THE ALEUT COMMUNITY COUNCIL, Mr. WILLIAM C. FOSTER, Senate Commerce Committee, Washington, D.C. DEAR MR. FOSTER: I am sending you a copy of the amendments I offered before the subcommittee hearing held on St. Paul Island on S. 2102. For the official record I wish to stat ethat the St. Paul community wants the wording of the amendments changed to the following wording: Amendment I: "All money from the sale of improved lots and unimproved lots under section 206 (c) shall be set aside for the community government. The Secretary shall turn over the money to the community government of St. Paul after incorporation and after the Secretary shall determine that the municipality is capable, financially and otherwise, to provide adequate municipal services to persons inhabiting these islands." Amendment II: "That 15 percent of the net proceeds of the United States share or $100,000, before the money is split between the U.S. Government and the State of Alaska, shall be granted to the community government of St. Paul each year for the purposes of providing municipal services." Amendment III: "That the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries furnish the council with copies of the regulations written to implement S. 2102 before these regulations are adopted. The council would like to be able to review these regulations and offer suggestions for changes." Would you see to it that the wording of the three amendments is changed in the official record? I would also like to offer a fourth amendment to S. 2102. Would you enter this fourth amendment in the official record of the hearing on S. 2102? Amendment IV to section 206(a): "In addition to the land set aside for the establishment of a townsite, the Secretary is also authorized to set aside sufficient land in the areas known as Marunich, Tsammana, and Southwest Point for purposes of recreation and cabin sites. The Secretary shall survey the land set aside at Marunich and Tsammana points into lots, blocks and streets, and issue a patent therefore to a trustee appointed by the Secretary. The trustee is authorized to convey to the community government titles to improved or unimproved lots for cabinsite or other purposes not inconsistent with the purpose for which the Secretary administers said islands, with or without reimbursement. The Secretary shall also survey the land set aside at Southwest Point and cause this area to be set aside for a recreation area not to be subdivided. The title to this area shall be conveyed to the community government." We enjoyed visiting with you during your short stay on St. Paul. You were of great help to me during your stay. I hope to see you in Washington when further hearings are held on S. 2102. ILIODOR MERCULIEFF, President. Senator BARTLETT. I understand. I was in Alaska about that time and didn't see it. I will ask the St. Paul witnesses about that. If I can find it, I would like to call your attention to something else relating to this, Mr. Secretary. Mr. Foster asked this question on page 33, of Mr. Merculieff: Mr. FOSTER. At the present time, as I understand it, the receipts from the sale of the fur seal are divided 70 percent going to the State and 30 percent going to the Federal Government. As I understand your interest would be in obtaining 15 percent of the United States' share? Mr. MERCULIEFF. Negative on that, no. [Laughter.] We were under the understanding that 15 percent is shared to Japan, another 15 percent to Canada, and the remaining 70 percent, after all the so-called bills that are paid for the islands, the balance of that goes to the State of Alaska. I think the State of Alaska should be lenient enough that they can give us at least 15 percent of their net proceeds. Elsewhere we have pointed out that 15 percent of the net proceeds of that year would be zero. So the people of St. Paul on that occasion at least, through the village council, has a positive view on where the money ought to come from. Perhaps if it came to a pinch they would just as soon take it from the Federal Government. We will see. Mr. WADE. I want to emphasize very much the government's strong feeling about this. We feel that the villages out there could well use some transitional funds at least, and I would like the record to show here how much the State got from the sale of these natural resources for the last 5 years. The record should also show how much the Federal Government was enriched because of this. And we feel that because of this long abuse that the native people out there have had at the hands of the Federal Government, that actually the Federal Government is morally obligated to see them over this transition. Senator BARTLETT. Thank you. Mr. McKernan, can you furnish those figures? Mr. McKERNAN. Yes, sir. (The information requested above follows:) Pribilof Islands receipts, fiscal years 1961-65 Senator BARTLETT. Thank you. The committee thanks you, Mr. Secretary. Mr. WADE. Thank you, Senator Bartlett. Senator BARTLETT. Now we are going to hear from those who are chiefly concerned about this, the principal parties