SEATTLE, Washington — Election season kicked into high gear at the largest inter-tribal conference here, with last-minute additions shaking up the race to lead the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI).

Three candidates each are running for President, 1st Vice President and Recording Secretary of NCAI, along with two for Treasurer. The crowded field highlights the big turnout for the organization’s 82nd annual convention in Washington’s most populous city.

And three of the four races have drawn candidates from Alaska, reflecting the potential for some major changes in NCAI’s direction. The organization has not elected a president from the 49th state since its founding in 1944.

President Mark Macarro, the chair of the Pechanga Band of Indians from California, is one of two incumbents seeking re-election at NCAI. He was nominated to the post by Ben Barnes, the chief of the Shawnee Tribe in Oklahoma, as the convention resumed on Wednesday morning.

“As I stand here looking out at all of you, I am reminded of our strength when we stand together as a unified voice on the issues and battlefronts that we face today in the Congress, in the courts, and at the ballot box,” said Macarro, who first won election at NCAI’s annual convention in 2023. “We are strongest when we speak with that unified voice.”

But in a surprise addition, Jacqueline “Jackie” Pata, the 1st Vice President of the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes from Alaska, threw her hat into the ring. She was nominated to be NCAI’s highest elected position by Bridgett Sorenson, a leader from the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians in Michigan.

“I am an Alaskan,” said Pata, who previously served as Executive Director of NCAI before departing amid an investigation into workplace conditions at the organization.

“But while I’m Alaskan, I’ve spent my career working for tribes across the country, large and small, rural and urban, from every region,” continued Pata, who worked at NCAI for 18 years. “I know the diversity of our nations. I also know the strength of our unity.”

Shannon Wheeler, the chair of the Nez Perce Tribe in Idaho, rounded out the field for president and is the only candidate from the Northwest Region where NCAI’s convention is being held this year. He was nominated by Gary Burke, the chair of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation in Oregon.

“If we need to be in your state capitals to talk to your governors, then that’s where we’re going to be,” said Wheeler. “If we need to be in the White House, that’s where we’re going to be.”

A fourth person, April Patrick from North Carolina, had been campaigning for the president’s position at the Seattle Convention Center since the start of the week. But no one stepped forward at the general assembly on Wednesday to nominate Patrick, who describes herself as being Karuk, Yurok and Waccamaw Siouan.

The field for 1st Vice President for NCAI is no less crowded. Incumbent Brian Weeden, the youngest person elected as chair of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe in Massachusetts, was nominated to the post by Rodney Butler, the chair of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation in Connecticut.

“This organization helped me to be the leader that I am today, by serving on NCAI’s Youth Commission, by receiving the 2015 Youth Leadership Award for the Indian Gaming Association at the time,” said Weeden. “And that’s why I would like to give back to this organization, just like giving back to our tribal communities.”

Joe Williams, Jr., the president of the Saxman Tribe in Alaska, is a first-time candidate for NCAI’s executive committee. He was nominated as 1st Vice President by Gloria Burns, the president of the Ketchikan Indian Community in Alaska.

“I am the first Tlingit ever to be elected mayor to Ketchikan Gateway Borough. I state that because it’s a predominantly non-Native community,” said Williams. “I’ve been operating a tour business for 34 years, operating historical walking tours in Ketchikan and Saxman to the visitors that stop in our community.”

Jack Potter, the chair of the Redding Rancheria in California, is a frequent face at NCAI. He was nominated as 1st Vice President by Antoinette Del Rio, the chair of the California Valley Miwok Tribe.

“I stand on sovereignty because that is the only thing we have and we must use it and wield it,” said Potter, who currently serves as a vice president for NCAI’s Pacific Region. “When you don’t use it, you’re gonna lose it. And we must never dilute that sovereignty by allowing other people at the table.”

For the position of Recording Secretary on NCAI’s executive committee, no incumbents are in the running. Christie Modlin, the secretary of the Iowa Tribe in Oklahoma, was nominated by Joe Deere, a council member from the Cherokee Nation, also based in Oklahoma.

“I’m running because I believe NCAI needs strong, steady, culturally-grounded leadership — leadership that listens, unites, and delivers,” said Modlin, who also serves as secretary for the Indian Gaming Association.

Dionne Brady-Howard, the chair of the Sitka Tribe, represented the third NCAI executive candidate from Alaska. She was nominated to be Secretary by Burns from Ketchikan.

“I think so many of our issues really come back to that fact that we really just need to come from a better place of common understanding,” said Brady-Howard, whose Tlingit name is Yeidikook’áa. “We need to be able to explain who we are and where we come from, and we need to be able to listen to one another as well.”

Rounding out the field for Secretary is Frank Cloutier, a council member from the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe in Michigan. He was nominated by Shannon Holsey, the president of the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohican Indians in Wisconsin.

“I come from a long line of people who are very precise and distinct, and when I show up, I show up early and when I show up, I’m ready to work,” said Cloutier, who also worked in public relations for his tribe. “And that’s exactly what I can promise you for the next two years.”

No incumbents are in the running for Treasurer of NCAI and no Alaskans are running either. Ashley Cornforth, the secretary/treasurer for the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community in Minnesota, was nominated by Michael Conners, a chief from the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe in New York.

“I think that NCAI can tap into and expand its resources for more funding to reduce some of the financial pressures for tribes and create more participation and engagement, which is a win for all tribal nations,” Cornforth said in her first run for an NCAI executive position.

Aaron Payment, a leader from the Sault Tribe in Michigan, is another familiar face, having served as 1st Vice President and Secretary for NCAI. He was nominated to the post by Ron Allen, the chair of the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe in Washington.

“We have prepaid for every penny we receive,” said Payment, who has frequently represented NCAI in Washington, D.C. “It’s not welfare. It’s not reparations. It’s not because we are poor Indians.”

“To the contrary, we  prepaid for this debt with the blood sweat, and tears of our ancestors, and nearly 2 billion acres of Indian ceded land,” added Payment.

Elections for President, 1st Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer are taking place Thursday morning at the Seattle Convention Center. NCAI sent out an early reminder — at 6am Pacific Time — to be in line by 10am to cast a ballot.

With three candidates each in three of the four races, it is possible that no candidate will receive 50 percent plus one of the vote as required by NCAI. Macarro, during a campaign reception on Tuesday evening, urged attendees to stay close to the convention floor in case they need to cast another ballot.

Winners of the executive board seats will be formally sworn in on Friday. Each position is a two-year term.

Since its founding in 1944, NCAI has only seen three women serve as President — the late Veronica Murdock from the Colorado River Indian Tribes; Sue Masten from the Yurok Tribe, who is in attendance this week; and Fawn Sharp from the Quinault Nation. Sharp served two terms — from 2019 through 2023.

And while Alaska Natives tend to represent the largest contingent of attendees at NCAI’s meetings, they have never run a slate of candidates as large as the one here in Seattle. Pata hadn’t been seen campaigning publicly up until she started distributing materials on Wednesday morning so many attendees found out for the first time as they were entering the convention center.

NCAI’s 82nd annual convention concludes on Friday.