Anchorage officials report influx of Alaska Natives to urban area
Originally published Tuesday, September 30, 2008 at 10:22 a.m.
Updated Tuesday, September 30, 2008 at 11:19 a.m.
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Stumble It!ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich and Schools Superintendent Carol Comeau have asked Gov. Sarah Palin to organize an emergency task force on the Native migration to the city.
Anchorage schools have seen more than 400 new Native students since school started, while rural schools across Western Alaska report losing pupils.
Comeau says the $1,200 energy bonus that came with Alaska Permanent Fund checks this year was supposed to ease energy costs for rural residents, but many used the money to move to urban areas where food and fuel are cheaper.
Palin's office had no immediate response to Monday's request from the Anchorage officials. A spokesman says she's aware of the problem in rural Alaska.
The task force could include rural Alaskans, business leaders, educators and others, Begich said.
Begich, a Democrat, is running for U.S. Senate against incumbent Republican Sen. Ted Stevens.
In a June interview about rural migration, Stevens told the Anchorage Daily News he considered fuel costs the single biggest factor driving migration.
Rural schools lose money because schools are funded on head count, said Larry LeDoux, state commissioner of education. Schools with fewer than 10 students could close, he said.
"It's a trend that's been going on for quiet some time. It seems to be accelerating this year," he said.
"We have heard that some districts are reporting a real loss of students."
The transition from rural to urban schools can be hard, Comeau said.
"We're talking about high schools that are bigger than the communities most of the students are coming from," she said.
City and school officials are concerned about how rural Native families manage once they arrive in the city. Some might need help with food or transportation, Comeau said. Many are restarting lives, in need of jobs and housing.
"We know a lot of them are already doubling- and tripling-up with their relatives in houses and we know that is not the best situation over time," she said.
Secondary teacher specialist Barb Dexter, who works with homeless middle and high school students, said she talked to a high school senior Monday who had just moved to Anchorage from Bethel.
"I can't afford to live there," he told her.
Community Discussion
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So, now the influx of natives to big cities is a problem?
The price of gas and groceries (cost of living) is the problem, not the people.
What's the problem? Is it the school district? Is it housing? What?
Convenient candidate Begich is getting press on this now. Hey this village to urban area transition (not migration) has been going on for years. Is the transition difficult.....of course it is. Is it the school districts problem? No! Is it the Mayor's problem? No!
So the goal and objectives of a proposed task force is......? These are family decisions. Why the family decided on the move is not my business and certainly not governments business. The move from the bush to town is not somebody's fault. It's somebody's decision to adjust to the times and to accept the challenges involved with that decision. What's the problem?
Damn, what a difficult decision to have to make. I grew up in the Bush and some of my family still lives there, and the cost of living is absolutely through the roof -- it always was, but with gas prices skyrocketing, it's getting so much worse in almost every way. I remember how hard things sometimes were for us and yet, how devastating it would have been to leave, and we didn't have the additional hurdles of cultural barriers and community fragmentation to cope with. I really feel for people who have been pushed to this, as well as for the communities which will be hit hard by the exodus too.
""City and school officials"" are concerned about how rural Native families manage once they arrive in the city. Some might need help with food or transportation, Comeau said. Many are restarting lives, in need of jobs and housing !!
NOTE: What this means is "The Society-Parasites (Mayor Mark Begich and Schools Superintendent Carol Comeau ), wants MORE of your TAX-Money for doing Nothing !
Like someone wrote in the ADN, since when has the freedom to move where we want to live become the concern of political or school leaders. This summary of the actual article leaves out the negative view of Anchorages's school sup. and mayor who believe "these people" will be a negative impact to Anchorage. They even refer to it as migration, as though they are looking at illegal aliens and how darn they enter our glorious city. Scary that these two people, one who is running schools and the other a city and looking to go to Washington, have forgotten that we are all citizens and have a right to live where we please. Won't be surprised if Anchorage starts hanging out "Villagers not Welcome" signs, no matter what your cultural background.
This isn't just an infrastructure issue. It's an issue of retraining a society to live in a different culture that clashes with their old culture. A company I previously worked for was madly trying to train "corporate values" & "Service Level Agreements" into a group of new employees who were still on "bush time". It was painful for everybody.
So it's only a problem when they decide to move to anchorage?
It is a migration... a mass movement of people from one region to another. Its not a racist issue, but when the schools made their budget forcasts they did not expect an additional score of children, and so they are not prepared. It seems to me that the mayor wants to form a taskforce to study the adjustments and assistance schools will need, and possibly study a program on helping these new anchorage-ites with access to jobs, homes and other government assistance they might otherwise not be prepared to take advantage of.
I see nothing racist about it. Anchorage has had plenty of native americans living there for a long time!
bballmom: "So, now the influx of natives to big cities is a problem?
