources of our challenges. We 
believe by working together to find solutions that benefit all 
communities, rather than resorting to divisive measures that undermine 
our collective strength, is the only viable way to address this 
situation.
    We appreciate the opportunity to present our views and stand ready 
to engage with others to find a solution to these challenging issues.
                                 ______
                                 
                     Prepared Statement of Janet B.
    I sent this same comment to AFN for a resolution they did. I'm 
sending it to this as well. It's my plea for Federal Government to take 
action.
    I'm from the village of Platinum. Tribal administrator and a tribal 
member of the Platinum Traditional Village tribe. Though this comment 
is my personal comment.
    We are seeing declines in so much of our subsistence gathering. 
From plants, to fish, to big game and birds. Usually we can pick 30 
gallons of blackberries or more (officially Western calls it 
crowberries). This year we couldn't even pick 4 gallons. We can usually 
get a lot of salmon but now it's only those who can use boats who can 
get an abundance of salmon (our family was fortunate to be given salmon 
from other families) not the traditionally set nets we normally do 
because of the seaweed abundance on our set nets. Our Bay used to 
freeze from September to May, last year it did not freeze all the way 
all year. When I was younger we could get five caribou per person if we 
wanted but my family never took more then two, and it's been closed for 
a few years now because caribou numbers are low. Moose is open, but 
unless you have a reliable way of transportation, you can't catch moose 
easily. In our area, we never reach our quota.
    Our land is changing a lot, this needs to be studied and taken into 
account. We need our subsistence way of life. Especially since we have 
no post office (we have to cross the dangerous unfrozen bay to get our 
mail) we can't supplement as much dry goods for when we can't get much 
subsistence because we have to freight everything in which gets too 
expensive.
    They say we are on the YK Delta. But my family has family in both 
Kuskokwim and Bristol Bay Area, all who rely on subsistence. My parents 
lived in this great state before statehood. Every region matters, and 
our village has regulations from both regions depending on the office..
    I used to work for the State, it's amazing what some people don't 
notice you when you are not in a higher position. The things you hear. 
I am calling on our federal authorities to find federal managers for 
our area to be local, not from out of State. Hearing a federal manager 
not wanting to work with the State and not to do aerial surveys for our 
moose, while yes, during Covid but to actually say ``people care more 
about the salmon then the do about the moose''. It's obvious that their 
federal manager who came to Bethel for likely three years to have their 
highest wages be their monthly for their retirement say those words 
makes him highly unaware of how connected to all forms of subsistence 
our people rely on. Salmon is very important because it's what is 
usually more abundant, but out in expensive rural Alaska, every 
subsistence activity is important. From gathering, to hunting and 
fishing. Hire someone local who is going to stay longer than three 
years. Thankfully, they gave in and did the aerial surveys with the 
State that year.
    While I'm glad our locals are on the fish commission. I do know 
that they had wanted to keep our subsistence salmon closed on the 
Kuskokwim when it could be less restricted because they wanted to keep 
control and not give that ``control'' to the State. This isn't right, 
when it can be open, open it to less restrictions, no matter who ends 
up in charge. This is why I want transparency where any meetings 
whether federal, state, or local be available for the public. This is 
the only way to ensure that what is being decided is best for the 
people and for our land and waters. Not because anyone wants to in a 
high position of ``power''. Transparency will keep officials 
accountable for their actions.
    We need some way to ensure our salmon is not going to die off. 
Figure out how the oceans are changing (as well as how much 
international trawlers are affecting the habitats, I read that some 
countries added additional trawlers that don't have bycatch 
restrictions as our own do). We need the federal government to continue 
to move fast as they can on the chemical recently noticed in tires that 
kills coho and trout. If we can do more resolutions that can go to our 
national level for something like this that affects more then our fish 
populations (they did testing in Anchorage which has the road run off 
affecting salmon in one of those streams which is disconcerting when 
Anchorage does not have as much traffic as someplace like Seattle). 
Native Alaskans are struggling with their food security and our 
cultural way of life. We will stand up and be heard even if it takes 
years.
    I don't know if my comment will be seen by many, but I hope it can 
reach those who can make changes we need. Because something needs to 
change so those who rely on the the land and water can continue to 
survive, and pass on to the younger generations what should rightfully 
be theirs.
    Thank you for your time.
                                 ______
                                 
                  Prepared Statement of Gloria Simeon
    The United States Government is the trustee of all matters 
pertaining to American Indians and Alaska Natives. This includes our 
very being, our tribal rights, our land and resources as well as our 
health, education and welfare. Furthermore, to protect these rights for 
generations to come. This obligation is a trust responsibility.
    The United States has the most laws to protect the environment and 
agencies to enforce these laws. The fact is these laws have actually 
hastened environmental degradation and oppression and are made to favor 
industry. These agencies have sole discretion to issue permits. We have 
found that they are not always neutral in granting their permissions.
    The State of Alaska, as we know, is controlled pro-extraction 
industry. Pro-development and industry are prioritized over the best 
interests of the 229 Tribes and their Native citizens. Decisions are 
made impacting us and our ability to survive on our own Homelands. Laws 
and regulations are passed, threatening our access to resources we have 
relied on since time immemorial, threatening not only'our survival, but 
the survival of our future generations.
    Regionally, our own regional, sub-regional and village corporations 
also threaten our survival. When Tribal interests and survival are in 
conflict with the ANSCA corporations and resource development, 
corporations win. At what cost? What do we truly lose when we lose our 
land, water and the food that sustains us? We belong to this land. It 
has sustained us for millennia. We have nowhere else to go. Subsistence 
is not a ``way of life'' it is our Life.
    The looming threats to our survival and ability to access out 
resources are:

   Climate change

   Deep sea trawling and bycatch allocations

   Proposed Donlin

    These are a threat to our ability to subsist on our traditional and 
customary foods, most importantly, salmon. We are still discovering far 
reaching ripple effects of climate change. The skin of our tundra has 
become very thin and unstable, our river banks are eroding at an 
alarming rate, increasingly hot summers have left our land vulnerable 
to lightening strikes and fire.
    Mitigation can be achieved with trawling and extraction based 
development that threatens the first People of this land.
    Deep sea trawl by-catch can be controlled by regulation as well as 
stopping development of the proposed Donlin mine. This is not the time 
or the place to develop the world's largest open pit gold mine on the 
backs of the Tribal Nations of this region.
    These Nations have already spoken. In 2019, 35 Tribal Nations of 
the AVCP region, opposed the proposed Donlin open-pit mine. Let their 
voices be heard. Failure to do so is a death blow to my River, My 
People and our survival.
                                 ______
                                 
