A report released last Friday seeks to help Alaska Natives understand their social and economic status and prepare for a better tomorrow.

Our Choices, Our Future is the first publication of the Alaska Native Policy Center, a project of the non-profit First Alaskans Institute. The report follows the Status of Alaska Natives, a comprehensive study of the state's Native population that was released last July.

The study, prepared by the University of Alaska at Anchorage, summarized population, health, economics and education statistics for the nearly 120,000 Alaska Natives in the state. It confirmed for many that Natives are still falling behind on many key indicators.

But Native leaders wanted to take the data further so they held a series of meetings throughout the state to share the findings with the Native community. The goal was to present the information from a Native point of view for a Native audience.

"We tried to capture interpretations of the data that reflect what Alaska Natives see every day and that they intuitively understand," said Byron I. Mallott, president of the First Alaskans Institute, and Greta L. Goto, director of the Alaska Native Policy Center. "In seeing the data compiled in a whole piece, may gain insights and new perspectives that serve to make the trail ahead brighter."

Our Choices, Our Future is broken into four major sections: population, health, economy and education. Each section presents the data as reported by the University of Alaska and the response it generated during the community meetings.

POPULATION
The data shows Alaska Natives are young and highly mobile. More than 44 percent of Natives are 19 years of age or younger, according to the report. And while a majority still live in rural village, 42 percent of Natives have moved to urban areas.

The population is also growing at a fast rate. Currently, Natives make up 19 percent of the state population, and their numbers are expected to increase in the coming decades. With life expectancy improving, the population growth means there are more elderly Natives than before.

These statistics gave rise to three major themes: youth, elders and migration. Participants in the community discussions relayed concerns such as jobs for youth, care for elders and opportunities and services available in rural areas versus cities.

HEALTH
The data here painted a mixed portrait of the health status of Alaska Natives. While some indicators were positive -- immunization rates of Native children are much higher than the rest of the U.S., life expectancy has increased significantly and infant mortality rates have fallen dramatically -- others indicated a need for progress.

For example, rates of fetal alcohol syndrome doubled from the late 1980s to the late 1990s. Tobacco and alcohol usage is extremely high, even among teens, and diabetes cases doubled between 1985 and 1999.

Based on these numbers, Alaska Natives wanted to learn how these problems impact certain age groups and affect education and economic conditions. They also wanted more data on HIV infections, suicide rates, mental health, elders and veterans.

ECONOMY
Data on economic status was also mixed. It showed that Natives have a 33 percent unemployment rate, a per capita income less than half of that of non-Natives and suffer from poverty nearly three times the rate of non-Natives.

At the same time, Natives own 11 percent of all businesses in Alaska, a higher percentage than for Indian businesses in any other state. Alaska Native regional and village corporations are powerhouse in the state, generating $3 billion in annual revenues and employing 13,000 people.

With a high cost of living in rural areas, meeting participants voice concern about the cost of home heating, electricity and transportation. "People need to understand how the whole energy system in rural Alaska compares with the urban situation," the report states.

Natives were also concerned about the impact of subsistence on food economies, jobs and decreasing federal funds.

EDUCATION
Improvements were seen in a number of areas. According to the report, 71 percent of Natives have high school diplomas, up from just 48 percent in 1980. And the number of Natives who have gone to four-year colleges has more than tripled since 1980.

Still, the high school dropout rate almost doubled recently and Native students have a hard time passing standardized tests. Far fewer Native males go to college compared to Native women and few Natives are in teaching careers.

This data raised the importance of having more Native educators, providing more training for teachers and understanding how successes in testing and cultural immersion can be replicated.

CONCLUSIONS
Based on the information, the Alaska Native Policy Center said there is "no single answer" for addressing the issues raised. "The data indicate a seeming paradox: that many of the changes have been for the better, and yet, there are disparities and new challenges," the report said.

But the center identified three immediate issues: improving public education, health issues, creating jobs and lowering the cost of living in rural Alaska.

The center also wants more feedback on the analysis. Comments can be emailed to policy@firstalaskans.org.

Get the Report:
Our Choices, Our Future: Analysis of the Status of Alaska Natives Report 2004

Relevant Links:
First Alaskans Institute - http://www.firstalaskans.org