Native leaders criticize Palin's A.G. pick; Ross says he'll represent all Alaska

Posted by thevillage

Posted: March 31, 2009 - 6:02 pm

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Alaska Native leaders are giving Gov. Sarah Palin’s pick for attorney general – Anchorage lawyer Wayne Anthony Ross -- a thumbs-down this week.

“It almost looked like she was rubbing our face in (Ross’) appointment. Like rubbing our face on the ground, saying 'Here, take this,' ” said Tim Towarak, vice chairman of the Alaska Federation of Natives and president of the Bering Straits Native Corp.

Ross has been an outspoken opponent of giving rural communities first dibs on subsistence hunting and fishing, which would require amending the state constitution. AFN board members had been talking about resurrecting that idea, Towarak said, but Ross’ appointment could put it on hold.

“To me the governor is sending a message that she’s shutting the door on any question on subsistence as long as Wayne Anthony Ross is her attorney general. I don’t even think we’ll have the chance to talk to him about it,” Towarak said.

But Ross – who spent his first day on the job today in Juneau -- says he does want to talk to his critics. He sees the criticism as divisive and premature, and said he thought talk of urban-versus-rural hunting rights had died down in recent years

“Whoever is raising this spectre again from the dead ought to be jumped on. We need to remember we're all Alaskans, we’re working together. We’re working for the best interest of the state and we need to sit down and talk,” he said.

And: “If I do something you don’t like, then dump on me. But don’t go dumping on me ahead of time.”

Here’s a roundup of what people are saying about the selection:

Gov. Sarah Palin

-- “Obviously I am not anti-Native and would never appoint anyone who is. It's unfortunate that a few vocal critics view anyone who may have a different opinion as they do as being unfit for public service for all Alaskans," via an email sent out today by her spokeswoman.

...

Wayne Anthony Ross:

-- “We’re all Alaskans, we need to work together and this rural versus urban and all that stuff – it’s got to stop.”

-- Ross doesn’t like it when people say he’s against rural preference. “Quit saying I was ‘opposed to’ … “I was in favor of the constitution. There’s a difference. The constitution says the assets belong to all the people of the state of Alaska.”

-- “I’m going to stand up for all Alaskans, and for the constitution, and if people want to be treated differently than other Alaskans, it’s probably going to be opposed.”

-- “My orders and my desire is to represent all the people of Alaska for the best interest of the state.”

...

Heather Kendall-Miller, senior attorney for the Native American Rights Fund

-- “I think this is more of a reflection of Sarah Palin than it is of Wayne Anthony Ross… she’s specifically chosen an individual that represents her values rather than someone who has broad executive experience in directing the states biggest law firm, law office.”

-- Subsistence has been one of the biggest policy questions facing each of the past three former governors, Kendall-Miller said.

-- “She’s shown no interest in trying to work with the Native community on important issues of subsistence or tribal sovereignty.”

...

AFN co-chairman Tim Towarak:

-- “There’s nothing we can do against it. (Ross’s selection.) We’re only 20 percent of the votes in Alaska. So I think she’s doing it because she knows she can get away with it. And a lot of actions by the state of Alaska are done in that context.”

-- “She’s got national politics in mind and this is one way that she can get the message across that she is a conservative and it works totally against the Alaska Native communities effort.”

...

Rod Arno, executive director of the Alaska Outdoor Council:

-- Ross is a member of Alaska Outdoor Council, a collection of sportsmen’s groups. Arno says Ross is “pro-Alaska,” not “anti-Native.” “He definitely believes whole heartedly in the common use clause that’s in the state constitution that says all Alaskans are equal when it comes to accessing public resources. He’s a real defender of statehood rights.”

-- “He believes strongly in the statehood act and state sovereignty. I think that’s going to be a big plus for all Alaskans -- it doesn’t have to be a native, non-Native issue.”

...

Mike Walleri, general counsel for the Tanana Chiefs Conference:

-- “At the current time,” the Tanana Chiefs Conference opposes Ross’s appointment.

-- “He has been an outspoken critic of subsistence and has strongly suggested that, or basically promised when he was running as governor, that he wanted to hire a bunch of 'junkyard dogs' and turn them lose on ANILCA.”

Note: That last quote is a reference to a 2002 gubernatorial debate in Kodiak, where Ross said he would hire a band of ''junkyard dog'' assistant attorneys general to challenge the federal law that requires a subsistence preference or seek changes in the law through Congress, according to The Associated Press.

That same year in Wasilla, Ross told trappers that ''I'm gonna hire some very serious AGs (attorneys general), and we're gonna take on the feds and regain control of this state.”

He now says those were different times, when the debate over urban-versus-rural hunting rights was more pronounced. “Let’s remember that we're Alaskans, there’s only a few of us, and we’ve got a lot of big issues to fight for. We shouldn’t be nibbling on one another.”

The first case?

One immediate issue that could cross Ross’s desk: A Kasilof hunter has sued the state over the Board of Game’s recent decision to change the way the state divvies up the popular Nelchina caribou hunt, calling it unconstitutional

Doing away with a controversial subsistence scoring system that rated applicants partly on how long they’ve hunted in the region, the Game Board voted to allow hunters in eight villages to bag up to 300 caribou. Other hunters would divide the rest.

The lawsuit says the move amounts to a rural preference for subsistence hunting.

Ross said Tuesday afternoon he’d only been on the job a few hours and hadn’t had a chance to review the case.

“I haven’t developed a position on it. I haven’t been briefed on it. And I haven’t even had lunch yet,” he said.

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