JBER base commander claims the base occupies Dena’ina land

By
Suzanne Downing
-
124
Col. Lisa Mabbutt

Colonel Lisa Mabbutt, the commander of Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson (JBER) and the 673d Air Base Wing since July of 2024, told a legislative committee in Juneau last week that the base occupies Dena’ina land. 

Mabbutt was speaking to the House Military and Veterans’ Affairs Special Committee when she made a “land acknowledgment,” statement, both verbally and printed on her presentation.

Mabbutt was speaking on behalf of the US government when she essentially said that the government base occupies Native land.

JBER is not on Native land. The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act finalized an agreement about what land is “Native” in Alaska, and those lands do not include JBER’s 64,213 acres. The largest land claims settlement act in world history, it resolved land claims and economic development issues for Alaska Natives.

Here are Mabbutt’s comments, which came near the beginning of her presentation:


The woke commander’s words were backed up by her slide presentation, which said JBER occupies Dena’ina land.

In her presentation, Mabbutt also made a pitch for the Legislature to increase the base student allocation for school funding, one of the hottest issues in the legislative session. This could be seen as a violation of the Hatch Act, because she used her official position to try to influence funding legislation.

During her presentation, she was asked by Reps. Jamie Allard and Dan Saddler about the large encampments on the base land known as Davis Park and also Arctic Valley. Mabbutt said JBER has some kind of agreement with the Municipality and indicated that the homeless occupying the base (which she believes occupies Native land) is not a security threat.

Watch her presentation at this link:

House Military & Veterans’ Affairs Special Committee

In her role, Col. Mabbutt oversees operations of the 673rd wing’s four groups, and maintains the joint base for air sovereignty, combat training, force staging, and operations in support of worldwide contingencies.

“Five of the seven command experiences at the Mabbutt-Zuhlsdorf household have been at joint bases,” said Mabbut last July when she took over as commander. “The reputation for partnership and support that you and your organizations provide, the JBER Arctic Warriors, families and mission, tops them all. I cannot wait to meet, learn from, and work side by side with each of you.”

Mabbutt previously served as commander of the 633d Mission Support Group at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia.

Although Mabbutt does not list her pronouns on her official military biography, she lists herself as a “she/her” on her LinkedIn bio.

DOGE Alaska: How much did Assemblywoman Zaletel get for her Anchorage homelessness coalition?

124 COMMENTS

    • Homeless camps on JBER?
      And this idiot mabbutt is not doing anything about it?
      She needs to GO!

      • We don’t have any homeless encampments on base. They may lie right outside base, in the shared jurisdiction with Anchorage PD, but I’ve never seen a homeless person on JBER.

      • Wow…woke leadership leads to woke disaster. Didn’t work out well for Chairman Brown so hopefully she’ll be relieved soon.

    • Funny because the base website says this:

      Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson occupies Dena’ina Ełnena, the homeland of K’enaht’ana, the indigenous people of Knik Arm. Their connection to the land is linguistic, spiritual, and cultural; it is respectful and eternal. We recognize and value Dena’ina Ełnena, her people, and her cultures. We honor the enduring relationship that exists between the land, the people, and nature. We endeavor to be mindful, respectful, and considerate guests, chin’an

      ‘https://jber.stqry.app/list/5037

  4. She’s done. Termination coming this week.
    Maybe some Native outfit will accept her woke resume.

  6. 100% DEI hire.
    Everyone knows she was not the most qualified person for her position – everyone.
    It’s time to STOP the Alaska native narrative of the “noble savage”.
    The US Federal court had to stop slavery amongst the natives a full 20+years after the Civil War – look up Sah Quah – truly brutal.
    The Catholic missionaries, while far from perfect – felt the ONLY way to break the EXTREME cycle of incest and the rape of little girls, women, and boys was to remove the children from these pedophiliac communities – think Bacha Bazi in Afghanistan, the same type of cultural incest going on.
    All cultures and peoples have a dark sordid past – the Alaska natives are no different – please stop acting as though they are morally superior to white, Christian men.
    Trump won – we can tell the truth!

