Alaska's Right to Ivory Sales and Tradition Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. SULLIVAN. Mr. President, I am down on the Senate floor here to try to pass two really important pieces of legislation for a great part of Alaska, and this is the Alaska Native community in my State. These are incredible, patriotic Americans. By the way, Alaska Natives serve at higher rates in the military than any other ethnic group in the country. They are great Americans. They add so much to our State. They are the first peoples of Alaska, and so in my State, it is almost about 20 percent of the population. So it is a population I care deeply about.

We work closely with them on so many different issues across so many different areas, and so I like to legislate in the areas that matter to them. And we are going to do that. You know, lately--and I am going to try to stay positive here; I have given speeches on the Senate floor about this before--some of my Democratic colleagues on the other side of the aisle have taken it out on the Alaska Native people in legislation, really kind of bad stuff. I am not going to be negative, but there has been this trend of anti-Alaska Native bias on the other side of the aisle. It has been very disappointing. To be honest, it has been puzzling.

But I am hoping today, these two bills that we are going to move forward that go to the heart of Alaska Native culture in one and Alaska Native patriotism in the other are going to be UC'd. I know my Republican colleagues have already passed on these.

So the first piece of legislation I want to bring up is what we call the Alaska's Right To Ivory Sales and Tradition. The acronym on that is the ARTIST Act.

Now, let me give you a little bit of background on this. For thousands of years Alaska Natives have responsibly harvested whales, walrus, other marine animals from our northern seas. These animals are eaten, shared, honored, and no part of the animal goes to waste.

They still do this tradition in my State. They have the right to do it under law. The bones, the ivory, the baleen, even all of those pieces are used for beautiful art. If you have had a chance to visit my office, you have seen the beautiful art that adorns the walls of my Senate office. Carvings made from whale baleen, walrus tusks, crafted by Alaska Native artists.

This is some of the most beautiful art in America. It is deeply ingrained in Alaska's culture, the ability to make this art. It also provides important economic opportunity for our artists in many of these remote villages, artists who rely on the ability to sell these works to Alaskans and the hundreds of thousands of people who come to my great State to visit who want to take home a piece of Alaska Native heritage. So it is a win-win-win for everybody, but it is an economic driver of a lot of small villages in my State.

And by the way, carving, harvesting walrus ivory is completely legal under Federal law, Federal regulations, Federal law. There is no question about that. However, there has been some, I guess, well- intentioned laws from some States that in an attempt to ban African elephant ivory, which we all want to do that--that is not allowed in America, by the way--States have gone too far and cast this huge net and said you can't buy any ivory products anywhere, including Alaska Native products from Alaska walrus harvesting.

This really has hurt my State. People coming up from States that have banned all ivory say: I can't take that home. I can't buy it. Sorry.

So this is a simple, simple bill. You know, if a visitor wants to come buy some ivory earrings in Alaska by one of our great Alaska Native artists and then bring them home to a State that has a ban on ivory, which is not sensible--again, walrus ivory, not African elephant ivory--we want to be able to say at the Federal level that we should be able to do this.

So that is what my ARTIST Act does. It prohibits States from banning the importation, sale, or possession of Alaskan Native handicrafts made with walrus ivory. Environmental groups support it. By the way, the Biden administration supported this. It is straightforward bipartisan legislation that recently was passed unanimously by the Commerce Committee.

So this is about as bipartisan as it gets. And what I want to do is to cut through the confusion that there now exists with certain States and a lot of tourists in my great State, to affirm the right of the Alaska Native people to continue these centuries-old practices of sustainable, respectful ivory carving, entirely within Federal law, and to be able to make sure that is clarified across the country.

178, that is S. 254; further, that the committee-reported substitute amendment be considered and agreed to, the bill, as amended, be considered read a third time and passed, and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

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Mr. SULLIVAN. Yes, I agree to the modification.

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Mr. SULLIVAN. Mr. President, I want to let people know back home that means that that bill, the ARTIST bill that we have been trying to get moved for a long time, just passed the U.S. Senate. So I want to thank my colleague from California, my friend from California who has worked with me, by the way, on one of the other bills that just passed. I was a cosponsor with Senator Padilla on that, so this is good Senate cooperation on these issues.

So that is an important issue for Alaskan Native heritage, culture, artists, and now it has passed the Senate. So, again, I want to thank Senator Padilla.

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