A debate over who should have the right to harvest subsistence herring roe continued at Wednesday night’s meeting of the Sitka Tribe of Alaska’s tribal council. The controversy centers around a fishing boat called the Julia Kae, that delivered free roe-on-hemlock to Sitka, Hoonah, Angoon, Kake, Wrangell and Ketchikan.
the comparison of Pebble Mine buying tuna for Bristol Bay subsistence replacement of sockeye is a feeble attempt to cover their short-sighted efforts to keep the distribution of eggs in Southeast from the people. The spirituality of gathering eggs may be enhanced for those who can do it themselves, but our program provided for the people, elders, youngsters, and all ages, who CAN NOT go out and harvest for themselves. Does the effort of STA members invoke anymore spirituality when eggs are given than when eggs are given off the Julia Kae? That’s absurd! Given eggs are given eggs! It doesn’t matter from a spirituality perspsective whether the eggs are given by a resident Native or a non-resident Native. The bottom line is that the people of Southeast are being deprived of their traditional subsistence eggs on branches by the self-serving actions of the STA board whoes ultimate goal is to close the fishery. Their hue and cry that the people were not getting their subsistence needs met because the fishery was harvesting record tonnage was disproven when we provided all the communities of Sitka, Hoonah, Angoon, Kake, Wrangell could use. Only Ketchikan came up wanting more than we could provide.
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