Native candidate fights for Alaska's future as election day nears

Monday, November 5, 2018  

By Kevin Abourezk

An Alaska Native leader is seeking to become the country's first elected Native woman lieutenant governor.

Debra Call, who is Dena’ina Athabascan, believes the election on Tuesday will determine her state’s future. She fears a win by Republican Mike Dunleavy will place the lives of Native people and rural Alaskans at risk.

“We can’t have Dunleavy get in the office because it will be absolutely devastating for the state,” said Call, who is running alongside Democrat Mark Begich.

“(Dunleavy) is not supportive of rural Alaska in the way that it needs to be supported," Call said. "It’s all development, development, development and then spend out the Permanent Fund. I mean that’s just reckless.”

The family that votes together moves Alaska forward together. Voted with my husband, and my son got to vote for the first time! #Vote2018 #VoteBegichCall pic.twitter.com/kbRAtkBN6j

— DebraCall4AKLG (@DebraCall4AKLG) November 2, 2018

Dunleavy and Begich are running neck and neck, according to a recent poll from Alaska Survey Research, which showed 42.5 percent of Alaskans favoring Dunleavy and 42.3 percent favoring Begich.

The Alaskan gubernatorial race has been a hotly contested one and marked by turmoil following the October 19 decision by Alaska Gov. Bill Walker, who seeking re-election as an Independent, to withdraw from the race four days after the sudden resignation of his running mate, former Lt. Gov. Byron Mallot. Mallott had been accused of making inappropriate comments to a woman.

Call, a former president of the Knik Tribe and former director of operations for the Alaska Native Heritage Center, said she and Begich understand the needs of rural Alaskans and Natives and want to ensure their needs are considered as important as those living in urban areas.

One of the major differences between Begich and Dunleavy is their distinctive stances on the Alaska Permanent Fund, which is a state fund that collects oil revenues and distributes them annually to individual Alaskans. This year, the fund provided $1,600 to individual Alaskans through the Permanent Fund Dividend.

Over the past three years, Gov. Walker and the Alaska Legislature have reduced the Permanent Fund Dividend, and Dunleavy has promised to restore the funds distributed to 2015 levels, when $2,072 was distributed to individual Alaskans. He has even promised to retroactively compensate Alaskans for prior cuts, using $6 billion from the fund.

Begich, meanwhile, has supported a constitutional amendment that would require the state to pay a dividend but at a lower amount than proposed by Dunleavy. He wants to split the fund’s investment earnings, with a portion going to education, a portion paying to proof the fund against inflation and a portion going to dividends.

Call said Begich’s plan for the Permanent Fund would position the state to continue providing annual dividends to residents while also protecting the fund and investing in the state’s future.

“It would be something that voters could feel comfortable in, not only safe protecting what we need now but investing in the future,” she said.

Another difference between Dunleavy and Begich is their differing stances on a controversial case that the U.S. Supreme Court will consider Monday. The Sturgeon v. Frost case could lead to Alaska Natives losing their subsistence rights on waters on federal lands.

Call said one of the most high-profile opponents of Native subsistence rights, the Alaska Outdoor Council, has endorsed Dunleavy. Begich, however, supports those subsistence rights, she said.

“We have rural residents that need that rural subsistence preference,” she said. “That’s their food security.”

The issue came up during the gubernatorial debate at the recent Alaska Federation of Natives annual conference in Anchorage. Dunleavy downplayed the potential impact on Native citizens, describing it as a "states' rights" case.

"I support the Sturgeon case," Dunleavy said at the conference on October 19. He noted that his wife and children are Native.

As far as the possibility of becoming the nation’s first elected Native woman lieutenant governor, Call said she hasn’t thought much about it. She said she’s more concerned with promoting her and Begich’s platform, which she said would seek to ensure quality education and improved public safety for all Alaskans.

“(Begich) is a phenomenal person in terms of coming up with creative ideas as well as being inclusive with the overall population,” she said. “It is important that we focus on where the resources are coming from in Alaska and we treat those people living in rural areas fairly.”

Debra Call isn't the only Native candidate seeking to make history on November 6. Two Native women are also running for lieutenant governor in Minnesota.

Donna Bergstrom, a citizen of the Red Lake Nation, is the Republican candidate for lieutenant governor. Her running mate is Jeff Johnson.

Peggy Flanagan, a citizen of the White Earth Nation, is the Democratic candidate. She is running with Tim Walz.

If successful on Tuesday, Call would succeed Valerie Nurr’araaluk Davidson, who is Yup'ik. Davidson was appointed lieutenant governor following Byron Mallott's resignation on October 16.

Mallott was Alaska's second Native lieutenant governor. The first was Loren Leman, who was of Aleut ancestry. Leman served from 2002 through 2006.

There are six Native women running for Lt Gov in the US right now! In Oklahoma, I’ll be casting my ballot for Seminole Nation citizen Anastasia Pittman!! #SheRepresents #NativeVote18 https://t.co/tN6VKF14Zr

— Rebecca Nagle (@rebeccanagle) November 5, 2018

Elsewhere, Anastasia Pittman is running for lieutenant governor in Oklahoma. The state lawmaker, a Democrat, is a citizen of the Seminole Nation.

And in Idaho, Paulette Jordan, a citizen of the Coeur d’Alene Tribe, is seeking to be the first woman elected as governor . She's the Democratic nominee in Idaho.

Governor stuns Alaska Federation of Natives with end to campaign (October 20, 2018)