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The Alaska Federation of Natives is the largest gathering of Alaska Natives; it draws as many as 5,000 people. The convention was first held in 1966 as a forum to discuss land claims. After the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act was passed, it became a forum for discussing a wide range of other issues — from education, health and social services, to technology, voting rights, and military operations.

Time on the AFN agenda is alloted in increments as small as five minutes. If time is an indication of the significance of certain topics, elections are a top priority this year. More than two hours will go to a candidates forum and a session on “Get Out the Native Vote.” This year’s keynote address will be by Rep. Mary Peltola, a Democrat who was voted in to fill the final months of the late Don Young’s term of office. She’s up for re-election in November to fill the next full term.

Alaska’s U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan have 20 minutes each to address the thousands of people in attendance.

Presentations by officials will also take up a big chunk of time, with speakers such as secretaries of Interior and Agriculture, and the chair of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee.

Delegates will hear from panels. An hour will be set aside to discuss opportunities and successes in self determination, which in Alaska is spread over several entities: tribes, for-profit Native corporations, and regional nonprofits.

Another panel will describe how to access federal funding for COVID-19 relief and new infrastructure dollars. Others will discuss the role of Indigenous people in broadband, mini-nuclear power plants, federal land management in Alaska, ocean climate change, and disaster loans and assistance.

Spare time during the 3-day convention isn’t wasted. Travel from rural Alaska into Anchorage is expensive. Many entities routinely meet by teleconference or Zoom. They take travel to Anchorage for AFN as an opportunity to hold in-person meetings. Nonprofits such as the Reindeer Herders Association and Eskimo Whaling Commission often schedule meetings during AFN.

In the evening, people will watch traditional dance performances. During breaks, they visit the Alaska Native Customary Art Fair.

The theme of this year’s Alaska Federation of Natives convention is “Celebrating Our Unity.” — Joaqlin Estus, ICT

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Hundreds of citizens of the Yakama Nation ousted five tribal council members over allegations they didn’t stop subordinates from misusing tribal funds and retaliated against tribal employees who raised concerns about misspending.

The recalls came during special General Council meetings held Thursday and Friday, attended by hundreds more than the 250 people required to meet the quorum necessary to take up the issue. Tribal citizens voted to remove five council members, including Chairman Dean Saluskin and Vice Chairman Virgil Lewis.

The recalls came after whistleblowers Matthew and Joshua Hoptowit and three others who weren’t named in an ethics board investigation accused department managers in the tribe’s Land Management division of misusing tribal funds. The allegations led to an investigation that faulted the tribal council’s Roads, Irrigation and Land Committee for failing to investigate or stop misspending by the Land Management Division, which the council committee oversees. READ MORE — Chris Aadland ,Underscore News and ICT

An Alaska Native athlete is competing in this world’s biggest stage for women’s rugby in New Zealand.

Kathryn Treder, Inupiaq, is one of 32 athletes representing Team USA at this year’s Rugby World Cup.

Treder plays the position of hooker and played collegiately at Stanford University.

Growing up, she played multiple sports, even winning first place in the Alaska state championship for wrestling.

Treder plays for Beantown R-F-C in Boston and made her first Team USA debut in 2019 in San Diego.

Treder, and her team, will face off against Team Canada on Saturday for a spot in the quarterfinals. You can watch that game live on the streaming network Peacock. — ICT

Around the world: A regional human rights court is considering the case of two Indigenous communities that want to be left alone, a First Nations leader says better education would mean better employment for Indigenous people, and an Aboriginal teenager shines in “Australia’s Got Talent.”

ECUADOR: Human rights court weighs Indigenous protections

The last two Indigenous communities living without outside contact in Ecuador’s Amazon rainforest are at the center of a case under consideration by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, Mongabay.com reported on Oct. 13.

Lawyers for the Tagaeri and Taromenane people say the Ecuadorian state has failed to defend the communities and has driven logging and extractive industries into the areas where they have worked to live independently of other peoples. READ MORE — Deusdedit Ruhangariyo, Special to ICT

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To conserve the planet’s biodiversity, countries around the world have pushed to create protected areas. The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous peoples says without concrete and immediate action, Indigenous rights will continue to be violated in the name of conservation.

“While the expansion of conservation is laudable, not enough assurance has been given to Indigenous people that their rights will be preserved in the process,” said José Francisco Calí Tzay, who is Maya Kaqchikel and current Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples.

In a report presented Wednesday, Oct. 12 to the United Nations General Assembly’s Social, Humanitarian & Cultural Committee, Calí Tzay, highlighted multiple human rights violations committed to create and enforce protected areas, ranging from the expulsion of Indigenous peoples from their lands to extra-judicial killings and mass murder. Defined as a “geographically defined area which is designated or regulated and managed to achieve specific conservation objectives,” protected areas make up roughly 15 percent of the world’s surface. By 2030, that number is expected to double as part of 30×30, a global initiative to protect 30 percent of the world’s land and oceans by 2030. Without major changes to global conservation models, Calí Tzay said reaching that goal will mean more violence directed at Indigenous communities. READ MORE — Joseph Lee, Grist

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