Kawerak President Melanie Bahnke addressed Governor Michael Dunleavy at a private event sponsored by the Americans for Prosperity group on Wednesday March 27, 2019. She expressed the concern of the filtered discussion, emphasizing the importance of all voices being allowed at the table.
“Our community is very diverse and we are not stranger to having difficult conversations…if you want to truly have a dialogue…come back and do this the right way. I encourage you to open this up for others because that’s how we do things in Nome.”
With large programs on the chopping block such as Head Start and the VPSO programs the governor’s budget appears to disproportionately affect rural Alaska. Kawerak Inc. exists for our tribes, and our voices must be heard by our elected officials.
The video of Melanie Bahnke addressing the governor is posted at Nome Nugget Facebook video.
Photo courtesy of The Nome Nugget/Diana Haecker.
