First Alaskans logo

Fall 2022

khayts’ä˛`’  FALL 2022
First Alaskans logo

Table of Contents

Volume 20, Number 2
THE MAGAZINE OF Native peoples, communities, and ways of life
nihch’ì˛’ łënöktl’uu | connect
5
Kayutkulluta / Ilavut Nakliiluit
We Take Care Of Each Other
Communites respond to Typhoon Merbok
6
The Rocky Pass Tannery
Building the future through tradition
13
Strengthening Alaska Native Languages
The state of Indigenous languages in Alaska
ho˛zo˛o˛ nàjì’inthat | focus
14
Mary Peltola Won
Why did mainstream media treat her like a loser?
18
Congresswoman for All Alaska
Akalleq Mary Sattler Peltola and her family at her swearing-in ceremony
22
If We Do Nothing, We Get Nothing
A window of opportunity for a Yukon-Kuskokwim Regional Tribal Government
khän trëdäho˛h’įį | catalyze
24
Empowerment Through Culture
A wellness program in Anchorage reconnects youth to their heritage
26
A Seat at the Table
Native participation in cultural tourism
30
SBA Convenes Tribal Consultations for 8(a) BD Program
Proposed rule changes affect ANCs and Tribes
wëk’èjì’ihthit | imagine
32
Art/Healing/Wisdom
Allison Akootchook Warden carries Iñupiaq culture forward in unconventional ways
34
Reads and Reviews
An Alaska Native reader reviews Native-written books
nihch’ì˛’ łënöktl’uu | connect
5
Kayutkulluta / Ilavut Nakliiluit
We Take Care Of Each Other
Communites respond to Typhoon Merbok
6
The Rocky Pass Tannery
Building the future through tradition
13
Strengthening Alaska Native Languages
The state of Indigenous languages in Alaska
ho˛zo˛o˛ nàjì’inthat | focus
14
Mary Peltola Won
Why did mainstream media treat her like a loser?
18
Congresswoman for All Alaska
Akalleq Mary Sattler Peltola and her family at her swearing-in ceremony
22
If We Do Nothing, We Get Nothing
A window of opportunity for a Yukon-Kuskokwim Regional Tribal Government
khän trëdäho˛h’įį | catalyze
24
Empowerment Through Culture
A wellness program in Anchorage reconnects youth to their heritage
26
A Seat at the Table
Native participation in cultural tourism
30
SBA Convenes Tribal Consultations for 8(a) BD Program
Proposed rule changes affect ANCs and Tribes
wëk’èjì’ihthit | imagine
32
Art/Healing/Wisdom
Allison Akootchook Warden carries Iñupiaq culture forward in unconventional ways
34
Reads and Reviews
An Alaska Native reader reviews Native-written books
this issue’s language:
Section and department titles are in the Han Athabascan language. Each issue of First Alaskans features a different Native language in this role. Thanks to Shyanne Beatty.
photo by lee house
nihch’ì˛’ łënöktl’uu | connect
nihch’ì˛’ łënöktl’uu | connect
two men walking along a beach in Nome
Amid wild seas and high winds, recovery began in Nome the morning after Typhoon Merbok hit.

photo by Elizabeth La quen naáy / Kat Saas Medicine Crow

Kayutkulluta / Ilavut Nakliiluit
We Take Care of Each Other

by Melanie Bahnke / Kawerak Inc.

September 20, 2022

K

awerak Inc. supports and stands by our communities and families impacted by the most devastating extreme weather event to hit our region and other areas of Western Alaska. We are grateful to our region’s Tribal leaders, mayors, unofficial community leaders, local volunteers, first responders, neighbors and family members who rose to the occasion, ensuring that no lives were lost. Our cultural values continue to sustain us in times of hardship and loss.

