In February 2025, Must Read Alaska published an opinion article I wrote about the Anchorage Assembly’s Land Acknowledgment. This Acknowledgement or what I will refer to as the Proclamation, is read at the start of each Regular Assembly Meeting. When first hearing the Acknowledgement, I thought of it as just another scolding and correcting lecture from the illiberal left.
I am writing part two to underscore what I think is a more serious implication of the Land Acknowledgement. The Acknowledgement deliberately erodes legitimacy of the United States and by promoting it, the Assembly violates their oath of office.
For reference, the Land Acknowledgement, published July 11, 2025 in the Municipal Agenda, is included at the end of this article. The meeting agenda for the Regular Assembly Meeting on Dec 2 still contains the Land Acknowledgement.
The first two and last three sentences of the Proclamation are rather murky concerning who actually has sovereignty over lands within the Municipality of Anchorage (MOA). The Proclamation’s platitudes served up to Alaska Natives ignores resolution of traditional land claims under the 1971 Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA). The Proclamation strongly implies that more than ANCSA is needed; that we now must pursue decolonization and equity. To be clear, all lands within the State of Alaska fall under the ultimate sovereignty of the United States of America.
The third sentence is the most troublesome. This sentence reads, “It is an actionable statement that marks our collective movement towards decolonization and equity.” To advocate decolonization is to call for an uprising, a revolution. The problem with today’s edgy advocacy groups, such as the Proclamation writers, is that they think words, such as decolonization and equity, can be redefined to whatever meaning serves their purpose. I am curious about who ends up with all the real property equity after decolonization?
In order to need decolonization, there must be a colonizer. Writers of the Proclamation lack courage to clearly identify the colonizer. The “colonizer” is none other than the United States of America. To decolonize is to remove the “colonizer,” the United States of America, and reassign or restore the land to another sovereign. To whom is sovereignty being transferred? Again, the writers of this Proclamation are silent. Decolonization (removing United States sovereignty), eliminates the Constitution and all its protections, including the Bill of Rights and Separation of Powers.
All Assembly Members and the Mayor are required to take an oath of office upholding the Constitution of the United States of America. By issuing and reading this Proclamation at the beginning of each bi-monthly Assembly Meeting, the Assembly violates their oath of office, because the Proclamation’s decolonization manifesto entails the removal of the U.S. Constitution.
MOA Assembly’s Land Acknowledgement: July 11, 2025
A land acknowledgement is a formal statement recognizing the Indigenous people of a place. It is a public gesture of appreciation for the past and present Indigenous stewardship of the lands that we now occupy. It is an actionable statement that marks our collective movement towards decolonization and equity. The Anchorage Assembly would like to acknowledge that we gather today on the traditional lands of the Dena’ina Athabascans. For thousands of years the Dena’ina have been and continue to be the stewards of this land. It is with gratefulness and respect that we recognize the contributions, innovations, and contemporary perspectives of the upper Cook Inlet Dena’ina.
David Arehart is a retired registered civil engineer and lifelong resident of Alaska. His engineering work and projects are scattered across Alaska, from Ketchikan to Utqiagvik to Diomede to Atka.
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28 COMMENTS
Land acknowledgements are nothing if not an attempt to elevate native cultures above that of Western and first world nations. Because the left is incapable of understanding that Europeans came to this land, conquered an inferior people and took the land, as humans have done time immemorial, they created this “acknowledgement.”
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By acknowledging previous tenants of the land, they are in fact cutting down the current land owners. When the white man came to this land and conquered the natives, an injustice was done. But, creating a new injustice is actually a worse crime because we should know better. But, what can you expect from a group who is childlike in thought as well as action. To the assembly, two wrongs do make a right.
CB. What makes a culture good or not good? Easy to list examples on both sides. A culture that understands its intimate and survival relationship with natural forces (think Little Diomede) and does not foul its nest is a good thing to me. A culture that follows a corrupt and destructive king is not good. A culture that can create a Google search is good. That a Native culture is “conquered” by a moneyed white kleptocracy is not good. Conquered is not a relevant description of good and not good. Works for you because you scored somehow in the conquering.
The point is not good culture versus bad.
It is the current MOA administration is cutting down their culture and elevating the one that was overcome. Open admissions of self hatred, and attempts to undermine pride in the current western culture is the problem.
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And, this myth of the “noble savage.” is just that. A myth. Indigenous people live in harmony with the land because they had no choice. Their tools for hunting and their capabilities of farming were not good enough to allow any luxury of wasting. They had to “use every part of the animal” because they had no idea when the hunt would be successful. Trying to elevate that into some kind of of noble trait is wrong.
While I agree with your statement I do not agree with saying ‘inferior people’ and that is demeaning and disingenouous. I am sure the conquerors used more force and persuasion. That being said I am white and not indigenous.
