Five people seeking to be elected president of the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska on Thursday made their cases Wednesday to the delegates who will be casting votes during this week’s Tribal Assembly.
Four challengers — Shkaadul.aat Lisa Gassman, Jáx Kóoste Tasha Hotch, Melissa Kookesh and Ku.seen Jacqueline Pata — are trying to unseat Chalyee Éesh Richard Peterson, who has served as president since 2014 and was unopposed during the most recent election in 2024.
During the past year Peterson faced accusations of abuse from a former romantic partner. A council review ended with Pata — the top vice president — declaring there was no finding of whether the accusations had merit. She has served as first vice president — effectively second-in-command to Peterson since 2021 — and her decision to challenge him comes as the tribe faces a range of political challenges.
The election of the council’s officers is scheduled to begin in the convention hall at 1 p.m. Thursday, with the winners taking their oaths of office at 4:30 p.m. In addition to a president, delegates are selecting a first vice president, five other vice presidents, an associate justice, an emerging leader and a delegate/citizen of the year.
The following are summaries of the presidential candidates and their five-minute presentations in the order they spoke:
Shkaadul.aat Lisa Gassman
Gassman was a longtime general manager and CEO of the Sheet’ká Ḵwáan Sitka Tribe of Alaska who resigned in December. She is currently a contract manager for the City of Sitka.
“At the candidate forum last Saturday, we were asked, ‘What is your vision for the tribe over the next two years, and what are your top three priorities for achieving it?’” she told the delegates. “My vision is a thriving, self-sufficient tribal government where the executive council, community councils, staff, tribal citizens, and the community in general are informed and moving in the same direction.”
“I want to see a workforce that feels appreciated, has a work-life balance, and works hard for our citizens. Finally, I want citizens to feel heard when they come forward and express their needs or feedback.”
Gassman said her previous experience means “I’d be able to hit the ground running.” She also said Tlingit and Haida’s top leaders in recent years have established a solid foundation that can be built upon.
“The thing I would add to the priorities that I mentioned at the candidate forum last Saturday, to develop as soon as possible, is succession planning,” she added. “I hope not to be in this position for the next 20 years, because I hope to be retired before then. The next generation of leaders needs to be mentored now to take over.”
Jáx Kóoste Tasha Hotch
Hotch, a longtime tribal health official, was the lone opponent against Peterson in the 2022 tribal assembly election. She described herself to the delegates as an “advocate and change maker.”
“I am asking for your support for office of the president because I have been mentored by the people in this room to take on this responsibility,” she said. “I respect and appreciate the service of those who have led before. We can honor what has been accomplished while also recognizing when it’s time for a new chapter, a fresh perspective, and a different approach to leadership. My priorities are accountability, opportunities for our people, protecting our culture and our sovereignty.”
Hotch said her past experience “crosses many of the systems that affect our people every day: tribal government, healthcare, finance, education, housing, food security, public safety, workforce development, and community advocacy.” She said she’s spent her career navigating difficult tasks and conversations.
“We should be willing to have difficult conversations,” she said. “We should listen when people disagree with us. And when something isn’t working we should have the courage to acknowledge it and work together to make it better. Because leadership isn’t knowing everything. Leadership is knowing who you serve. Our communities are diverse and their needs are different, and that is why leadership begins with listening.”
Melissa Kookesh
Kookesh is the permit facilitator for the Alaska Broadband Office, where she also served as tribal liaison for three years, and has worked as a legislative staff member. She also spent nearly a decade working in Tlingit and Haida’s office of the president.
She told the delegates on Wednesday that as the “proud single mother of a college freshman…I find myself entering a new chapter as an empty nester.”
“That means I have the time, energy, flexibility, and commitment necessary to fully dedicate myself to serving our tribe and citizens,” she said. “After nearly three decades of service throughout Southeast Alaska I have learned that leadership is not about authority. It’s about service. It’s about listening, building trust, bringing people together and making decisions that will strengthen our communities for generations to come.”
Kookesh also emphasized sovereignty and self-determination.
“One of the most important lessons our people have demonstrated is that we can govern ourselves and deliver services to our citizens,” she said. “Years ago tribal leaders made the decision to take programs back from the Bureau of Indian Affairs because they believed we could do them better, and they were right. Through self-governance we have shown that decisions made by our own people for our own people lead to better outcomes.”
Ku.seen Jacqueline Pata
Pata has been the president and CEO of the Tlingit Haida Regional Housing Authority since 2019. She also currently chairs the tribal assembly’s Governmental Affairs (State and Federal) Committee. She has previously been the executive director of the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI), and deputy assistant secretary for Native American Programs for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
“Many of you have asked why I am running for president,” she told the delegates. “The answer is our tribe is entering into a different stage of growth. We now need both change and continuity. We are a different tribe than we were 10 years ago. We were blessed with the one-time COVID funding, and we’ve grown substantially and quickly. And I am proud of what we have accomplished.”
“Yet growth must be balanced with sustainability and accountability. We are entering into a challenging federal environment. Priorities are shifting, resources are tighter, and navigating Washington will require experience and relationships across administrations. I spent nearly 20 years in D.C. working with Congress and tribal leaders on housing, jobs, education, healthcare, gaming, and the environment.”
Pata said she returned to Juneau because “my experience only matters if I make a difference at home.”
“That’s why I revitalized the housing authority, to transform opportunities from rental to home ownership, provide financial education for all our tribal citizens, and create new avenues for business,” she said. “Growth should never cause us to lose sight of who we are. Our language, our culture, our values aren’t another tribal program. They should guide, govern, and help us define our success. We need continuity and we need change at the same time.”
Chalyee Éesh Richard Peterson
Besides serving as the tribe’s president for 12 years, Peterson previously served as CEO of the Prince of Wales Tribal Enterprise Consortium, president of the Organized Village of Kasaan, mayor and a city council member for the City of Kasaan, and member of the Southeast Island School District Board of Education.
“I want to say, pointingly, this campaign is not about me,” he said. “It is about our people. It is about building a future where we are thriving as a culture and as a people, where our children know who they are, our families can get the help they need, and our communities have the power to shape their own futures.”
“I have always believed our tribe should help citizens reach their own definition of success. For one person, that may mean having someone to talk to on a difficult day. For another, it may mean learning our language, completing training, starting a business, or finding work close to home. Our services need to meet people where they are. We have built more ways to do that. Our community and behavioral services team provides counseling, recovery support, and crisis services grounded in our culture. I am proud of that work and I know we have more to do.”
Peterson said one of the hardest challenges he has faced as president was the 43-day federal government shutdown last fall, the longest in U.S. history.
“We faced the possibility of interrupted funding and serious harm to services,” he said. “We were able to develop a plan to borrow from our own trust fund so we could continue serving citizens, and we have paid that loan back. I was proud of our team for meeting that moment. We worked together and put our people first.”
This story was originally published by the Juneau Independent.