Photo: A voter fills in a ballot during Bethel’s municipal election on October 1, 2024. (MaryCait Dolan / KYUK)

The Alaska Federation of Natives (AFN) is speaking out against a proposed federal voting bill it says could create new barriers for Alaska Native voters.

In a press release issued April 6, AFN urged Congress to reject the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, which is currently being debated in the U.S. Senate.

AFN represents more than 190 tribes, along with Native corporations and nonprofits across Alaska.

Leaders say the bill would require voters to present documentary proof of citizenship — such as a passport or birth certificate — in person at a designated election office in order to register for federal elections.

For many Alaska Native communities, especially in rural areas, that could mean traveling long distances, often by plane, at significant cost.

In the statement, AFN says, “The SAVE Act… would disenfranchise eligible voters and recreate the very barriers our communities have fought for decades to dismantle.”

The organization also raised concerns about how the bill would treat Tribal identification, noting that many IDs do not include citizenship status and could require voters to obtain additional documentation.

AFN says that process could take weeks and may be difficult or impossible for some community members.

The group argues the legislation is unnecessary, calling it “a solution in search of a problem” and pointing out that noncitizen voting is already illegal and rare.

AFN says the bill could also restrict systems widely used in Alaska, including mail-in and online voter registration.

As the debate continues in Washington, tribal leaders are calling on Congress to focus instead on improving access to voting, particularly in rural communities.

A federal judge has rejected a plea agreement in the case of missing Navajo elder Ella Mae Begay.

Begay, a 62-year-old member of the Navajo Nation, was last seen in 2021 at her home in Sweetwater, Ariz. and has not been found.

According to the Associated Press, the judge denied a proposed deal for Preston Henry Tolth, who is accused of assaulting Begay before she disappeared.

Prosecutors say the agreement would have allowed Tolth to avoid additional prison time.

Begay’s family opposed the deal in court.

Her niece, Seraphine Warren, told the judge, “Accountability is not time served… we still don’t have the truth.”

Advocates say the case highlights ongoing challenges in addressing missing and murdered Indigenous people across the country.

Arizona drivers have lots of specialty license plates to choose from – 114 to be exact.

As KJZZ’s Gabriel Pietrorazio reports, the largest tribe in the Phoenix metro area is among the latest to be featured.

Back in 2023, State Rep. Teresa Martinez (R-AZ) pitched letting the Gila River Indian Community design its own plate.

“Lots of people will think, ‘Oh, this is just another license plate bill.’ … It is a very big deal.”

Because for each plate sold, $17 will be donated to the tribe’s transportation committee for traffic and road improvements.

Commuters regularly travel through their reservation just south of Phoenix.

“Especially when the I-10 is down.”

Martinez’s proposal passed as part of a larger bill that included the neighboring Ak-Chin Indian Community and Pascua Yaqui Tribe.

Gila River, in March, became the fifth of Arizona’s 22 federally recognized tribes to print one.

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Tuesday, April 14, 2026 — Native in the Spotlight: cartographer Margaret Wickens Pearce