At this the annual Alaska Federation of Natives convention it was clear that there was a single message that was sent out by members unison and working together.
However, behind the message is that relationships are in a state of tension between AFN and a few tribal entities and companies in Alaska.
“At the moment there’s a bit of uncomfortable tensions between AFN and certain tribes as well as certain companies,” said Beverly Hoffman who is on Bethel Native Corp.’s board of directors. “But in this moment and in this time, it’s essential to come together with one another and discuss fish, we discuss our land and also about protecting our annual conventions as well as our traditional ways of living for which we fight for.”
That tension Hoffman talks about was not evident at the convention this year. This is because a few of the organizations that are in disagreement in their relationship with AFN have decided to cancel their memberships and their leaders weren’t present at the convention this year.
The most prominent among them is those of the Central Council of Tlingit & Haida Tribes of Alaska, that resigned their membership in the AFN in the spring of this year.
Chairman and President Chalyee Eesh Richard Peterson has questioned the necessity of membership in AFN.
“You have received a message that says if you’re unable to sit around the table then we’re not present in the room, or what. My executive council questioned”What room do we have for us to sit in?’ since we’ve had meetings with the secretary of Treasury We’ve also met with Commerce We’ve also met with Transportation.”
Peterson visited Anchorage to attend meetings and meetings with Department of Interior officials, including Secretary Deb Haaland. He did not attend the AFN’s annual convention. Peterson said Tlingit & Haida has outgrown it.
“I believe we’re more united and I’m sure that’s the reason I’ve heard criticism about us pulling out in the past, but the truth is that we don’t need to be part of any group to join with the other tribal groups,” the man said. “So we’ve been building up our capacity for a long time and continue to build our capacity. We have a fantastic legal team and a solid governance department and are very good at promoting and working on our own, very honestly.”
Since the beginning of 2019, more than half of the tribal groups have quit AFN for a variety of reasons.
Tanana Chiefs Conference Chief & Chairman Brian Ridley said the tribes that he represents have voted to pull out in part due to salmon.
“We think that the preservation of the salmon was solely on the backs our subsistence inhabitants living in the villages that are along the rivers, since we’ve not fished in a long time and all we’ve tried to achieve was encourage others to participate in conservation efforts so that the salmon could return,” Ridley said.
TCC is the most significant tribal group within Alaska’s Interior region. The year before, Ridley spoke in support of two AFN resolutionsthat called for measures to cut down on salmon bycatch in order in order to permit more fish to be returned to Yukon as well as the Kuskokwim rivers. They were approved at the convention, however, debate was a contentious issue and split regions that included the Interior and Aleutians, as well as Pribilof Islands.
Since the time, Ridley said his organization is front and center at the state board of fish and federal management meetings however, AFN hasn’t been present to support them.
“A step towards the right direction would be for them to show up and demonstrating that subsistence fishing, our fish, our game is vital to our people and to AFN to be able to witness them at the same meetings fighting shoulder-to-shoulder together with us” the man said.
The Alaska Federation of Natives first was established in 1966, and there were just 17 Native organizations gathered. In the present, AFN co-chair Ana Hoffman says the convention attracts hundreds of members and each one has distinct and distinct needs and wants.
“There occasions when there’s disagreement, and we’re not insensitive to it,” she said. “In fact, we try to be extremely sensitive to this. We are constantly trying to improve our processes internally in the company in order to respond to the needs of our customers and also to enhance our readiness to ensure that we are able to engage in the future.”
One of the first AFN co-chairs, Willie Hensley, said that this type of conflict among members is not a new phenomenon.
“There’s always been disagreement,” …” there’s always been disagreement,” he declared. “Once every once in awhile, regions have pulled from the past…In fact, at one point we were almost divided into two statewide groups in the 1970s. However, I believe that in the majority of cases, reason prevails because if we break up, and vulcanized, it diminishes our capacity in representing Alaska or Alaska natives.”
The Alaskan Indigenous population is culturally and regionally varied, he added and he cited a myriad of issues that extend beyond AFN.
“We have several groups including small regions, large regions, some of them modern, while others are more old-fashioned,” Hensley said. “AFN cannot solve all of the issues.”
And Hensley stated that it is wrong to only look at the divisive issues instead of the issues Alaska Natives face together.
However the strategic planning process is in progress at AFN. In the course of this the group is sending out membership surveys for the year. The questions ask members to share what they most like about the organization and what challenges the organization is facing, and request suggestions on goals for future five-year AFN.
