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Katie John Katie John is famous for winning a monumental, 10-year-long battle in federal court against the state of Alaska for her subsistence fishing rights. She won at the federal district court level, in the appeals court and at the U.S. Supreme Court. Following a long, convuluted process the federal government took over fish and game management on federal lands in 1999. Citing a duty to protect State sovereignty, Governor Knowles then began a new process of appeals. Again, Katie won in the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of appeals. Knowles then had to decide whether to appeal the case to the Supreme Court. Some legislators threatened to impeach him if he did not. Governor Tony Knowles met with Katie John at the site of her subsistence fish wheel, Batzulnetas inside the Wrangell St. Elias National Park in 2001, and told Katie "I wanted to come and give a message to you from me, and from my wife, that to Alaskans you're a very brave person and a very good person. And for too long the State of Alaska has been fighting you about your susbsistence way of life. I commit to you that Alaska will not fight what you have brought to your family and to your people, but will support you." He then promised Katie that he will see to it that the State fights her no more. Source: Vernita Herdman Alaska Village Voices, Vol 5 Issue 3, July/Aug 2001 For more on this case see Alaska Village Voices, Vol 5 Issue 3, July/Aug 2001 |
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Mt. Sanford Tribal Consortium all rights reserved Chistochina AK 99586 |