By WILLY KEPPEL
Let me just say it straight: Rep. Nellie Jimmie’s vote to cut the PFD was wrong.
I don’t doubt her heart is probably in the right place, but when she stood on the House floor and gave an emotional and theatrical speech about the hardships in her village of Toksook Bay, high fuel prices, tough living, and the real struggles of rural Native families, she forgot one thing, the Permanent Fund dividend belongs to all of us, not just some of us.
That dividend is not a handout, it is not welfare, and it is not “free money.” It is your share, your slice of the oil and gas that comes out of Alaska’s ground. It is put in a fund that was voted on by the people, and meant to be shared equally by every resident, Native and non-Native, rich or poor, young or old. That is what “dividend” means: “an individual share of something distributed.” Simple as that.
Now, Jimmie says she cut the PFD to help her people, but guess what, that vote did not just hurt folks in urban Alaska, it hurt Gussuks and rural folks too.
Do you think a single mom in Palmer is not struggling to keep the lights on? Do you think the guy working three part-time jobs in Soldotna does not need that money just as bad? What about the veterans living off-grid, hauling water and burning wood, with no access to Indian Health Service clinics, no tribal corporation dividends, and no subsistence rights? They do not get Power Cost Equalization, they do not get free health care, and they sure do not get marine mammal hunting rights. But they get the PFD … when it is not gutted in the state Capitol.
In 2023, 150,000 Alaska Natives used Indian Health Service; some ANCSA corporation shareholders pulled in checks worth thousands. Rural communities got help from the Power Cost Equalization program, safe water grants, and all kinds of targeted spending.
And that is fine, I am not here to knock it. Native communities deserve support, but you cannot stand on the floor and say your people are the only ones hurting and then vote to cut the one check that goes to everyone, no matter where they live or what their last name is.
A full statutory PFD last year would have been much higher than the $1,702 paid last year; that number represents a fraction of what Alaskans are rightfully owed.
For many families, even that dividend was over $7,000. That money matters; it pays for fuel oil, groceries, school clothes, car repairs, or even just getting caught up on bills. For a lot of us, it is the only time all year we get ahead. Jimmie’s vote said some folks’ pain matters more than others, and that is not how this is supposed to work.
Furthermore, this theft is decimating our local corporations’ ability to keep their shelves stocked. When the full dividend flows, it injects real cash into local hardware and lumber stores, the kind of products that hardworking Alaskans actually need and can afford. You won’t see quest cards buying up the materials required to fix a leaky roof or build a new deck. Without that steady influx of cash, these businesses struggle, and that hurt ripples through our communities and our economy.
The PFD was built to unite Alaskans, it is the only thing left in this state that still treats everyone equally. You do not need to belong to a tribe, you do not need to work for the government, you just need to live here and you get your cut of the wealth. That is the promise, that is the contract. And when a legislator breaks that, it cuts deeper than just dollars; it breaks trust.
In 2024, 70% of Alaskans said they wanted the full PFD or more; that is not just Republicans or Democrats, that is everybody. Gov. Jay Hammond warned us about this, and he said Alaskans would rise up with a “militant ring” if politicians tried to take our dividend, and he was right. This is not some pet project, it is the foundation of economic fairness in Alaska, and we are not going to let it get chipped away, one vote at a time.
Nellie Jimmie floor speech:
So, to Rep. Jimmie, I say this: I understand your passion, but you missed the mark. The PFD is not just for one group, it is not for buying favor or trading votes. It is a promise to every single Alaskan. We all live with hardship in this state, we all pay the price of isolation, high costs, and broken systems. Do not take from one neighbor to help another, especially not when the law says otherwise.
I have lived the 11 years in Quinhagak, previous 27 in Bethel and the 10 before in the Athabascan village of Copper Center. I have lived the rural life most of my life. If you want to help your people, that is great; so do I. But let us start by following the law and paying the full dividend for ALL people, then we can talk about how to build a budget that works for everyone, not just a select few.
Willy Keppel is a longtime trapper and fur trader in Western Alaska.
This is one of the best articles about the PFD that I have seen in a long time. It does impact all Alaskans & it was meant to benefit All Alaskans. Greedy politicians found ways to plunder it forgetting it’s orginal intent. The phrase ” I’m the Goverment and i am her to help” comes to mind.
All citizens should have subsistence rights—that’s not something government has the power to deny. The PCE program should be ended, and the $700+ million in seed money returned to the citizens.
