ATNI Winter Convention Addresses Huckleberry Protection, Sovereignty, and A.I.

PORTLAND, Ore. – The Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians (ATNI) 2026 Winter Convention brought together tribal leaders, youth delegates, and policy advocates for three days of urgent discussions on protecting sacred First Foods, defending tribal sovereignty, and addressing technology’s impacts on Indigenous communities and the environment.

ATNI’s membership of 57 Northwest tribal governments from Oregon, Idaho, Washington, southeast Alaska, Northern California and Western Montana comes together for semiannual conventions to present information and develop consensus on matters of shared interest.

Day One: Protecting Treaty-reserved Rights and Resources

The convention kicked off Monday, February 2, at the Portland Hilton Downtown hotel with the General Assembly in the morning and continued through the afternoon with the first day of break-out sessions. The Natural Resources committee began with urgent calls to protect one of the Columbia Plateau’s sacred and threatened First Foods, a topic that continued into the Food Sovereignty committee sessions.

CRITFC Watershed Department Manager Elaine Harvey (Yakama), Yakama Nation Tribal Councilor and CRITFC Treasurer Jeremy Takala, and Ḱamíłpa Band Chief Bronsco Jim, Jr., (Yakama) presented a resolution seeking support for extending the US Forest Service’s commercial huckleberry picking ban in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest which was implemented in 2025.

Harvey shared extensive documentation of the devastating impacts commercial harvesting has had on tribal communities and huckleberry populations. “As a tribal gatherer, I’m barely getting berries. I am worried for more than us, I worry about wildlife who depend on those berries,” Harvey said. “The current commercial harvest is not sustainable for our people.”

The 2025 closure marked a significant shift after 24 years of commercial harvest in the forest. Harvey presented data showing dramatic habitat loss, noting that huckleberry habitat along road systems has disappeared significantly since 1985 (16 years before commercial harvest began). “This map shows the loss of huckleberry habitat, and as someone familiar with this area, I know a lot of the fields are experiencing similar conditions throughout the habitat,” Harvey explained, adding that there has been “no cultural burning,” or management of invasive species by the US Forest Service, despite the tribes’ requesting they do so to maintain the ecosystem.

The impact has gone beyond environmental concerns. Harvey described threatening encounters with commercial pickers: “They’re harassing tribal people to a point where our elders don’t want to go back up there. I’ve seen it firsthand; I’ve had pitbulls sicked on me, my aunt has had machetes pulled on her, they block our roads, and take all our family camping grounds. It’s been very detrimental.”

“Without this closure, our longhouse can’t fill baskets, jars, or freezers,” Harvey said.  “Some years we didn’t have any berries for our funerals, but the 2025 ban changed the harvest. Last year our people saw the berries return.”

Harvey emphasized the historical context, referencing High Country News research showing tribal chiefs addressed these same issues 90 years ago with forest supervisors. “High Country News did a really good story on this issue,” she noted.

The commercial harvest has primarily benefited outside parties and has not been a source of monetary resources for the tribes, ever. Harvey pointed to huckleberry ice cream from major dairy brands as an example, asking “Who is really benefiting from our traditional foods?” She questioned when the Forest Service issuedpermission to commercialize traditional foods: “We [Yakama Nation] asked the federal advisory committee, who gave you permission to commercialize our First Foods? No answer. Did you consult the tribes when they transformed our berry basket material into a special forest product? I believe they didn’t consult. What tribe would want their berries or roots commercialized?”

The resolution’s urgency stems from financial pressures. “They’re getting pressure” to reopen commercial harvesting, Harvey warned. Commercial pickers can earn $100 to $200 per gallon in good years, creating “high incentive to be greedy. To take it all,” she said. “We’re taught not to be greedy, to leave enough for thewildlife.”

Bridget McConville, Warm Springs Tribal Council member and CRITFC commissioner, voiced support, noting they face similar issues in Mount Hood National Forest. “Commercialization is a big deal. It’s out there and affects all our traditional plants. It’s a good fight for all of Indian country,” she said before requestingthat the Mt. Hood National Forest be added to the resolution.

The presentations took place before the Natural Resources Committee, co-chaired by CRITFC Federal Governmnet Affairs Director Paul Ward (Yakama), andAndrew Goblin (Tulalip), as well as before the Food Sovereignty Committee co-chaired by CRITFC Salmon Marketing Director Buck Jones (CTUIR) and Louie Ungaro (Muckleshoot).

Following the day’s policy discussions, ATNI hosted a culture night at the Portland Art Museum, offering convention attendees an evening of Indigenous art and storytelling. The event featured access to the Rick Bartow: Storyteller exhibit, celebrating the acclaimed Wiyot artist’s powerful work that bridged traditional Native imagery with contemporary expression.

Later, a special screening of Guardian of the Land was accompanied by a live violin performance by internationally recognized Native composer Genevieve Gros-Louis (Huron-Wendat).

