ALASKA, 1955 THURSDAY, OCTOBER 6, 1955 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SUBCOMMITTEE ON TERRITORIAL AND INSULAR AFFAIRS, OF THE COMMITTEE ON INTERIOR AND INSULAR AFFAIRS, Annette Island. The subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 10 a. m., in the village council hall, Hon. E. L. Bartlett (acting chairman) presiding. Subcommittee members, in addition to the acting chairman, were Congressman B. F. Sisk, of California, Congressman J. E. Chenoweth, of Colorado, Mr. J. L. Taylor and Mr. S. L. McFarland, committee consultants, and Col. M. A. Libby, USAF, escort officer. Mr. Bartlett turned the meeting over to Mayor John W. Smith, who presided. The following information on the Annette Island Reserve has been prepared and placed in the record to introduce the subcommittee members to the reserve and the Metlakahtla Community. The Annette Island Reserve on Annette Island, consisting of 40 square miles, was established by Congress in the act of March 3, 1891 (48 U. S. C. 358), for the use of the Metlakahtla Indian Community. § 358. Annette Islands reserved for Metlakahtla Indians. Until otherwise provided by law the body of lands known as Annette Islands, situated in Alexander Archipelago in southeastern Alaska on the north side of Dixon's entrance, is set apart as a reservation for the use of the Metlakahtla Indians, and those people known as Metlakahtlans who, on March 3, 1891, had recently emigrated from British Columbia to Alaska, and such other Alaskan natives as may join them, to be held and used by them in common, under such rules and regulations, and subject to such restrictions, as may be prescribed from time to time by the Secretary of the Interior. In 1857 William Duncan (1832-1918), an Englishman, until then a businessman, volunteered to become a missionary among the Tsimshean Indians located at Fort Simpson, near the present site of Prince Rupert, British Columbia. The tribe was then rampant with degradation and debauchery. After learning the language Mr. Duncan built his own store and began trading with the Indians. The Hudson Bay Co., intent on putting him out of business, began underselling and finally refused to haul his trade goods on their ships. Not to be outdone, Mr. Duncan bought a small ship and brought in his own supplies. Along with his business interests, Mr. Duncan was filled with missionary zeal and he brought Christianity to many of the Tsimsheans. The right to the land upon which the Tsimsheans were living was being questioned so, largely through the efforts of Phillips Brooks and Henry Ward Beecher, who prevailed upon President Grover Cleveland, Mr. Duncan was able to obtain the uninhabited Annette Island for the Indians. Annette Island is 20 miles long and 6 to 8 miles wide, well wooded, and mountainous. The present site for the village was selected because of the sheltered harbor for canoes, excellent water supply, and gently sloping building location. Under the influence of Father Duncan, the new settlers were encouraged to become industrious, temperate, and loyal citizens. They have retained these attributes and are among the most conscientious and hardworking persons in Alaska. Today the reserve, in addition to its 990 Indians (Tsimsheans, Haidas, and Tlinglits), has approximately 300 Civil Aeronautics Administration employees connected with the civilian airport on its southwestern corner. The Annette Island Airport is operated by CAA under the International Aviation Facilities Act (Public Law 647, 80th Cong.). The United States Coast Guard also has a station. on Annette. The Council of the Annette Island Reserve has a constitution approved August 13, 1944, and a corporate charter ratified December 19, 1944, under the act extending the benefits of the WheelerHoward Act to Alaska Indians. The governing body of Metlakahtla is a mayor, Mr. John W. Smith, and a council consisting of 12 members: Ray Haldane, Ted Benson, Ted Blandou, Charles Buchert, Charles Leask, Frank Hayward, Charles Ryan, Ben Ridley, Ed Benson, Ed Verney, Solomon Guthrie, and Henry Littlefield. It is interesting to note that Tsimshean, Tlingit, and Haida Indians, Eskimos, and Aleuts are all represented on the council. Mr. Russell Hayward is council secretary, and Mr. H. J. Duncan is council treasurer. All are elected by the voters of the community. The council is authorized to pass ordinances for the local government and selects a magistrate for the community. Father Duncan, in his will, provided for the future administration of the Metlakahtla Christian Mission by creating an autonomous board of elders and a board of administrative trustees. The board of elders at present includes: Chairman, Charles Ryan; secretary, Raymond Haldane; eldermen, John Smith, Louis Buxton, Walter Wesley, Harold Hudson, Henry Duncan, James Williams, Charles Buckert, Ira Booth, Everett Hudson, and honorary life elder, Peter Fawcett. A $150,000 trust fund was set up under Mr. Duncan's will, governed by an unsalaried board of cotrustees. The purpose of this fund is the enlargement and upkeep of Metlakahtla Christian Mission properties, financing economic and personal emergencies, developing self-support by the church, cultivation of missionary motives, and an expanding program of missionary activities in behalf of other native tribes and stimulation of educational ambitions and facilities. The reserve boasts of a sawmill, fish cannery, Rural Electric Administration project, and its own elementary school which gets no Territorial or Federal aid, a community clinic, and three churches, the Metlakahtla Christian Church, the Presbyterian Church, and the Salvation Army. Alcoholic beverages are not permitted on the reserve. The act of 1891 granted exclusive hunting and fishing rights to the Indians of the reserve. The fishing rights extend 3,000 feet beyond the island. The highways and streets within the town on the reserve are maintained by the council as are police and fire protection. There are no fee-simple patents issued on the reserve. An occupant may own his house but not the lot. The Indians have a special living-use permit. During World War II sizable numbers of American and Canadian troops were stationed on Annette and with the permission of the council a $10 million airport was constructed on the southwest portion of the island. Following World War II, the airport was leased to the United States for a 1-year term with the option to renew the agreement from year to year. On May 31, 1955, Delegate E. L. Bartlett of Alaska introduced, upon the request of the Department of Commerce, H. R. 6573, which would authorize renewals of a lease of the Annette Island Airport to the United States. The House of Representatives passed this bill on July 5, 1955, but to date it has not reached the Senate floor. A copy of H. R. 6573 and of House Report 986 are as follows: [H. R. 6573, 84th Cong., 1st sess.] A BILL To authorize renewals of a lease of the Annette Island Airport to the United States Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Congress of the United States hereby approves the extension, from year to year, until June 30, 1999, of a lease of certain land comprising part of Annette Island, Alaska, for use by the Civil Aeronautics Administration as an airport, entered into by the United States of America and the Council of the Annette Island Reserve on December 13, 1948, section 5 of which lease provides that no renewal thereof shall extend beyond June 30, 1959, unless approved by Congress. [H. Rept. No. 986, 84th Cong., 1st sess.] AUTHORIZING RENEWALS OF A LEASE OF THE ANNETTE ISLAND AIRPORT TO THE UNITED STATES The Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 6573) to authorize renewals of a lease of the Annette Island Airport to the United States, having considered the same, report favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill do pass. EXPLANATION OF THE BILL The purpose of H. R. 6573 is to authorize renewals of a lease of the Annette Island Airport to the United States. Annette, a small island a few miles south of Ketchikan and 600 miles north of Seattle, is the site of an important airport which serves the city of Ketchikan and the Metlakahtla Indian community, and is used by Coast Guard airplanes and for emergencies by aircraft bound to or from other sections of Alaska.The airport was constructed by the Federal Government during World War II at a cost in excess of $10 million and for several years served a very useful purpose in the prosecution of the war. In December 1948, the airport was leased to the United States by the Council of the Annette Island Indian Reserve, the governing body of the Metlakahtla Indian community, for a 1-year term beginning July 1, 1949. This lease contains a clause giving the Government an option to renew the agreement from year to year but with a proviso that no renewal shall extend the period of occupancy of the premises beyond June 30, 1959, unless such extension is approved by Congress and in no case beyond June 30, 1999. This bill will give Federal authorization for renewing the lease from year to year for the remainder of the original 50-year term. The Annette Island Airport is now operated by the Civil Aeronautics Administration under the International Aviation Facilities Act (Public Law 647, 80th Cong.). The committee feels that favorable action on this bill is desirable because of the extent of the Government's investment in Annette and also because of commercial interests, a petroleum products concessionaire in particular, which are reluctant to pursue plans for necessary capital expenditures due to the limited time remaining under the present lease. Its enactment is favored by the governing body of the Indian community. H. R. 6573 was introduced by Delegate Bartlett as the result of the following executive communication of the Department of Commerce. Hon. SAM RAYBURN, THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Washington, D. C. DEAR MR. SPEAKER: It is requested that the enclosed proposed bill be introduced in the House at your convenience. The purpose of the proposal is to authorize renewals of a lease of the Annette Island Airport to the United States. On December 13, 1948, the Council of the Annette Island Reserve entered into a lease to the United States of the interest of the Metlakahtla Indian community in a tract of land on Annette Island, Alaska, upon which the Annette Island Airport is located. The Council of the Annette Island Reserve is the governing body of the Metlakahtla Indian community, a tribe of Indians and persons associated with them who now occupy the reservation established by Congress in the act of March 3, 1891 (48 U. S. Č. 358), on Annette Island. The lease in question covers the interest of the community in land underlying an airport constructed by the Federal Government during World War II at a cost in excess of $10 million. The airport was vitally necessary for the prosecution of the war and is now used by civil aviation flying between the United States and the Territory of Alaska. Annette Island, upon which the airport is located, is one of the most southerly portions of the panhandle of Alaska which stretches down the west coast of North America. It is about 600 miles north of Seattle and forms the first stop north of Seattle, on American territory, at which airplanes bound for the upper portion of Alaska can stop and refuel. It is the only airport serving Ketchikan, Alaska. The Annette Island Airport itself is now operated by the Civil Aeronautics Administration of the Department of Commerce, under the International Aviation Facilities Act (Public Law 647, 80th Cong.). At the time the lease was executed, because of the importance of the location and the substantial investment involved, it was agreed by all concerned that the term should be at least 50 years. When efforts were made to obtain such a lease, this Department was advised by representatives of the Department of the Interior that the Council of the Annette Island Reserve was not authorized by law to give a lease for a term in excess of 10 years (act of June 18, 1934, ch. 576, sec. 17, 48 Stat. 988; 25 U. S. C. 477). Consequently, the lease was made for a term of 1 year (because of statutory prohibitions against the obligation of Government funds for more than 1 fiscal year), beginning July 1, 1949, and ending June 30, 1950, with the option in the Government to renew the lease from year to year. with the proviso that no renewal should extend the period of occupancy of the premises beyond the 30th day of June 1959, unless such extension was approved by Congress, and in no case beyond the 30th day of June 1999. The purpose of the proposed bill is to provide the necessary congressional sanction for the renewal of this lease from year to year for the remainder of the 50-year term. The Bureau of the Budget has advised that there is no objection to the submission of this proposed bill to the Congress. If we can be of any further assistance, please call upon us. Sincerely yours, WALTER WILLIAMS, Acting Secretary of Commerce. The Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs unanimously recommends the enactment of H. R. 6573. In the course of the discussion Mayor Smith briefed the subcom mittee members on the reserve and explained that when the Alaska Native Service suggested sale of a portion of the airport area during the summer of 1955, the members of the community displayed absolutely no desire to enter into negotiations. The Indians wish to maintain. the status quo. They are quite certain that they could not compete with the non-Indians who would naturally come to Annette if the reserve were abolished. Mr. Smith used the village of Saxman, near |