                  Prepared Statement of Joseph Asuluk
    Yaa quyana Lisa Murkowski, if you have a translating earphones, 
would you please put them on? I'm not going to put my own language 
aside, I'm going to speak my own language. Quyana.
    Qit'vallagayuumiitua, man'a qitevcaraq wii pikenritaqa, tua-i 
amllerriuq, amllerriuq. Wangkuta nerangnaqelriani amllerriuq tua-i. 
Ukuk Kuigpiinkuk Kusquqvak-llu neqait, Kuigpiinkuk Kusquqvak-llu yuita 
pinritait. Amllerriuq. Atauciurrluta callugnaurtukut ampi. Atam 
umyuaqeqerciu, umyuaqeqerciu una wani, Kuigpiinkuk, Kuigpagmun 
Kusquqvagmun-llu neqet tailartut qurrsarturluteng, qaa? Yaa? (Audience: 
Yaa, yaa). Tua-i-llu qurrluteng, spawn-arluteng Kuigpiinkuk Kusquqviim-
llu kangritni. Wangkuta-llu avaken ayagluki neqeksaaqluki. 
Quyamalaryaaqluta taikata wangkuta aturarkauluki. Atam umyuaqeqerciu, 
trawlers- qalurpagalriit, anglanitekluta, tuarpiaq, wangni. Wangkuta 
assirluki piiyaaqelput kankut trawlers, kankut kanani cagmarluki 
neqput. Tua-i ampi Lisa, calluutesqumakut. Wangkuta ukvekluten 
pikartelaramteggen allat-llu. Taumek wangkuta ampi tupagnariakut 
qavarpegnata. Qavanricaaqukut, taugaam erinangnariakut ataucimek. 
Wangkuta unguvaurngaitukut, unguvaurngaitukut wangkuta. Ukut irniarput 
tutgaraurluput-llu irniarqkait-llu paitarkaitnek ampi pinaurtukut, 
kankut uitatevkenaki. Nallunritaqa kankut qalurpatulit uum, cam 
anguyagtem pisciigatlikait akililaata. Wangkuta-llu akimek piilamta 
niicugnimangacuunata. Piciunganani tamana wiinga taringvaguallemni. 
Ampi tupagnaurtukut. Ataucim erinakluta, ampi erinaput una 
uitatevkenaku pingnauraput. Kiingan tuaten pitaqerluku, taugaam quyana 
Lisa tailuten maavet Mamterillermun niicugniluta-llu. Quyana.
    I don't want to speak in English, it is not mine, it is enough, 
it's enough. For us that are subsistence users, it is enough. The fish 
of these two rivers in Yukon and Kuskokwim are not the result of the 
Yukon and Kuskokwim people. It is enough. We need to start fighting as 
one. Think of this, the fish come to Yukon and Kuskokwim rivers to 
spawn. Right? Yes? Audience: Yes, yes. Then the fish spawn in the 
headwaters of Yukon and Kuskokwim River. And they have been our source 
of food since then. We are thankful for them to use them when they 
arrive. Think of this, trawlers, trawlers are making fun of us, to me, 
I think. What we make use in the right way, the trawlers down there are 
wasting our fish. This is enough, Lisa, we want you to fight for us. We 
voted you in with trust, as well as others. It is time for us to wake 
up and not sleep. We aren't sleeping, but we need to have one voice. We 
will not live forever; we will not live forever. We need to leave a 
legacy for our children, our grandchildren and for their children, by 
not leaving them (trawlers) alone. I know those trawlers, the Federal 
doesn't do anything to them because they pay. And for us, since we 
don't have money, we don't seem to be heard. That seems to be true to 
my understanding. We need to wake up now. Have one voice, let's start 
to have our voice be heard now. This is all but thank you Lisa for 
coming here to Bethel and listen to us. Quyana.
                                 ______
                                 
 Prepared Statement of Hon. John Foster, President, Unga Tribal Council
    Dear Chairman Schatz, Vice Chair Murkowski, and members of the 
United States Senate Committee on Indian Affairs:
    After listening to testimony, earlier this month regarding the 
salmon declines in the Arctic, Yukon and Kuskokwim Rivers (AYK) from 
the Indigenous Alaskans pleading for change is vital to the wellbeing 
of Alaska Native people; however, some concerns brought forth are 
misleading and untrue and we would like to highlight some of those 
misconceptions.
    Oral testimony's coming forth targeting another group of Indigenous 
people is of grave concern to our Aleut people who reside in the 
Eastern Aleutians who participate in the salmon fishery of Area M, a 
fishery our Indigenous tribal members utilize for both subsistence and 
commercial use. It also never ceases to amaze us that for the past 
forty plus years our Indigenous people have had to stand up and defend 
our way of life and the natural resources (salmon) that surround and 
consume us.
    First we would like to point out that we sympathize with the salmon 
declines in the AYK region. We would also like to point out that our 
native fishermen have faced adverse obstacles that have been put forth 
by other areas around the State of Alaska whenever fish are missing 
from another area, we Eastern Unangan Aleuts are automatically blamed 
for conservation problems occurring within other areas.
    For our Indigenous Unangax fishermen fishing in the Eastern 
Aleutians of Area M our fishery is important to the Economic welfare of 
our people, our communities, our food source, and our livelihood and 
mainstay economy.
    While some claim that the Area M fishery must be shut down or 
severely reduced to ensure the survival of other fisheries, the science 
simply does not support this type of plan. Our fishermen the past 
couple years have taken voluntary actions to minimize potential impact 
on chum salmon, small as it may be on AYK chums.
    ADF&G reports that South Alaska Peninsula June harvest rates were 
2.1 percent, 3.6 percent and 6.9 percent in 2007, 2008 and 2009 
respectively, for the entire CWAK group which extends from Bristol Bay 
to Norton Sound. This is an average harvest rate of 4.2 percent.
    The issues of AYK Arctic Yukon Kuskokwin crisis will not be solved 
by shutting down or severely reducing our indigenous fishermen's live 
hoods in order to ensure the survival of other fisheries. Research 
strongly states poor smelt survival is likely to the changing oceanic 
conditions, extreme warm ocean temperatures, the lack of available food 
sources all contributing to a decline in fish, notably not the fishery 
we are dependent upon, the Area M Fishery. Area M has a total of 224 
salmon streams, 136 of these streams are local chum salmon streams.
    Salmon declines are complex in nature, our oceans are huge, the 
diminishing of a species is complex in nature, accurate representation 
of data and science must be central to any decisions regarding a 
fishery, entailing a larger scope of area not targeting one specific 
area.
    Our fishery small in nature has been in existence since time 
immemorial, it is not just the economics of our fishery but a vital 
part of our history and without access to the salmon fishery we utilize 
we too can become history. We are all culturally dependent upon the 
salmon fishery. Subsistence is part of our fishery.
    It is our hopes that more scientific research will become available 
and appropriated to the understanding of the migration of our salmon 
resources and our salmon runs so that the best developed science based 
solutions will become available for our vital salmon resources within 
the entire State of Alaska.
    Thank you for the opportunity to provide comments on a vital 
resource the salmon for all our indigenous native people.
                                 ______
                                 
