[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 2 (Thursday, January 4, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S43-S44]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                        Tribute to James Charles

  Mr. SULLIVAN. Mr. President, for the past year or so, I have been 
coming to the floor nearly every week, and I know the Presiding Officer 
looks at this as possibly his favorite time of the week because he gets 
to hear a lot of these ``Alaskan of the Week'' speeches. I know the 
pages love them. I come to the floor to talk about my State, really 
brag about my State, and recognize an Alaskan who has made a 
difference--made a difference in their community, whether it is a small 
community or a big community in the State, in the country.
  I have repeatedly stated--I am sure not all my colleagues agree, but 
maybe some of them do--that Alaskans live in the greatest State in the 
greatest country in the world. We certainly have the most beautiful 
landscapes and all the seasons. I was in Fairbanks and Anchorage over 
the holidays. It was wonderful. Winter is such a great time in the 
great State of Alaska. For those who love snow, Alaska is the place to 
be, so we want everyone to come visit. But it is truly the people and 
strong communities throughout Alaska that make our State so great--such 
a welcoming place.
  For those of us who live in Alaska, sustainable community is 
everything. Living in one of the most magnificent places on Earth, 
also, certainly has its challenges. We depend on each other. Our 
traditional knowledge, our ingenuity, our warm-hearted nature, and our 
determination to overcome these challenges is what makes our State 
great and is often the theme of our ``Alaskan of the Week'' speeches.
  Today I wish to transport you to the village of Tuntutuliak--a 
village of about 400 people, southwest of Bethel, AK, on the 700-mile 
long, mighty Kuskokwim River--and introduce you to a truly amazing 
elder who, for 77 years, has worked tirelessly for his community and 
for our State. This is James Charles, who is our Alaskan of the Week.
  Over the past decades, when there has been a meeting on the Kuskokwim 
concerning fish or wildlife or subsistence, James has been there 
helping to create and shape a fishing and hunting community and 
regulations, not only for the region but for the entire State of 
Alaska.
  James was born in 1940 in a fish camp below Helmick Point on the 
Kuskokwim River. During that time, Alaska was being devastated by a 
tuberculosis epidemic. In fact, in the mid-20th century, Alaska Native 
people experienced the highest incidence of tuberculosis of any 
population ever. This is one of the many challenges we talk about.
  Sadly, the epidemic took James's father, his uncle, and both 
grandparents, leaving his mother and the community

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to care for her three children. The community--like many still, 
unfortunately, in Alaska--didn't have hospitals or clinics. They didn't 
have medicine. The Federal Government basically turned a blind eye to 
the havoc that this disease was wreaking over all of Alaska, 
particularly in our small villages.
  What the community did have was each other. They had food, and they 
had the bounty of the land. They had elders to help teach the young 
people in the village the true meaning of subsistence living.
  James's mother, Emma, hunted and fished to feed the family, and she 
and James's uncle taught James how to be a conservationist, only taking 
enough fish and wild game to survive and ensuring enough was left for 
other villagers--lessons he has passed on to the younger generations of 
Alaskans, year after year.
  James met his wife Nancy 50 years ago. She lived in another village. 
He met her when he was out trapping for food. He said:

       I walked 52 miles and found my wife at the end of my 
     trapline. It was my best catch [ever].

  James's accomplishments are legion. He spent 22 years in the Alaska 
National Guard, like so many Alaskan Natives who serve at higher rates 
in the U.S. military than any other ethnic group in the country. He has 
served on the Federal Subsistence Regional Advisory Council, the Fish 
and Game Advisory Council, and the Kuskokwim River Salmon Management 
Working Group.
  James travels all around our great State, attending different 
meetings and testifying at the Board of Fish and Game. He has dedicated 
his life to fish and wildlife conservation so he can set an example for 
Alaskans today and future generations, including his own family.
  He has 5 children, 15 grandchildren, and 12 great-grandchildren. He 
is so committed to keeping the culture and tradition alive that none of 
his kids or great grandkids are allowed into his house unless they are 
able to speak Yupik, the traditional language of his people.
  For all his work to help continue a vital tradition of subsistence 
and conservation in Alaska, James was awarded the conservationist of 
the year award by the Fish and Wildlife Service this past summer, which 
he accepted at this year's Alaska Federation of Natives Convention.
  For his work, James is our Alaskan of the Week.
  Thank you, James, for all you have done for the great State of 
Alaska.