Tribes blast Stevens' remarks

ANCHORAGE - Tribal advocates want an apology from Sen. Ted Stevens, saying he made racist remarks while explaining attempts to prevent Alaska tribes from receiving certain federal grants.

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Stevens, an Alaska Republican, said last week that the tribal sovereignty movement was a threat to the state.

"The road they're on now is the road to the destruction of statehood," Stevens said, "because the Native population is increasing at a much greater rate than the non-Native population. I don't know if you realize that. And they want to have total jurisdiction over anything that happens in a village without regard to state law and without regard to federal law."

Tribal advocates said Stevens should apologize for that comment, which was broadcast on the Alaska Public Radio Network.

"It's being viewed by people like myself as racist language," said Vernita Herdman, advocacy coordinator for the Rural Alaska Community Action Program. "It makes me sick. It makes me feel sick inside for him. Are we or are we not Alaska's first people?"

David Russell, Stevens' chief of staff, said Stevens meant that if the sovereignty movement is successful, the increase in the Native population would lead to more claims for the creation of sovereign tribes, more tribal courts and more questions about jurisdiction.

"The more confusion there is, the more uncertainty, the less successful the state's legal system will be," Russell told the Anchorage Daily News.

Stevens' remarks came as he attempts to cut off tribes from some of the federal grants they have received in recent years. A rider that Stevens attached to a pending appropriations bill would prevent Alaska tribes from getting Justice Department grants to fund their courts and pay their police officers. Instead, the money would go to the state to provide court services and state police officers, he said.

Stevens said he plans to take similar action on federal housing funds. The housing grants should go to regional associations not individual Alaska tribes, he said.

Stevens has long said that if each tribe goes after its own federal funds, there will be too many organizations administering programs and not enough money to go around. He has suggested a more regional approach to allocating money.

Herdman said it now feels like Stevens is working against them. Tribes, she contends, administer programs efficiently because people in the community do the work, saving money on travel.

"The state of Alaska cannot afford not to have tribes," she said. "They're using local people to do a local job."