Calling Tribal Leaders, please join us as the Tribal Border Alliance hosts the 2nd Tribal Border Summit in Tucson, AZ. The alliance invites Tribal Leaders and your delegates to discuss how we can unite to protect our Nation Nations Sovereignty to address the collective challenges we face as indigenous people at international borders, protecting the right to mobility and cultural preservation.

Amend Section 289 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8.U.S.C. 1359)

Annual Consultation with DHS and Tribal Governments

Funding for Tribal Driven Border Security

Required local training for CBP, ICE, and CIS Personnel

There will be an option to attend virtually or in person, to register at 

2nd Tribal Border Summit

The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) Youth Commission is hosting a virtual rally in conjunction with Protect ICWA organizers.

This event is for Native Youth in effort to raise awareness about the upcoming Supreme Court hearing that threatens to overturn ICWA and the protections it provides Native children. For over 40 years, the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) has protected American Indian and Alaska Native kids by keeping them in the care of extended family or tribes whenever possible. On November 9, a small group of opponents in Haaland v. Brackeen will argue in front of the Supreme Court that those protections should be taken away. If opponents succeed in dismantling ICWA, they will have also cleared the way for a larger attack on Native families, Native land, and tribal sovereignty.

Protect the Indian Child Welfare Act - Youth Defending Youth

53 Annual NIEA Convention & Trade Show

18th Intertribal Technical Assistance Working Group (ITWG)

Self-Governance Communication and Education Tribal Consortium Annual Conference

Jay Treaty Border Alliance (JTBA) Summit

On May 27, 2022 at 2:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. EST

Join the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and the National Congress of American Indians Youth Commission this Friday (5/27) for a discussion on Indigenous Knowledge in Federal Decision-Making.

Download the Native and Indigenous Youth Round Table Flyer (PDF).

Native and Indigenous Youth Round Table

NIHB 2022 National Tribal Public Health Summit

This two-day mandated training from the Department of Homeland Security Customs and Border Protection is available 

 for Tribes who have a signed Memorandum of Agreement. Stay current with hands on experience from DHS/CBP on how to identify fraudulent documents, effectively conduct in-person interviews and IT best practices for computer security awareness while they efficiently implement their Tribes ETC Program. For registration and more information please visit our website at 

. Just added Special Guest Speaker on Day Two, Comedian James Junes!!!

10th Annual Enhanced Tribal Card Training Session

Join this one day session as you learn from ETC card design experts and the Department of Homeland Security Customs and Border Protection how your Tribe can have your ETC program running in one year! Walk away with an action plan and key resources to guide your project implementation. For registration and more information please visit our website at 

5th Annual Enhanced Tribal Card (ETC) Informational Session

 is perfect for students from high school through postdoctoral – as well as emerging and mature professionals – who want to hone the myriad skills they need to be at their best in a rapidly changing world.

This program delivers on strategies that equip Native science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) students and leaders with the knowledge, tools, and wisdom to succeed within the organizational structures in their work or academic lives.

Through sessions and workshops, Leadership Summit participants learn how to fulfill their potential as STEM elders as they pursue their career and academic goals. We invite you to join us and experience an innovative leadership development program that incorporates relationships, collaboration, and cultural foundations that will inform and support the unique leader in you.

The Summit is leadership in action from elders, mentors, researchers, students, and professionals that supports the emotional and the motivation in all of us. Together participants inform, interpret, and utilize STEM skills, knowledge, and opportunities to meet challenges, solve problems, build readiness, and spark innovation that gives individuals the ability to succeed in a highly competitive global economy.

Enhance the skills and knowledge of AISES members as they pursue various career development paths and career ladders

Provide AISES members with support and build their confidence to transition into the STEM workforce

Develop AISES professional members as role models for high school, college, graduate, and postdoctoral students.

Provide an environment that allows AISES members to “linger and learn” from each other.

