[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 15]
[Senate]
[Pages 20226-20227]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




      40TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ALASKA NATIVE CLAIMS SETTLEMENT ACT

  Ms. MURKOWSKI. As Senator Begich mentioned, Alaskans are celebrating 
other occasions this week as well.
  I rise today to speak about a resolution Senator Begich and I have 
submitted that recognizes December 18, 2011, as the 40th anniversary of 
the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. Our resolution recognizes and 
commends the significant achievements Alaska Native people have made 
over the past 40 years through their congressionally created Alaska 
Native corporations.
  Not only has the Alaska community risen to the challenge of creating 
sustainable businesses, but they have created employment opportunities 
for our Nation's citizens really across the country--not just located 
in the State of Alaska but really all across our country and through 
the world. Alaska Native corporations continue to make significant 
contributions to their communities, our Nation, and the global economy, 
and for this they should be commended and they should be applauded.
  Our resolution encourages the citizens of the United States to 
acknowledge and support the leadership and continued efforts of Alaska 
Native people in managing their resources through the Alaska Native 
corporations. The resolution also sends a strong message of support to 
thousands of Alaska Native youth from across the State who are working 
and contributing positively to their families and to their communities, 
focusing their efforts on earning a college education, participating in 
cultural activities, and realizing a dream that they may one day earn 
places of leadership within their own corporations. Their efforts are 
recognized and appreciated.
  Over this coming weekend, Alaska Natives and advocates from across 
the United States will participate in community dialogs and celebratory 
events to reflect upon what has been accomplished over these past 40 
years since passage of ANCSA. Participants will focus on the next steps 
that are needed to improve upon the continued success and the unity of 
Alaska Native tribes, villages, and our corporations.
  Through their participation and commitment to management of their 
resources through the vehicle of Alaska Native corporations, many young 
Alaska Native people will embark upon a lifetime journey of service, 
community engagement, and philanthropy. Alaska Native corporations have 
afforded a unique opportunity for Alaska Native people to gain valuable 
insights into the business world, while maintaining thoughtful focus on 
issues concerning Alaska Native tribes and communities.
  The next generation of Alaska Native people will continue to make 
positive changes in the world around them through acquired leadership 
skills, cultural advocacy, and community engagement, and through their 
dedication and enthusiasm, the next generation of leaders honors the 
previous generation of Alaska Native leaders who really worked so very 
diligently to achieve the passage of the most significant Native lands 
settlement in our Nation's history.
  In addition to all of the very remarkable young people who will one 
day be managers and policymakers of their Native corporations, I honor 
the work of those who contributed to the success of the passage of the 
Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. It was no easy feat negotiating 
this very complex piece of litigation. It took the drafters years for 
the settlement to be discussed, to be interpreted, analyzed, debated, 
negotiated, and finalized. It was truly an accomplishment.
  While no piece of legislation can claim perfection, the original 
drafters of the ANCSA bill worked tirelessly to achieve a fair and a 
just settlement for the native people of Alaska and the ever-evolving 
document has had a number of significant amendments that have 
considerably improved the original bill.
  While a list acknowledging all of the Alaska Native leaders and 
advocates who worked on the act would prove impossibly long, I wish to 
recognize a few of the people who have since passed, who played an 
instrumental and an unforgettable role in its passage.
  First, U.S. Secretary of the Interior, Secretary Udall. I had both 
Tom and Mark Udall sitting right in front of me before I began my 
comments here. It is a tribute to him that he did so much in his 
service as Secretary of the Interior. Also our own Senator Ted Stevens 
and his efforts; U.S. Congressman Nick Begich, who was instrumental in 
passage of ANCSA, and Morris Thompson, who is an Athabascan out of the 
Koyukon area. It was back in 1966 that Stewart Udall, who was Secretary 
of the Interior then, responded to pleas from Alaska Native groups, 
imposed a ``land freeze'' on all land in Alaska under Federal control, 
which amounted to about 96 percent of all the land in the State at the 
time. Secretary Udall helped develop a program for solutions to the 
Native land claims issue throughout the State. Although ANCSA at that 
time was still in its infancy, the freeze prevented the transfer of all 
remaining Federal lands and would remain in effect until the Native 
land claims were resolved. Without that freeze, the Alaska Native 
people might have won their claim but they may not have had lands to 
select.
  Senator Stevens, in his role, called his work on the unprecedented 
landmark legislation of ANCSA his Senate baptism of fire. In a 1991 
newspaper article, the Senator is quoted as saying that he believed a 
settlement could be achieved because of his ``faith in the 
determination and the unity of purpose of Alaska's Native people.'' 
Senator Stevens was one of the advocates who pushed for the 40-million-
acre land provision versus the 1 million acres the White House had 
initially proposed.
  With threats looming that subcommittee sessions would be called off, 
which would effectively end a negotiated settlement, Congressman Nick 
Begich played a key role in keeping the legislative process moving. By 
the end of the negotiations, the subcommittee package was a tribute to 
the Congressman's role as architect of the House compromise. One 
veteran lobbyist said:

       It is the best individual achievement I have ever heard of 
     for a freshman Congressman.

