17 



The Tongass Transfer and Transition Act repeatedly stresses the 

 need and wisdom for the poHcy of local control and management of 

 the Tongass. This policy of local control and management is the 

 strongest portion of H.R. 2413. In Section 2 of the Findings of H.R. 

 2413, this policy states an important thought: That the government 

 that is the closest both in physical and cultural proximity to the 

 Tongass will be the most sensitive to the ecologic and economic 

 needs of the people of the Tongass. 



The Sitka Tribe respectfully submits that the governments with 

 the closest physical and cultural ties to the Tongass National For- 

 est are, in fact, the federally recognized tribes of Southeast Alaska, 

 one of which is the Sitka Tribe of Alaska. Further, if it is the inten- 

 tion of Congress to return ownership of the Tongass to the govern- 

 ments that will be the most sensitive to the ecologic, cultural, and 

 economic needs of the people of the Tongass, then let Congress re- 

 turn ownership of this portion of the Tongass to the governments 

 that have managed these lands and waters since a time before 

 written history or living memory, the federally recognized tribes of 

 Southeast Alaska. This could also include representation of the 

 communities involved as determined by the elected. 



Again, the Sitka Tribe appreciates your invitation and oppor- 

 tunity to testify regarding this bill, and we welcome you to visit 

 with Sitka Tribe Council to discuss our concerns for local owner- 

 ship and management of the Tongass National Forest. 



Thank you. 



The Chairman. Thank you, Ted, and if I did mispronounce 

 Borbridge, I am sorry, but I thought I pronounced it correctly. 



Russ, you are up. 



STATEMENT OF RUSSELL WRIGHT 



Mr. Wright. Thank you for the opportunity. Congressman. 



As I was leaving the house, my wife said keep it short, so I came 

 with a new list. 



I left Angoon in 1949 to go to attend Sheldon Jackson, and com- 

 ing to Sitka, it was a big town, big city. At the end of the road was 

 a cottage. It had a bridge going to the dairy farm, and that was 

 pretty much the end of — the reason I am saying this is because a 

 lot of people — a lot of new people live here, and they do not know 

 the history of Sitka, and if you do not know your history, you are 

 going to be amiss. 



With that thought, there is a few homes down toward the dairy 

 farm, but not many, and going out the Halibut Point Road, Marine 

 Street is pretty much the end of downtown there. There was a few 

 homes going out to Halibut Point, like the Toothacher (ph) — people 

 remember that — and during Christmas I came home from the navy, 

 after I had left Sheldon Jackson, and we used to go across Marine 

 Street to get a Christmas tree, which now is pretty well developed, 

 and downtown was, I do not know, two or three thousand people. 

 I could be incorrect on minor details, but to me it was a big city. 

 It was a nice city, friendly. I remember the Hames' business and 

 Wrens (ph), and they really catered to the students, you might say. 

 They had nice shops. 



I left Sheldon Jackson and after three years joined the navy dur- 

 ing the Korean conflict, came back, got my high school diploma, 



