Greeting leaders from the villages. I look forward to seeing you at this annual conference of the Native American Fish & Wildlife Society. I am pleased to say that Mr. Oren Lyons, Traditional Faith keeper of the Onondaga Nation will be our keynote speaker. It is always good to hear from representatives of other tribes and other regions. Mr. Lyons is well respected as an advocate for indigenous peoples, both in national and international forums. I believe you will find his message of tribal stewardship timely to the challenges before Alaskan tribes today.

I invite everyone to this conference, because we each seek to find substantive ways to address our varied concerns and interests. Some of us approach it on the level of scientific research and inquiry, others on that of management policies, others on a level that speaks to the spiritual and traditional conservation ethics of the indigenous peoples whose history, culture, nutrition, spiritual and economies are inseparably tied to the health of our Mother Earth. We are all traveling the same road, and each share a profound concern for our Mother Earth.

Each approach is important to achieving our goals. Most significantly, they are interdependent. One will not work without the other. Success in achieving our goals of tribal stewardship demands a vigorous effort on all our parts to work together. This is especially important now, with the pressures coming to bear on the earths ecosystems. As indigenous peoples, we carry the knowledge that is essential to restoring balance to our Mother Earth. Come to our conference, a place to share your vision of the future.