According to FAI , more than 1,000 participants from rural and urban Alaska gather each year during the AFN convention week . The purpose of the conference is to develop leadership in Native youth that is strengthened with the experience and wisdom of regional Native Elders .

Ten Elders attended the conference from the Regional Elders Council ( REC ), Iñupiaq Language commission ( ILC ) and the region .

The FAI 2016 Elders and Youth conference resolutions packet was submitted and approved by AFN . A brief overview of the submitted resolutions are as follows :

RESOLUTION 16-32 Urging Partner Organizations , State , and Federal Agencies to Fund and Support Regional and Statewide Task Forces and Preventative Programs and Activities to Address the Heroin , Meth , Other Drugs and Alcohol Crises .

RESOLUTION 16-33 Bring the Children Home Carlisle Indian Industrial School was founded in 1879 by Henry Pratt as the first federally funded off-reservation , all Indian boarding school in Carlisle , Pennsylvania . Carlisle Indian Industrial School closed in 1918 , yet approximately 15 Alaska Native

children died at the Carlisle boarding school , their bodies were never returned home , and are buried in the Carlisle Cemetery along with approximately 190 other Native American children . The delegates of the 2016 Annual AFN Convention , request that AFN fully support bringing the children home .

RESOLUTION 16-34 Raise Your Voice Many Alaska Native youth have low selfesteem . By raising their voices about issues important to them in their communities , they can strengthen their leadership skills and be ready for leadership positions . Elders and Youth request that AFN fully support the idea of youth learning to raise their voices for the communities they dwell in and encourage them to put their voices and ideas into action today .

RESOLUTION 16-35 Increasing Attention / Enforcement to Stop Substance Abuse Among Youth Currently there is a lack of law enforcement in Rural Alaska resulting in high rates of minor substance abuse rates ; and tribes need to be able to protect their communities using all available powers , authorities and methods , including but not limited to Self-Governance over public safety , the VPSO program , State Troopers , etc .. It is requested that AFN support increasing enforcement against the distributors and the minors caught consuming .

To read the resolutions in their entirety , please visit firstalaskans . org

NANA is a proud sponsor of the Elders and Youth event . ■

Olivia Piiyuuk Shields of Toksook Bay leads a traditional dance at the Elders and Youth conference .

Photo Credit : FAI

( Left ) A packed house at the Keynote address for the 2016 Elders and Youth Conference held in Fairbanks , Alaska .

( Right ) Keynote speakers Elders Raphael ( middle ) and Vivian ( left ) Jimmy of Mountain Village at the 2016 FAI Elders and Youth Conference .

Photo Credit : FAI

Photo Credit : FAI

NANA sponsored two resolutions that were supported by the Northwest Area Caucus and passed at the Convention :

Resolutions 16-9 A Resolutions Supporting the Rural Guard and Reserve Act of 2016 Reinstating the National Guard has long been a request of communities in the NANA region . During Adjutant General Lori Hummel ’ s visits to Kotzebue , NANA and other entities heard that many want to continue serving in the Guard , but the cap to travel reimbursement has been a barrier for people in the villages . This resolution recognizes the distinguished

service of the Eskimo Scouts of the Alaska Territorial Guard and the Alaska National Guard and the important role they had in protecting the country ’ s National Security . It supports removing the cap on travel reimbursement to ensure those who want to serve and live in the villages can .

Resolution 16-10 A Resolutions Supporting the Expanded and Permanent Presence of the United States Coast Guard within its Jurisdiction in Alaska Increasing maritime activity and receding sea ice in the Bering Strait and Arctic Ocean is creating potential conflicts between

subsistence and commercial maritime activity , and causing increased search and rescue demands across larger distances in Alaska . The resolution establishes AFN ’ s formal support for the expansion of Coast Guard resources to ensure the protection of subsistence and commercial resources , safe maritime activity , and requests that they consult with tribes and Alaska Native Corporations as well as engage with other stakeholders on their activities . ■

Go to nativefederation . org / annualconvention to download the full list of passed resolutions .