'It's different politics over there'
Derek Neary
Northern News Services
Anchorage, Alaska (Oct 30/00) - Deh Cho First Nations Grand Chief Michael Nadli and Aboriginal Affairs Minister Jim Antoine have received a crash course in politics, Alaska-style.
The pair attended the Alaska Federation of Natives Convention in Anchorage. The event drew more than 3,000 Alaskan representatives and delegates from Greenland, the U.S., Lapland, Russia and various Pacific islands.
Nadli made a presentation on the Deh Cho self-government process, while Antoine took part in a panel discussion on the challenges of implementing aboriginal self-government.
"It was to learn from the experiences of Alaska natives in their land claims and rights to self-determination," Nadli said of the trip. "It's different politics over there."
The native people of Alaska are very progressive and successful in the development corporations they have established through their land claims, he said. However, the Alaskan natives are facing their own struggles.
"Their lifestyle is so dependent on the land. They need those foods," Nadli explained.
"At the same time, the tourism industry groups -- and they're a big lobby group -- are bringing in international hunters ... now the question of subsistence is what (the natives) are contending with."
