We break the law every spring, we break a law
They told me that your father got a duck today.
If you have a bowl of soup
You are under arrest.
I'm taking your gun.
I'm taking your shot gun.
They took all these guns.
That's what we experienced, our parents did.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game
are joining together to reconcile an
unhappy period of Alaska history.
Both agencies had a role in implementing
Migratory Bird Treaty Act regulations
in the 1960s and 1970s.
The Act was signed into law in 1918 to stop commercial hunting
and to protect and restore bird populations.
The treaty set a harvest closure
for birds and their eggs
between March 10 and September 1 across North America.
In some parts of Alaska
the harvest closure period was the only time
that the birds were present
and when birds arrived in spring
people's food caches were often empty.
People were hungry.
So we ate ducks in the springtime.
Everybody ate ducks in the springtime
So Alaska Native peoples continued to hunt birds
to feed their families
and carry on a traditional way of life.
not everybody is hiding, you know
but my mother did to the point where I had to ask her
many years later, "mom how come
you're always hiding when you're igichaqing ducks?"
she said, "it's because of the game warden
and the reputation that the game wardens
had on our people to not hunt, not fish"
which meant not be Inupiaq, which meant not be Yupik
which meant not to be our way of being."
The Act implementation caused hunters and their
families extreme hardship
in their pursuit of sustenance.
Congress finally amended the Act in 1997, allowing for the
spring and summer harvest by rural Alaska residents.
Over the years, Alaska Native leaders
and hunters have educated
agencies about the spiritual connection
the intricate and vast knowledge
and the profound stewardship
that indigenous peoples have
with migratory birds.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and
Alaska Department of Fish and Game, together,
want to acknowledge that those regulations
harmed hunters and their families.
The agencies seek to continue
rebuilding relationships with Alaska's
indigenous peoples who were affected by
the unintended consequences of
past harvest regulations.
The agencies recognized the tenacity, brave vision
and resilience of Alaska native people
in the face of the insensitivity
of the past harvest regulations.
Together, we can all support healthy bird populations
traditional ways of life
and sustainable harvest opportunities
for generations to come.
On behalf of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game
please accept our sincere apology
for any harm
that past harvest regulations
has caused to you and your families.
Our predecessors regulations were
short-sighted and that they caused
long-term and unnecessary pain.
We ask for your forgiveness as we continue our journey
for healing together.
I went home and I cried all night thinking about my mother
and so I went to work the next day
I'm sure my eyes are all puffy and swollen
you know from thinking about my mom and
her having to hide just to feed our family and
how much, how much resentment
not just for me but for
Alaska's native people and the
opportunity for us to really work together and
acknowledge and heal.