If Governor Dunleavy has a backbone, he will veto this budget. This article highlights that government continues to pick winners and losers. It has been perverted. This empire has been transformed into something it was not meant to be.
The representatives have brought us to a place that the citizens have accepted—or at the very least, acquiesced to. The goal in Juneau is to drive you out of the state. They want to reduce the population. The government sees the citizen as the largest liability, and of course they feel that way. They’ve spent the last 60+ years building government, not a robust private sector.
Something this article expresses well is how the PFD injects cash into the minuscule private sector—cash that does not have to be printed or borrowed. Its clear, they feel that way because, as legislators come and go from Juneau, not much seems to change in the general direction of this state.
There must not be a single economics book in Juneau. It’s clear they have always thought the PFD was for they, not thee. And now, with RCV and record-low voter turnout, citizens are left wondering what the next move will be.
This is about far more than the PFD, the RPS bill (renewable portfolio standard), the defunct pipeline deal that leaves alaskan citizens on the rear end of the gas, the carbon credit / sequestration nonsense, the deliberate manufactured gas shortage in Cook Inlet ETC. And every citizen who has been here for a while knows it. The U.S. dollar is in total free fall, and the government made a conscious decision to protect itself at your expense. Period. And they know that you’re in such a deep sleep that you may possibly never wake up to do anything about it.
And if—and when—you do, it will most likely be far too late by then. But I think it also shows very clearly that Juneau will always sacrifice you for itself until the citizen once again wakes up and remembers not only how this ideology affects everyone, but moreover, that we are all united in this economy. Both D’s and R’s alike are together in this house of war.
Please remember: not voting is a vote. It’s a vote for violence, because eventually it will get bad enough where citizens will put down the voter pen altogether—with catastrophic results, I might add. You can’t wait until then to throw these people out of office.
PLEASE WAKE UP SO THAT YOU MAY SEE FOR YOURSELF WHAT IT HAS BECOME!!!
Good job, Willie. Your article is very well-written. I’d like to see you serve all Alaskans in the state legislature!
I really like Rep Jimmie and think if she was
Making her own decisions I bet on she would have voted differently. The amount of pressure from democrats is appalling. When I went to speak with her there was a woman in the room who was obviously a progressive. If we began a conversation she did not like, she immediately jumped in and led us back to the liberal thought and words. Seems many we elected recently are the same. Democrats let them know we got you elected and can take you out next election!
She’s outed as the racist she is.
If Rep. Jimmie were truly concerned about all of her constituents she would tour the corporate offices of any Native Corporation and then cry out about the waste, the fraud, and the nepotism occurring in each of them.
Imagine corporate dividends if all of the employees at the main offices put in an actual full workday.
The Democrat party gets larger dividends from them than any shareholders. We need an Internal investigation from outside sources of all Regional corporations.
The smell of racism was infused in that little show.
They operate like a gang… defrauding people who do the work then trap them in poverty by using a bogus law not allowed in the lower 48 called native preference. I’m a modern day slave to these organizations from the old govt hosp picking and choosing winners and losers w other people’s work, education and medical records. I’ve asked the state.of Alaska to establish a way to.disenroll people who are used and abused, working hard then told by the native people w a bs degree they cannot work because they are not real natives so they let the kitkas, worls, smiths, marrs, gottliebs, minichs, put the screws to us because we aren’t enough? They are abusing this system and it’s criminal.
Sorry Judy, but I remember her wheeling and dealing on which coalition to join in the house. Her demand was to be on the finance committee. She is a freshman legislator. The democrats gave her what she wanted, now she has to pay the piper and all those crocodile tears are just for show.
STATUTORY FORMULA
I’m just going to ask: WWED? (What Would Eastman Do?)
By the way, I’ve got some telephone calls to make to three republican representatives about their computer virus protection.
Side note: Did you see the deplorable brainless swampers vote to lionize that communist scumbag Fischer? I think that the water in Juneau should be tested for estrogen and hallucinogenics.
I was born and raised in our state’s capital, was always against the move, but I believe we need it closer to the people, the spineless gutless A H s , running our state need our closer supervision, the leadership are thieves lining their pockets at our expense.
I could not have said it any better myself. This needs to be sent to all of Alaska’s politicians, no truer words could have been spoken.
I like Willy’s line of reason, never considered by the legislators obviously.