    • Get real. These children were abused by the Catholic priests. That is a documented fact. You can try to rewrite history but if I see it I’ll call you on it every time. Truth to fake news! This is really pathetic.

      • define ‘documented fact’ – have you examined all of the forensic and DNA evidence to support the baseless assertion that tribes who at that time lived in that area did not commit such atrocities? Based on my research of inupiat culture in the modern era, every time they want a favorable ruling, US taxpayer money or for the government gangsters to defeat a mining competitor so they can grift on the residuals —- they make claims of exploitation and violence against their youth. They NEVER are required to provide facts and evidence.

      • You can’t admit there are serious sexual abuse issues – I cezt and rape – within their communities?
        Or are you in denial about that?
        Of course, so e of those priests sexually abused those children – and they are rotting in hell for that.
        But, don’t use those diabolical acts to “whitewash” what occured in native communities in the past and do to this day (although probably to a lesser degree, but still higher than most communities).
        Your outrage reminds me of faux outrage the African American community has for the, on average, 6 unarmed black men shot by the police every year, when thousands and thousands of African American men are shot by other blacks.
        Trump won – we can tell the truth now.

        • And my donkey of the day award goes to you. Congratulations!! You scored top marks in the area of Logical Fallacy.

          I mean just wow. Specifically, your seamless interweaving of straw man arguments, misattribution, made up or inaccurate statistics, and false equivalence all in one response shows a level of gaslighting and delusion that must have taken a lot of practice to achieve. Even more impressive is that unlike most of your colleagues you managed to do it all while streaming together a cohesive argument, making what you did here more insidious.

          It is truly rare to find someone trying so hard to present as well intentioned or morally superior and well informed (which would be persuasive to a layman) while simultaneously proving the exact opposite.

          It’s almost as if you’re intelligent and informed enough to realized how much research, maturity, and restraint it takes to actually speak from a point of good will with an understanding of context, nuance, and fact, you just decided that you are “DoneWithIt”…Bravo!!

          • Truth hurts.
            No refutation of the facts.
            More scolding for someone daring to speak the truth.
            You sir, are an excellent Progressive, congratulations!

      • In 1990 after an HIV/AIDS outbreak in the village of English Bay, the Alaska Department of Public Health went there to test the residents for Sexually Transmitted Diseases. During that process, they interviewed the villagers. There were ZERO women or girls of any age in the village that had not been raped, most repeatedly by different perpetrators. (There were NO catholic priests in the village.) In many villages it was customary for the grandpas to introduce their grand daughters to sexual activity. Many started the initiation before the child was a year old.

        • Travis you are correct.
          The pedophiliac culture in the Bush is very similar to the Bacha Bazi in Afghanistan.
          The abuse of young boys in the Bush is still ignored, but very prevalent.
          The Catholic church understood the sexual abuse so was so endemic in the Bush, the only way to break the cycle was to remove the children from the villages and teach them western values – that sexually abusing children was wrong, it was a sin.
          Much of the native community is still in deep denial about what the church was trying to do – just like they are about the rampant slavery that existed in Alaska by the natives in Alaska.
          1 out of 3 natives in SE Alaska was a slave of other natives until the early 1900’s.
          The case of Sah Quah (look it up) – which was the US Federal case that officially made slavery illegal in Alaska decades after the end of the Civil War

  9. She is bucking the Commander in Chief of the US Military and the Executive Orders that say otherwise. Where is this going for her?

  11. Well, I’m gonna go ahead and answer that dog whistle. Why is this utterly useless woman the commander of ANYTHING??!

    • I mean, 25 years of leading Civil Engineers and Mission Support Groups, as wells as 5 deployments to both Iraq and Afghanistan seems like a pretty good resume to lead a base.

  13. When Pete hears about this, he is going to be sooo pissed. Buhbye Missy Mabbutt. Pete should also do a complete review of Missy Mabbutts awards. I have seen tinpot South American dictators with fewer medals.