  Prepared Statement of Vivian Korthuis, CEO, Association of Village 
                           Council Presidents
    My name is Vivian Korthuis. I serve as the Chief Executive Officer 
of the Association of Village Council Presidents.
    I would lil(e to thank Senator Murkowski, members of the Senate 
Committee on Indian Affairs, and your staff for organizing this field 
hearing to hear directly from our Tribes.
    When AV CP, Kawerak, TCC, and AFN first 1nade a request for a 
Congressional Field Hearing in September 2021, we were two years into 
the crash. Now we are in year four.
    This empty bag represents empty smokehouses and freezers across 
Western Alaska in our villages.
    The crash has been devastating for families and communities in the 
AYK Region, involving more than 100 tribal communities.
    Just in our region alone 30,000 people are being impacted.
    Some may think that what's happening in our villages is 
insignificant, but it's jeopardizing the Way of Life of over 100,000 
people.
    What's happening in our villages is unfair--our subsistence fishing 
has the least impact on the salmon crash, yet we are the only ones 
being restricted and prevented from practicing our Way of Life.
    No one else is being asked or told to make changes.
    We need immediate action to find solutions to this crisis. That 
won't happen unless the Federal Government is willing to listen to and 
partner with Tribes.
    It will take a holistic approach to make changes that will allow 
the salmon to recover. Everyone has a role to play.
    I believe that the AYK Salmon Crash is the test for the Arctic 
Strategy for the federal government.
    The 2022 National Strategy for the Arctic Region (NSAR) emphasizes 
four pillars: advancing U.S. security interests, climate change 
mitigation and environmental protection, economic development, and 
international cooperation and governance.
    Alaska is the geopolitical center of the Arctic for the United 
States. The Salmon Crash in our region is a test of the United States' 
ability to respond to a crisis in the Arctic.
    How will the United States mitigate the impact of changes. in our 
environment and protect and restore the salmon?
    To the rest of the country, we are located on the ``edge of the 
map''. In my mind, I want to make sure that Tribes in Alaska, even ifwe 
live in the most remote parts of the United States, matter.
    Our tribes matter. Subsistence matters. Our villages matter. Salmon 
matter. We cannot be ignored any longer.
    Senator Murkowski and Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, thank you 
for listening to us. Thank you for showing that our voices matter.
    Thank you.
                                 ______
                                 
         Prepared Statement of Brian Lefferts, Bethel Resident
    Thank you for hosting this hearing, and accepting this written 
testimony. I'm writing from my home in Bethel, where I have lived for 
18 years with my family. As a non-Alaska Native resident, I want to 
acknowledge that I live in the traditional homeland of the Yup'ik 
people of the Yukon Kuskokwim Delta, who called this land home for 
thousands of years before it was a part of the United States.
    From my perspective as someone not from this region, I've observed 
the crucial role salmon has to the Yup'ik people. It's not just a 
source of food but a cornerstone of their physical, mental, and 
spiritual well-being, deeply ingrained in their culture. Over the last 
century, with the arrival of outsiders and the introduction of 
government-imposed hunting and fishing restrictions, there's been a 
significant shift from the millennia-old local traditions that were 
essential ways of life, and deeply embedded in the culture. These 
traditions which influenced every aspect of their identity as 
individuals and as a people.
    These traditions are not just important to Elders from the region. 
As a volunteer coach for a First Lego League robotics team at the 
Yup'ik Immersion School, Ayaprun Elitnaurvik, I've seen firsthand how 
deeply these traditions are valued by our youth as well. This year they 
were asked to do a project that describes something they love. The 
middle school teams I mentor chose to focus their on project this year 
on hunting and Yuraq (Yup'ik dancing), reflecting their cultural 
heritage. Their passion for Yuraq, with its deep historical and 
cultural ties, reflect how important the connection to subsistence is 
to the young people from this region.
    The decline in salmon populations, influenced by decisions made far 
from the YK Delta, is causing significant health and economic 
disparities in the region. I'm not in a position to propose solutions 
for the salmon crisis, but I want to emphasize the U.S. government's 
obligation, based on its historical agreements, to ensure the wellbeing 
of the indigenous population. This commitment isn't being fully met, 
despite some progress in areas like the recent funding for broadband 
and sanitation facilities construction through the Infrastructure 
Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), which we are truly grateful for.
    The region faces serious issues, such as the nation's highest rates 
of household crowding needing it's own IIJA level funding increase to 
address. There's also a constant need for medical providers, teachers, 
and other professionals, underscoring the importance of investing in 
education to train local Alaska Natives for these roles. And, while we 
appreciate the funding for rural sanitation systems, sustained 
operational and maintenance funding (approximately $70 million 
annually) is critical for their affordability and accessibility 
throughout rural Alaska.
    This hearing may focus on salmon, but it's vital to recognize that 
the U.S. government's responsibilities extend beyond co-management of 
salmon in the rivers and at sea. They include supporting housing, 
healthcare, infrastructure, education, and economic development. The 
control over land use, once exclusively in the hands of its original 
inhabitants, heavily impacts their health and wellbeing. Adequately 
funding other programs that also impact health and well being are an 
immediate step we can take to improve the situation while addressing 
the salmon crisis. Quyana.
                                 ______
                                 
     Prepared Statement of Charlie Brown, Resident, Golovin, Alaska
    My name is Charlie Brown,
    I live in Golovin, Alaska. I have been a witness to the salmon 
crash as it progressed more noticeably since the 1980's. Once a robust 
fishery by any standards, Golovin Bay boasted the lion's share of chum 
salmon, pink salmon, and even a fair share of coho salmon and a number 
of Chinook and sockeye also topped off our fishery on the Northern 
Norton Sound in Golovin Bay.
    A 1987 chum salmon tagging study done on the Alaska Peninsula 
revealed that a significant amount of chum, after running the gauntlet 
of the Area M fishery including passing through Bristal Bay area 
fisheries made their way up to many river systems including the Yukon, 
Kuskokwim, (AYK) and Norton Sound. That particular year Japanese 
processing vessels were anchored along many of the coastal fishing 
communities from the AYK to Norton Sound. As we delivered the tagged 
salmon to the processors, the Japanese crew took samples from the 
tagged salmon and cataloged each sample. We now have reports from NOAA 
that a majority of the salmon caught around the Alaska Peninsula are 
now of Asian descent. A coincidence of samples taken from the 1987 
tagging study?
    In Both State and Federal Waters, the salmon are taken as bycatch 
from trawling activity and intercepted primarily by purse seiners that 
have had no previous rights to the waterways of the salmon migration 
route around the Alaska Peninsula. Both State and Federal fisheries 
management have failed Alaskans miserably because policies adopted by 
congress state that under TITLE 16 CHAPTER 38-1801. Findings, purposes 
and policy (a) Findings
    (10) Pacific Insular Areas contain unique historical, cultural, 
legal, political, and geographical circumstances which make fisheries 
resources important in sustaining their economic growth.
    In an attempt to leave out the rest of Alaskan communities this 
seems to stand out as if to favor a special interest group of people 
that hold over 80 percent of the commercial fishing permits on the 
Alaska Peninsula with no residency in Alaska. An Alaskan based fishery. 
This special interest group also tied to interest in industry level 
self governance regulatory boards that make the management decisions.
    This is happening on both the state and federal levels of 
management and this needs to change, more focus is needed to start the 
conservation at the beginning of the migratory rout of salmon in the 
Gulf of Alaska and the Bering Sea areas of the Alaska Peninsula.
    The salmon resources belong to Alaskans, not special interest 
newcomers with dual residency in other states and nations.
    This map shows the areas that are most heavily over fished, over 
fishing is the reason for salmon declines more so than selective 
science has proven. (map retained in Committee files,)
                                 ______
                                 