Kawerak is working with our village leaders to ensure their Small Community Emergency Response Plans are in place to prepare for disasters, and the opening of our Head Start buildings where needed as an emergency shelter before, during and after the storm.

nihch’ì˛’ łënöktl’uu | connect
nihch’ì˛’ łënöktl’uu | connect
Scott Jackson shaving the inside of sea otter hide
Scott Jackson shaves the inside of sea otter hide.
Photo by Lee House

The Rocky Pass Tannery

The Rocky Pass Tannery
Building the future through tradition
by Shaelene Grace Moler (Tlingit)
O

n a hot and sunny day in July, I approached the sun-bleached picnic tables with an expression of awe across my face. Spread atop the faded red planks were luscious, dark sea otter hides with penciled lines and the focused hands of eager teens equipped with razors about them. At the head of the farthest table stood Scott Jackson: co-owner of the Rocky Pass Tannery. 

Located in my hometown of Kéex’ Kwaan in Kake, Alaska which is a Southeast Alaskan village with a population of around 500 people. The Rocky Pass Tannery has become a fundamental contributor to Scott’s and my shared community. I have known Scott since I was a little girl. He is my relative and we are both members of the same, the Tsaagweidi Killerwhale People. He was one of my dad’s best hunting partners in my early years before both Scott and my father had families of their own to hunt with. I have been my dad’s closest hunting partner since then, though our families stayed close.

Scott Jackson shaves the inside of sea otter hide.
Photo by Lee House
nihch’ì˛’ łënöktl’uu | connect
nihch’ì˛’ łënöktl’uu | connect
water color speech bubbles of different shapes and colors

Strengthening Alaska Native Languages

The state of Indigenous languages in Alaska
By Richard Perry (Yup’ik/Athabascan)
A

laska Native people have faced social and cultural harm that includes epidemics, dislocations, language loss, boarding schools, and more. For decades, communities in every region of Alaska have held culture camps to preserve and restore their cultural heritage and language. The need for these opportunities has grown greater as Elders, who are community experts in language and customary practices, have passed away.

Language is a core foundation for Indigenous cultural identity and heritage, so the loss of Indigenous Elders has been extremely troubling, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. The damage to Indigenous communities and language revitalization efforts has been devastating. In Kodiak, for example, from 2020 to early 2022, half of the first-language speakers of Kodiak Alutiiq passed away, leaving no speakers of the northern Kodiak dialect and approximately seventeen speakers of the southern dialect.

ho˛zo˛o˛ nàjì’inthat | focus
ho˛zo˛o˛ nàjì’inthat | focus
ho˛zo˛o˛ nàjì’inthat | focus
pen and blueberry juice pigment illustration of Representative Mary Sattler Peltola (Yup’ik)

Representative Mary Sattler Peltola (Yup’ik) is the first Alaska Native and the first woman to represent Alaska in Congress. Portrait by Gratia Kautek; pen and blueberry juice pigment.

Mary Peltola Won

Why did mainstream media treat her like a loser?
By ilgavak (Peter Williams) (Yup’ik)
O

n August 31st, the dark brown ground meat was speckled with white bits of fat as I poured it into the bubbling tomato sauce. Steam rose from the stove and wafted across the apartment. When Kailee returned from work, the scent of a home-cooked meal greeted her at the door. We lazily caught up on the day. “They should tell us soon if Mary won,” I said as I stirred the sauce. “She did,” Kailee replied, with a glint in her eyes. “What, she won?!” I said, flooded with emotions and excitement. Someone who was deliberately excluded from having rights in the constitution was now elected to serve in Congress.

