[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 91 (Monday, June 24, 2013)]
[Senate]
[Page S5015]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                         REMEMBERING KATIE JOHN

 Mr. BEGICH. Mr. President, I am here today to honor Katie 
John, an Ahtna Athabascan elder, for her service to Alaska Native 
peoples and to all Alaskans. Katie made history in 1985 when she filed 
suit against the State of Alaska to reopen her family's fish camp at 
Batzulentas and to protect her family's right to subsistence fish. 
Katie battled against the State and Federal Government legal systems 
for almost two decades in order to protect her right and Alaska Native 
people's right to hunt and fish in their traditional homelands.
  Katie was born in Slana, AK, in 1915 to Sara and Charley Sanford, who 
raised her in the traditional Ahtna way. Her father was the last chief 
of the Batzulnetas. When she was 14, she took a job at Nabesna Mine, 
where she learned English. At age 16, Katie married Fred John, Sr., and 
moved to Mentasta, where they had 14 children and adopted 6. They 
raised their children off the land, hunting, gathering, and fishing 
with the changing seasons.
  In 1964, the State of Alaska closed down Katie's fish camp at 
Batzulentas, denying her the right to provide for her family. The 
injustice of this was the State allowed sport and commercial fisherman 
to continue fishing downriver while denying upriver subsistence users 
the ability to fish. In 1984, Katie and another Ahtna elder, Doris 
Charles, submitted a proposal asking the State of Alaska open 
Batzuletas to subsistence fishing. When their request was denied, 
Katie, with the help of the Native American Rights Fund, filed suit 
against the State and argued that Federal law prioritizes and protects 
subsistence uses of fish. For the next 10 years, the case worked its 
way through the court system. Katie never wavered in her determination 
to do what was right. She steadfastly maintained that Alaska Natives 
had a right to support their families in a way that was culturally 
meaningful. Finally, in 1994, Katie won her case, but it continued to 
be appealed and litigated for years afterwards.
  The Katie John Case, as her suit became known, finally had some 
resolve in 2001 when the ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reaffirmed 
Katie's--(and by extension all Alaska Native and rural peoples--right 
to subsistence fish in all Federal waters. For her hard work and 
service to her family, Ahtna people, Alaska Natives, and all of Alaska, 
Katie was presented with an honorary doctorate of law degree from the 
University of Alaska Fairbanks in 2011.
  The Katie John Case, though it continues to be litigated, has become 
a cornerstone of subsistence law in Alaska. Katie stood up for what was 
right and bravely fought to protect the Alaska Native subsistence way 
of life.
  Katie is survived by over 250 grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and 
great-great-grandchildren, through which her legacy lives on. Her work 
changed the way fisheries and natural resources are managed in Alaska 
for the better. For that, Alaska Natives and all Alaskans are 
grateful.

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