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statement of Ernestine Hanlon 

 Tlingit of Hoonah, Alaska 

 BEFORE THE U.S. SENATE SUBCOMMITTEE 

 ON PUBLIC LANDS, NATIONAL PARKS 

 AND FORESTS. 



APRIL 25, 1989. 



MY NAME IS KA SY YAH GAH, MY ENGLISH NAME IS ERNESTINE HANLON, I AM 

 TLINGIT FROM HOONAH. FROM TIME IMMEMORIAL, MY DAD'S FAMILY IS FROM 

 AROUND HOONAH AND MY MOM'S FAMILY IS FROM KILLISNOO, I AM FROM THE 

 DOGSALMON CLAN, OF THE RAVEN MOEITY. 



I WEAVE TLINGIT SPRUCE ROOT BASKETS AND CHILKAT ROBES. THE BASKETS, 



ARE WOVEN FROM THE SITKA SPRUCE ROOTS AND DYED GRASS. THIS FORM OF 



WEAVING IS CENTURIES OLD, AFTER THE WORLD FLOOD, RECEDED OR AS LONG 

 AS THE TREES HAVE BEEN WITH US. 



TLINGIT ARTWORK, IS RECONGIZED, AS A HIGH QUALITY PIECES OF WORK, 

 BECAUSE, OF THE RICHNESS OF THE LAND, WE WERE NOT IN SEARCH OF FOOD. 

 WE HAD THE TIME TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO WEAVE A PERFECT CIRCLE, IN OUR 

 CHILKAT ROBES, OR CARVE A DETAILED TOTEM POLE, DEPICTING OUR FAMILY 

 CREST. WE CONTINUE TO PRODUCE, BEAUTIFUL BASKETS BECAUSE, ACCORDING 

 TO OUR "LAW OF THE LAND", WE STILL HAVE OUR TREES. EACH BASKET VERY, 

 VERY OLD, AND NOT SO OLD, IN OUR DESIGNS, ALL SHOW A DEEP RESPECT 

 AND APPRECIATION OF THIS LAND. A PERSON CAN FEEL THIS THROUGH THE 

 GENERATION^ AS WE COME TO THE LAND, TO HARVEST MATERIALS, FOR OUR 

 BASKETS, CHILKAT ROBES OR OTHER ART WORK, AS WE GATHER OUR FOOD AND 

 MEDICINE. 



HOONAH, IS SURROUNDED BY TONGASS NATIONAL FOREST, A VILLAGE, THAT 



IS PREDOMINATLY NATIVE. FISHING AND HUNTING, HAS ALWAYS BEEN THE 



MAJOR INDUST R Y .> THE STATE OF THE LAND, WAS SUCH, WE WERE NEVER, 

 HUNGRY OR COLD./ , . 



MORE THAN ANY OTHER PLACE IN SOUTHEAST ALASKA, AS A VILLAGE, WE FEEL 

 THE AFFECT OF LOGGING AND ROAD-BUILDING. WE FEEL THE IMPACTS, NOW 

 AND SEE IRREPABLE DAMAGE TO THE LAND, SHOULD WE ALLOW THE FOREST 

 SERVICE TO CONTINUE MANAGEMENT AS IS. MURKOWSKI'S BILL WOULD NOT, 

 ALLOW OTHER PROTECTIONS, THAT WE NEED TO GUARBNTEE , SURVIVAL OF THIS 

 LAND AND OUR CULTURAL, IT WOULD ONLY ALLOW MORE MISMANAGEMENT. 



THANK YOU SENATOR WIRTH, FOR INTRODUCING S346. WE NEED TO SEE END 

 TO THE A. 5 CUTS, WE ARE LIVING IN ENOUGH DESTRUCTION. THE $40 MILLION 

 SUBSISDY, DRIVES THIS DESTRUCTION, MOSTLY TO NEEDLESS ROADS, ANOTHER 

 NEGATIVE IMPACT, TO OUR WAY OF LIFE. WE NEED TO END THE 50 YEAR 

 CONTRACTS AND REPALCE THEM WITH A SHORT TERM, COMPETITIVE BIDS, TO 

 SHOW THE AMERICAN SPIRIT OF FREE ENTERPRISE. TO STRENGTHEN WIRTH'S 

 BILL, WE WOULD LIKE TO SEE PERMANENT PROTECTION TO THE 23 AREAS. 7 

 OF THESE AREAS, ARE VERY CRUCIAL TO HOONAH. PLEASENT ISLAND, LEMISURE 

 ISLAND AND POINT ADOLPHUS, ARE VERY CRUCIAL HABITAT, FOR THE DEER AND 

 OTHER WONDEROUS WILDLIFE. 