In “We the People: The three most misunderstood words in U.S. history,” Mark Charles (Navajo) explains:

Article I Section II is the Section of the Constitution that defines who is and who is not covered by this Constitution…If you read Article I Section II, the first thing you will note is it never mentions women. This is important because if you read the entire Constitution from preamble through the 27th amendment, you will find that there are fifty-one gender-specific male pronouns in regards to who can run for office, who can hold office, even who is protected by this document. Fifty-one he, him and his and not a single female pronoun. So, we first have to note, Article I Section II never mentions women. Second, it specifically excludes Natives and third, it counts Africans as three-fifths of a person. So, who is left?
ho˛zo˛o˛ nàjì’inthat | focus
ho˛zo˛o˛ nàjì’inthat | focus
Congresswoman for All Alaska  Akalleq Mary Sattler Peltola
photo courtesy of congresswoman Mary peltola / US HOUSE PHOTOGRAPHY STAFF

Congresswoman for All Alaska Akalleq Mary Sattler Peltola

Surrounded by her family adorned in ancestral regalia, Akalleq Mary Sattler Peltola is sworn into to office by Speaker Pelosi on September 13, 2022. She is the first Yup’ik woman and Alaska Native person to hold this office in the United States Congress. Present are (left to right): Larian Howard; Trevor Peltola; Van Kapsner; Conrad, Amanda, Kavaney, and Sage Kapsner; Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi; Gene Peltola Jr. and Representative Mary Sattler Peltola; Kaeli Rae Peltola; Job Nelson; Eugene Peltola III; and Nora Shine Nelson.
ho˛zo˛o˛ nàjì’inthat | focus
ho˛zo˛o˛ nàjì’inthat | focus
The current Interim Council (left to right: Roberta Murphy, Natalia Brink, Moses Owen, Stephen Maxie, Jr. (Speaker), Simeon Fairbanks, and Olga Isaac) during the Y-K RTG Summit

The current Interim Council (left to right: Roberta Murphy, Natalia Brink, Moses Owen, Stephen Maxie, Jr. (Speaker), Simeon Fairbanks, and Olga Isaac) during the Y-K RTG Summit.

photo courtesy of Y-K RTG

If We Do Nothing, We Get Nothing

A window of opportunity for Yukon-Kuskokwim Regional Tribal Government
By ilgavak (Peter Williams) (Yup’ik)

Author’s disclosure: Mike Williams Sr. is my direct Uncle, Willie Kasayulie and Phillip Peter Sr. are my Uncles, and I am a Calista shareholder.

T

he territory of 56 individual Yup’ik federally-recognized Tribal governments along the lower Yukon and Kuskokwim Rivers (Y-K Delta) is approximately the size of Oregon, the tenth largest state. It is also one of, if not the, poorest regions in the United States regarding infrastructure. So what would it look like if those individual Tribes formed a governing body to strengthen them all? On April 28, 2022, in Anchorage, Tribes from the region gathered at the Alaska Native Heritage Center to find out.

Opening remarks from Calista Board Chair Willie Kasayulie, among others from the interim governing body, quickly made it clear that the Yukon-Kuskokwim Regional Tribal Government (Y-K RTG) is not Calista Corporation, nor does Calista have any power over it. They provide initial financial and legal support until the government can self-sustain.

khän trëdäho˛h’įį | catalyze
khän trëdäho˛h’įį | catalyze
khän trëdäho˛h’įį | catalyze
Tatiana Ticknor (Tlingit/Dena’ina Athabascan/Deg Hit’an Athabascan) is the Unguwat Program Coordinator.
Tatiana Ticknor (Tlingit/Dena’ina Athabascan/Deg Hit’an Athabascan) is the Unguwat Program Coordinator.
Photo courtesy of Alaska Native Heritage Center

Empowerment Through Culture

A wellness program in Anchorage reconnects youth to their heritage
By Richard Perry (Yup’ik/Athabascan) and Dawn Biddison
I

n September 2020, the Alaska Native Heritage Center (ANHC) announced their new wellness program, Unguwat: Resilience & Connection, which serves Alaska Natives aged 18 to 24. The program is funded through a five-year grant from the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s Native Connections grant. Unguwat is a Sugpiaq word meaning “coming together for a purpose,” and the program addresses issues of suicide and substance misuse through cultural heritage-centered activities including Native dance, skin sewing, beading and paddle carving.