   Prepared Statement of Boris L. Epchook, Chairman, Kwethluk Indian 
    Reorganization Act Council of the Organized Village of Kwethluk
    I would like to thank U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski and the US Senate 
Committee on Indian Affairs for holding this Field Hearing on the 
``Impacts of Historic Salmon Declines on the Health and Well-Being of 
Alaska Native Communities Along the Yukon and Kuskokwim Rivers'', and 
Yukon Kuskokwim Health Corporation (YKHC) for hosting and providing the 
facilities for this purpose.
    Impacts of Salmon Declines on the Health and Well-Being of Alaska 
Native Communities on the Yukon and Kuskokwim Rivers has been 
disastrous for more than four decades resulting in the loss of a 
subsistence salmon harvesting culture passed down through generations, 
conversion to more consumption of processed and preserved foods through 
other sources of retail venues in substitute for our traditional 
subsistence food sources.
    Salmon is still a main source of diet for tribes of the Yukon and 
Kuskokwim River region that are allowed to harvest during authorized 
subsistence salmon harvest openers depending on the projected 
escapement of the targeted salmon species, by the Alaska Department of 
Fish and Game and the US Fish and Wildlife Services, Subsistence 
Management Division.
    Through loss of seasonal subsistence salmon harvesting 
opportunities, and increased consumption of non-traditional foods 
processed through factories and shops has its effects on the health of 
the tribal peoples of the Yukon and Kuskokwim River region.
    From previous years there has been an increase in cancer, diabetes, 
and obesity patients in the YK Delta Region due to a loss of our 
ability to supplement our diet by consumption of traditional wild game 
and salmon previously practiced by our people. Well-Being and mental 
health, stress, and anxiety over subsistence salmon harvest 
opportunities has its effects on individuals who wish to continue and 
pass on the practice of Subsistence Salmon Harvest opportunities for 
their children and grandchildren. This is contributing to the loss of 
cultural identity.
    Kwethluk (Kuiggluk) is no stranger to ``Restrictions'', 
``Moratoriums'', and ``Conservation'' efforts as our ancestors have 
practiced and engaged in resource management long before the Europeans 
and other settlers stepped foot on this land.
    The Alaska Department of Fish and Game, the US Fish and Wildlife 
Services, the State of Alaska and our US Congressional Delegates failed 
to hear our concerns since the Chum Salmon crashes in the mid to late 
1980's. Thereafter the King Salmon crash of the 1990's beginning long 
imposition of restrictions and conservation efforts for people who 
normally rely on salmon to supplement their diet.
    The congressional act of 1977, the Magnuson-Stevens Fisheries 
Conservation Management Act, although beneficial for ``coastal'' 
villages, is disastrous for in-river villages that are asked to 
conserve for the shake of profit. Our conservations efforts don't 
matter. . .out of sight, out of mind.
    The Kwethluk River is one of a few prime spawning rivers in the 
Kuskokwim River, and for that reason and for the next generation we've 
been compliant with restrictions and conservation efforts, but 
sometimes for practicing subsistence salmon harvests, our people become 
criminals by being ticketed, taken to court, and their gear 
confiscated.
    In my observation the heavily restricted region in the Kuskokwim 
River are the villages of Akiachak, Akiak, Tuluksak, and Kwethluk. Why 
is that imposed when upriver villages above Tuluksak and downriver 
villages from Kwethluk continue to practice their seasonal summer 
salmon harvests? What's wrong with this picture? Conservations efforts 
should be practiced by all stakeholders of these resources.
    Regional, State. National, and International Salmon Multi-Use 
Agreements need to be sought and considered with consumers of the 
Salmon Resources in the Pacific Rim. Climate change has also recently 
impacted the dwindling salmon stocks with changes in weather pattern, 
and pollutants from humans and various seafaring vessels.
    The originating anadromous rivers from which these salmon resources 
begin, Arctic, Yukon, and Kuskokwim Rivers need to be considered by the 
North Pacific Fisheries Management Council and the National Marine 
Fisheries Services by establishing adequate ``by-catch'' limits since 
there is always salmon mortalities in these activities. Thank you for 
the time and opportunity to comment on this issue.
                                 ______
                                 
      Prepared Statement of Chariton Epchook, President, Kwethluk 
                    Incorporated Board of Directors
    Thank you for the opportunity to make comments on the by-catch 
issues, I'm Chariton Epchook, President of the Kwethluk Incorporated 
Board of Directors.
    Organized Village of Kwethluk, Kwethluk IRA Council, Kwethluk 
Incorporated, Board of Directors and the other AVCP Unit 4 Village 
Representatives have been active on the issues of salmon returns to the 
Kuskokwim River and more specifically to the Kwethluk, Kasigluk and 
Kiseralik Rivers (Tri-K Rivers). We participated in early 2000 when we 
discussed the Area M commercial fisheries when we started seeing 
declines in salmon going up the Tri-K Rivers and asked the Federal 
Board at that time to declare a 5-year moratorium on salmon in that 
area. The moratorium worked by still we were seeing salmon numbers 
declining within the next 10 years. At that time, trawl fisheries 
should have been included in the moratorium.
    We are currently seeing once again salmon numbers declining in both 
major rivers (Yukon and Kuskokwim Rivers) and it is more evident in the 
Yukon River where our relatives were not permitted to harvest and put 
away salmon. We approached the North Pacific Fisheries Management 
Council in 2010 and requested that bycatch of salmon heading for the 
Yukon and Kuskokwim Rivers be lowered. As we all know, money talks so 
NPFMC did not honor our request.
    Most recently, our AVCP Unit 4 Village representatives attended the 
State Fisheries meeting in Anchorage and once again, the governing 
board sided with the Fisheries and trawlers since we the people along 
the Yukon and Kuskokwim do not pay for commercial and trawl fishing 
permits or licenses.
    In the last two years, we seen our people dying of various cancers 
because we are forced to buy processed food from our local stores, 
because our people do not eat what they have grown up eating, salmon 
dry fish and other wild red meat (moose caribou and bear). We are so 
restricted that we cannot set a net on the Kwethluk River while 
Commercial and Trawl Fisheries continue to catch and throw salmon 
overboard that may have been heading to the Yukon and Kuskokwim Rivers. 
We cannot set our nets so that sports fishermen can go up the Tri-K 
rivers and have fun with salmon and other fish that we usually stored 
for long winters. The fish camps along the Kwethluk River are no longer 
being occupied throughout the summer (only a few families stay at 
camps), where I used to see families working together to catch, cut, 
hang/dry and smoke their catch of salmon.
    In closing, how can Congress help the first people of Alaska? 
Congress must either repeal the Magnuson Stevens Act or make amendments 
that reflect Title VIII of ANILCA, subsection 804, Preference for 
Subsistence Use and close all high seas fisheries when projected salmon 
runs into the Yukon and Kuskokwim rivers are low. If either do not 
happen, the government that people entrust to protect will not show 
promise, but send a feeling of failure to the people, mainly because of 
the food that we are forced to buy and eat leading again to a great 
death of our people as history has shown it.
    Thank you again for giving me this opportunity to provide comments.
                                 ______
                                 
