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Akiak Adds Its Thoughts To AVCP Bylaw Rewrite

Department of Community and Regional Affairs

The Native Village of Akiak has added its name to a growing number of villages commenting on the Association of Village Council Presidents' proposal to alter its bylaws. AVCP wants to lengthen board member terms and increase the powers of its 12-member Executive Board.

While the village of Akiak has a history of butting heads with AVCP’s executive board and management, in a letter the village said that it would support longer terms for board members. 

The current term for an Executive Board member is two years, which AVCP says is just long enough to get board members trained and up to date before new members are elected.

Akiak does not support a proposal to give board members the power to hire and fire an AVCP president, however. The village suggests that all member tribes should elect the leader of AVCP and be responsible for his or her removal.

After a June board meeting in Bethel, delegates told KYUK that acting president Mike Hoffman announced that he will not be running for reelection, which would leave an open slot for a newcomer.

The final request from Akiak was a suggestion that AVCP assist in the process of tribes taking land into trust. Akiak is an advocate for the formation of 56 sovereign villages with AVCP acting as the governing body, though some villages have expressed an interest in putting land into trust independently. AVCP has yet to respond to the idea.