Located in Anchorage, ANHC perpetuates and teaches Alaska Native cultures and life-ways through programs led by Alaska Natives. It is the only statewide education center dedicated to celebrating all Indigenous cultures in Alaska: Iñupiaq, St. Lawrence Island Yupik, Yup’ik, Cup’ik, Sugpiaq (Alutiiq), Unangax̂, Athabascan, Eyak, Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian. Through permanent collections, life-sized village sites, Indigenous-led tours and immersive programs, ANHC provides engaging experiences that facilitate greater understanding of the rich and diverse Alaska Native cultures.

khän trëdäho˛h’įį | catalyze
khän trëdäho˛h’įį | catalyze

A Seat at the Table

Native participation in cultural tourism
By Richard Perry (Yup’ik/Athabascan)
O

ver the last fifty years, Alaska Native corporations (ANCs) have become a vital part of the state’s economy. They represent a variety of industries, including construction, environmental services, government contracting, natural resource development, technology services, and real estate. They also play a major role in tourism.

Like many economic sectors, the COVID-19 pandemic slammed the Alaska tourism industry. The last couple of seasons interrupted an emerging new direction involving cultural tourism.

Sarah Leonard, president and CEO of the Alaska Travel Industry Association (ATIA), is keen on developing more opportunities for tourism. ATIA promotes Alaska’s tourism industry as an economic opportunity, providing statewide marketing resources, education resources, and advocacy to members.

khän trëdäho˛h’įį | catalyze
khän trëdäho˛h’įį | catalyze
SBA convening at a tribal consultation
SBA convened a tribal consultation in Anchorage on Sept. 14 that allowed Tribes, ANCs, and NHOs to offer public testimony.

SBA Convenes Tribal Consultations for 8(a) BD Program Proposed Rule Changes Affecting ANCs and Tribes

by Alaska Native Village Corporation Association (ANVCA)
O

ver the past several weeks, the Small Business Administration (SBA) has taken steps to revise the regulations governing the 8(a) Business Development (BD) Program in a manner that would significantly impact entity-owned firms—meaning firms owned by Tribes, Alaska Native Corporations (ANCs), and Native Hawaiian Organizations (NHOs)—in the Program. The 8(a) BD program allows for entity-owned firms and other qualifying small businesses to compete with large companies to provide services to the federal government, but there is a significant amount of work required for participating firms to maintain compliance in this heavily regulated industry. Part of that compliance is an annual recertification process. For entities participating in the 8(a) BD program, which are allowed to have multiple firms participating in the 8(a) BD program at one time, this annual recertification includes submitting an 8(a) participant benefits report form that demonstrates how the benefits of 8(a) BD program participation flow down to the Native communities they support. This form assigns a monetary value to the annual contributions of the firm to seven different categories: Health, Social, and Cultural Support, Education and Development, Lands, Economic, and Community Development, Employment, Economic Benefits, and Other.

 
wëk’èjì’ihthit | imagine
 
birds eye view of the Alaska Native Health Campus
PHOTO COURTESY ALLISON WARDEN

ART/HEALING/WISDOM

Allison Akootchook Warden carries Iñupiaq culture forward in unconventional ways
By Richard Perry (Yup’ik/Athabascan) and Dawn Biddison
A

llison Akootchook Warden is an interdisciplinary Iñupiaq artist born in Fairbanks, Alaska, with families ties to the Native village of Kaktovik. Her work is focused on performance, rap, installation and poetry. Akootchook found her calling to become an artist at a young age: “As a young Iñupiaq, I saw the impacts of the rapid colonization of my traditional homelands and how they manifested as disease in myself and also my family. I heard stories of my great-great grandfather and also my great-great grandmother, how they would utilize traditional methods to heal their communities collectively, and at a young age, I began to look towards the arts as a vehicle for possible neo-traditional community healing methods. My grandmother was known for getting audiences to laugh, and at a young age she recognized my talent in the performing arts and encouraged me to carry our Iñupiaq culture forward in unconventional ways.”