   Prepared Statement of George Guy, General Manager, Kwethluk, Inc.
    For the record, my name is George Guy, General Manager of Kwethluk, 
Inc.
    Through blood, sweat and tears we try to feed our families through 
Native Subsistence wild fish and game renewable resources. I served as 
co-chair of the ``Alaska Bycatch Review Task force''--Western Alaska 
Salmon Sub committee. For the term I served i attended every meeting as 
a Subsistence Representative. As we voice our concerns, recommendations 
to Federal and State of Alaska agencies regarding Kuskokwim Subsistence 
Salmon Fishing restrictions, Alaskan Natives have a right under ANCSA; 
Title VIII-ANILCA to partake in our customary and traditional rights of 
Fish and Game Resources. Yet we, the first people are denied to 
subsistence fishing. We are told when, where, time to fish and when we 
break the laws we the over regulated natives are labeled as criminals. 
Why not the Trawlers of the Bering Sea redeemed as salmon bounded for 
Yukon-Kuskokwim Tributary Rivers be labeled as criminals as they are 
authorized ``salmon bycatch'' on trawlers. It is money for them, food 
security for Yukon-Kuskokwim Subsistence people. No equal justice for 
all. Don't forget the Katy John case. It is imperative to hand over the 
reins from the explicit trawlers to subsistence people of the Yukon-
Kuskokwim Rivers.
                                 ______
                                 
   Prepared Statement of Jennifer Hooper, Natural Resources Manager, 
               Association of Village Council Presidents
    Senator Murkowski and Members of the Committee:
    My name is Jennifer Hooper and I reside in Bethel on the Kuskokwim 
River and work for the Association of Village Council Presidents. I 
would like to take this opportunity to share with you some thoughts and 
recommendations I have. I attended the hearing and was signed up to 
testify but I waived my time due to time constraints and I wanted to 
make sure that others who had traveled in would have time to speak.
    First, I would like to thank you for the opportunity to share our 
perspectives and impacts of the salmon crises. We are here to provide a 
sense of how serious the situation is and what some of our priorities 
are. As stewards of the land and waters for 1000s of years we know the 
natural cycles and we understand what conservation means. We have seen 
changes across our entire ecosystem and know climate change is 
affecting every aspect of the food chain.
    Senator Murkowski, we appreciate your support for congressionally 
directed spending for AYK salmon populations and are grateful for your 
work on the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. We also appreciate your 
support for Tribal representation at the NPFMC and your leadership on 
the FY24 Appropriations Bill to shift OSM. Today, we want you to 
understand the importance of Tribal voices, Local & Traditional 
Knowledge and cooperative management in fishery management processes 
and the critical importance of action now that can make a difference in 
the survival of salmon and our tribes.
    Right now, today, subsistence communities are the only stakeholders 
being forced to sacrifice. We can work together to share the burden and 
broaden the knowledge base used to solve the crisis. Federal fishery 
managers should not be admonishing our recommendations and pleas 
because they are not ``practicable'' and would be a burden on and 
reduce profits for a billion-dollar industry and would not make a 
difference anyway. We want to be at the table. If the State reigned in 
the Area M fishery a little and the federal trawl sector took more 
steps to avoid salmon, we would be offering salmon returning to Western 
Alaska a better chance to survive. BUT we have no voice.
    I would like to share some specific asks with you, many of which 
you heard from multiple testifiers during the Hearing:

   We need to develop stronger co-management relationships 
        between the Tribes and federal agencies, and not just when we 
        are in times of conservation. Co-management is the best path 
        for ensuring our declining stocks stabilize and recover while 
        we safeguard the rich culture of our Tribes and subsistence 
        communities. We need to be at the table as co-managers.

   Indigenous and traditional knowledge must be incorporated 
        into federal fisheries--from monitoring and research to direct 
        management and regulatory authority. Co-production of knowledge 
        and bringing Tribal leaders and knowledge holders from the 
        start is critical.

   Funding is imperative for co-management to succeed--secure, 
        annual, and stable funding is needed at each level of 
        management.

   We need Tribal representation, appointed by Tribes, with 
        voting authority in both the State and federal management 
        processes--from committees and teams, up to the decisionmaking 
        bodies.

   There also needs to be expansion of Tribal representation on 
        the Federal Subsistence Board--add public Tribal seats, along 
        with support staff--equity on par with the agencies.

   Lastly and specifically, the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery 
        Fund program needs to better support AYK salmon. NOAA must 
        reform the Fund to address other drivers of salmon decline 
        besides habitat loss. We are competing against a weighted 
        system that favors endangered salmon stocks in developed areas. 
        We know declines are due to stressors other than habitat loss, 
        especially in Western Alaska.

   The AYK Sustainable Salmon Initiative is doing critical work 
        and must have fair access to PCSRF funding for in-region 
        research and restoration efforts to be effective.