Inferior is the correct term. They did not have the same capabilities as the invaders. Inferior weapons and defense, less secure structures, less ability to feed and supply fighters, etc…
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Inferior is not an insulting term here, it is an accurate description of the disparity between indigenous tribes and the people who took their lands away from them.
When will the white man stop apologizing for having the dominant culture – economically, militarily and culturally. (Economically and militarily not even up for debate).
Yes culturally – we were the second country to outlaw slavery – slavery wasn’t outlawed in Africa until 2008.
America was one of the first countries to liberate women – the majority of the women in the world are still living as second class citizens.
The Natives here in Alaska, while having a beautiful culture, were not some noble people free from sin – they practiced slavery, incest is still a gruesome problem, and they warred savagely against one another.
Look up the ” Sah Quah” case – long after the Civil War and abolition of slavery in the US – the Tlingit tribe tried to assert “tribal sovereignty” to continue to practice slavery.
1 out of 3 people in SE Alaska was a Slave – and the white man had NOTHING to do with that.
And don’t get me started in the REAL reasons for the boarding schools.
The MOA is espousing utter contemptible falsehoods and damnable lies.
When two cultures collide and occupy the same space the superior culture will always succeed over the inferior culture. The terms superior and inferior are not meant to be demeaning. It is simply recognizing that one culture has advanced in mathematics, science, implements, and other measures of sophistication more than the other. And the culture that is superior in those measures will dominate. It has been that way since man first set foot on earth.
Yup.
The white man is as been dominating the world for a thousand years.
We are only approx 5% of the world’s population (US, Europe, and Russia) yet we DOMINATE on every front – militarily, economically, and culturally.
They want to call it “racism”, and white supremacy – well dominate us if you can.
You can’t, but they will never admit why….
You know what is so extremely offensive about this entire conversation? As Alaska Native people, we are the largest private landowners. We do not want what you think you have. We are not competing against you. We are not pawns and silenced, needing to be saved by the Rosa Parks, NAACP groups of this world. That is not our fight.
I am equally exhausted of the yelling match back and forth between white people and black people. You all need to shut the rhetoric down. I am not a product of the Civil Rights Movement, Martin Luther King, Al whatever his shiftshaper role is.
I am an Alaska Native woman. And we are not a minority, we are the original people, we weren’t fresh off any of your collective boats. When we demand acknowledgement, it is not for money, it is respect.
Trudy,
Thank you for your insights. I completely agree with your assertion that this yelling back and forth must come to an end. The rhetoric must end if the US is to continue.
Sadly, there are players on both “sides” that will exploit any opportunities they see to make their partisan point. Therefore, both sides lack what your conclusion asked for, respect.
Trudy, your comment has nothing to do with the point of the article. Russians began taking over Alaska over 200 years ago. They took possession of the territory and eventually sold it to the United States. That’s over with. It can’t be undone. For a municipality to make an official statement to the contrary is completely asinine and legally dangerous. Alaska native people who have earned the respect of others already have that respect, just like everyone else. It’s actually people like you, who insist upon dividing people into opposing ethnic groups, who are the problem.
You “demand” acknowledgement?
Under what authority? I do not think you have the right to demand anything. Nor are you in a position to do so either.
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History is cruel, but it is important to understand it. Russians came to this land and conquered your ancestors. That anyone with Native Alaskan blood still breathes air is a demonstration of the benevolence of the conquerors. Sorry, but this is the way the world works, and has worked for all time. These politically correct platitudes from the leftists are the anomaly, not the norm. The normal state of human affairs is war and conflict, not acknowledgement and righting wrongs.
Short and succinct. Thank you. A simple question could be posed: “Who is/was the colonizer?” Without identifying that part, these are only platitudes to make the listener feel smug…or guilty.
“Who is/was the colonizer?”
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Which time? There is, to my knowledge, not a single square inch of dry land on this planet that has not changed hands multiple times throughout history.
The true ‘colonizers’ were the so-called natives. They are not indigenous to Alaska but rather invaded from Siberia and through genocide of all persons present in Alaska upon their insurgency took possession of the land mass and its surrounding waters.
These land land acknowledgements being pursued by municipalites in Alaska and elsewhere are foolish and dangerous to property owners. They add ammunition to the likelihood that groups will attempt to gain title to already existing homes. Look at what has happened in Richmond, B.C. with the Cowichan. Just look up “Richmond, BC” and Cowichan. Hundreds of people are at risk of losinng title to their homes.
My general opinion on land acknowledgements, colonization/decolonization statements are as follows: Do not sit there and act like the people that were here before you were the original inhabitants of the land. They themselves moved in, attacked other tribes, took over land, traded slaves etc. White man is not the first people groups to do such things. Human beings were. IE. all groups, races etc. have conquered at some point in time. If we are asking for or participating in a land acknowledgement I would require that it include statements that the land is occupied by its current residents and MAY have belonged to some other group. In turn that other group occupied it for a time and it MAY have been taken by them from some other group. And so on and so forth. To sit here and say that history essentially started with whoever was here just before its current occupants is asinine. From the beginning of time somebody has always been taking land, property, goods etc. from somebody else. Get over it, get on with it and be glad for the modern technology, health advancements and government support.
