Giving Southeast Alaska communities more representation by reducing the number for cities elsewhere such as Anchorage and Seattle was approved after an emotional five-hour debate during the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska’s 90th annual Tribal Assembly on Friday.
The change, part of Tlingit and Haida’s first constitutional convention at its assembly since 2018, makes significant shifts to a tribal delegation where Juneau and Seattle had the most members at 25 each, based on communities getting one delegate per 200 tribal citizens up to that maximum. The amendment that takes effect immediately specifies one delegate per 275 citizens — with a minimum of two — up to a maximum of 20 in Southeast and four elsewhere.
Among other member cities outside Southeast, Anchorage had 15 delegates and San Francisco had seven when the three-day assembly in Juneau began Wednesday. The amendment was approved by a 63 to 52 vote.
Speaking in favor of giving smaller communities a larger share of representation was Gerald Hope, a delegate from Sitka — which had seven members under the former rule, but will now see a reduction — who said his community council discussed the matter extensively before supporting the change.
“When our brothers and sisters in the smaller communities are hurting so badly we need to stand with them is what our community council spoke about,” he said. “We will decrease our voice, our votes in support of increasing those villages’ voices. That’s what we came to the table for. That’s what we came to the constitutional convention for.”
Delegates at the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska’s 90th Tribal Assembly watch a prerecorded speech by U.S. Rep. Nick Begich III (R-Alaska) on Wednesday, April 16, 2025, at Elizabeth Peratrovich Hall. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Opposition, as expected, came from delegates in the cities outside Southeast. Voshte Demmert-Gustafson, a Seattle delegate, said she is sympathetic to the argument of giving smaller communities more representation, but the drastic downsizing of her city’s delegation is excessive and harmful to that area’s more than 9,000 tribal citizens.
“We have each other and we’re volunteers, and we come together and we put on amazing picnics where 1,000-plus people come,” she said. “If we only have three delegates that run that and if they are elders that are elected, that would be a challenge for them to continue to put on. That’s all we’re trying to understand.”
An effort to appease the communities outside Southeast was made by Kathryn Lawrence, a Juneau delegate, who said that even with fewer members their concerns will still get heard and considered by the full delegation.
“We are not against Anchorage or Seattle or San Francisco,” she said. “I see some of our most talented people in those areas because I read the emails of what each one of those communities are doing…Even if the size goes becomes smaller, it doesn’t stop your talent or your strength…know we’ve survived through the years, because we are that way, and brothers and sisters, I pray that this will not leave a bad mark in your your heart or mind about this assembly.”
Delegates also adopted an amendment to elect a First Vice President, separate from other council vice presidents, who “will act as the President in times of absence or vacancy, ensuring uninterrupted governance and service to citizens,” according to a council press release. The first such officer will be elected at the 2026 Tribal Assembly.
In addition, according to the release, delegates “voted to approve a suite of technical amendments that modernize the Constitution’s language and structure. These changes improve clarity, remove gendered language, streamline content, and reorganize articles for better accessibility and comprehension.”
The three-day Tribal Assembly began Wednesday with a State of the Tribe address by Tlingit and Haida President Chalyee Éesh Richard Peterson, along with speeches and presentations by other officials review tribal affairs during the past year and future issues of focus.
Edward Thomas, center, cuts the ribbon during the official unveiling of a building renovated and renamed after him during a ceremony Wednesday, April 16, 2025. The building is used for tribal court, administrative and other purposes by the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska, which Thomas is a past president of. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
The opening day also featured a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the renovated and renamed Edward K. Thomas Building adjacent to the Andrew Hope Building where the Assembly took place. Thomas served as the tribal president for 27 years between 1984 and his first retirement in 2007, returning to serve between 2010 and 2014. The building named after him houses the tribal court, administrative offices and other services.
On Thursday the delegates conducted elections that resulted in the selection of Debra O’Gara as an associate justice, Florentino (Tiny) Barril Sr. as Citizen of the Year and Jasmine Knudson as Emerging Leader.
• Contact Mark Sabbatini at mark.sabbatini@juneauempire.com or (907) 957-2306.
