Tlingit and Haida’s top VP challenging longtime president in next week’s tribal election

First Vice President Ku.seen Jacqueline Pata is seeking to replace President Chalyee Éesh Richard Peterson, president since 2014 and the target of abuse accusations last year

Ku.seen Jacqueline Pata, left, first vice president of the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska, and longtime tribal President Chalyee Éesh Richard Peterson participate in a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Two Coppers Casino on July 1, 2026. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Independent)

By Mark Sabbatini

Juneau Independent

This story has been updated with additional information.

The top vice president is seeking to replace the longtime president of the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska during its tribal assembly next week, following both significant achievements and controversies involving tribal leadership since the last election two years ago.

First Vice President Ku.seen Jacqueline Pata, who’s held that office since 2021, is seeking to replace Chalyee Éesh Richard Peterson, the tribe’s president since 2014. Three other presidential candidates — Alicia “Lisa” Gassman, Tasha Hotch and Melissa M. Kookesh — are also listed on the ballot.

Peterson was unopposed in the 2024 election.

Pata, in an interview Friday, said comments she’s heard from tribal citizens and the number of candidates running for president are indicative of "wanting to have some voice in the direction of their government."

"I'm concerned about long-term sustainability," she said. "I want to be able to make sure that we have financial accountability, we're transparent and accountable to our tribal citizens, but also accountable within the tribal council and that we're true to our values," she said.

Attempts to reach Peterson on Friday afternoon were unsuccessful. In a social media post on Friday, he said the tribe is facing challenges because "we are living through unprecedented political times."

"Federal administrative swings continue to challenge Tribal sovereignty and funding across Indian Country," he wrote. "Through these shifts, my focus has been keeping Tlingit & Haida steady, protected, and moving forward."

During the past two years the tribe has launched an education campus project, debuted a long-planned tribal casino, been prominently involved in glacial flood protection efforts and made other advances. But questions have been raised about some tribal business and leadership actions, such as a contract providing support services in Guantánamo Bay where the Trump administration has detained migrants.

Last summer tribal officials investigated abuse accusations by a former romantic partner against Peterson, with Pata announcing at a tribal council meeting a few weeks later the review had concluded with no finding of whether the accusations have merit.

Pata said she expects those accusations and other difficulties the tribe has faced to be part of the election debate when the three-day tribal assembly convenes Wednesday at Elizabeth Peratrovich Hall.

"I think all of those things create challenges, but they're realistic, it happens," she said. "We have challenges and we have to overcome. I think when you have those challenges, and you recognize where you need to strengthen your accountability, your responsibilities, it's a good time to evaluate those and to think about what we need to do to put better checks and balances in place, and that's definitely part of my campaign."

Pata also was the target of criticism when she served as executive director of the National Congress of American Indians, stepping down from the position in 2019 after she was placed on administrative leave due to concerns about her handling of sexual and workplace harassment reports.

Peterson, in his message Friday, wrote, "I will always put our people first, regardless of the role. Right now, I believe my experience, relationships, and energy are best used serving as your President to protect what we’ve built and complete the work ahead."

A profile of Peterson at Tlingit and Haida’s website states he is Tlingit from the Kaagwaantaan (Eagle/Wolf) clan and a lifelong resident of Southeast Alaska. Before becoming the tribe’s president, he 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.

"Together we have launched major projects that reach far beyond what we initially imagined from expanding behavioral health care and broadband infrastructure to growing our economic sovereignty and laying the groundwork for Tribal Education Campuses," he wrote in his post Friday. "I feel a deep responsibility and duty to our Tribal citizens to ensure these initiatives are fully realized and successful."

Pata, according to the website, is a member of the Lukaax̱.ádi clan (Raven/Sockeye) in Haines. She has been the president and CEO of the Tlingit Haida Regional Housing Authority since 2019. Prior to that she was 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. She also currently chairs the tribal assembly’s Governmental Affairs (State and Federal) Committee.

"I spent 20 years in Washington, D.C., and working with Congress and various presidents, and all the tribal governments in the country on issues like housing and economic development, education, healthcare — the list goes on," she said. "I sat at the UN negotiating for Indigenous rights and the right for the indigenous voice at UN forums, and I made a choice to come home because I wanted to make a difference for my own people, and that's really why I'm running."

Among the other three candidates, Gassman served in top leadership positions for the Sheet’ká Ḵwáan Sitka Tribe of Alaska before stepping down as its CEO last December. 

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 as well as nearly a decade working in Tlingit and Haida’s office of the president. Hotch, a longtime tribal health official, was the lone opponent against Peterson in the 2022 tribal assembly election.

All of the candidates except Peterson are also listed as vice presidential candidates on the ballot so, for instance, Pata could be elected to continue serving as first vice president if her presidential effort is unsuccessful.

Peterson is scheduled to give the annual State of the Tribe address at 11 a.m. Wednesday, with the declaration of nominees for council leadership positions and candidate speeches scheduled to start at 3 p.m. The elections are scheduled to begin at 1:05 p.m. Thursday, with winners taking their oaths of office at 4:30 p.m.

• Contact Mark Sabbatini at editor@juneauindependent.com or (907) 957-2306.