End-of-the-week Ruminations

Don't-Go-Taking-My-Heart Dept: Regarding yesterday's story about the federal setting-aside of over 200,000 sq. miles of land and sea for polar bear habitat, and the strangle-hold that would establish on oil exploration and drilling, I had a thought: Alaska's state constitution was written prior to its conversion from territory to state and admission to the Union.

That constitution makes the state's resources the property of the people of Alaska; it in fact calls for any and all future resource development to be for "the maximum benefit of the people." So the U.S. government knew that prior to our statehood, which prima facie grants said constitution the federal blessing, as it were.

Therefore, could yesterday's taking of a HUGE chunk of our coastline and coastal waters be construed as an unreasonable seizure of personal property without compensation, in violation of the 4th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution? Legal minds will be examining this issue, because our governor has already announced his opposition to the move, and declared that he will fight it.

This one will be interesting to watch.

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The-Natives-Are-Restless Dept: Literally, and meaning no disrespect.

The annual "Alaska Federation of Natives" convention is taking place in Anchorage this week. Yesterday two influential Inupiats, Willie Hensley and his daughter Elizabeth Hensley, spoke about the challenges facing Alaska Natives.

Elizabeth Hensley described an Alaska Native community at war Thursday. The fight is a legal one, for control of traditional Native land and hunting and fishing rights, she said, and a spiritual battle against social ills that can be traced back to colonization.
-- snip --

[Willie] Hensley is a Kotzebue-born Inupiat who was one of the founders of AFN in 1966. A paper he wrote in college outlined the moral and legal basis for the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act.

His daughter is a law school graduate and aide for Rep. Reggie Joule, D-Kotzebue. She said federal and state authorities aren't doing enough to protect Native hunting and fishing rights and appeared to call for tribal control over village law enforcement.

"What would happen if each of our tribes created a well-thought out, well-planned system for enforcing law and order?" Hensley asked. "Could any outside force really stop us, 231 tribes, from maintaining peace and harmony within our villages?"

Does that sound like the prelude to a declaration to anyone else? This is merely my opinion, but it could get interesting. Alaska Natives haven't been allowed to establish reservations or home rule, but some apparently want to.

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Mad-Alaskans-and-Englishmen: "An Englishman wearing pajama pants, apparently disoriented by the light of a summer solstice midnight, walks into a bar near Fairbanks and asks, "Excuse me, but I was wondering if can you tell me if it's morning or night?""

Read the rest here.

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Out-on-a-Limb Dept: Oops!

h/t ajdshootist for the panda