ANCHORAGE – Five U.S. Attorneys who were recently fired by the Bush Administration claim that it's no coincidence that they served on the National Native American Issues subcommittee – three of those Attorneys spoke in Anchorage on Monday, at the National Congress of American Indians.

Former U.S. Attorneys, Margaret Chiara, of Western Michigan; Paul Bogden of Nevada; and Paul Charlton of Arizona, discussed Native American Affairs at the conference on Monday.

The three Attorneys claim that their work on the subcommittee may have led to their dismissal.

Former U.S. Attorney, Margaret Chiara said, “There's a certain amount of irony since it was said that seven of the eight of us, the reason for our dismissals were performance based. Quite frankly, it would appear that particularly when it comes to Indian country , there was at least some real commitment shown.”

Family violence, sexual assault and the use of Methamphetamines on Native lands are some of the top issues up for discussion in Anchorage this week.

The Attorneys also listened to several emotional testimonies from Native Alaskans and Natives from across the lower-48.

Reported by: Christina Coleman