    Quyana and thank you for your time and attention.
                                 ______
                                 
       Prepared Statement of Mark Leary, Resident, the Kuskokwim
    I'm a lifelong resident of the Kuskokwim.
    I've served on the State sponsored Kuskokwim River Salmon 
Management Working Group (KRSMWG) as the Upriver Subsistence 
representative.
    I was also a member of the steering committee that led to the 
formation of the Federal Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission 
(KRITFC)
    I wanted to testify about what we had and what we've lost regarding 
our salmon runs--not only for your benefit but for the benefit of our 
young people and the Federal/State fish managers.
    Our Federal and State fish managers are all too young to understand 
what we had and none of them live with us year round. They come here 
only for the summer salmon season. In fact we seem to change both 
Federal and State managers every 2 or 3 years. None stay long enough to 
really understand. The Kuskokwim fishery is just a rung in their career 
ladder--near the bottom I think.
    When I was growing up the Kuskokwim River supported both an 800 
member commercial fishery and unlimited subsistence fishing open to 
everyone all the time except for short periods before, during, and 
after a commercial opening.
    Commercial fishing is long gone on our river and we can barely 
support a subsistence fishery.
    Subsistence fishing is only allowed for short periods a day or two 
out of the week...
    ...and this is only after a series of meetings by both state and 
federal advisory groups.
    Our young people are growing up thinking this is the proper way to 
fish and I hear them expressing gratitude to the managers for 
``allowing'' them to fish these limited openings.
    It's sad for older people to witness this acceptance of the tightly 
controlled and restrictive management of one of our most important food 
resources.
    It reminds me of the movie ``Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee.''
    Chief Sitting Bill led his people on a prolonged resistance to 
being forced onto a reservation--even leading them into Canada for a 
short time.
    They finally surrendered to life on a desolate reservation no 
longer allowed to practice their traditional way of life.
    Instead reservation managers ``allowed'' young Lakota men the 
chance to occasionally shoot a scrawny beef cow confined in a corral to 
feed their families.
    The young warriors were proud of this.
    The older generation looked on with disgust and a great sadness in 
their hearts for their lost way of life.
    Some say history repeats itself.
    I'm fearful that already has.
    Thank you.
                                 ______
                                 
       Prepared Statement of Jolene Nanouk, Resident, Unalakleet
    Hello,
    First of all, thank you members of the Senate Indian Affairs 
committee for reading my testimony. For the record, my name is Jolene 
Nanouk, and I am from the people of Unalakleet and reside in 
Unalakleet, and I am writing on behalf of myself.
    There are issues I would like to address regarding the historic 
salmon declines and the way the salmon is managed in the State of 
Alaska, especially along the rivers where the salmon return. I had read 
a comment that really struck me, and it went something like this, 
``what is worse? An elder who is unable to eat salmon that he/she grew 
up with due to closers and no salmon, or a youth who never experienced 
being able to catch or see a salmon caught in their community?'' This 
really hit home, realizing people in Alaska are not able to harvest or 
experience having salmon a part of their lives. Due to climate change, 
with salmon runs affected by bycatch 4-5 years ago, and that affecting 
this years run, or how warm the weather was during a summer when salmon 
were floating belly up because of warm river waters that contained low 
oxygen levels, is very concerning. This year, due to high waters and 
rain throughout the summer is going to affect that salmon 4-5 years 
down the road, and we need to prepare for that.
    The thought of adaptation management, due to issues such as climate 
change, low runs, or any other obstacle that may affect our salmon is 
something we need to consider. This summer for example, when closures 
in Unalakleet river halted my time to get pink salmon, yes pink salmon, 
I had to go out when it opened whether or not it was raining, use 4 
inch mesh because that is what it is regulated to and only caught 
female pink salmon. My goal has always been for the male pink salmon, 
and this regulation of mesh size made me upset because I do not target 
female pink salmon, I never have. Although I was thankful for my salmon 
that came into the river, I learned to adapt to cutting and freezing, 
then taking out the cut salmon to when the weather permits good drying. 
We have always adapted to doing things to make it work in order to 
allow us to have food in our freezers for the winter.
    When I think about those who were unable to harvest, especially 
along the Yukon, due to regulations and closures, it bothers me. It 
bothers me because these closures are taking away a way of life, and 
that way of life had been passed down from generation to generation. I 
know the numbers may not be favorable, but for goodness sake, please 
allow these communities to continue to teach the generations now and 
future generations how to put away fish. Allow them to have an opening 
to enable their communities to continue to teach this way of life.
    My request would be for adaptation management, co-management with 
the tribes regarding seats like the North Pacific Fisheries Management 
Council and Federal Subsistence Boards, allowing tribal representation 
be present and adhere a voice to our way of life with regards to salmon 
and communities. Issues like resolving a 4 inch mesh size to 5 and \1/
4\ inch mesh, and allowing communities to continue practicing and 
teaching a lifestyle that had sustained us for generations, teaching 
how to put away fish, how to show respect to the salmon and teach 
future generations the importance of being responsible caretakers of 
our lands, waters and all that it entails to make us who we are. That 
is our duty as Indigenous people, to make sure we take care of what we 
have and ensure that it is around for the future. Quyana.
                                 ______
                                 
       Prepared Statement of George Smith, Resident, Scammon Bay
    Good morning everyone,
    My name is George Smith from Scammon Bay which is a coastal 
community nestled along the bank of the Kun River.
    The Kun River is not necessarily a salmon river as recognized by 
area biologists. The unintended hardship caused by gear restrictions to 
4 inch or less mesh and no longer than 60 feet protect all salmon 
heading to the Yukon River and for us to target non salmon species 
(white fish) on the Kun River is sort a ridiculous measure and I can 
even say discriminatory to the residents of Scammon Bay.
    The Kun River is not a tributary of any river system, namely the 
Yukon and yet, we are heavily restricted on the Kun to even harvest the 
coveted broadhead whitefish and the chee using 5 to 5 1/2 inch mesh 
nets that we would normally use to harvest them. They are native to our 
rivers and lakes and come up every spring to spawn. Salmon, we normally 
go to the Black River which is a tributary of the Yukon River and where 
the residents of Scammon Bay would normally get their subsistence and 
commercial harvest of chum and chinook which we all know now is 
completely closed for subsistence or commercial salmon fishing but for 
the 4''mesh nets.
    Going back to my comment on discriminatory restrictions on the Kun 
River, I want to bring to light, the Kuskokwim River and 2 rivers that 
are tributaries within the river but end end in lakes much like the Kun 
but are exempt from any gear restrictions or even complete salmon 
closures on Kuskokwim River. The only restrictions that the Johnson and 
Tunt River have are any unrestricted mesh nets must be at least 100 
feet from the confluence (Kuskokwim River). That's my beef.
    Otherwise I fully support the restrictions we face to protect all 
salmon species to make it up the Yukon to spawn. I agree with the 
science mentioned all the time. There's something going on out in the 
ocean that are affecting the wild salmon stock.
    I believe the farmed Asian and Russian farmed salmon are depleting 
the already compromised salmon food source caused by climate change.
    All I want is an opportunity to harvest the broadhead white fish 
and chee fish with unrestricted gear type for the same reasons that our 
brothers on the Johnson and Tunt Rivers are allowed to do outside the 
Kuskokwim Rivers. The Kun River is no different from them. All the 
other smaller rivers that branch out from the Kun all send in shallow 
lakes.
    Please help us find a way to be able to get the same recognition as 
the Johnson and Tunt River and allow us to fish with unrestricted gear 
type to target especially the broadhead whitefish. The unintended 
greater hardship caused by the restrictions along the coast line and 
Yukon River is only compounding the the hardship of not being able to 
harvest any salmon. If there's any restriction that will benefit the 
depleted AYK bound salmon stock , it should be on the Area M 
``intercept'' commercial salmon fishery. Chum chucking arrests have 
been made this summer which is absurd and even a greater waste of any 
salmon that may be heading to the Yukon or Kuskokwim Rivers.
    Thank you for allowing me to speak my mind.
Prepared Statement of Dr. Michael Williams, Sr., Akiak Native Community 
                              Commissioner
    Good afternoon, my name if Dr. Michael Williams, Sr of Akiak, 
Alaska in which is located 25 miles upriver from Bethel, Alaska along 
the Kuskokwim River. I have been fishing all of my life and have seen 
drastic changes over 60 years. Low salmon runs and the loss of 
subsistence fishing for many communities has wide-ranging impacts that 
affect individuals, communities, and entire cultures and ways of 
living. It is important for the Committee to understand the problems 
(the lack of returning salmon, changing ecosystems, etc.) and the 
affects of those problems. I often get emotional when talking about 
this.
    In 1980, Congress enacted the Alaska National Interest Lands 
Conservation Act ANILCA. Title VIII (``Title 8'') of ANILCA protects 
critical subsistence hunting and fishing rights. In Title VIII of 
ANILCA, Congress recognized that subsistence is ``essential to the 
Native Peoples physical, economic, traditional, and social existence In 
order to ensure these values were protected forever, Congress provided 
rural residents a priority for customary and traditional, and cultural 
existence and to non-Native physical, economic, traditional, and social 
existence. Congress provided rural residents a priority for customary 
and traditional subsistence uses above other uses above other purposes 
on federal lands and waters in the State of Alaska. Subsistence users 
currently live under the system of ``dual management'' where the State 
and Federal government each play a role:

