US Attorney General Lynch meets with Alaska Native leaders

U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch, middle, greets Alaska Native leaders and others at a meeting Friday, June 10, 2016, in Anchorage, Alaska. Lynch discussed public safety and other issues affecting Alaska Natives at the meeting. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen) (The Associated Press)

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U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch, right, speaks with Alaska Native leaders and others at a meeting Friday, June 10, 2016, in Anchorage, Alaska. Lynch discussed public safety and other issues affecting Alaska Natives at the meeting. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen) (The Associated Press)

U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch, middle, speaks with Alaska Native leaders and others at a meeting Friday, June 10, 2016, in Anchorage, Alaska. Lynch discussed public safety and other issues affecting Alaska Natives at the meeting. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen) (The Associated Press)

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch has met with Alaska Native leaders during her first trip to Alaska, discussing public safety, voting rights and other issues facing indigenous communities in the vast state.

Those meeting with Lynch on Friday included Native rights advocates and representatives of Native organizations.

Before their short round-table discussion in Anchorage, Native American Rights Fund attorney Natalie Landreth said she planned to address what she called inadequacies in the U.S. census.

She says the agency's American Community Survey conducted every five years woefully undercounts Native communities in rural areas.

Landreth says that translates to less voting protections for Native communities and less funding across the board.

Other issues listed for the closed meeting included heroin use and criminal justice reform.