in interest-Mr. Iliodor Merculieff, who is president of the village council, and Mr. Terenty Philemonoff, vice president. Gentlemen, will you come forward. You, as Secretary Wade has just said, have heard a lot of suggestions that are new to you, and you likewise will be furnished by airmail a copy of the transcript of today's proceedings so that you can study it, so that you can report back to us within this 3-week period as to your recommendations concerning the amendments proposed by both the Federal and State Governments. Is that all right? STATEMENT OF ILIODOR MERCULIEFF, PRESIDENT, ST. PAUL COMMUNITY COUNCIL, ST. PAUL ISLAND, ALASKA; ACCOMPANIED BY TERENTY PHILEMONOFF, VICE PRESIDENT, ST. PAUL COMMUNITY COUNCIL Mr. MERCULIEFF. Yes, sir. Thank you, Senator. Mr. Chairman, this is the first time in the history of the Pribilof Islands, Alaska, that their communities have been given the opportunity to be represented at Senate Commerce Committee hearings in Washington, D.C., on S. 2102. As you may know, it was September 9, 1965, that Senator E. L. Bartlett, accompanied by William C. Foster, assistant counsel to the Commerce Committee; Ralph C. Baker, Bureau of Commercial Fisheries, and Willard Bowman, Executive Director of the Commission on Human Rights from the Alaska Governor's office, held hearings on S. 2101 at the Community Hall at 4 p.m. and lasting until approximately 10 p.m. with 111⁄2 hours recess at 5:30 p.m. It was at this hearing that we had several witnesses that testified and gave their views of how the community existed throughout the years of near poverty, so to speak. We have read and studied this bill which has many provisions that will provide all the privileges for the island residents. I feel that the community will benefit from it if and when it is enacted, as introduced, and possibly with various changes and recommendations after questions and answers that may arise at today's hearing, especially on amendments inserted at the island's hearing and then reworded later by letter to William C. Foster. At this time I will not go any further into details but I will make all efforts to answer all questions. I believe that nowhere in the Nation are there Government employees who worked for more than 30 or 40 years who do not receive fair retirement annuities-outside of the Pribilofs. Therefore, I ask the Commerce Committee to give full consideration to services rendered by our elderly residents of these islands. It was not their fault that they did not apply for retirement benefits prior to 1950. It was that they were not informed of these privileges. And now they have their chance in view of this bill S. 2102. As far as our amendment No. 2 considered here, for the past 100 years, beginning with our forefathers, we have lived and worked for the Federal Government on the islands. During this time it was the Aleuts who had always done the major portion of seal harvesting. Of course with the supervision of the Federal Government and the Fouke Fur Co. representatives, up until 2 years ago when the harvesting on the field was transferred solely to the Aleuts' responsibility to operate, and it was proven successful. There are yet more responsibilities to be turned over to us, such as utilities, electricity, operating the market, and when we do incorporate as a city, we will operate and maintain the municipal services. It is then we will need funds to build our own city to what it should have been years ago because the islands alone produced, in the years mentioned here, enough capital exceeding the purchase price of the State of Alaska to maybe 10 or 20 times. I am not saying that the facilities on the islands are all together inadequate. There are good homes which could be improved to a better standard, community hall, which we could replace to make it the best little auditorium with better facilities, including a bowling alley and many other buildings. All of these improvements should have been foreseen and efforts made so that the people on the islands could live more happily inasmuch as they were born and raised on these rich islands which produced for the past years, as I mentioned. I pray it be resolved in the Congress of the United States of America, all these points I testified on, and be enacted into law if possible, so that our children and their children will live better lives in the future. Thank you. Senator BARTLETT. Thank you. Terenty, do you have anything to add to Iliodor's statement in your capacity as vice president? Mr. PHILEMONOFF. No, sir, Mr. Senator. Senator BARTLETT. I don't think it would be fair for me to ask you gentlemen to comment at this time on all ow these amendments, because there are many of them. Some of them are of importance. You have to have the text of them in front of you. I think that it would be best to follow the procedure I suggested, that we send you the transcript and then you reply in 3 weeks in writing. I would like to ask you, though, what is behind the decision to request $100,000 instead of the $50,000 suggested at the St. Paul