   The State is in charge of hunting and fishing management on 
        State lands and State waters in Alaska. State waters extend to 
        3 miles offshore. State waters also include the portions of 
        rivers that flow over state lands and other non-federal lands.

   In Alaska, the federal government (the Department of the 
        Interior, and Department of Agriculture) manage hunting and 
        fishing on Federal Lands and waters via the Federal Subsistence 
        Board and local Regional Advisory Councils, as required by 
        ANILCA.

   From 3-200 miles offshore, the federal government 
        (Department of Commerce) and the North Pacific Management 
        Council (NPFMC) manage fishing in federal offshore waters and 
        refuge lands.

         Our ways of life are linked to the land, rivers, and the 
        Bering Sea ecosystem, which form the foundation of our culture, 
        our food security, and our collective future.

   Salmon play a central role in our cultural, spiritual, 
        nutritional well-being.

   Sharing subsistence salmon harvests is a deeply-held 
        cultural value and ensures that neighbors, elders, widowers, 
        and the entire community are well cared for.

   Participating in subsistence activities is also fundamental 
        for the transmission of our culture--fish camps are where 
        families learn essential subsistence skills and pass on 
        Traditional Knowledge through generations.

   The salmon sustain us but also our animal relative, our 
        plant relatives, and the rivers themselves. The lack of salmon 
        has the potential to significantly affect the health of entire 
        river ecosystems.

   Low salmon runs are a crisis, and it is impossible to put a 
        value on what we are losing. Current fisheries management 
        structures for the most part do not honor our subsistence 
        rights and are unwilling to address the salmon crisis.

   Since time immemorial, our People relied on our Traditional 
        Knowledge to take care of and steward the rivers so that salmon 
        would return the following summer.

   We managed the salmon harvest in accordance with our 
        Traditional rules amd values, and we managed it well. Yet now 
        State management and disjointed federal management have 
        resulted in this crisis. The State of Alaska has, at every 
        possible turn, worked against federally-protected subsistence 
        rights.

   When Alaska was still a Territory, at statehood in 1959, and 
        still today, State fish and game managers have prioritized 
        commercial and sport fishing to the detriment of our 
        subsistence resources.

   The State's version of a ``subsistence priority'' does not 
        work. It is not limited to local rural residents.

   The State has fought the subsistence protections in Title 
        VIII for 43 years, since ANILCA was first enacted in 1980.

   The State is now AGAIN fighting our subsistence rights. In 
        the case U.S. v. Alaska, the State is trying to overturn the 
        Katie John line of cases, which would erase the federal 
        subsistence priority for rural residents. Federal Management is 
        disjointed and does not honor the federal governments trust 
        responsibility as it should to Alaska Tribes.

   Our tribal communities work cooperatively with the U.S. Fish 
        and Wildlife Service of the Department of the Interior on in 
        river management, but fisheries management 3-200 miles offshore 
        is governed by North Pacific Management Council (NPFMC) and the 
        Department of Commerce.

   Like the Alaska Board of Fisheries, the NPFMC is dominated 
        by members who are employed by or are otherwise loyal to large, 
        private commercial fishing interests. And like State of Alaska, 
        the federal Department of Commerce has done little to restrict 
        powerful commercial fishing interests and protect salmon 
        stocks. Together the Alaska Department of Fish and Game and the 
        NPFMC and Department of Commerce have overseen the longterm, 
        catastrophic decline of salmon runs. Yet the burden to save the 
        salmon has been put on us.

   Over 100 Tribal communities along the Kuskokwim, Yukon, and 
        the Bering Strait regions are suffering from the loss of our 
        fish.

   We are being restricted to the point of being unable to 
        catch a single salmon while the State and Federal management 
        agencies are carrying business as usual.

   We, The first stewards of these waters, are forced to bear 
        the burden of conservation while large scale commercial 
        fisherieis are allowed to waste tens of thousands of salmon a 
        year as bycatch.

         Dual management of our rivers, sea, and fish is not working. 
        The Federal Government must act.

   Salmon are not just swimming dollar signs, Salmon are our 
        life. They are in our DNA.

   Congress needs to amend ANILCA to protect, once and for all, 
        Alaska Native and Rural subsistence hunting and fishing rights, 
        and ensure our peoples' ability to co-manage these resources.

   Congress needs to amend ANILCA to secure our fishing rights 
        in every part of every river in Alaska, just as it always was 
        since before memory.

   Congress needs to amend ANILCA, the Magnusan-Stevens Act, or 
        draft other legislation to bring cohesion to federal fisheries 
        management--both in-river and at sea--to ensure that commercial 
        fishing activities provide for healthy salmon stocks and 
        subsistence fishing. What good is the federal trust 
        responsibility if the results in the loss of our fish, our 
        communities, our culture, our lives?