  I would be remiss in not mentioning the very unforgettable Morris 
Thompson. At 34 years old, Morris was the youngest commissioner of the 
Bureau of Indian Affairs. He held a Cabinet position in the Nixon 
administration and, with his Interior Department positions, Morris was 
very deeply involved in passage of the ANCSA at the time. He was a 
prominent leader in the Native, corporate, and political worlds. He was 
known for a good sense of humor, wit, and wisdom, but was also a very 
savvy businessman who led Doyon, which was an Alaska Native regional 
corporation, to great success. His lifelong commitment to the people 
and progress of Alaska truly lives on in his legacy.
  I am proud of all these people. I value their idealism, their energy, 
dedication, and unique perspectives they brought to the table in 
working toward the initial crafting of the Alaska Native Claims 
Settlement Act.
  I thank Senator Begich for standing with me to submit this important 
resolution that acknowledges the hard work of the Alaska Native people 
in the success of their Alaska Native corporations on this 40th 
anniversary of passage of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. I 
know Congressman Young joins with us in celebrating this anniversary as 
well.


                           Honoring Ray Mala

  Since, as I mentioned, we are working a little bit on Alaska Day, I 
wish

[[Page 20227]]

also to take a couple of moments here to recognize yet another Alaskan 
leader, truly an Alaskan legend. Two days after Christmas of this year 
would have marked the 105th birthday of an Alaska legend, Ray Mala. 
Despite insurmountable odds, Ray Mala dared to dream and he went on to 
become our Nation's first Native American international film star. He 
would have been 105, or he will have been, 2 days after Christmas, but 
he was our Nation's first Native American international film star. He 
was born in the remote village of Candle, to an immigrant father of 
Russian Jewish descent. He was fluent in both English and his mother's 
native language of Inupiat. He was a skilled hunter. He learned the 
Inupiat ways from his maternal grandmother, Nancy Armstrong, and while 
the family lived a traditional lifestyle, Mala learned to walk in both 
the traditional and modern worlds. Facing poverty, Mala was a very 
accomplished hunter, using a bow and arrow to catch whatever food he 
would bring home. Wearing a handmade fur parka, he and his grandmother 
would traverse through harsh arctic storms in pursuit of subsistence 
land animals. When they would return home, Mala would pour himself into 
academic studies at the local school, always striving to improve 
himself.
  At age 16 he made his acting debut in the film ``Primitive Love.'' 
Mala was initially hired as a laborer on the remote film set there in 
the State, but film makers discovered his natural talent behind the 
camera and, as I say, the rest is history. He was bitten by the acting 
bug. Mala set out for Hollywood. He worked his way up from sweeping the 
stage floors to being an assistant cameraman at Fox Studios.
  Initially he was turned down for any leading roles because of his 
mixed Eskimo-Jewish heritage, but Mala landed his first role in the 
silent film ``Igloo,'' which was shot in Barrow, AK. The film's success 
earned him the title of the Eskimo Clark Gable.
  In 1932, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, MGM Studios, sent a film crew from 
Hollywood to Nome. My mother was born in Nome in 1932. Nome was a 
pretty interesting community back there, still very rough around the 
edges, but they sent a film crew to Nome to begin shooting the film 
that would thrust Mala into stardom. MGM struck gold with the film 
``Eskimo,'' a film also called ``Mala the Magnificent,'' the first 
full-length feature film ever shot in Alaska. Mala became Alaska's 
first Hollywood film star and also the first nonwhite actor cast in a 
leading role. Over the span of his career, Mala would appear in over 25 
films, all the while winning devoted fans across generations, across 
cultures--they loved him. His widely acclaimed role in ``Eskimo'' would 
earn Mala his place in Hollywood history.
  He was more than an actor. He also excelled in cinematography and 
screenwriting. Keep in mind, this is a young Eskimo boy, raised in the 
traditional ways back in the early 1900s. Not only is he picked up by 
Hollywood and is a phenomenal actor, but he also excels in 
cinematography and screenwriting. He worked on films with many 
legendary filmmakers, including Alfred Hitchcock and Cecil B. DeMille. 
But his blossoming career was cut short by his death at age 45 due to 
heart complications. Mala faced many challenging personal 
circumstances, such as racial discrimination, at a very early age. But 
that did not prevent him from achieving both personal and professional 
excellence. I am sure he would be very proud to see that his grandson 
was following in his acting footsteps.
  This year, in her newly released book ``Eskimo Star,'' author Lael 
Morgan chronicled the inspirational life story of Ray Mala, and the 
State of Alaska hosted a Ray Mala film festival celebrating Mala's 
films in community theaters from Juneau all the way up to Point Hope.
  It is a great honor for me to reflect on the life of this 
inspirational Alaska Native icon, and to offer a tribute to his 
spirited and very triumphant journey from small-town village boy to 
silver screen leading man. Alaskans look forward to the day when Ray 
Mala's magnificent star might be posthumously added to the Hollywood 
Walk of Fame, a tribute to the Nation's first ever Native American film 
star.
  It is a good way to end our Alaska day series. I appreciate the 
indulgence of my colleagues.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Franken). The Senator from Iowa.

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