Among her recent work is the multimedia installation and two-month performance piece Unipkaaġusiksuġuvik (the place of the future/ancient), held at the Anchorage Museum in 2016. Akootchook created a futuristic version of a qargi (ceremonial and community house in the Iñupiaq language) and led events with audience participation. She described it a space “where the hyper-future meets the super-ancient, a liminal space where myths are born and the Eagle Mother is honored with ceremony and dance.”

wëk’èjì’ihthit | imagine

Reads and Reviews

An Alaska Native reader reviews Native-written books

By Erin Tripp (Lingít)

My Heart is a Chainsaw

by Stephen Graham Jones

Reading My Heart is a Chainsaw, I can feel Stephen Graham Jones’ complete love of slasher films. In that way I could imagine he’d put a lot of himself in Jade and her encyclopedic slasher knowledge. It actually made me appreciate the genre more, and want to watch all the ones I missed growing up. During the first half of the book, I spent a lot of time wondering if it was all in her head or if there really was going to be a massacre like she said. It reminded me of Night of the Mannequins in that way. It was during the second half of the book, when we got more answers that I really got into the book and invested in what was happening.

Before the book begins, new wealthy people have moved to town and bought the land across the lake to build a community for themselves. It’s land that should not have been built on and the town keenly feels the effects of gentrification as these new people overtake their space. It evokes the ongoing effects of colonization, which links to stories about the town’s history towards Indigenous people that Jade shares. And there is a direct link from this history of colonization to the disconnect, displacement, and intergenerational trauma that has affected Jade. She self describes as a half Indian, and has no connection to a Native community beyond her abusive father, and a negative relationship with both her parents. Her way of coping is to view her life and town through the lens of a slasher film, but whether she realizes it or not she is constantly searching for connection.

Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act Project Jukebox

oral history recordings
films | photos | documents

ANCSA in meeting with delegates and Walter Hickel in 1970
ANCSA meeting with Alaska delegates and Sec. of Interior Walter Hickel in 1970. ASL-P33-05

Hear from people about their struggles and successes in their own words and voices:

The story of ANCSA has been written in many published works, however, hearing from the people in their own words about their struggles, their successes, and what actually happened offers a richer and more personal experience. By listening to these first-hand accounts, students of land claims can better understand what their leaders went through to build a better world.

The website includes:

Ten new oral history interviews with those involved in the passage of ANCSA whose stories have not yet been heard or who reflect on its longer-term legacies; a few historically important archival recordings of key leaders of the land claims movement; and links to ANCSA-related film clips in the Alaska Film Archives.
jukebox.uaf.edu/ancsa
University of Alaska Fairbanks Oral History Program, Elmer E. Rasmuson Library
Funding for the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act Project Jukebox was provided by the Alaska State Library through an Interlibrary Cooperation Grant based on American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds.
First Alaskans logo with an eagle touching the sun

Alaska Native Art Writing Fellow

First Alaskans Institute, the publisher of the First Alaskans Magazine, is seeking an Alaska Native Art Writing Fellow for our magazine. The fellowship will run through August 2023 and will allow the selected fellow to:

  • be part of and recognized as a First Alaskans Institute Fellow, joining an incredible community of alumni
  • take part in opportunities and networking offered through the Indigenous Leadership Continuum Initiative, First Alaskans Institute, and the magazine.
  • gain mentorship, critical feedback and support for their writing; connection to other writing opportunities and writers; and insight into the magazine publishing process
  • write a minimum of four articles for potential publication in the magazine.

