SEATTLE, Washington — Members of the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) elected leadership at their conference here, bringing back two incumbents and choosing two newcomers to carry on the organization’s mission of protecting tribal sovereignty.

After two rounds of voting on Thursday, Mark Macarro, the chair of the Pechanga Band of Indians from California, won re-election as President of NCAI. In a run-off, he overcame a surprise challenge from Jacqueline “Jackie” Pata, the 1st Vice President of the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes from Alaska and a former executive director of the nation’s largest and oldest inter-tribal advocacy organization.

“I want to thank everybody that supported me in this election,” Macarro said at the Seattle Convention Center after receiving nearly 60 percent of the vote in the run-off. “Thank you so much for all the work, for all the considerations, and if it was a tough decision for you, I really appreciate that.”

“For those of you who may not have voted for me, I want to thank you too,” said Macarro, who first won election as NCAI’s highest executive official in 2023.

Speaking from the conference floor, Pata immediately offered her support to Macarro. She had mounted a last-minute campaign, with many attendees finding out about her bid for NCAI president on the morning of the election on Wednesday.

“I want to congratulate Mark and let him know that, of course, I’m standing beside him and the organization as I always have and always will,” said Pata, who served as Executive Director of NCAI for a record 18 years before departing amid an investigation into workplace conditions at the organization.

“I want to thank my tribe for the honor of having you stand up and support me and the Alaska caucus for the strength you gave me to put my name forward,” Pata continued. “It meant so much to me and it made the election worth it to have your validation and your respect.”

A third candidate for NCAI President, Shannon Wheeler, the chair of the Nez Perce Tribe in Idaho, was knocked out of the running in the first round, leaving the race to Macarro and Pata.

“Thank you Tribal Nations for your support, encouragement, advice, and grace,” Wheeler said in a post on Nez Perce social media. “I congratulate President Macarro on his second term as NCAI President.”

Macarro said he appreciated the competition, which he said required him to work harder for support from members of NCAI. He planned to offer more remarks following his swearing-in on Friday, the final day of the 82nd annual convention in Seattle.

“In this case here, there were three of us running for the same seat,” Macarro observed. “It challenges us to examine what we say, what we represent and what our positions are.”

As for 1st Vice President, Brian Weeden, the youngest person elected as chair of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe in Massachusetts, easily won the vote. He defeated Jack Potter, the chair of the Redding Rancheria in California, with 66 percent of the vote, making him the second incumbent to return to NCAI’s executive board.

The race for Recording Secretary of NCAI was just as competitive as the presidential one, with three newcomer candidates in the running. Christie Modlin, the secretary of the Iowa Tribe in Oklahoma, managed to emerge as the winner in just one round of balloting on Wednesday.

Detailed election results from this morning at the National Congress of American Indians 82nd annual convention.

Run-off results coming….@NCAI pic.twitter.com/ykwLc6O1OK

— indianz.com (@indianz) November 20, 2025

According to the results, Modlin earned 52 percent of the vote against Dionne Brady-Howard, the chair of the Sitka Tribe from Alaska who had nearly 29 percent. Frank Cloutier, a council member from the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe in Michigan, came in third with almost 19 percent.

For the position of Treasurer, another newcomer was selected by NCAI’s members. Ashley Cornforth, the secretary/treasurer for the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community in Minnesota, defeated Aaron Payment, a leader from the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians in Michigan, with 54 percent of the vote compared to nearly 46 percent.

The announcement of the outcome followed a report from outgoing Treasurer David Woerz, a leader from the Chickasaw Nation who did not seek re-election to the post. He confirmed that NCAI has lost a significant number of employees in the past year, which he said was needed in order to “control” the expenses of the organization.

“We’re down considerably now, so the payroll has been more than cut in half,” Woerz said in response to questions from Loretta Tuell, a prominent attorney and citizen of the Nez Perce Tribe.

According to Woerz, NCAI has gone from 53 employees to about 23 staff members. “I think it’s amazing what they’re doing with 23 staff members,” he said.

Woerz did not explain in detail why so many people have been let go since Macarro became president in 2023. But he offered two broad explanations, including a restructuring of the organization and a decline in NCAI’s revenue.

“So there was some folks that were there and they weren’t in the right positions that we needed,” Woerz said at the convention on Wednesday. “There were strategic changes made to the staff so we could meet our revenue coming in because the revenue was not quite enough … to cover that staff.”

Tuell, who has worked in Indian law and policy for more than 25 years, asked whether NCAI plans to increase the number of full-time employees but Woerz did not commit to a position. He urged tribes to boost their support of the organization in order to help cover the costs of events like the 82nd annual meeting.

“We do receive some funding through grants and philanthropy,” Woerz said, “But it’s time for Indian Country to kind of step up.”

Tuell also asked about the Embassy of Tribal Nations in Washington, D.C., which NCAI opened in 2009 at considerable cost and fanfare. Woerz confirmed that the building — located in an affluent area of the nation’s capital — is not being fully utilized.

“I don’t believe we’re using the embassy as what we need to use it as,” Woerz said. “COVID changed things, and the need for our embassy has changed since that time.”

“And it is considerable expense per month,” the outgoing treasurer added. “Considerable, which could mean a lot more staff.”

In 2022, NCAI surprised members — including Tuell — by putting up the Embassy of Tribal Nations at 1516 P Street NW for sale. According to the D.C. Office of Tax and Revenue, the commercial property has been assessed to be worth more than $10.2 million. The annual property taxes come to about $117,000, according to online records.

At one point, there were rumors that NCAI had found a new home in an emerging neighboring in D.C. but nothing came of the speculation.

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. No one from Alaska has ever served as president.

NCAI’s 82nd annual convention concludes on Friday.