Director Laronn Katchia (Warm Springs), narrator Carlos Calica (Warm Springs), and the film’s mask-carver and artist Toma Villa (Yakama) each shared insights into their creative processes and the cultural lessons embedded in the project.

Day Two: Defending Tribal Sovereignty from ICE Enforcement

Day two of the convention focused on protecting tribal sovereignty amid heightened federal immigration enforcement, with the Law & Justice Committee advancing Resolution #2026-009, “Protecting Tribal Citizens and Communities from ICE.”

Committee co-chairs Willow Howard (Yakama) and Katy Wolf (Kiowa) presided over the presentation of the resolution, introduced by Theresa Sheldon secretary for the Tulalip Board of Directors. The resolution demanded that the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) notify, consult with, and obtain permission from tribal nations before entering tribal treaty and reservation territories.

The resolution addressed reports of DHS and ICE officers profiling tribal citizens, entering tribal lands without consultation, rejecting tribally-issued and federally recognized photo identification, and violating both tribal sovereignty and tribal members’ US civil rights. It emphasized that tribal citizens are U.S. citizens under the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924 and therefore not subject to immigration detention or deportation.

Key provisions require federal agencies to recognize tribal photo identification as federally acceptable ID under the REAL ID Act of 2005, and urge member tribes to issue “Know Your Rights” bulletins. The resolution reaffirms each tribal nation’s responsibility to protect its people while upholding consultation requirements under federal, tribal, and international law, including the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

The resolution specifically invokes Article 31 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), which states: “Military activities shall not take place in the lands or territories of indigenous peoples, unless . . . freely agreed with or requested by the indigenous peoples concerned.”

The day’s agenda also featured presentations on Indian education, IRS regulations impacting tribes, Department of Health and Human Services updates, and trade opportunities with Canada. Convention delegates heard from federal agencies including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Bureau of Reclamation on matters affecting tribal communities across the Northwest.

Day Three: Youth Voices on Artificial Intelligence

The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) Youth Leadership Council traveled to Portland to participate in the Youth Committee session, bringing youth perspectives on artificial intelligence’s (AI) impact on tribal communities.

Co-chaired by Johnny Buck (Wanapum) and Patsy Whitefoot (Yakama), the session focused heavily on AI’s effects on youth and students, with the CTUIR delegation sharing concerns about technology’s impacts on mental health, cultural resources, and the environment.

In discussion of the risks of AI, Junior Youth Council Chair Abigayle McIntosh-Gavin’s first concern was for the fish. “They’re using too much water, and putting it back hot,” she said of AI water-use in the Columbia Gorge. “Every animal has a job to do and what happens when they don’t have what they need to survive?”

“The salmon were the first animal people to stand up and say they will take care of us,” McIntosh-Gavin continued. “The salmon take care of everything else, so if they die, will we lose all our foods? If we don’t do what we promised to do and lose the salmon, will the rest of them go away too?”

The other youth also raised concerns about AI’s environmental toll, particularly its water usage and effects on salmon habitat. “AI needs water to generate and it puts back water that’s bad that can kill the fish,” council member Kiya Orna added, “The water is hot, and it’s contaminated. Salmon are having to deal with water that causes harm to them.”

Youth council members also worried about AI’s threat to First Foods security. “AI could share where our First Foods are and the places to find them, leaking the locations,” explained member Lisa Faye McIntosh-Gavin. “Other people could take our foods. If AI stole our First Foods locations, it would be illegal; those are our rights.”

Beyond environmental and cultural concerns, the youth highlighted AI’s effects on mental health and family relationships. “AI is taking a huge control on the youth, and adults should be concerned for the youth,” said Ayanna Star. “Parents should ask, ‘Is this harming my child or helping my child?’ That says a lot because parents don’t always care, passing classes is all that matters, but it comes to a point where the concern should be what if youth are not doing okay mentally and start going to AI for things?”

Luka Worden added perspective on AI’s educational impacts: “AI is really having a bad impact on youth; it’s affecting us education-wise and mental health-wise, our mindsets in general. They [students] think they can go to AI and can’t talk to parents, AI is not a parent, they’re looking for advice not from their family or peers, and that’s not a good thing to do. It shouldn’t be used that way; it should only be [for] certain things instead of impacting younger people the way it is.”

CTUIR Department of Children and Family Services Director and Youth Leadership Council advisor Julie Taylor (CTUIR) accompanied the youth delegation. Before addressing the Tribal Leaders Roundtable gathering, Taylor brought the group to meet with CTUIR Board Chair Kat Brigham, who then joined them in presenting to the Roundtable.

The day concluded with Bureau of Indian Affairs Director Bryan Mercier (Grand Ronde) delivering the Department of Interior and Bureau of Indian Affairs update to the General Assembly.

Resolutions Approved Thursday

On the final day of the ATNI conference, the General Assembly voted on resolutions presented throughout the week, including the huckleberry protection resolution and the ICE protection resolution. Both resolutions passed and will be forwarded to the National Congress of American Indians for national support.