    Quyana cakneq for allowing me to ask you to take action right now.
                                 ______
                                 
        Prepared Statement of Emily Cohen, Resident of Anchorage
    I would like to express my strong support for government aid to be 
provided toward addressing these devastating declines to Alaska's 
salmon counts. As a resident of Anchorage, Alaska, I am concerned that 
there will not be sufficient salmon, a critical species in Alaska's 
food chain, for today and tomorrow's generations.
    I am also concerned on behalf of the Indigenous Peoples of this 
state, whose cultures are inextricably intertwined with salmon. By 
allowing this environmental catastrophe to continue without 
intervening, the United States government will passively be allowing 
cultural genocide to unfold. If there are no salmon for cultures to 
harvest, eat, and engage in traditional practices with, there will be 
severe, long-term impacts to the ability of Alaska Native Peoples to 
engage in their cultures.
    Alaska needs salmon, and salmon need us to intervene and create 
policy around helping them flourish, return to baseline population 
counts, and ensure that Alaska Native communities have their rights to 
harvest them protected.
                                 ______
                                 
       Prepared Statement of Christina Changsak, Russian Mission
    Good Afternoon Senator Lisa and everyone else,
    My name is Christina Changsak from Russian Mission. I am a wife, 
mother, and grandmother.
    I am here to testify for the people on the Yukon and Kuskokwim 
river. I am an active subsistence user that relies on the land and 
water for our food. We provide for multiple families and we know not to 
waste and we take only what we need. It has been hard not having smoked 
fish for many winters, since it is a big part of our diet during 
winter.
    For the Yukon, we should be allowed to use a 6 inch net, not a 4 
inch net for subsistence. The 4 inch is just too small for the big 
Yukon river. I have granddaughters that I want to show how to cut and 
smoke fish, so the generation can keep going to always rely on 
subsistence, since the cost of living and cost of food has come up.
    I live in a village where the only way in and out is by plane. When 
the weather is bad for days, the 2 stores in our village have to wait 
on freight to come in. I do not want to rely on the stores for food, 
when we can provide from the land and water. Please at least let the 
Yukon open next fishing season so we can put away some for our winter 
use.
    Thank you.
                                 ______
                                 
   Prepared Statement of Laureli Ivanoff, Executive Director, Native 
                             Peoples Action
    Native Peoples Action (NPA) is a non-partisan organization 
dedicated to protecting and strengthening Alaska Native peoples and 
protecting our Ways of Life. We are committed to addressing and 
restoring our peoples' inherent rights to hunt, fish, harvest, gather, 
trap, share, and have ceremony as well as manage and steward our 
homelands for abundance. Critical to this effort is our commitment to 
end the criminalization of our Native ways of life. We do this work by 
being a statewide advocate alongside our Native peoples amplifying 
their work, voices, and leadership, and advancing our collective 
priorities as Indigenous people.
    Joining us are 28 Alaskans who call for change and amendments that 
would allow for a path forward with sustainability.
    Thank you for taking testimony regarding the salmon declines in the 
Arctic, Yukon, and Kuskokwim Rivers (AYK). Sustainability and 
relationships of respect with resources and the lands and waters that 
provide for us are values that must be quickly incorporated into the 
broken management systems we, as Indigenous Alaskans, plead to for 
change.
    For more than 10,000 years, Alaska Natives have served as stewards 
and caretakers for the lands and waters. This reciprocal relationship 
is based on respect, honor, and spiritual balance. However, today, 
stewardship and caretaking has been challenged by unjust governance 
structures and the criminalization of practicing traditional ways of 
life. This has resulted in a highly imbalanced ecosystem. We are 
working for and calling for ways to restore this balance. The systems 
must be overhauled with wild Alaska salmon stock sustainability as the 
priority.
    The decline in salmon throughout the AYK threatens our food 
sovereignty, our food security, and the culture that has sustained who 
we are through a tumultuous history. The current management systems 
have failed rural Alaska Native residents and we ask that you take 
action:

   Develop and fund co-management--Alaska Tribes have 
        traditional knowledge to share with the federal government and 
        managing bodies when it comes to stewardship of the lands and 
        waters.

   Amend Magnuson-Stevens Act and add two tribal seats to the 
        North Pacific Fishery Management Council (NPFMC)--our voice is 
        missing in this process that impacts us the most and the 
        council is currently industry driven with no regard to 
        Indigenous people or subsistence users.

   Consult with Tribes in the region--until seats are added to 
        the NPFMC, consultation must occur.

   Support and expand current tribal representation on the 
        Federal Subsistence Board--there still is an imbalance of 
        voices and support for tribal seats that needs to be addressed.

   Amend ANILCA to protect Alaska Native and rural subsistence 
        hunting and fishing rights--this will ensure our peoples' 
        ability to co-manage these resources.

   Amend ANILCA to secure our fishing rights in every part of 
        every river in Alaska--our people cannot continue to be 
        criminalized.

   Amend ANILCA, the Magnuson-Stevens Act, or draft other 
        legislation to bring cohesion to federal fisheries management 
        in-river and at sea--what is happening now is not working.

   Move fisheries from the Department of Commerce to the 
        Department of Interior--this structure isn't working for the 
        best interest of the people, just industry.

    The traditional harvesting culture in Alaska Native communities 
must continue to remain strong, vibrant and necessary, not only for our 
livelihood, but for the health, sense of identity, and the food 
sovereignty we rely upon to pass down a way of life central to who we 
are as Indigenous Alaskans. Please take action to ensure our future 
generations continue to know what salmon tastes like, to know what it 
means to be an Indigenous person, to allow Indigenous people to steward 
and comanage resources that have been here since time immemorial.
    We need you to take action.

    Thank you,

        Kami Webster, Unalakleet, AK
        Kay Wallis, Anchorage, AK
        Agrafina Baugh, Anchorage, AK
        Iris Klingler, Anchorage, AK
        Kacey Hopson, Anchorage, AK
        Donald Stiles, Nome, AK
        Elizabeth Ahkivgak, Anchorage, AK
        Rachel Rae Zander, Kenai, AK
        Karen Erickson, Fairbanks, AK
        Jazmyn Vent, Fairbanks, AK
        Timm Nelson, Unalakleet, AK
        Analisa Mayo-Ramos, San Antonio, TX
        Shana Lee, Austin, TX
        Janessa Esquible, Anchorage, AK
        Alissa Nadine Rogers, Bethel, AK
        Hannah Sallee, Fairbanks, AK
        Stephanie Vattu, Greenacres, FL
        Maria Legend, Anchorage, AK
        Tonya Brown, Fairbanks, AK
        Leah Woods, North Pole, AK
        Duwayne Johnson, Anchorage, AK
        Alicia Pankiw, Sacramento, CA
        Katie Ryan, Bozeman, MT
        Virginia Fagerstrom, Wasilla, AK
        Alexis Erikson, Nome, AK
        Monica Chase, Sitka, AK
        Natalie Boone, Marshall, NC
        Andy Paul, San Diego, CA

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