Mina

whence the money

Where will all the money come from?

"Thats the million-dollar question," said Sally Russell Cox, a state planner who is involved in the Newtok relocation.

Its closer to a billion-dollar question, and its getting a lot of attention at the federal, state and local levels.

The usual sources are being tapped, among them the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the state Department of Transportation, the Village Safe Water Program and the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Even the idea of using some of the Permanent Fund has been floated.

Cox hopes dollars alone dont drive the discussions.

"I hate to put things in economic terms, because these are human beings were talking about," she said. "These are lifestyles theyve led for thousands of years that have been passed on to them by their forefathers. How can you minimize all that (by putting it) in economic terms?"

In years past, Natives would have moved to safer places if natures wrath threatened their homes. Today, things like school buildings, airstrips, roads and washeterias keep once-nomadic people anchored in place.

Posted by Unknown at 20:00

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