An upcoming winter board retreat for the Alaska Federation of Natives will feature a host of political leaders from Alaska, many drawn to the event by the presence of U.S. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell.
Despite the attendance of so many officials, the event won't be open to the public.
The gathering in Kotzebue this month will include 10 state lawmakers hoping to share objections with the secretary over recent Interior decisions aimed at protecting the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and the waters off Alaska's coast by limiting oil and gas development.
Also in attendance will be Gov. Bill Walker, Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott and some members of Walker's cabinet, who will help lay out the new administration's priorities. Sen. Dan Sullivan and Rep. Don Young are scheduled to speak, and Sen. Lisa Murkowski has been invited.
Despite the gathering of top public officials, the full day of discussion Feb. 17 is considered an internal meeting for AFN's 37 board members and 10 committees.
It will be closed to the public and the press, said Ana Hoffman, AFN co-chairwoman.
Asked why a meeting involving so many Alaska public officials would not be open, Hoffman said it was AFN's practice for board meetings to be private.
"Our discussion is board business," she said.
However, AFN plans a public community reception at Kotzebue's high school on the evening of Feb. 16 to honor Jewell, Walker and Mallott.
An event that normally would have received little attention rose in prominence after recent announcements by the Obama administration that it would pursue increased protections for the possibly oil-rich coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and take large amounts of acreage off the table in future oil and gas lease sales in the U.S. Arctic Ocean.
The Interior Department's actions have been described by Alaska leaders as gut punches, spits in the face and more than a shot across the bow. In a floor speech last week, Sen. Click Bishop, R-Fairbanks, read a lighthearted adaptation of a Dr. Seuss book in which he warned the federal government that "Alaskans might seem sweet, but chances are we're packin' heat."
Bishop will not be on the trip to Kotzebue, however.
In a meeting with reporters Friday morning, Sen. Kevin Meyer, the Senate president, stressed that his group of five senators would not "fed-bash too much."
But Meyer, in a statement sent by the Senate majority, said the federal government's effort to lock up more land in Alaska violates promises made at statehood and in 1980, when Congress vastly expanded the amount of protected federal land in Alaska.
"We hope by meeting with Secretary Jewell we can show her Alaska is not one giant national park," he said. "We are a state that's trying to better the lives of our citizens and we deserve the same rights as those granted to the other 49 states."
Meyer and Sens. Charlie Huggins, Mike Dunleavy, Donny Olson, and Lyman Hoffman plan to attend.
Hoffman, a Bethel Democrat who has joined with the Republican majority in the state Senate, said he would rather the retreat be a public event, but regardless, he's heading to Kotzebue for the chance to speak with Jewell about the growing crisis in the state budget, hit hard by declining oil prices and low production.
"I think the message I have to give to her is very, very important," Hoffman said. "Any opportunity that I have in a closed meeting or an open meeting, I believe I need to express those concerns that I have on behalf of my constituents."
Alaska has the right to develop its oil riches locked up in ANWR, offshore and the National Petroleum Reserve, a right to resources assured under its compact with the federal government, he said.
"With all of those conditions and the state of Alaska not being able to access the lands that have been locked up, those conditions being low price and low oil, the state of Alaska may be facing bankruptcy," Hoffman said.
House Majority Leader Charisse Millett, R-Anchorage, said the five members being sent by her caucus are an "appropriate number."
"It's important for us to have a face-to-face conversation with Secretary Jewell," Millett said. "We need to have a way to communicate with her other than press releases and resolutions."
Millett will be on the trip along with House Speaker Mike Chenault and Reps. Craig Johnson and Bob Herron. Rep. Ben Nageak, D-Barrow, who represents the North Slope region, will also attend.
A spokesman for the House leadership said the cost of the trip won't be known until afterward. Round-trip airfare from Juneau to Kotzebue in late February is about $800.
The Senate majority recently learned of Jewell's planned visit to Alaska and hustled to send members to meet her, said Carolyn Kuckertz, majority press secretary.
Kuckertz said Friday that a request for a meeting sent to Jewell's staff two days ago had so far received no response.
A spokeswoman for Jewell in an email Friday said "the primary purpose of the Secretary's travel is in acceptance of the AFN invitation to address their leadership retreat."
The spokeswoman indicated, however, that Jewell's schedule for the trip was not yet finalized.
Walker is going because he believes it's important to have a dialogue with tribes at the AFN retreat and to meet with Kotzebue residents, said his press secretary Grace Jang.
But Walker, who has said he wants to send Jewell a bill for hurting Alaska's ability to earn a living, also wants to meet with the Interior secretary.
"Since Secretary Jewell will be there, he looks forward to having a more productive conversation with her about the effects of the federal government's decisions regarding Alaska," Jang said.
The Alaska Federation of Natives is the state's largest Native organization, perhaps best known for its annual convention in October that draws thousands of Alaska Natives from the farthest corners of the state, as well as top Alaska politicians.
AFN President Julie Kitka has previously said she invited Jewell to the retreat in November, both to visit villages in the region to witness the effects of climate change and to discuss issues pertinent to Alaska Natives and the Arctic. The Interior Department touches on many issues of concern to Alaska Natives. At its heart is the Bureau of Indian Affairs, which is largely responsible for managing the relationship between Alaska Natives and the federal government. The department also manages federal lands and water and has a large voice in fish and game decisions across much of Alaska.
The retreat, titled "Our Homeland, Our Future," comes as Walker and Mallott look to launch a new era in tribal and Native relations with the state. Their priorities will be presented, including dealing with Alaska's fiscal problems and finding a path forward from an often-contentious relationship with tribes, according to the draft agenda.
Also scheduled to appear will be the governor's budget director, Pat Pitney, and his senior Arctic official, Craig Fleener, as well as commissioners for Health and Social Services and Public Safety.
Topics will include such things as sustainable economies, food security and consultation with indigenous people, according to the draft agenda.
Meyer and Chenault have also been invited and are scheduled to speak at a working lunch break.
Kitka said the participation of top public officials in the event is welcome. "Our view is we're all in this together as a state. We're not all going to agree, we're not all going to have the same solution, but we are all in this together."
AFN's Ana Hoffman said she was encouraged by the number of people traveling to Kotzebue for AFN's board retreat with Jewell. The organization invited elected leaders as well as Walker administration officials but didn't know how many planned to come until recently. The meeting "evolved," she said.
"People realized the opportunity to have a dialogue with Secretary Jewell, especially to have that dialogue within our own communities in rural Alaska," said Hoffman, chief executive of Bethel Native Corp. "It provided an opportunity to come up and enlighten Secretary Jewell about the issues that are important to them."
Alaska Dispatch News reporter Lisa Demer contributed to this story.