Cheers,
Mr. Keppel is right on concerning the dividend and its meaning, to include all Alaskans in a fair share of the revenue being taken from this State. The representative’s speech actually cut an artery to her community only to put money in a bloated State budget that will never change or adjust if it can keep stealing from the people of the State to keep it’s bloat.
The cookie jar is emptying and was not meant to subsidize the State. To the Alaska legislature, do your job without the dividend. That is not your “slush fund.” Also, maybe it is time to bring the government back to the road system. It was voted on in the ’80’s to do just that but never funded.
Time to see who is really lobbying our legislature and being able to easily drive up or down to congressional sessions on issues such as this. I would be game for giving up my whole dividend for funding the move of the government into the interior. Is anyone else in agreement on this issue?
Isn’t she taking money out of her constituent’s pocket by doing this? That check that they rely on for heating oil or wood just shrunk drastically. She certainly slit everyone else’s throat in the state.
For an Alaskan State Legislator to go on public record and declare that her rural village deserves the PFD more than rest of Alaska reflects the imbedded racism in Bush Alaska. Was not always this way but generations of free giveaways, no accountability, and living for the mail money has reduced the pride of a once independent prideful race of people.
Growing up with Alaskan natives, working with Alaskan Natives, and using Alaskan Natives as tradesmen as needed. I honestly can say I hav’t ever been let down or disappointed. Reason simple all the Alaska Natives I run with have their self esteem. Self esteem from a solid foundation of work ethic. Most of the villages in Alaska would not be if not for the out of the village money brought in to support their being. So this Western Alaska Legislator to cry for more money to support those who cannot support themselves falls on deaf ears.
100%
For all the leftist talk about equality and equity, they sure are eager to use others’ money to produce inequity when it benefits them.
Great succinct article, Willie.
There is most certainly a cadre of legislators in Juneau that believe beyond any shadow of doubt that certain constituent groups deserve more of the PFD than others. Three quarters of my check is invested in projects I may or may not agree with. Is a class action lawsuit out of the question?
By not paying out what is required by state law, the legislature is taxing the people of the state. The tax rate on residents under the age of 12 can be upwards of 60% of those young people’s yearly income. What is a fair tax rate?
By not paying out the required, under state law, Rep Jimmie is actually taking money out of her village and district. There is not way that she can replaced that amount of income to her constituents.
If taxing the wage earners of this state is necessary so be it but I can assure you that it well not be at a 60% rate.
An old Eskimo gentleman told me this years ago ….that the younger Natives who were raised in rural Alaska and out in the villages are very confused. Satellite TV and the internet introduced them to all the material things that Americans buy and use in the pursuit of fun. Toys, machines, electronics, pleasure, and fast food. But these young Natives have been encouraged by liberal, white Democrats to maintain their own culture and live it. So, they end up living in two worlds, and highly confused, and resentful of white people who live in society with all of their material things. The older Natives and village elders saw this. Today, they are more confused than ever. They still want both worlds.
Money, material things…….but their language and traditional customs. Many of them don’t have a concept that they share this great state with a majority of white people. In not seeing the big picture, many of them have become selfish and think that government OWES them much more than all other Alaskans should have. This older Eskimo man saw it coming and he knew of the looming problems to come. The Democrats, in their quest to divide people, have created disparate and hostile societies.
Im right there with you Willy. Once the politicians figured out a way to wittle it down, it was the beginning of the end for the PFD.
“That is the promise, that is the contract. And when a legislator breaks that, it cuts deeper than just dollars; it breaks trust.”
This is why I call them “Lawbreakers” and have since 2016.
Great article.
Nellie “Boo-Hoo” Jimmie whines only about “my people.” That is a dog whistle for only Native people, and it is her way of saying she is only there to represent blood quantum. I’m not gonna say she is racist because her words do all the saying that is needed.
Its time the shareholders take back the corporations from this disease of Poverty by Democrat. You leave the village go to town and seem to forget the Regional corporations are to support the village not your new elaborate lifestyle . Nellie apparently you were groomed for this state Dem Representative you should have stayed home. no Backbone.
“I will not lie.”
Proceeds to lie for her handlers.
One mistaken notion in this discussion is that all Alaskans are equal. My over sixty-five years of experience here rather clearly rejects this idea. Urban Alaska exists to serve rural Alaska and urban Alaska must do so without complaint or question. I am confident that Representative Jimmie would agree.
