All week long, the excitement for the start of the Alaska Federation of Natives Convention has grown like a rising tide in downtown Anchorage.
Alaska Natives from all over the state arrive early to take in the Elders and Youth Conference and the Tribal Unity Gathering, but it is AFN that draws the biggest crowd.
Once this gathering gets underway on Thursday, 6,000 people will flow through the Dena’ina Center over the next three days.
Convention goers like Ada Coyle, a Supiaq from Kodiak, will wish her friends “Happy Native New Year.”
She doesn’t know exactly when this greeting became popular at the convention but says it reflects the spirit of AFN.
“It’s been a whole year since we’ve all gathered,” Coyle said, “so it’s a new year.”
Sven Haakanson says there’s a rhythm to it all.
“I love doing the AFN Shuffle. Step, step, hug. Step, hug. It’s just wonderful because I get to see everybody I haven’t seen all year,” said Haakanson with a big laugh. “It’s a big, Native New Year hug fest.”
Haakanson is an anthropology professor at the University of Washington, originally from Old Harbor on Kodiak Island. He says the convention may feel like a big family reunion, but it is also a time to do important work.
“It’s about brainstorming. It’s about learning from each other and saying, ‘Hey. What do we need to do? How do we take care of each other?’” Haakanson said. “And that’s why I love AFN, and why I’ve been coming to AFN for 30 years.”
It was almost 60 years ago that the first convention was held in a room above the Alaska Fur Factory on Fourth Avenue -- a time when Alaska was a new state, when its Indigenous peoples feared they would lose their land and way of life. So they came together to fight for the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act and won title to 44 million acres of land.
Congress also paid out almost a billion dollars to settle Native land claims. It was far from a perfect deal and unleashed unforeseen consequences. That's why AFN is ever a work in progress.
“At AFN, the number one factor for us is protecting our way of life,” said Joe Nelson, co-chair of AFN.
But Nelson says the Native way of life is under threat on so many fronts. From federal and state policies that affect the ability of Natives to hunt and fish, so they can feed their families – to the ravages of climate change – the fight never really ends.
This year, AFN delegates had hoped to talk directly with Trump administration cabinet members. Along with Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, they were scheduled to speak at the gathering. But the federal shutdown prevented them from traveling to Alaska.
Their speeches will now be virtual, not the same as having face time, but Nelson says AFN will adapt.
“We’re going to gather, as we do, as Native folks -- start beating our drums, just working together, united,” Nelson said.
The theme for this year’s AFN is Standing Strong. Standing United. Ben Mallott, who has just finished his first year as president of AFN, says it meets the moment. “We are stronger together. AFN is a really strong voice on unified issues,” he said. “And unity is critical.”
It was Mallott’s job, when he took the helm, to rebuild a divided organization. In recent years, six Native groups had left AFN, upset over how it handles disagreement between different regions. Most have come back in the fold, except for the Arctic Slope Regional Corporation and the Cook Inlet Tribal Council.
Mallott is hopeful they will return. He says AFN’s board has worked hard to improve how the convention deals with dissent. “A lot of it too, you’ve got to have that space to have those discussions,” Mallott said.
AFN didn’t have the structure to allow for a very safe or constructive way to deal with disagreements between regions, Mallott said.
AFN leaders hope to open more channels of communication before debates erupt on the convention floor and fracture the organization.
One of the problems, is, that it’s hard to predict what will dominate the convention. In many years, some of the big developments were not on the agenda and completely unexpected. This year, the convention has already been blindsided by events beyond its control. First came the federal shutdown and then the storm last weekend, which ravaged coastal communities in Western Alaska like never before.
Now the convention is scrambling to address the devastation. And while no one would have predicted such a disaster would dominate the convention, this year’s theme about strength and unity speaks to the challenge. If ever there was a time for unity, it’s now.
Roy Agloinga, the president of the First Alaskans Institute, threw out the gauntlet at the Elders and Youth Conference on Sunday. “To those affected, we see you. We are with you,” he said. “To those who can help, now is the time.”
No one would have predicted that the convention would launch such a massive donation drive at the convention, asking people to bring cases of water, diapers, toilet paper and cleaning supplies.
Some longtime convention-observers wonder if there are any new surprises in store this week. Will CIRI and ASRC rejoin AFN? Could the convention be the stage for former Representative Mary Peltola to announce a bid for governor or the U.S. Senate?
Ana Hoffman, the other AFN co-chair, says she doesn’t have the answers to those questions, except that one should always expect the unexpected at the convention.
“It is a place where people listen and can be heard,” she said. “Any time you get this many people together, there’s going to be the potential for interesting things to happen.”
Throughout its history, AFN has managed to find ways to rise to the occasion. It’s leaders say, both then and now, AFN’s superpower is strength and unity.
