As Indigenous people from around the state gathered at Anchorage’s Dena’ina Center for the first day of the Alaska Federation of Natives convention on Thursday, more than 100 people rallied in the rain several blocks over.
The group of Alaska Native advocates pushed for environmental and climate action. They held signs that said, “Defend the sacred, protect the Arctic” and gave speeches at Town Square Park, noting recent record storms and declines in subsistence foods.
Charles Wright with Tanana Chiefs Conference grew up in the Yukon River community of Rampart, and spoke about the salmon collapse in the region.
“Our people are hurting. They’re almost starving,” Wright said. “Some people don’t have any other means. They don’t have stores. They’re the ones who need to be taken care of, the ones that we need to have voices for.”
The rally was put on by several nonprofit organizations including United Tribes of Bristol Bay and Native Movement.
Rallygoers chanted in opposition to many resource extraction projects around the state, like the Donlin Gold Mine, the Pebble Mine and the Ambler Road Project. Naaweiyaa Tagaban led a chant that played on this year’s AFN theme of “Celebrating Our Unity.”
“Unity with the animals, unity with the land,” Tagaban chanted. “Let them hear us at the Dena’ina Center! Unity with the animals, unity with the land.”
Sharon Hildebrand, vice president of the Tanana Chiefs Conference, said she’s disappointed that AFN’s agenda doesn’t include a panel about how climate change is impacting subsistence fishing. She said she’s hopeful that people will support several fishing related-resolutions.
“There’s gonna be some resolutions on Saturday and we need you all to stand with us,” Hildebrand said. “We’re hurting on the Yukon, on the Kuskokwim, for salmon. We ask you to stand with us.”
While topics related to public safety and infrastructure tend to garner wide support among AFN delegates, climate change has proved to be controversial. At the last in-person AFN convention in 2019 in Fairbanks, delegates debated for over an hour on whether to pass a resolution declaring a climate emergency, with strong opposition from the North Slope delegation. It ended up passing. The Arctic Slope Regional Corporation ended its AFN membership at the end of that year.
AFN delegates will take up resolutions Saturday afternoon.
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Wesley Early covers Anchorage life and city politics for Alaska Public Media. Reach him at wearly@alaskapublic.org and follow him on X at @wesley_early. Read more about Wesley here.
