This editorial first appeared in the Ketchikan Daily News:
It’s better late than never to do right by Alaska’s Native veterans.
Congressman Don Young has introduced the Alaska Native Veterans Land Allotment Equity Act. It would amend the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act to allow about 2,800 Natives who served in Vietnam to reapply for their Native allotment. They missed an earlier opportunity because they were in the armed services during the war.
“This is an issue of what is right and what is wrong,” says Young. “My bill will finally provide a chance for Alaskan Native Vietnam veterans to obtain land promised to them under ANCSA. It’s a shame that decades later, these honorable men and women are still waiting to receive what’s been promised to them.”
Current obstacles to the allotments include:
• These vets can apply only if they served on active duty from 1969 to 1971, even though the war started in 1964 and ended in 1975.
• The vets must prove they used the land in a continuous and independent manner, exclusive of others, for five or more years. This wasn’t required in the Native allotment act. It also wasn’t required of other Native applicants.
It seems appropriate that Native veterans who participated in the earliest or final years of the Vietnam War be included in participation of the land allotment equity act, and that they be treated like all other Natives as spelled out in the act.
Veterans should be treated at least as well — Native or not — as other Americans. Certainly, they shouldn’t be penalized for taking time away from their families and careers to serve this nation.
Comments (14)
Add commentHow much land?
ANCSA provides additional land for Native vets?
How much land?
And why now, Rep. Young? Oh, that's right, we're in an election year.
Well, Murkowski bought Native votes with promises of land for Natives. He's playing by her playbook.
Might as well jump in
Under the Obama admin. and current political climate, its all about giveaways. I wonder what land the eligible ones will go for, prime waterfront I imagine.
where is the bill ID
It might be nice if the information on the bill such as the actual name and other identification was provided. Legislation can have a great name and contain lots of things the name does not reflect.
If this legislation is strictly a house cleaning bill to rectify problems in the original legislation I will readily support it. However if it contains a lot of special things not germane to the actual fixes to the land claims for native veterans I will oppose it. Until I read the proposed legislation I can not approve or disapprove of the bill.
Whatever the concerns...
Whatever the concerns with intent or content that are held pending review of the bill language, perhaps we could all take a moment to thank our Native Alaskan Vietnam veterans for their much appreciated service to our country.
All veterans deserve at least that much.
Oh you'd just love that,
wouldn't you newlife? - - Thing is, Alaska is one of 3 states that garuntees our public pension plan in the AK Constitution. Better start paying down the unfunded liability now, or it will cost much more later. Public Employees are not responsible for the Administrations failure to keep deposits up into PERS/TERS.
Your profound ignorance is astonishing, and exactly the same line of untrue lies that is coming out of the Koch-drinking extreme right wing, from Wisconsin and the soon to be unemployed Gov. Walker, to Florida, Ohio, Michigan and New Jersey. When the day comes that you have absolutely no right to negotiate for wages, benefits, or a safe workplace, don't come running to me when you wake up and find the party you've been worshipping has betrayed you - and in fact has been laughing at the idiots who they have convinced to vote against their own interests time and time again. Organized Labor single-handedly created the middle class. When we all do well, we ALL do well. Go back to your FOX brainwashing session.
So.....Jerimiah's,
you're saying that "Between 30% to 65% of americans are considered middle class".....not too much room for spin there.
Not to say you'd ever spin anything....because as we all well know....you're in a spin-free, zone!
Banditrider...
Don Young is a Republican.....or is a ethnic thing
Geez, wolfmagic, for a young
Geez, wolfmagic, for a young woman, you're one aggressive, hard-nosed, progressive thinker. Look at some of the language you use...
Does it come naturally or did you learn that behavior somewhere? Isn't it about time to head back to Zuccotti Park where more of your ilk would welcome that kind of talk?
And we get lectured on tolerance - laughable.
"Facts????? we don't need no stinkin' facts!!!!....
Wolfmagic, I can see from your reply to "newlife" that you don't have a wide enough field-of-view regarding reality. We all, myself included, want financial security. Problem is, "we" (our grandparents) were sold a bill-of-goods by our government by things such as Social Security, Medicare, and yes, by our unions (I belong too) that the the good times would last forever just by virtue of our obstinance. They wouldn't and now it's time to pay the piper. The good people of Wisconsin are delusional if they ship Walker out (that's called shooting the messenger) and think their problems disappear. Nationally, things will continue to get worse as long as the masses think the Government is their savior and the Fed keeps printing money. The dollar you saved only four years ago is worth MUCH less today. We are on a true global stage and compete with workers from practically every nation on earth; guess what? They will work for a lot less than you want to charge. I don't like it either. Don't get mad, just get real. You will be better off in the long run.....
"Facts????? we don't need no stinkin' facts!!!!....
Wolfmagic, I can see from your reply to "newlife" that you don't have a wide enough field-of-view regarding reality. We all, myself included, want financial security. Problem is, "we" (our grandparents) were sold a bill-of-goods by our government by things such as Social Security, Medicare, and yes, by our unions (I belong too) that the the good times would last forever just by virtue of our obstinance. They wouldn't and now it's time to pay the piper. The good people of Wisconsin are delusional if they ship Walker out (that's called shooting the messenger) and think their problems disappear. Nationally, things will continue to get worse as long as the masses think the Government is their savior and the Fed keeps printing money. The dollar you saved only four years ago is worth MUCH less today. We are on a true global stage and compete with workers from practically every nation on earth; guess what? They will work for a lot less than you want to charge. I don't like it either. Don't get mad, just get real. You will be better off in the long run.....
"Facts????? we don't need no stinkin' facts!!!!....
Wolfmagic, I can see from your reply to "newlife" that you don't have a wide enough field-of-view regarding reality. We all, myself included, want financial security. Problem is, "we" (our grandparents) were sold a bill-of-goods by our government by things such as Social Security, Medicare, and yes, by our unions (I belong too) that the the good times would last forever just by virtue of our obstinance. They wouldn't and now it's time to pay the piper. The good people of Wisconsin are delusional if they ship Walker out (that's called shooting the messenger) and think their problems disappear. Nationally, things will continue to get worse as long as the masses think the Government is their savior and the Fed keeps printing money. The dollar you saved only four years ago is worth MUCH less today. We are on a true global stage and compete with workers from practically every nation on earth; guess what? They will work for a lot less than you want to charge. I don't like it either. Don't get mad, just get real. You will be better off in the long run.....
"Facts????? we don't need no stinkin' facts!!!!....
Wolfmagic, I can see from your reply to "newlife" that you don't have a wide enough field-of-view regarding reality. We all, myself included, want financial security. Problem is, "we" (our grandparents) were sold a bill-of-goods by our government with things such as Social Security, Medicare, etc., and yes, by our unions (I belong too) that the the good times would last forever just by virtue of our obstinance. They wouldn't and now it's time to pay the piper. The good people of Wisconsin are delusional if they ship Walker out (that's called shooting the messenger) and think their problems disappear. Nationally, things will continue to get worse as long as the masses think the Government is their savior and the Fed keeps printing money. The dollar you saved only four years ago is worth MUCH less today. We are on a true global stage and compete with workers from practically every nation on earth; guess what? They will work for a lot less than you want to charge. I don't like it either. Don't get mad, just get real. You will be better off in the long run.....
Stuck key
My apologies.