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Anchor: Antonia Gonzales
Get out the Native vote efforts continue in Alaska, as Election Day nears.
A voting advocate with a non-partisan group to mobilize Alaska Native and American Indian voters, says ballots going to and from remote communities will likely travel on small airplanes.
That’s why Michelle Sparck, with Get Out the Native Vote, has been working with the Alaska Air Carriers Association to raise awareness about what she calls “precious cargo.”
Sparck says it’s important that pilots and airline agents recognize the packaging for election materials, so ballots don’t get pushed aside for other air freight.
“Let’s make sure all the players are engaged and involved — and that we’re all prepared to make sure our villages and our Native communities can vote with ease.”
Sparck works with people like Donna Folger of Tanana, a village in Interior Alaska to raise awareness of voting.
Folger plans on cooking breakfast near the polling site, as an incentive to get people to vote.
“They get to have a cup of coffee, pancake, scrambled eggs, bacon or spam.”
In other areas, like in Western Alaska, one group of tribes is offering other incentives.
The United Tribes of Bristol Bay plans to distribute a total of $20,000 to communities with the highest turnout.
The money will go to schools and cultural programs.
The Navajo Times reports Navajo Nation Council Speaker Seth Damon has resigned.
The paper reports Damon resigned Friday during a special council session.
The resignation comes as the speaker faced disciplinary action after a photo surfaced of him allegedly intoxicated in Las Vegas.
A bill was introduced to strip him of his leadership position after he did not immediately resign when the photo appeared in October.
The photo shows Damon slumped over and appearing inebriated while sitting in front a casino game.
The image circulated on social media. Damon called it “unauthorized.”
He admitted to the council he was intoxicated.
Damon released a statement accepting responsibility for the incident and apologized to the Navajo people.
Damon says he was on a family vacation in Las Vegas for the Indian National Finals Rodeo to support Navajo athletes when the photo was taken. And says he was not on official Navajo Nation business and spent no tribal funds.
The speaker leads the tribe’s legislative branch. Damon was in his second term.
The Navajo Times reports, Damon is running unopposed for the seat in the November 8th election for a third term.
He is reportedly in rehab and will not be present when he’s likely to be re-elected Tuesday.
President Joe Biden has appointed Navajo Nation First Lady Phefelia Nez to serve as a board member for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.
As Arizona Public Radio’s Ryan Heinsius reports, it’s in recognition of her broad support of Indigenous communities.
Nez is a longtime advocate for education, the arts and the retention of Navajo language and culture. She was raised on Hopi Partition Land in Big Mountain, Arizona in a traditional hogan.
Nez holds an honorary doctorate in humane letters from Northern Arizona University and for 15 years has served on various boards, task forces and commissions.
According to the White House, as first lady she’s been an advocate for restoring and strengthening homes and families.
In a statement, Nez says she’s humbled to join the Kennedy Center’s board of trustees and that performing arts are essential to the well-being and health of all communities.
Nez was among seven appointees made by President Biden last month. They include businesspeople, philanthropists, government officials and others.
The board provides guidance for the organization that hosts upwards of 2,000 performances a year and is the home of the National Symphony Orchestra and the Washington National Opera.
It’s also a living memorial to President John F. Kennedy who was instrumental in the center’s creation.
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