The price of gas and groceries (cost of living) is the problem, not the people."
xxx
Why such a negative response, bballmom? The article didn't say the people are the problem. The article clearly states that helping them to adjust and determining how to provide for their needs is the problem.
Layla, your post adds the needed perspective to this issue. This is a difficult, scary, painful move for many of these people. It reminds me of the days when the government "helped" Native youth by shipping them to big cities Outside for employment or schooling without even as much as telling them how to find food and a place to live and how to get around. People aren't born knowing these things, and many have never been to a big city.
We no-doubt have similar needs here in Fairbanks. I hope the Governor's task force will include Fairbanks in its scope.
In the meantime, take the time to smile at people you don't know. Who knows but what they might be someone who has just left behind everything familiar and moved to a place there they are unsure of their welcome, or what their future will hold.
i live in a rural area south of fairbanks. we have noticed that a lot of people have left here too. i myself am making the move into fairbanks for the winter. going to be along hard winter. pray for for us all :)
For 10,000 years the Natives have migrated from one area to another in Alaska...why is this any different
NO! DON'T GIVE UP ON THE VILLAGES. LIVE LIKE THE NATIVES DID 100 or so Years ago.. Come on Skins, it have to get worse before it gets better.
musher- The climate is not the same as it was 100 or so years ago and the people that led a nomadic life can no longer do so the same way....
This migration has been going on for at least 15 years but is, in fact, accelerating. The village I lived in for several years back in the 80s had about 100 students, K-12, and it is now down to about 55 to 60. For those friends who have moved into the city, which in this case is usually Fairbanks but also a few to Anchorage/Matsu Valley, the most common reason seems to be complaints about the school. I believe there were two reasons for this. Maybe some folks, as has always been the case to some degree, decided to take their children to the city to attend schools with more choices, especially as they are preparing for high school. This seemed to pick up and once the enrollment numbers began falling, so followed the funding. Where there might have been 8 or 9 teachers who had been at that school for up to ten or more years, the gradual migration of students and their families seemed to also take the teachers along with them. The turnover o teachers in this village is now back to a fairly high level, with some of those teachers nowhere near as involved in community activities as it was before.
Very sad, in my opinion, and I just hope that families that move to the cities will maintain their close ties, returning for holidays and summers, and maybe someday return for good!
I think it is valid the mayor and superintendent are getting involved. Whether or not they have a personal opinion about Natives moving into the city from the villages, 400 additional students is nothing to sneeze at. They will need to be assimilated into the school district and that requires funding that was likely not budgeted for.
This doesnt seem very newsworthy, we always have people coming and going from our cities. Military is always on the move. Why is this even an issue?
Jeeez, Mr Begich,, calling the Gov' for an EMERGENCY TASK FORCE...................Now,, if the AFN announced a $urprise convention in Anchorage in 2 week$,, you would be going out of your way to make $ure everything in the city was conducive/$hiny for them, but, although money will come to the schools with every new student/child, surely the mayor of Alaska's largest city doesn't need the Gov's help. Come on, show the people your problem $olving abilitie$ and logistical skills!! Get the welcome wagons out and show these 'newcomers' what Anchorage is really made of.!!!!!
I can see it. 5 years from now, some do-gooder is going to spend a million tax payer dollars to study the affect this migration is having on the culture of Alaskan Natives. There will be all kinds of preaching going on about how the white man is the cause of all the problems because the Natives moved to the cities and are losing their culture.
I got an idea...if you're an Alaskan Native, living within an incorporated city or borough, you lose your subsistence and or ANCSA rights. If you want to live your culture, go ahead. Just don't try to live it at Starbucks.
El Diablo has spoken
I'm already enjoying this comment tree
Libby attacking libby.
Many times education or military is a good reason to move. Remember everyone has roots to return too in the future. To survive in the village you must have the tools and skills. Life in the village is the best not the city.
I like where it said "Palin's office had no immediate response on Monday's request from Anchorage Officials"....Well. maybe the McCain campaign can address the issue.
sourdough"diablo" *chuckle-
What you see is your own racist thought, not the future.
This is not even news worthy and I don't even want to read all of the comments. Same gripe from the same people. I can't help but feel embarressed about this. I'm native and I have been living in Fairbanks for about 5 years now. To read an article that says someone is organizing a "task force" for the influx of natives into "the big city" oooooooo how scary!!!! Yeah so were going into hard times and who knows how long it'll last but you deal with it. Whether it works out or not you just keep moving on. I personally don't think its a smart idea to move to "the big city" just because its hard in the village or rural areas. Its hard here to and it'll get harder. When that happens we'll read another article stating another "task force" is being gathered to help natives who are struggling. Atleast in the village we can rely solely on our land to feed and house us. And just in case someone says "well why is this native saying this" its because I moved here for a better job and education for myself and my family. I think its time for another "guy gets pulled over for riding lawn mower" article. My two cents.
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