For the first time, the Alaska Federation of Natives board of directors has endorsed a presidential candidate.
On Tuesday, the board of the largest Alaska Native organization in America voted to back Hillary Clinton for president.
“We are at a critical juncture in our national election and in our country’s history. We are faced with a stark choice as to who will lead our nation and what direction we, as a country, will go,” the board said in a prepared statement Wednesday morning.
The announcement comes as the 50th annual Alaska Federation of Natives convention opens today in Fairbanks. The convention runs through Saturday.
In its resolution of support, the AFN board cited Clinton’s history of support for Native causes and programs that benefit American Indians. It did not include any statements against Donald Trump or any of the other competing presidential candidates.
“Hillary Clinton’s priorities are so much in line with our community’s priorities that the board was compelled to break with tradition,” the board said in its statement. “AFN and many of our members have long held policies of non-endorsement when it comes to presidential elections, and some Board members abstained because they needed further internal discussions with their groups. Overall the AFN Board voted decisively to endorse Hillary Clinton as the best choice for President of the United States. The AFN board urges Alaska Natives to make their voices heard on November 8th.”
AFN membership includes 185 federally recognized tribes, 153 village corporations, 12 regional corporations and 12 regional nonprofit and tribal organizations.
