November 6, 2025 — The First Alaskans Institute’s annual gala awards rarely get much attention outside of the black-tie fundraiser where they’re given. The honors typically go to people whose work has aligned with the organization’s mission of advocating for Alaska Native communities, and they’re usually a cause for celebration, not controversy. But this year, one of the awards has provoked intense pushback. The high-profile Indigenous organization announced last week that an honor for non-Native people would be shared by John Shively.Shively is a longtime player in Alaska government and political circles who helped lead and set up several prominent Native institutions.
He is also the chief executive of the company pushing the stalled Pebble mining project — a huge and contentious proposed mine that’s strongly opposed by many members of the state’s Native communities.
Pebble’s opponents quickly condemned the selection of Shively for the award. After the president of the First Alaskans Institute told him about the opposition, Shively declined the honor to “avoid harming” the organization, he said in a phone interview.
For the past week, First Alaskans Institute has been contending with the fallout, both from Pebble’s opponents and from supporters of Shively, who feel he was treated unfairly.