Thousands of Alaska Natives are gathering in Anchorage this week

Coming up in Anchorage this week is the First Alaskans Institute’s Elders and Youth conference Oct. 13-16, followed by the larger Alaska Federation of Natives convention Oct. 17-19.

The second and larger of the two gatherings, the Alaska Federation of Natives convention, brings together delegates from tribes, village and regional for-profit corporations, and regional nonprofit entities. It’s a public event that draws from 4,000 to 6,000 people. AFN’s 2024 convention theme is “Our Children — Our Future Ancestors.” AFN’s website describes it as “the principal forum and voice for the Alaska Native community in addressing critical issues of public policy and government.”

AFN’s keynote speaker will be outgoing president Julie Kitka, who is Chugach. She announced her resignation from AFN in February. She’s been with the statewide advocacy organization for 40 years, after getting her start there in 1984 as a special assistant for human resources. She went on to serve as AFN’s Washington, D.C., lobbyist and vice president before the board elected her as president in 1990. She recently was inducted into the National Native American Hall of Fame.

At the convention, delegates hear speeches, reports from political leaders, and presentations by panels of experts. On its website, AFN said participants “share stories of resilience, experiences, strengths, knowledge, and hope for the future. The resolutions passed by the voting delegates set the priorities for the year and guide AFN’s efforts. The Convention is the largest representative annual gathering in the United States of Native peoples.”

The 2024 convention will host panels on strengthening subsistence rights, Alaska’s brain drain, and a report by the Alyce Spotted Bear & Walter Soboleff Commission on Native Children. Another session will cover barriers that Alaska Natives face in education, access to public services, and the right to vote, as well as legislative and judicial efforts to remove those barriers.

Tickets for the evening traditional dance performances, called Quyana Alaska, regularly sell out. The Alaska Native Customary Art market, where hundreds of artisans sell items such as jewelry, clothing, sculptures, paintings and regalia, is likewise popular.

The first of the two gatherings, the Elders and Youth conference, is hosted by the policy and advocacy nonprofit First Alaskans Institute. Its website described the conference as “a unique space for our communities to come together and learn about a variety of topics such as traditional and subsistence practices, arts, advocacy and more.” The 2024 conference theme is “Dinjii Zhuh K’yàa Zhit Gwarandaii,” a Gwich’in Athabascan phrase that translates to “Our Land Our Food — We are Living Our Indigenous Ways of Life.”

The institute’s president and CEO Roy Agloinga, who is Yup’ik and Iñupiaq, said a special feature this year is the presence of several traditional healers to help people. Agloinga said even some sessions that are not meant to be heavy can “bring up deep issues around colonization or really reclaiming our language, our culture, and our food.” For example, some may “involve people talking about and acknowledging the loss that they’ve had around language and the memories of their parents or their grandparents being able to speak,” Agloinga said.

There will also be more lighthearted sessions such as a talent show and a teen dance, and hands-on sessions such as one on how to cut fish. “They’re really about affirming our culture, our language, and our practices. We (also) have a session that’s going to be about stewarding the land, which is a strong session where we’re really talking about our tradition of taking care of this place that we are from and our deep connection to the land that we have,” Agloinga said.

The elder keynote address will be by Rosita Worl, a longtime advocate for subsistence and the president and CEO of Sealaska Heritage Institute. The Youth keynote speaker will be Sam Hirapsuka, who is Aleut, Yu’pik, Winnemem Wintu and Navajo. He’s a legislative assistant for U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola.

The First Alaskans Institute on its website said the conference typically attracts more than a thousand people.

Both gatherings will be at the Dena’ina Civic and Convention Center, at 600 W. Seventh Ave., in downtown Anchorage.

The week also features a half-day tribal workshop on Oct. 16 on subsistence, various receptions, entertainment and meetings of other organizations.

Originally published in ICT.

[Correction: This story has been updated to reflect that the AFN convention will be held Oct. 17 to 19.]