[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 65 (Monday, April 23, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2340-S2341]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     TRIBUTE TO DIMITRI PHILEMONOF

 Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, today I would like to recognize 
an Alaska Native leader who has dedicated much of his life and career 
to humanitarian service in Alaska. Dimitri Philemonof is the president 
of the Aleutian Pribilof Islands Association, which is a Tribal 
nonprofit organization that serves the regional tribes in the Aleutian 
Pribilof Islands of Alaska. Under Dimitri's leadership, APIA has had a 
profound impact on the health and well-being of the Aleut people by 
providing them with a broad spectrum of services. These services 
include health, education, social, employment

[[Page S2341]]

and vocational training, public safety, and cultural preservation.
  Dimitri's tenure with APIA began on April 24, 1978, when he was hired 
as a training tech for employment assistance. Less than a year later, 
Dimitri was promoted to manpower director and later the community 
services director. By 1985, the board of directors at APIA would reach 
a consensus and promote Dimitri to be the executive director and 
president of APIA, a position that he has held since. This week marks 
the 40th anniversary of Dimitri's hiring at APIA, and I would like to 
take this time to express my appreciation for Dimitri's service to the 
Alaska Native people.
  Dimitri accomplished many things during his time as the president of 
APIA, but according to Dimitri, the most important accomplishment as 
the president of APIA was working to pass the Aleut Restitution Act. It 
was meaningful for Dimitri because his parents were forcibly evacuated 
from the island of St. George and brought to the Funter Bay Internment 
Camp during the Aleut Evacuation of WWII. Conditions at the camps were 
horrid. There was no running water, no sewer system, and no laundry or 
bathing facilities. Most of the buildings didn't have electricity, 
heat, windows, or doors. Eventually, Dimitri's parents were able to 
return to their home on St. George Island, but they still carried with 
them the experience of being forced into an internment camp. This was 
an experience that many Alaska Natives carried with them because they 
too were put into internment camps, not just in Funter Bay. There were 
internment camps in Killisnoo, Ward Cove, and on Burnett Island.
  Fast forward and once Dimitri became the executive director of APIA, 
he worked tirelessly to ensure that the Aleut people would receive 
restitution for their time in internment camps. He worked with Alaska's 
congressional delegation to ensure that Aleut and other Alaska Native 
people were able to testify before congressional hearing commissions 
and committees to share their stories and their experiences in 
internment camps.
  In 1988, the Aleut Restitution Act was passed, and in 1993, the 
Aleutian Pribilof Restitution Trust was created. Dimitri and many other 
Aleut leaders believe that the pursuit for restitution was one of the 
first steps in the healing process for the Aleut people.
  Dimitri has had a significant impact on the Aleut people who he 
represents. He serves as an inspiration to many other Alaska Native 
leaders. I am honored to recognize Dimitri for his years of 
humanitarian service, and I wish him many more years of service to his 
people and to his community by reminding us all that ``Unganan Ataaqan 
Akun''--``We Are One.''

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