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FRIDAY, AUGUST 17, 2001

Alaska Governor Tony Knowles' two-day conference on subsistence ended on Thursday with participants calling for a law to give Alaska Natives greater responsibility for managing wildlife.

Participants also called for a constitutional amendment to ensure that rural residents get a subsistence priority. An amendment could prevent Knowles from appealing the landmark Katie John Native rights case.

The state's constitution currently forbids preferences for any resident, Alaska Native, rural or otherwise. The Katie John case allowed the federal government to take over waterways in the state to ensure Natives get preferences.

Republican lawmakers are pushing Knowles to appeal. The president of the Senate said the summit's decision on an amendment probably won't change their minds.

Get the Story:
Leaders agree to rural priority (The Anchorage Daily News 8/17)

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Subsistence summit begins in Alaska (8/16)