  18. I doubt it, but perhaps she was speaking historically. At any rate, her superiors need to let her know that the Alaska natives settlement act ceded those Dena’ina lands to the US federal government and they are no longer Dena’ina lands.

    • Greg, and who did the Dena’ina conqueor, drive out and send packing? A group of Eskimos inhabited the Cook Inlet area for thousands of years prior to the fairly recent arrival of the Dena’ina people.
      Could the Dena’ina people be colonizers?

      • “A group of Eskimos”? You want people to play make believe with you? Pick up a history book, learn the actual names of the tribes you’re talking about and come back, you couldn’t have sounded stupider if you tried. Your parents have to be rolling in their graves at the way you turned out.

        • Are you equally outraged if someone uses the equally common term American Indian?
          .
          Your rant is the equivalent of getting mad at someone because they referred to Kroger brand cola as a Coke.

        • Burt, perhaps you should take your own advice and peruse some historical documents prior to posting comments in the future.
          Chapter I ” cultural and historic information- Alaska Dept of Natural Resources, 3.2.4
          ” at the time of initial European contact, the Dena’ina HEGEMONY over upper Cook Inlet may have been established as little as a century earlier, following DISPLACEMENR of the ESKIMO cultures”

  19. A. We are all American and we are all equal.

    B. XYZ tribe is sovereign.

    You can only pick one.

  22. Colonel Lisa Mabbutt should be relieved of duty immediately, demoted and expelled from the service!
    NOT a real bright leader!

  24. Colonel get your head out of your patoot. The base is on American land and we, the US, are not occupying any d… land. You sound like a DEI promotion and disgrace the uniform.

  26. Dear Pres Trump,
    Pls fire this woman as soon as possible… This obvious woke appointee is trying to screw up our traditional military lands. I’m sure China and Russia are encouraging her. What a disappointment.

  27. We trust DOGE Alaska have made these points clear to President Trump and to the Secretary of Defense.

  28. “……..JBER is not on Native land. The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act finalized an agreement about what land is “Native” in Alaska, and those lands do not include JBER’s 64,213 acres……..”
    Why is there confusion or ignorance on this?

  30. Someone dial 911 and get Pete Hegseth on the horn seems the JBER Commander is going off half-cocked. But on the bright side, she is out next July (2026).

    • We can’t wait that long – she is seriously compromised and an extreme security risk. Relieve her of duties immediately, consider court martial, drum her out of the military.

      • Frankley, JBER needs a DOGE’ing of commanders…way too many. The only way the Pacific Air Force Commanding General would removers her is if he is forced to do so…don’t hold your breath.

        • This sounds like the words of someone who doesn’t know the strategic importance of JBER, regarding the number of Commanders comment. So many of the the Commanders up here are dual hatted, and this is from what someone at the tactical level can see. We’ve been doing more with less for a long damn time now. If you want DOGE to have something to look at, have them ask Boeing why washers for rivets cost $17 a piece.

  32. A vestige of the Biden-Harris regime, showing how these people are completely WHACKED OUT. Wading into political waters ought to be reason enough to cashier her. If I was in the military, I would have a tough time respecting her. I am sure the more sensible subordinates have to bite their tongues. And how can we respect our military with a transgender Admiral? Consider their days numbered with the new Sec’y of Defense.

  33. In a few more years, this whole charade will not have aged well. Kind of like the preferred pronoun thing: People will reflect on it and see how Junior High-ish and girly it was like when girls demand that you talk about them when they’re not around in a certain manner. Except we are adults doing the same thing. And trying to express our guilt and sorrow and shame by telling everybody who doesn’t really care that we are living on stolen land will look really stupid when we get a few years down the road. And then the majority of the people will of course say, I didn’t really believe in all that. Just like a majority of the people now say, “I didn’t really believe in masks.” But they still obeyed like good little sheep.

  35. Pretty sure this is the same base commander that was doing 100% sobriety and blood tests at the gate over a holiday weekend. Anyone coming through the gate that was driving had one hour to report to the base hospital to get their blood drawn.

