Iditarod champ Pete Kaiser tells AFN how a community lifted him up

The keynote speaker of the Alaska Federation of Natives convention, musher and 2019 Iditarod champion Pete Kaiser, used stories of his sled dogs to describe leadership in the Native community and his own path to success.

Young dogs learn from watching older dogs with years of training, as in real life, said Kaiser, the fifth Alaska Native and first musher of Yup’ik descent to win the 1,000-mile race across Alaska.

“Our elders are the gateway to knowledge and history," he said. "They hold and observe wisdom that cannot be obtained from any ... website. They are the door to our past and the future of our state.”

A lead dog, Morrow, who brought the team to the finish line in Nome this year, was once barely good enough to make the team and had to be sent home early in her first Iditarod. But over time she learned from the other dogs. In the middle of last year’s race, Kaiser put Morrow in the lead position.

“If you haven’t found your place on the team yet, keep at it and be ready for your opportunity,” Kaiser said, to applause.

The experience helped Kaiser understand why he reached a point in his life that put him at the podium before thousands of Alaska Natives on Thursday. His family, community and the state lifted him up, offering support and understanding as he worked hard to pursue his goal.

“As a team, great deeds can be accomplished,” he said.

Will Mayo, AFN co-chair and former president of the Tanana Chiefs Conference representing tribes in the Interior, presented Kaiser with a chief’s necklace.

“It is the highest mark for a leader to our region,” said Mayo.

Sen. Lyman Hoffman named AFN Citizen of the Year

The longest-serving member in the history of the Alaska Legislature received one of the most prestigious prizes awarded by the AFN.

The organization gave Sen. Lyman Hoffman, D-Bethel, its Citizen of the Year Award on Thursday, honoring the contribution of an Alaska Native person to the Native community.

Born and raised in Bethel, Hoffman has served more than 30 years in the Legislature, starting in the House in 1986 before moving to the Senate, AFN said. He’s used his prominent positions, including as co-chair of the House and Senate Finance committees, to fight for rural Alaska.

Speaking Thursday, Hoffman, 69, recognized past and present rural lawmakers he’d worked with to get things done. They worked across party lines, and with urban lawmakers.

Among other things, Hoffman has helped protect the $1 billion Power Cost Equalization fund used to lower high rural energy costs, said Ana Hoffman, co-chair of the Alaska Federation of Natives.

“He can be relied on to represent the best interests of the citizens of our state,” said Ana Hoffman, a distant relative of Lyman.

Ray Watson, chair of the Association of Village Council Presidents, praised Hoffman from the AFN stage.

“Every Alaskan village has benefited from his work,” Hoffman said. “When he fights, he fights for rural Alaska.”

Murkowski introduces bill creating pilot program to reduce crime rates in rural areas

U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who appeared by video at AFN on Thursday, announced that she has introduced legislation to help address the public safety crisis in rural Alaska.

The Alaska Tribal Public Safety Empowerment Act, if passed by Congress, would allow some tribes in Alaska to exercise special criminal jurisdiction involving domestic violence issues, in some cases over non-Natives.

Murkowski’s office said in a prepared statement that among domestic violence victims in Alaska, Native women are overrepresented by 250%. Meanwhile, an investigation by the Anchorage Daily News and ProPublica found that one in three communities in rural Alaska have no local law enforcement.

The bill would establish a pilot program giving a limited number of Alaska tribes special tribal authority allowed in the Violence Against Women Act of 2013.

[U.S. Attorney General announces additional $42 million for rural Alaska public safety]

The special authority in the 2013 law applied to Indian Country, which rarely exists in Alaska. Thus, it largely benefited tribes in the Lower 48, giving them power to prosecute certain non-Natives who violate qualifying protection orders or commit domestic or dating violence against Indians in Indian Country.

Murkowski’s bill would expand the 2013 law to apply to some tribes in Native villages. It would also apply to incidents involving sexual violence, sex trafficking, stalking and assault of law enforcement or corrections officers.

AFN president Julie Kitka said Thursday that the bill would create a multiyear pilot program, and could apply to up to 30 villages.

“It is a big deal,” she said.

Murkowski’s office said the legislation builds upon a bill championed by Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, that was passed by the House in April and would give tribes in five Alaska villages law enforcement authority over crimes addressed in the 2013 act.