November 18, 2009

Natives call Going Rogue fiction

State leaders call Palin's "Going Rogue" a work of fiction

Now that former Governor Sarah Palin's book is out for all to read, some Alaska leaders say he facts are plain wrong.

By Matthew SimonIn the manuscript's early pages Palin talks about the oil boom. While she says energy production and jobs were an upside, she also says downsides, like social problems for Alaska Natives, were created.

"Some Alaska Native leaders knew they must aggressively protect natural resources to which they were spiritually and physically connected." Palin writes. "Thankfully, the young state's founding fathers and mothers ensured the state constitution contained specific language guaranteeing equal rights."

But Alaska Inter-Tribal Council Executive Director Brad Garness says, "Sarah Palin has never supported tribal sovereignty, and she's made it clear she'll sell resources based solely on profit, with no respect for people who've inhabited the land since before recorded history."

Garness' organization represents all 229 Alaska tribes.
Comment:  For more on the subject, see Palin Attacks Native Rights and The 2008 Presidential Campaign.

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