BETHEL -- An effort that could lead to a regional tribe for the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta is moving ahead very slowly amid questions about how it would impact village-based tribes, regional Alaska Native nonprofit organizations and the 25,000 or so residents of a region that struggles with poverty, social dysfunction and a high cost of living.
Calista Corp. is leading the effort, but it won't move ahead unless tribes and residents vote to accept change, said Andrew Guy, the regional Native corporation president and chief executive officer.
In Bethel on Monday, organizers and representatives of 24 tribes gathered at the Yupiit Piciryarait Cultural Center for what was supposed to be a constitutional convention on forming a regional government. But the daylong gathering failed to draw a quorum of 29 tribes.
The options include creating a regional tribe or strengthening the Association of Village Council Presidents so that it becomes a stronger political voice. But Myron Naneng, president of AVCP, the regional Native nonprofit corporation, has objected to the Calista effort. He told the crowd Monday that AVCP already works extensively in villages, including through village public safety officers, Head Start and the operation of government assistance programs.
A tribal government could have authority over fishing and hunting, development and other areas, backers said. As a governmental entity, a regional tribe could push transportation and energy projects that would serve multiple villages in a way Native corporations cannot, Guy said.
"Those are the two driving forces for the high cost of living, not only for the people out here but for the high cost of doing business," Guy said. Village corporations would benefit, he said.
There is interest in a new way, Guy said. Thirty-four tribes committed to come and five others expressed interest but couldn't afford to send delegates. Some delegates from coastal villages were weathered in, he said. Not all the region's 56 federally recognized tribes are still active, he said.
Instead of a holding a constitutional convention, the group of about 75 people on Monday discussed the concept of a regional tribe, which could dramatically reform the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta. Many said they needed much more detailed information on the pros and cons of a new tribal government. Some who came said their villages were opposed. But others said they saw hope.
Village residents don't have the background or knowledge of the lawyers and Calista leaders, Nastasia Levi, the delegate from Lower Kalskag, up the Kuskokwim River from Bethel, said at the meeting. When speakers contradict one another, "it's very confusing," she said. Her tribe passed a resolution in December opposing a regional tribal government.
"Even though you guys say it won't affect our powers, it will," she said.
But Napaskiak, a village just downriver from Bethel, sent representatives to support a regional tribe, said Steven Maxie, Napaskiak tribal administrator.
"We're saying we're tired of trying to work alone. Right now we feel alone even if we have regional entities that should represent us," Maxie said. Napaskiak is so supportive of the effort that it sent a delegate, an alternate and an alternate to the alternate, he said.
Ultimately, a regional tribe could govern Native lands through a mechanism in which tribal lands are taken into trust by the federal government as a way to form Indian country, where state authority is limited, said Robert Porter, a Washington, D.C., lawyer who works for Calista and who served as president and chief legal counsel of the Seneca Nation of Indians in New York.
But nothing will happen right away in terms of new authority, he said.
"It's a judgment call as to what's that right moment when you feel that people have enough information to make a good decision," Porter said. "If you wait too long, you're going to lose momentum, and people will get tired and it will fade out and nothing will happen."
While some tribal representatives said the process is moving too fast and hasn't been well explained, backers said it is only the latest configuration of an idea that stretches back 40 years.
In the end, those present gave a nod -- at least, no one stood up to object -- to take measured steps. Leaders will gather materials to send to every tribe. Tribal councils will be asked whether the effort should go forward and if so, in what form.
If tribal councils support a regional tribe, the proposal will be put to a vote of tribal members themselves, Guy said.
"This is a historic meeting that we're conducting today," said Willie Kasayulie, Calista board chairman. "I truly believe that it's in the best interest of all our grandchildren and of generations yet to come. But we still have a lot of work ahead of us."