Sitka Tribe vice chair asks Assembly for extra CPV support, outlines tribal elections and repatriation work

Elena Peterson, vice chair of the Sitka Tribe of Alaska, told the assembly the tribe had submitted a letter asking for additional commercial passenger vessel (CPV) funding to support the community shuttle ahead of a summer uptick in ridership. “We are requesting additional funding,” Peterson said, noting the money is needed to ensure maintenance and continuity of service.

Peterson also updated the assembly on recent tribal council actions. She said a scholarship ordinance cleared a third and final reading and will take effect in 30 days, and an election ordinance advanced on first reading with its next hearing set for April 15. Peterson described a proposed secretarial election to amend the Sitka Tribe constitution and said the tribe will mail registration materials through the Bureau of Indian Affairs. She said the council approved a repatriation claim and is coordinating consultation with the U.S. Forest Service on funerary objects and human remains.

Peterson said the council is conducting a tribal needs assessment with voluntary, confidential surveys and prize drawings for participants, and that the council is pursuing constitutional amendments intended to expand enrollment eligibility for younger people and allow dual enrollment. “Many of the purposes of the amendments are to increase access to services, especially for children under the age of 18,” she told the assembly.

Peterson closed by sharing community events and deadlines, including a fish distribution at the city cold storage facility on Catlian Street and an STA picnic planned for July 11, 2026.

The assembly did not take formal action on the tribe’s CPV request during the meeting. Staff later discussed CPV allocations during a separate agenda item and identified roughly $4.2 million available in the CPV fund after governmental allocations; the assembly asked staff and commissions to explore potential projects.