Volume I of the Alaska Natives Commission's Final Report
was prepared by the Commission staff for the purpose of providing
an overview and summary of the Commission's substantial work product
compiled through hearings, research and deliberations carried out
since July of 1992. Mike Irwin, the Commission's Executive Director,
is editor and principal author of Volume I. Other writing credits
for this and subsequent volumes go to Edward Deaux, Ph.D., Bart
Garber, William Hanable, George Irwin, Alexandra J. McClanahan and
Harold Napoleon.
The volume conveys the flavor, sense and direction of the Commission's
conclusions and recommendations based on the three "Overarching
Principles" found on page 20. A complete listing of all recommendations
made by the Commission based on findings of its various task forces
can be found in Part Three of this document. Volume I serves as
an introduction to, and summary of, the Commission's full body of
work. Those looking for greater detail — including findings,
discussions and conclusions on particular issues — should also
refer to Volumes II and III of the Final Report. Each section of
these additional volumes contains the full text and language crafted
by the Commission and its task forces, as edited and adopted by
the full Commission.
Volume II of the Alaska Natives Commission's Final Report
contains the full text of five separate studies conducted by the
five Commission task forces. Each task force was given a distinctive
charge by the Commission to study, variously, Alaska Native issues
related to: Alaska Native health, social and cultural dynamics,
economics and economic development, education and governance. Many
of the discussions, findings and recommendations found in the task
force sections of this volume are summarized in Volume I of the
Commission's Final Report.
Volume III of the report contains material regarding Alaska
Native Subsistence and Tribal Government. Section one is an explanation
of the importance of subsistence living to Natives and the issues
revolving around the lifestyle. The second section is a report on
the functionality and status of the Alaska Native Tribal Government,
their policies and standings.
In preparing these studies, the task forces went to great lengths
to treat each issue as thoroughly and conclusively as possible.
This issues were examined from a number of policy perspectives,
including social, cultural and economic, in recognition of their
complex, interwoven and inseparable nature.