I blame Bill Walker. His “unity party” was absolutely tragic for our state and is responsible for much of the disunity seen now.
So, Willy, to Rep. Jimmie, maybe you should have said this:
.
We get the “…hardships in (your) village of Toksook Bay, high fuel prices, tough living, and the real struggles of rural Native families”.
.
What’s hard to get is how this terrible situation happens when you got Nunakauiak Yupik Corporation (NYC) registered to PO Box 37068, Toksook Bay, Alaska 99637, with subsidiaries like NYC AEC Services LLC, NYC Material Services LLC, NYC Concierge Services LLC, NYC Logistics & Maintenance Services LLC, NYC Essential Global Services LLC, and NYC Fuel Services,
(‘https://www.nunakauiakyupikcorp.com/subsidiaries)
.
… or when you get a gift like this: “The Nunakauiak Yupik Corporation of Toksook Bay, Alaska is awarded $57,350.00 to provide sufficient examination of solid minerals and aggregate with feasibility and economic studies to promote the use and development of energy and mineral resources on tribal lands.”
(‘https://deltadiscovery.com/bia-announces-energy-and-mineral-development-grants/)
.
No, we don’t begrudge the bucks you got.
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But …your schtick should make us feel so guilty that we’ll beg you to pass a law to make it okay to seize our dividends and stick ’em in your stash too?
.
Kinda sad …thought you were different from your parasitic colleagues. Oh well, bring enough money home, you’ll still be somebody’s legend.
Encourage the Governor to Veto this PFD bill.
Willy Keppel has this 100+% CORRECT!!! What has been done, and is trying to be done is nothing but pure 100% THEFT from everyone who ALSO deserves the PF!!
I don’t recall signing up to support Natives who apparently are incapable of making a living in their villages. I don’t live in a city either, but I work for my money, I don’t get free healthcare, dividends from a Native Corp., or any of the other handouts these folks get off my dime. I don’t claim unemployment benefits or live where I cannot make a living on my own. If Natives want more money, they should speak with their Corporation bigwigs and find out why there dividends from that aren’t bigger. Heaven knows there are enough set-aside construction contracts for every Native Corporation to have full employment. Or are we supposed to manage those, as well? The oil belongs to the people of Alaska, not just the Natives, and the dividend is likewise for the people, not the government, to spend as we see fit. The sooner we return to the actual laws governing the PFD, the better.
The state legislature squanders money like water and always needs more, with ever diminishing returns. The legislators have been eying the PFD for years and will eventually take it all and still need more. A powerful governor would reign them in and make them stay within a reasonable budget, but we don’t have such a governor.
The above article says that the PFD is “not free money”, but I think it is free money. That’s what makes it so wonderful. “Free money” simply means money that I don’t have to work for. Other things in life are free, and are also wonderful, such as free sunshine and rain.
Jay Hammond was right! Just wonder if they will completely loot the Fund before We the People stop letting them by re-electing the bad ones and not vetting the Wana bees.
You’d think rural natives would vote out these Democrats stealing their money, but they don’t.
I’m guessing someone is playing PFD hedge fund manager… They got a boat load out on margin… The market is tanking, the numbers aren’t looking so good and they’re getting called on it… We’ll find out when the S&P heads south of 3000 and the Feds can’t print any paper money in a massive bond sell off to prop it back up… $$$
The way to remove the politics out of the issue of the PFD is to return to the statutory formula.
Wow, Willy, first article I agree with which you have written. You have mostly everything right except for Power Cost Equalization, as I understand, it was formed for Rural areas because of all the Dams etc constructed for Urban areas thus reducing the cost of electricity In Cities.
With regard to the PFD after the Zobel case (people can be eligible for benefits after meeting the 1 year resident requirement) I think the law makers need to explore ways to require longer residential requirements.
It’s my belief we are paying all the rip rap to move here to collect the PFD, No matter where you travel people know about it.
Although we now live in the Lower 48, my wife is from the YK Delta, and we consider Anchorage our home. She still gets upset at outsiders getting the oil money- not gussaks, but foreigners, from Somalia, Samoa, etc. She thinks the village elders should get more. On the other hand, she noticed a lack of Natives working in Anchorage when we were there recently (in restaurants, hotels, cabs, etc.). And when she asked her cousin why, she was told the young Natives are spoiled- they get too much for free and don’t want to work. Ms. Jimmie wants the services we pay taxes for, but the villages have no tax base. They exist at the expense of others.