JUNEAU (AP) — The state Senate passed legislation last Friday to formally recognize tribes in Alaska, which supporters say is an overdue step that would create opportunities for the state and tribes to work together.
The measure passed 15-0 and will return to the House, which passed a similar version last year. If the House agrees to the Senate version before the Legislature’s scheduled adjournment this week, the bill will go to the governor.
If the bill is enacted, its passage would likely bump from this year’s ballot a similar tribal recognition initiative. Initiatives that qualify for the ballot can be bumped if the Legislature passes substantially similar legislation first. If the bill were to stall, however, and not pass, the initiative would be on the ballot.
The group behind the initiative, Alaskans for Better Government, said its goal is to “secure state recognition of Alaska’s (229) federally recognized tribes, regardless of whether this is accomplished via the legislature or the ballot box.”
Having a recognition in law would allow for continuity from one governor’s term to the next so that Alaska could work toward long-term solutions to issues with tribes, the group said.
“Without a strong foundation between governments it’s like building on sand — trust is temporary, relationships erode quickly, and efficiencies that are collaboratively achieved are unsustainable,” according to the ballot group.
Bethel Rep. Tiffany Zulkosky sponsored the bill, HB123.
Barbara ’Wáahlaal Gíidaak Blake, a co-chair of the initiative, said Friday’s Senate vote was “definitely worth celebrating” but also one step in the process.
“We’ll keep a watchful eye until all of the boxes have been checked, so to speak,” she said.
The federal government already recognizes tribes as sovereign, and engages with them on a nation-to-nation basis. The state does not always do the same.
The state works with tribes on “matters of child welfare, the Village Public Safety Officer program, temporary aid to needy families, Medicaid, Head Start early education programs, as well as tribal courts,” former Anchorage Rep. Chuck Kopp said in an opinion column in the Anchorage Daily News in February.
The legislation would add the Legislature’s acknowledgement to current practices by recognizing the tribes and improving government-to-government relations, Kopp wrote.
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