Alaska Native leaders who met privately with President Barack Obama say his three-day visit to Alaska last week highlighted the valuable role tribes can play in battling the state's towering problems, though Sen. Lisa Murkowski pointed out one key group was not invited.
The exchange with Native leaders in Anchorage -- the president's first stop in Alaska -- suggests that Obama sees tribes as allies in addressing huge issues such as the lack of rural justice and sanitation services, as well as high rates of suicide and soaring energy costs, participants said.
Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott, a Tlingit leader who attended the meeting along with two other statewide elected officials, said the meeting was a natural extension of Obama's unusual efforts to engage Native Americans and Alaska Natives, something he's done in part by hosting several tribal gatherings in D.C.
The president also recognizes that the state's Native rural communities are heavily impacted by the climate change that he sought to highlight on the trip.
"And, he just loves us and we love him," said Mallott.
During his historic trip, Obama focused much of his attention on the state's first people, visiting the largely Native towns of Kotzebue and Dillingham and noting that tribal communities are worth listening to because of their 10,000-year-long history.
He also announced several moves to support rural Alaska communities after the meeting at the Dena'ina Center.
The event lasted more than an hour. After giving a brief opening statement, Obama jotted down notes and didn't speak until the end, guests said.
"His level of respect and sincerity and wanting to have government-to-government relations with tribes is what I took away," said Melanie Bahnke, chief executive of Kawerak, a tribal consortium representing the Nome region.
Bahnke said it was "awesome" to sit on the president's left side and give the initial opening remarks. She broke the ice by introducing herself in the Yup'ik of St. Lawrence Island, where she is originally from, and jokingly told the president in English that you can see Russia from her home.
"For me, the biggest takeaway was his elevation of Alaska Native issues," she said. "He made a point of meeting with us before addressing world leaders at the GLACIER conference."
Obama's speech at the big conference on Arctic and climate issues absorbed much of the world's attention, overshadowing the exchange with tribal leaders that was not open to the press.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski said she appreciated the president's efforts to listen. She said the Native group was diverse, representing different regions of the state and various economic sectors, but an important area was not included.
Leaders from the North Slope -- the region providing the oil that pays most of the state's bills -- were not in attendance.
That fit a theme of Obama's trip to Alaska, where he sidestepped the issue of oil development considered critical to the state's economy, as well as the North Slope, she said.
"What you didn't have were the Inupiat," Murkowski said. "I thought that was an oversight."
Still, those tribal leaders lucky enough to attend were beaming with praise. The meeting allowed direct communication with the president that will have long-term benefits, they said.
Myron Naneng Sr., president of the Association of Village Council Presidents, representing dozens of tribal governments in the Bethel region, sat at the president's right side.
Naneng said he got a hug from the president before the meeting, after requesting it on behalf of his wife who didn't attend.
"Well, we got to do what the wife asked," Obama said, loosening the atmosphere, according to Naneng.
"He's really no different (from) you and I talking. He just happens to have a lot of resources at his command," Naneng said.
Guests said Obama seemed especially interested when Naneng discussed the need to enhance the National Guard in rural Alaska for economic and social reasons. Naneng noted that the population of rural guardsmen has fallen statewide, including in the Bethel region from 1,000 soldiers in previous years to fewer than 50 today because of cuts.
Despite the tremendous drop, elected leaders have focused on military cuts proposed for urban areas, including a reduction of 2,600 troops from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Naneng said.
"These National Guardsmen in villages build discipline and leadership and it gives them a purpose of being in a village," Naneng said he told the president. "We talk about suicide prevention -- well, here's one opportunity that can be provided to many of the young women and men in the villages."
Obama replied that "he will have to work with his side of the parties in Congress and Lisa Murkowski will have to work with this on her side to bring this up as an issue," according to Naneng.
Bahnke, who took notes, said Obama said he was intrigued by the idea of guardsmen serving as role models in villages. He noted that given Russia's behavior, threat levels in the Arctic have increased. Referring to the military, Obama said there's a money crunch now and lengthy budget negotiations with Congress in the coming months will determine a lot, said Bahnke.
A key next step following the presidential meeting will be responding to Obama's announcement that broadened the efforts of the Denali Commission, said Julie Kitka, another guest and the president of the Alaska Federation of Natives, the largest statewide Native organization.
State-federal relations for years focused on sorely needed rural projects like energy improvements, new clinics and dock facilities. But it has seen its budget wither because of reduced federal funding -- from about $140 million in 2007 to $14 million in recent years.
Obama announced that the commission would coordinate state, federal, local and other entities to help communities address the impacts of climate change, including providing $2 million toward that effort.
AFN had requested the updated role for the Denali Commission, said Kitka, a Denali Commission board member.
"We are looking forward to implementing that reset with our congressional delegation and governor," she said.
The administration has committed to continued follow-up with top Cabinet officials on other issues in the months to come, she said, including during a visit by Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz that is anticipated soon.
"(The president) recognizes Alaska Natives are an important group within the state and an important partner with some of the solution and problems out there," Kitka said.
A partnership approach was seen in the president's announcement in Alaska that $375,000 would be provided to support the efforts of the Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission and the Yukon River Inter-tribal Fish Commission. The seed money will help the groups make co-management decisions aimed at rebuilding salmon stocks in the rivers. The size of the award is relatively small, but it's meaningful because the money will help strengthen tribal input into the process, supporters said.
In her comments, Bahnke said she urged the president to consider ways to "institutionalize" his strong relationship with tribes so it continues with future presidents.
"We don't want to go backward after this president," she said. "We have had such unprecedented outreach from the White House."
Obama seemed to hear that message clearly during the conference. Summarizing the meeting for reporters, he said one of the biggest things he heard was the need to "work more intensively and more collaboratively with communities," especially in rural areas.
Top members of his administration will keep working with Alaska's leaders, he said.
"That's going to continue as long as I am president. And hopefully we will have set a new pattern and a new set of relationships," he said.
Murkowski said she is also following up on some of the issues raised. She said people at the meeting, as well as in Kotzebue and Dillingham, felt the president listened closely to them. But time will tell what becomes of his trip.
"As with everything, it's one thing to politely listen. It's another thing to translate that into action," she said.