Alaska Federation of Natives

The Alaska Federation of Natives has passed a resolution that advocates for broad changes in state and federal subsistence policies.

The three-day event had been scheduled for Oct. 21-23 in Anchorage. However, AFN President Julie Kitka said in a statement Tuesday, “the high-risk factors of holding a 5,000-person indoor meeting, with delegates coming in from across Alaska, make an in-person October gathering out of the question.”

In a statement, Alaska Federation of Natives president Julie Kitka called for “accountability for the actions of the perpetrators as well as those who appear to have planned this attack.”

With the coronavirus making an in-person convention unsafe, the state’s largest annual gathering of Indigenous people came together virtually.

The theme highlights “the challenges and opportunities the Native community and all Alaskans face, including responding to and recovering from the pandemic and resulting economic downturn.”