Two Bering Straits directors retire. One seat goes to shareholders, one to the board.

Two Bering Straits Native Corporation board seats are turning over this year, but only one will go before shareholders. The vacancy left by Tony A. Weyiouanna, Sr. of Nome and Shishmaref will be filled in the 2026 Board of Directors election, while the seat vacated by Eugene Asicksik of Shaktoolik will be filled by board appointment under BSNC's governing documents, a process the corporation says it will detail later. An appointed director serves only until the next Annual Meeting of Shareholders, when the seat returns to a vote.

The difference is timing. Asicksik is retiring before his term expires in 2027, having served from 1986 through 2022 and returned in May 2023. Weyiouanna, who served from 2007 to 2010 and returned in 2023, is leaving as his term expires in 2026.

BSNC has not yet said how shareholders may be considered for the appointed seat, promising details "in the near future."

The elected seat has already hit trouble. BSNC says the proxy card and statement it mailed to shareholders left out one of the board nominees, and that corrected materials will go to everyone eligible. The annual meeting is Oct. 3 in Nome, and proxies are due Sept. 30.