Resolution 2021-17: Acknowledging the significant contributions of the native American rights fund Anchorage office

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WHEREAS, Tanana Chiefs Conference (TCC) is an Alaska Native tribal health and social services consortium established by the Interior Alaska tribes and tribal communities, to provide a unified voice in advancing sovereign tribal governments through the promotion of physical and mental wellness, education, socioeconomic development and culture of the Interior Alaska Native; and

WHEREAS, The Native American Rights Fund (NARF) has provided legal assistance to Indian tribes, organizations, and individuals nationwide who might otherwise have gone without adequate representation since 1970. NARF has successfully asserted and defended the most important rights of Indians and tribes in hundreds of major cases, and has achieved significant results in such critical areas as tribal sovereignty, treaty rights, natural resource protection, and Indian education; and

WHEREAS, NARF’s five priority areas for legal assistance include preserving tribal existence; protecting tribal natural resources; promoting Native American human rights; holding governments accountable to Native Americans; and developing Indian law and educating the public about Indian rights, laws, and issues; and

WHEREAS, NARF first opened its Anchorage office in 1984 and has since been a recognized resource for Alaska tribes; and

WHEREAS, NARF has worked in partnership with Interior tribes on numerous issues of critical importance including seeking permanent protection of the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge; advocating on behalf of the Bering Sea Western Interior Tribal Commission in the Central Yukon and Bering Sea Western Management planning processes, and their efforts to ensure tribal government prioritization for the $8 billion in emergency aid set aside to combat the coronavirus pandemic; and

WHEREAS, NARF vigilantly monitors attempts to impinge upon the rights of Alaska Native tribes and people including a provision of state law that required voters to have a witness sign their mail-in ballot envelop and also the State of Alaska’s challenge to a federal decision to allow the Organized Village of Kake to hunt out of season during the pandemic; and

WHEREAS, NARF continues to be a strong partner to the tribes of the Interior in offering legal assistance. 

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Tanana Chiefs Conference Full Board of Directors acknowledges the significant contributions of Native American Rights Fund for upholding Tribal Self-Determination in Alaska and directs staff to continue to partner with the Native American Rights Fund Alaska, and subject to the availability of funds, continue to donate to the office.  

Submitted by: Arctic Village and Venetie