hearing? Mr. MERCULIEFF. Mr. Chairman, we haven't all together sat down and tried to determine just how much will be needed. But as far as it was seen from some of the spending on the islands on maintenance and providing for the wages as they are now, we found out that this $50,000 would be inadequate. Therefore, we asked for $100,000. May I read a copy of a letter that I wrote to Mr. William C. Foster? Senator BARTLETT. Yes. Mr. MERCULIEFF (reading): I am sending you a copy of the amendments I offered before the subcommittee hearing held on St. Paul Island on S. 2102. For the official record I wish to state that the St. Paul community wants the wording of the amendments changed to the following wording: Amendment No. 1: All money from the sale of improved lots and unimproved lots under section 206 (c) shall be set aside for the community government. The Secretary shall turn over the money to the community government of St. Paul after incorporation and after the Secretary shall determine that the municipality is capable, financially and otherwise, to provide adequate municipal services to persons inhabiting these islands. Amendment No. 2: That 15 percent of the net proceeds of the U.S. share, or $100,000, before the money is split between the U.S. Government and the State of Alaska, shall be granted to the community government of St. Paul each year for the purposes of providing municipal services. Amendment No. 3: That the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries furnish the council with copies of the regulations written to implement S. 2102 before these regulations are adopted. The council would like to be able to review these regulations and offer suggestions for changes. Would you see to it that the wording of the three amendments is changed in the official record? I would also like to offer a fourth amendment to S. 2102. Would you enter this fourth amendment in the official record of the hearing on S. 2102? Amendment 4 to section 206(a): In addition to the land set aside for the establishment of a townsite, the Secretary is also authorized to set aside sufficent land in the areas known as Marunich, Tsammana, and Southwest Point for purposes of recreation and cabin sites. The Secretary shall survey the land set aside at Marunich and Tsammana points into lots, blocks and streets, and issue a patent therefor to a trustee appointed by the Secretary. The trustee is authorized to convey to the community government titles to improved or unimproved lots for cabin site or other purposes not inconsistent with the purpose for which the Secretary administers said islands, with or without reimbursement. The Secretary shall also survey the land set aside at Southwest Point and cause this area to be set aside for a recreation area not to be subdivided. The title to this area shall be conveyed to the community government. That was signed by Iliodor Merculieff, president of the council. Senator BARTLETT. You said in opening, Mr. Merculieff, that this is the first time that Pribilovians have come to Washington to testify on the bill before us. As a matter of probability, you are the first resident from the islands to come to Washington to testify on any congressional legislation, are you not? Mr. MERCULIEFF. Yes, Mr. Chairman. That is true. And I am proud to be here in behalf of the Aleut community. This is a wonderful opportunity to be heard at this point, while the spotlight is still on the islands. Senator BARTLETT. You are ready, as we understand it, to form a municipality. But it is correct, is it not, that at the September meeting in your hometown, the people of St. George said they were not yet prepared to do so. Mr. MERCULIEFF. That is correct, Mr. Chairman. Senator BARTLETT. They want to wait a while? Mr. MERCULIEFF. Yes. However, there is a trend for them to take this suggestion or recommendations from the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries to transfer over to St. Paul. We have had several requests to that effect. In fact, I think we have more requests than we can fulfill at the present time. Senator BARTLETT. Why-because of the lack of housing? Senator BARTLETT. I hate to bring this up, because it relates to a tragedy, but you had a very bad fire over there the other day, did you not? Mr. MERCULIEFF. Yes. Senator BARTLETT. How many people died in that fire? Mr. MERCULIEFF. There were nine lives lost in that fire-one adult and eight children. Senator BARTLETT. How did this happen? Mr. MERCULIEFF. This we could not determine at the time. But from all indications, we gathered it may have been spontaneous combustion. It was not detected until actually the flash fire occurred there. Senator BARTLETT. Was it at night? Mr. MERCULIEFF. It was at midnight. Senator BARTLETT. Where were those who were burned to death sleeping? Mr. MERCULIEFF. The seven children were in one bedroom, and the father and the youngest child were in the attic sleeping. They were the only two that were burned. The others, sleeping downstairs, the children, were not burned but they suffocated from the poisonous gas. |