We are seeking an Alaska Native author who focuses on or would like to focus on Alaska Native arts and cultures documenting Alaska Native artists, art practices and traditions. This could include the intersections of art practices and cultures, shifting cultural experiences and art styles or mediums, inter-generational movements, social justice responses in Alaska Native cultural arts, and arts community and opportunities. Stories that would have the potential for publication will seek to share about Alaska Native art practices and traditions, the strength, longevity, connectivity, creative legacy, and cutting edge or boundary pushing cultural arts practices of Alaska Native artists, and the overall necessity and impact of Alaska Native cultural arts practices.

The Fellowship comes with a stipend of $5,000.00. If you are interested in this opportunity please contact First Alaskans Institute at info@firstalaskans.org.

This fellowship is made possible through a partnership between First Alaskans Institute and The CIRI Foundation. It is supported with funding from TCF’s A Journey to What Matters: Increased Alaska Native Art & Culture (JWM) grant program.

Masthead

First Alaskans logo
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Iġġiagruk Willie Hensley (Iñupiaq)
Chairman

Sam Kito, Jr. (Lingít)
Vice Chairman

Nurr’araaluk Valerie Davidson (Yup’ik)
Secretary/Treasurer

Iqalluuq Sven Haakanson, Jr. (Sugpiaq)

Sylvia Lange (Aleut/Lingít)

Aveogan Oliver Leavitt (Iñupiaq)

Georgianna Lincoln (Athabascan)

Kaaháni Rosita Worl (Lingít)

Savik Richard Glenn (Iñupiaq)

IN MEMORIAM
IN MEMORIAM
Morris Thompson (Athabascan)

Dux da neik, K’oo del ta’ Byron Mallott
(Lingít)

Kaasháan Albert Kookesh (Lingít)

STAFF
‘Wáahlaal Gíidaak Barbara Blake
(Haida/Lingít/Ahtna)
Alaska Native Policy Center Director

Cutmen Candace Branson (Sugpiaq)
Indigenous Advancement Director

Uyuruciaq Elizabeth David (Yup’ik)
Indigenous Finance Director

Łot’oydaatlno Angela Gonzalez (Koyukon)
Indigenous Communications Manager

Qunmiġu Kacey Hopson (Iñupiaq)
Indigenous & Governmental Affairs Manager

Henaayee Olivia Irwin (Koyukon/Iñupiaq)
Indigenous Knowledge Advocate

Ch’aak’tí Shawaan Jackson-Gamble
(Tsaagweidi)
Indigenous Stewardship Fellow

Silugngataanit’sqaq Melissa Marton (Sugpiaq)
Indigenous Operations
& Innovations Director

La quen náay Elizabeth Medicine Crow
(Lingít/Haida)
President/CEO

Ayyu Qassataq (Iñupiaq/Yup’ik)
Vice President

Kaaswóot Gloria Wolfe (Lingít)
Indigenous Leadership Continuum Director

First Alaskans Institute logo
First Alaskans Institute is an Alaska Native non-profit organization. Our mission is: True to identity, heritage, and values, Alaska Natives are informed and engaged in leading the decisions that shape the future.
First Alaskans Fall 2022 cover
ON THE COVER
Season Haugen made this photo in Golovin, outside her dad Bobby Amarok’s house after Typhoon Merbok.
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First Alaskans Magazine is published by
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PUBLISHER
Elizabeth La quen naáy / Kat Saas
Medicine Crow (Tlingit/Haida)
EDITOR
Vera Starbard (Tlingit/Dena’ina Athabascan)
MANAGING EDITOR
Kaasteen–Katelynn Drake (Tlingit/Inupiaq)
CONTRIBUTORS
Shaelene Grace Moler (Tlingit)
Lee House
Richard Perry (Yup’ik/Athabascan)
Dawn Biddison
ilgavak (Peter Williams) (Yup’ik)
Gratia Kautek
Erin Tripp (Tlingit)
ART DIRECTOR
Dean Potter
First Alaskans title
Thanks for reading our Fall 2022 issue!