Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, says ongoing education is needed to keep people informed and raise awareness about living conditions in Alaska’s Arctic areas and how planning and development policies impact those living there.
The senator’s comments, delivered in Washington D.C. on Jan. 18 at the start of the Alaska Federation of Natives’ Alaska Day activities, emphasized the important role of Congress in addressing issues about Alaska and the Arctic.
The two-day event brought together Alaska Native leaders, military personnel, the Alaska congressional delegation, cabinet officials and representatives in telecommunications, energy and commerce.
“What we need to do here in Congress, to help facilitate the work that you all are doing, is an ongoing education effort,” Murkowski said. “And I was keenly reminded of that when we hosted an Indian Affairs Committee field hearing out in Savoonga, in September. An opportunity to shine a light on an issue, overcrowding, that most Alaskans know and understand, is part of the reality often times in rural Alaska, and in ways that are so extreme that most cannot appreciate or understand.”
The senator said she has been working to introduce legislation to update Arctic policy, as well as a measure directed specifically to Arctic shipping areas.
“It’s important to not only make sure that we know what the rules of the road are, but that the people who live in the region have a voice and have a say in these policies that are being laid down,” she said.