For more information visit the AISES Leadership Summit website 

2022 AISES Leadership Summit

Each year, NICWA hosts the largest national gathering on American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) child advocacy issues. With over 1,500 attendees—and growing every year—this four-day conference has become the premiere national event addressing tribal child welfare and well-being. Keynote speakers range from federal officials at the highest level of government to youth with lived experience in child welfare systems.NICWA provides meaningful programming to conference attendees, creating a space where participants can learn about the latest developments and best practices from experts in the field and from one another. Participants represent a cross-section of fields and interests including child welfare, mental health, and juvenile justice service providers; legal professionals; students; advocates for children; and tribal, state, and federal leaders.Contact Lauren Shapiro for registration information (

40th Annual Protecting Our Children Conference

Tribal Tax Issues, TERO, Cannabis, Economic Development, Dual Taxation, McGirt Ruling and Tax Implications, Motor Vehicle Licensing, and much more. For further information, please contact: 

Intertribal Tax Conference

The Native Youth Leadership Summit (NYLS) 2022 event is designed for youth leaders to meet, develop strategies, and to provide a platform to formulate strategies for improving local/tribal communities through policy action and the resolution process. The Summit is an opportunity for Native Youth to learn and become advocates for their communities while working alongside the National Congress of American Indians at the Executive Council Winter Session, February 14-16, 2022.

Click here to view the 2020-2022 Youth Commission Contact List.

The Native Youth Leadership Summit (NYLS) 2022

Self-Governance Communication and Education Tribal Consortium Advisory Committee Meeting

Self-Governance Communication and Education Tribal Consortium Advisory Committee Meetings

At its quarterly meeting on October 15, the AFN Board of Directors decided to hold an all-virtual annual convention on December 13 and 14, 2021. After consultation with state, federal and tribal health officials, and reviewing current data trends, AFN made its decision out of concern for the safety and health of the thousands of attendees who come from every part of Alaska, including AFN delegates, presenters, other participants, artists and exhibitors, and the public.

AFN delegates and members should watch their email next week (October 25-29) for the updated 2021 Convention Delegate Packet. The packet will include resolution, sponsorship, and registration information. A print version will be mailed as well. An updated registration form will be sent to delegates who have not yet registered. Click 

Last August the AFN Board postponed the Convention from October to December to give time for the city to get the COVID-19 numbers turned around. The current information shows continuing high rates of COVID-19 cases, transmission, hospitalization and deaths, particularly in Anchorage, the Convention host city, which is on an upward trajectory according to the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services.

“Safety is paramount to our decision,” said Sheri Buretta, chair of AFN's Convention Committee. “Our convention is a large indoor gathering where CDC guidelines of social distancing are not practical. The situation in Anchorage has not improved nearly enough to risk the health of Convention participants, particularly our Elders and other vulnerable attendees, when hospitals across the state are under extreme pressure right now.”

As was done for the all-virtual 2020 AFN Convention, a robust virtual meeting platform will be combined with live statewide TV and radio broadcast coverage, and live streaming on multiple video channels. A full agenda will be released to the public in early December.

AFN will also develop an online Native arts marketplace featuring many of the same Native artists that have had booths in the exhibit hall during in-person AFN Conventions.

This year’s Convention theme is “ANCSA at 50: Empowering Our Future.” The passage of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act fifty years ago was a groundbreaking, remarkable achievement for Alaska. A model around the world of Indigenous self-determination, ANCSA has led to tremendous economic benefits and opportunities for Native people and for all Alaskans.

AFN will proudly celebrate that accomplishment while acknowledging there is plenty more work to be done. This year’s theme emphasizes the importance of addressing the collective work ahead of the Native community to empower our people and face the challenges of the future together. Since its passage, ANCSA has been amended in significant ways and with technical fixes. AFN recognizes that there is unfinished business and unmet promises, particularly in the area of subsistence rights and food security, public safety and law enforcement, and economic development.



AFN’s annual convention serves as the principal forum and voice for the Alaska Native community in addressing critical issues of public policy and government. The Convention convenes thousands of official delegates and participants from membership organizations across the state. AFN Delegates discuss strategic opportunities and challenges, listen to memorable keynote and theme speeches, and hear reports from political leaders and presentations from expert panels. The resolutions passed by the voting delegates set the priorities for the year and guide AFN’s efforts. The Convention is the largest representative annual gathering of Native peoples in the United States, and the largest convention in Alaska.

For specific questions about the convention, enter here: 

https://www.nativefederation.org/convention/

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