  37. When I mentally picture a “war fighter” whose job is to protect American soil, this soft woman who looks about as tough as a handful of wet toilet paper, does not come to mind….

  39. So homeless encampments on post no problem. Want to go to the National cemetery visit a loved ones grave you need to submit to a security forces background check. Check Roger this lady needs to be relieved due to incompetence.

  40. The military doesn’t need or deserve DEI officers. She is incompetent and unqualified.

    • DEI doesn’t mean unqualified or incompetent. I’m fact it’s the exact opposite. It’s designed to find the person most qualified regardless of ethnicity.

  41. Why the surprise or discouragement? She’s an obvious DEI hire; just a virtue signaling figurehead. However, she is merely a symptom. The real problem is the steep decline of our culture. Imagine how depraved our nation’s leaders must be to place such a ridiculous caricature of an officer in charge of a major military base. The fact she remains in command says a lot about their meager efforts at reform.

  42. Participation ribbons and a couple of participation metals don’t make a warrior.
    I feel for those that are forced to serve under this poor example of military might

  43. The Colonel’s career is at an end. The interesting thing is that she is so woke she doesn’t know it. She expected to raise this land issue and punch some virtue signaling tickets over native land issues and be rewarded with stars. However, the DOD under Pete Hegseth will ensure she has a nice retirement event.

  44. Out.

    If you can’t do a little due diligence concerning the land you’re on and are willing to make incorrect statements as fact you certainly aren’t the right person to command a base.

  45. JBER was never Native land. The Natives never had any permanent settlement anywhere near it. They did have a fish camp on Ship Creek, where they spent a few months every year, but they never owned anything outright. They gave up all claims in the ANICLA. This woman needs to…. go the hell home. Of course, if she really thinks it is Native land, they she should probably start giving it back. No? Then shut the heck up.

  48. Apparently that woke moron doesn’t understand that the natives replaced other natives. ALL tribes of mankind have usurped other tribes…it is the way of man. There is NO room for meek or woke in our military. Remove her.

  50. Write a letter to Senator Sullivan and let him know the base commander DEI hire has thrown in with a criminal racketeering organization running Anchorage, which is what the assembly has become.

  51. This is from a June 19, 2020, post on JBER’s Facebook page about land acknowledgement signs being placed there:

    You may notice some new signs welcoming you to the Dena’ina Homeland around JBER!

    It was agreed during Government-to-Government meetings between Native Village of Eklutna and the Installation Commander to develop and post land acknowledgement signs at the entry locations on JBER.

    Government-to-Government is a relationship between federal agencies and federally recognized tribes that is designed to assure meaningful tribal participation in planning and decision making processes.
    Tribal leaders are afforded the respect similar to those of leaders of state and municipal governments; therefore, building strong relationships is an important part of the mission. All lands under JBER management are situated within the traditional territory of Upper Inlet Dena’ina, of which NVE is a descent group.

    The signs were designed in collaboration with NVE and posting them is an extremely meaningful gesture that conveys our commitment to acknowledge the Alaska Native history unique to JBER!

    ‘https://www.facebook.com/JBERAK/posts/you-may-notice-some-new-signs-welcoming-you-to-the-denaina-homeland-around-jber-/2999387966781453/

    • Yes, the U.S. bought Russian interests in 1867. But then in 1972, the U.S. recognized Alaska native title to 44 million acres in Alaska, and settled with them for the rest for nearly a $billion. JBER is federal soil.

  53. The Denaina land comment could be purely misspoken but her pitch for the Base Student Allocation funding is a direct violation and is cause for relief. While in uniform or speaking from a position of Authority you cannot advocate for any political cause. If anything, she is direct violation of the “Hatch Act”

  54. Land acknowledgments in Alaska carry different implications than in the Lower 48, where tribal lands still exist under federal trust status. Because ANCSA and ANILCA settled land claims permanently, these statements risk creating false expectations of future land transfers—which is not legally feasible without congressional action.

