Regional Tribal Government

by Willie Kasayulie

Akiachak Native Community hosted a Pinariuq Conference during the first week of July 1984 with Tuluksak Native Community and Akiak Native Community tribal council members participating. This gathering officially started the discussion of establishing a regional tribal government for the indigenous people of the Yukon-Kuskokwim Region.

The most memorable times of discussing regional tribal government was under the Yupiit Nation functions where Elders had the most input into discussions, in Yupiaq language, of Yupiaq governance. The two most discussed concerns were the inclusion of the young people and descendants as shareholders in Alaska Native Corporations, and the ability to govern within our traditional homelands.

Under any circumstances, there was never any mention of going against our own people through lawsuits, whether they were members of any tribe or Alaska Native Corporations, to divide the region.

Since 1984, there have been numerous attempts of uniting villages under a regional tribal government other than AVCP, which was and continues to be organized as a state-chartered nonprofit association for the 56 federally recognized tribes.

Studies of uniting the region under a state-chartered borough have also been conducted. The most recent consideration by the tribes of the borough concept resulted in the rejection of the borough concept, and also the concept of the nonprofit model. The tribes rejected both of those avenues in favor of the establishment of a regional tribal government, which was the strong preference of the tribes.

The Yukon-Kuskokwim Regional Tribal Government has been operating for much of the year in 2021 with the YKRTG Interim Council representing 7 of the 11 districts (Article II, Section 3). In the short amount of time, they have established contact with federal and state officials impacting the lives of the residents, whether they were members or not, regarding fisheries and improvement on the welfare of all tribal peoples in our region. I thank them for their commitment and their service.

YKRTG, just as any ANC and regional nonprofit organization, must establish a close working relationship with organizations outside of the region to benefit the interests of the tribal people it serves, at the same time being mindful of the integrity of the federally recognized tribes in the region. To this point in time, the YKRTG Interim Council has worked to strengthen the local governance of the 56 YK Tribes on the tribal level.

The election of the YKRTG President, Clerk and the district representatives will be held on November 8, 2022. Eligible voters are tribal members of each district, who are 18 years or older, and have completed YKRTG voter registration. The qualifications for district Regional Council, the President and Clerk are identified in Article VIII, Sections 1 and 2 respectfully.

The office of the President will be a critical position as it will be a representative for all the tribal peoples of the Yukon-Kuskokwim Region. I would urge any eligible voter to research all candidates for their past involvement locally, regionally, statewide and in national indigenous organizations to make a determination who will best represent all our interests. The candidate must be a uniter, not a divider of the Native community on all levels.

Willie Kasayulie is a resident of Akiachak, AK.

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