467 



Tesiimony of Carlton R. Smith 



on behalf of 



The Southeast Alaska Native Land Acquisition Coalition 



before the Senate Energy Subcomnrincc on Public Lands Conccniing the Tongass 



April 25. 1989 

 S)ti;a, Alaskii 



Thank you this opportunity to speak to you today. My 

 name is Carlton Smith, and on behalf of the more than 2,000 

 Alaska Natives from Southeast Alaska, I extend to you a 

 warm welcome to the Tongass. 



Teddy Roosevelt chose to rename the Tongass in 1902 

 after the Tongass (Tlingit) people, so we believe it's only 

 fitting in your deliberation of this issue that the Tlmgit people 

 officially welcome you to the Tongass. 



I speak to you today as the representative of the Southeast 

 Alaska Native Land Acquisition Coalition. My testimony 

 will be a departure from that you have heard previously and 

 from testimony which will follow. 



I am from the community of Haines, Alaska and was 

 originally enrolled under the terms of the Alaska Native 

 Claims Settlement Act of 1971 as a Haines village enrollee. 



The Tongass, as home to us, is where we are bom. It is 

 where we bury our loved ones. It is where we raise our 

 children and it is where our grandchildren will live. 