War and conflict over resources is the normal state of human… well of all animal affairs. Peace is the anomaly. Humans are not so different from animals, where one animal will challenge another for good feeding grounds, or mates, or water. Does not matter. The strong will conquer the weak.
It’s the same bs in Canada, NZ, AU. Anti White communist agenda, in Canada and AU private property is being given to tribes. Yes homeowners are receiving letters informing them they no longer own they’re paid for homes and land/ businesses.
Your comment triggered a thought. Big eats small, strong defeats weak.
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So, why are the people who think “land acknowledgements” are somehow a noble gesture always the weaklings? They are so pathetic they cannot even stand up for their own heritage and culture, and instead promote the indigenous one as if it is superior. To the detriment of their own.
Land acknowledgements are nothing if not an attempt to elevate native cultures above that of Western and first world nations. Because the left is incapable of understanding that Europeans came to this land, conquered an inferior people and took the land, as humans have done time immemorial, they created this “acknowledgement.”
.
By acknowledging previous tenants of the land, they are in fact cutting down the current land owners. When the white man came to this land and conquered the natives, an injustice was done. But, creating a new injustice is actually a worse crime because we should know better. But, what can you expect from a group who is childlike in thought as well as action. To the assembly, two wrongs do make a right.
CB. What makes a culture good or not good? Easy to list examples on both sides. A culture that understands its intimate and survival relationship with natural forces (think Little Diomede) and does not foul its nest is a good thing to me. A culture that follows a corrupt and destructive king is not good. A culture that can create a Google search is good. That a Native culture is “conquered” by a moneyed white kleptocracy is not good. Conquered is not a relevant description of good and not good. Works for you because you scored somehow in the conquering.
The point is not good culture versus bad.
It is the current MOA administration is cutting down their culture and elevating the one that was overcome. Open admissions of self hatred, and attempts to undermine pride in the current western culture is the problem.
.
And, this myth of the “noble savage.” is just that. A myth. Indigenous people live in harmony with the land because they had no choice. Their tools for hunting and their capabilities of farming were not good enough to allow any luxury of wasting. They had to “use every part of the animal” because they had no idea when the hunt would be successful. Trying to elevate that into some kind of of noble trait is wrong.
While I agree with your statement I do not agree with saying ‘inferior people’ and that is demeaning and disingenouous. I am sure the conquerors used more force and persuasion. That being said I am white and not indigenous.
Inferior is the correct term. They did not have the same capabilities as the invaders. Inferior weapons and defense, less secure structures, less ability to feed and supply fighters, etc…
.
Inferior is not an insulting term here, it is an accurate description of the disparity between indigenous tribes and the people who took their lands away from them.
You are using presentism to describe his position of understanding a past event.
When will the white man stop apologizing for having the dominant culture – economically, militarily and culturally. (Economically and militarily not even up for debate).
Yes culturally – we were the second country to outlaw slavery – slavery wasn’t outlawed in Africa until 2008.
America was one of the first countries to liberate women – the majority of the women in the world are still living as second class citizens.
The Natives here in Alaska, while having a beautiful culture, were not some noble people free from sin – they practiced slavery, incest is still a gruesome problem, and they warred savagely against one another.
Look up the ” Sah Quah” case – long after the Civil War and abolition of slavery in the US – the Tlingit tribe tried to assert “tribal sovereignty” to continue to practice slavery.
1 out of 3 people in SE Alaska was a Slave – and the white man had NOTHING to do with that.
And don’t get me started in the REAL reasons for the boarding schools.
The MOA is espousing utter contemptible falsehoods and damnable lies.
Look it up.
Context for interpreting the 1956 constitution vote
Votes cast: 25,627
With ~118,000 adults in the territory:
→ Rough turnout for this single ballot measure ≈: 21–22% of eligible adults.
This makes it clear that:
Fewer than 1 in 4 adult residents voted on the Alaska Constitution.
A total of 17,447 people (≈15% of adults) voted yes.
Alaska Native adults were significantly under-represented due to structural barriers still present pre-statehood.
About the same percentage of people who elected this assembly
When two cultures collide and occupy the same space the superior culture will always succeed over the inferior culture. The terms superior and inferior are not meant to be demeaning. It is simply recognizing that one culture has advanced in mathematics, science, implements, and other measures of sophistication more than the other. And the culture that is superior in those measures will dominate. It has been that way since man first set foot on earth.
Yup.
The white man is as been dominating the world for a thousand years.