    This kind of messaging could inadvertently increase tensions between Native and non-Native populations, making it more divisive than unifying. If the military wants to engage with Alaska Native communities, it might be more constructive to focus on partnerships, cultural recognition, and economic cooperation with ANCs rather than land acknowledgments that may fuel misunderstanding.

  55. The Denaina land comment could be purely misspoken but her pitch for the Base Student Allocation funding is a direct violation and is cause for relief. While in uniform or speaking from a position of Authority you cannot advocate for any political cause. If anything, she is direct violation of the “Hatch Act”.

    • Thanks True.
      We were wondering when the NPCs would revive that leftist talking point. Appreciate the alert.

  57. It is the job of the military to invade, conquer, and take the land from the inferior forces. So, she is correct.
    .
    The Europeans took this land, and made it our own. Just like the Dena’ina did before us.
    .
    But, that is not what she was talking about, was it? Instead, she was trying to instill guilt into the hearts of the victors. Guilt for what, exactly? Doing exactly what humans have been doing to each other ever since the first hominid? Sorry, not going to feel guilty, sister.

    • CBM, this situation is unique in the history of the world. Never before now has the victor ever treated the vanquished with more respect and atonement. The Dena’ina certainly did not when they vanquished the settlers they found there. Think, Civil Rights 1964, ANCSA 1971, BIA Public Health, Self Determination, etc. At this time, we see Alaska Natives foremostly as fellow Americans. They contribute to our heritage and stand as equal citizens in every respect. The continual attempts by the woke to treat them as special children needing our care are condescending and misplaced.

  58. It’s refreshing to see many people here posting the facts that it is not D’enina or any other Native tribes land at all.

    This Yupik descendent is sick and tired of the race card being over played the past 30 years.

  59. She sounds like Trudeau. Maybe she should look for reassignment to the Royal Canadian Air Force, where DEI still rules.

  60. Why doesn’t she surrender to Dena’ina, then?

    By the way, who did Dena’ina steal the land from?

  63. “Mabbutt said JBER has some kind of agreement with the Municipality and indicated that the homeless occupying the base (which she believes occupies Native land) is not a security threat.” What? Not a security threat like the Homeless guy that was caught trying to access the Flight line where those inexpensive F22 are sitting? Or the countless ARMED homeless folks the Base Police has delt with in the past 5 Years? This denial of reality speaks volumes to the disarray the Left has caused the Military. What she said was Stupid. In Alaska there have been many attempted Penetrations on installations here. There are bad actors here thanks to the open boarders of the last administration. She should be replaced.

  64. “Some kind of arrangement “ with the Muni regarding encampments? Does she not even know? Deemed not a security risk.

  65. Based on my research of inupiat culture in the modern era, every time they want a favorable ruling, US taxpayer money or for the government gangsters to defeat a mining competitor so they can grift on the residuals —- they make claims of exploitation and violence against their youth. They NEVER are required to provide facts and evidence.

  66. Well if what she says is true, they can always try to take the land back the old fashioned way. Send in the CIA to destabilize the base and wait for it to collapse from within due to corruption. Then the tribes can walk right in and install their own regime. Easy peasy even a deep state could do it.

  69. How is she “woke”? LMAO. Ya’ll need to chill out. Maybe serve some time in the military. Better yet, go give billions to “Israel”. LMAo

  71. Oh how far the professionalism of the USAF has fallen!!! Way too many “uh” and “uhms” in her speech. Shows she was unprepared, plus how embarrassing that she didn’t know that Elmendorf and Fort Rich do NOT occupy native owned land…that would have been resolved ages ago if they did. I could go on but that is enough to get anyone reassigned.

  72. “The Hatch Act does not apply to military members of the uniformed services of the United States, although it does apply to Department of Defense civil servants, as well as Department of Homeland Security civil servants in direct support of the United States Coast Guard. Members of the U.S. Armed Forces are subject to Department of Defense Directive 1344.10 (DoDD 1344.10), Political Activities by Members of the Armed Forces, and the spirit and intent of that directive is effectively the same as that of the Hatch Act for Federal civil servants.”

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