We are only approx 5% of the world’s population (US, Europe, and Russia) yet we DOMINATE on every front – militarily, economically, and culturally.
They want to call it “racism”, and white supremacy – well dominate us if you can.
You can’t, but they will never admit why….
Thank you David for saying what everyone is thinking. The left will now implement restitution.
You know what is so extremely offensive about this entire conversation? As Alaska Native people, we are the largest private landowners. We do not want what you think you have. We are not competing against you. We are not pawns and silenced, needing to be saved by the Rosa Parks, NAACP groups of this world. That is not our fight.
I am equally exhausted of the yelling match back and forth between white people and black people. You all need to shut the rhetoric down. I am not a product of the Civil Rights Movement, Martin Luther King, Al whatever his shiftshaper role is.
I am an Alaska Native woman. And we are not a minority, we are the original people, we weren’t fresh off any of your collective boats. When we demand acknowledgement, it is not for money, it is respect.
Trudy,
Thank you for your insights. I completely agree with your assertion that this yelling back and forth must come to an end. The rhetoric must end if the US is to continue.
Sadly, there are players on both “sides” that will exploit any opportunities they see to make their partisan point. Therefore, both sides lack what your conclusion asked for, respect.
God bless!!
Trudy, your comment has nothing to do with the point of the article. Russians began taking over Alaska over 200 years ago. They took possession of the territory and eventually sold it to the United States. That’s over with. It can’t be undone. For a municipality to make an official statement to the contrary is completely asinine and legally dangerous. Alaska native people who have earned the respect of others already have that respect, just like everyone else. It’s actually people like you, who insist upon dividing people into opposing ethnic groups, who are the problem.
You “demand” acknowledgement?
Under what authority? I do not think you have the right to demand anything. Nor are you in a position to do so either.
.
History is cruel, but it is important to understand it. Russians came to this land and conquered your ancestors. That anyone with Native Alaskan blood still breathes air is a demonstration of the benevolence of the conquerors. Sorry, but this is the way the world works, and has worked for all time. These politically correct platitudes from the leftists are the anomaly, not the norm. The normal state of human affairs is war and conflict, not acknowledgement and righting wrongs.
Short and succinct. Thank you. A simple question could be posed: “Who is/was the colonizer?” Without identifying that part, these are only platitudes to make the listener feel smug…or guilty.
“Who is/was the colonizer?”
.
Which time? There is, to my knowledge, not a single square inch of dry land on this planet that has not changed hands multiple times throughout history.
The true ‘colonizers’ were the so-called natives. They are not indigenous to Alaska but rather invaded from Siberia and through genocide of all persons present in Alaska upon their insurgency took possession of the land mass and its surrounding waters.
Talk is cheap. If it really meant anything to these people, they would sign the titles to their houses over to the “decolonized.”
Yes‼️ Then the next step would be to put the Eklutna 500 in total control of the tax accessors office…
Why skate so close to treason in a time of war Anchorage School Board? This nation is governed the republic’s US Constitution which still stands.
These land land acknowledgements being pursued by municipalites in Alaska and elsewhere are foolish and dangerous to property owners. They add ammunition to the likelihood that groups will attempt to gain title to already existing homes. Look at what has happened in Richmond, B.C. with the Cowichan. Just look up “Richmond, BC” and Cowichan. Hundreds of people are at risk of losinng title to their homes.
My general opinion on land acknowledgements, colonization/decolonization statements are as follows: Do not sit there and act like the people that were here before you were the original inhabitants of the land. They themselves moved in, attacked other tribes, took over land, traded slaves etc. White man is not the first people groups to do such things. Human beings were. IE. all groups, races etc. have conquered at some point in time. If we are asking for or participating in a land acknowledgement I would require that it include statements that the land is occupied by its current residents and MAY have belonged to some other group. In turn that other group occupied it for a time and it MAY have been taken by them from some other group. And so on and so forth. To sit here and say that history essentially started with whoever was here just before its current occupants is asinine. From the beginning of time somebody has always been taking land, property, goods etc. from somebody else. Get over it, get on with it and be glad for the modern technology, health advancements and government support.
War and conflict over resources is the normal state of human… well of all animal affairs. Peace is the anomaly. Humans are not so different from animals, where one animal will challenge another for good feeding grounds, or mates, or water. Does not matter. The strong will conquer the weak.
It’s the same bs in Canada, NZ, AU. Anti White communist agenda, in Canada and AU private property is being given to tribes. Yes homeowners are receiving letters informing them they no longer own they’re paid for homes and land/ businesses.
The way of the world since time began: Big eats small.
Your comment triggered a thought. Big eats small, strong defeats weak.
.
So, why are the people who think “land acknowledgements” are somehow a noble gesture always the weaklings? They are so pathetic they cannot even stand up for their own heritage and culture, and instead promote the indigenous one as if it is superior. To the detriment of their own.