2023 Anchorage

Bristol Bay Native Corporation, Anchorage, AK
Tuesday, May 16, 2023

Team Leaders: Kelli Hix & Moriah Ulinskas
Team Members: Afsheen Nomai, CK Ming, and Marie Lascu

Workshop Partners:

Bristol Bay Native Corporation (host) is a responsible Alaska Native investment corporation dedicated to the mission of “Enriching Our Native Way of Life.” Established through the Alaska Native Claims Act of 1971, BBNC works to enhance the lives of our shareholders, protect the land in Bristol Bay, and celebrate the culture and legacy of our people. We embrace the innovative and courageous spirit of our region, with the belief that through partnership and hard work, great things are possible. As an Alaska Native Corporation, BBNC is deeply committed to Bristol Bay and its people. This focus is the lens through which we work, invest, and grow. We turn profits into shareholder benefits in the form of dividends, employment and educational opportunities, cultural programs and more, strengthening local economies and communities.
Aleutian Pribilof Islands Association was chartered in 1976 as a nonprofit corporation in the State of Alaska. APIA’s headquarters and cultural center is Unangam Ulaa (House of the Unangax̂), located in Anchorage. Thirteen tribal communities are within the Aleutian Pribilof Islands Region, with over half of the APIA service population in Anchorage. The Unangax̂ people have a cultural history in the Aleutian Pribilof region extending at least 8,000 years into the past. Oral histories indicate that Unangax̂ people have lived in the region since the beginning of time. The Cultural Heritage Department is dedicated to learning, sharing, and revitalizing Unangax̂ heritage. Knowledge of Unangax̂ language and culture is critical to the identity and survival of the Unangax̂ as a unique group of indigenous people.
Chickaloon Native Village, Nay’dini’aa Na’ Kayax’(“the river with the two logs across it”) is a vibrant, innovative, and culturally rich Ahtna Dene federally recognized Tribal government located in Southcentral Alaska, along the Glenn Highway, Scenic Byway, governed by the elected Chickaloon Village Traditional Council (CVTC). Surrounded by snow-capped mountains, glaciers, and lush boreal forests, the Tribe has occupied the area for the past 10,000 years.However, threats to our culture, language, and traditional way of life have been unwavering for the past hundred years due large scale resource extraction of coal and gold, and related infrastructure developments of the Alaska Railroad and the Glenn Highway (the international highway to Canada). As a response to the environmental and social injustice suffered by Chickaloon Village Tribal citizens over the past 100 years, coupled with the passing of the Alaska Native Claims and Settlement Act (ANCSA) of 1971, Tribal Elders re-established the Chickaloon Village Traditional Council (CVTC) in 1973, to reassert the tribe’s identity, cultural traditions, economic self-sufficiency and to reunify its citizens. The CVTC Permanent Collections and Archives serve as a record of the Tribe’s formidable past and endeavors to restore the Tribe’s traditional language and cultural traditions by collecting, preserving, and interpreting materials which elucidate the cultural heritage of Chickaloon Native Village so that we may protect, preserve, and strengthen our future generations.

Number of workshop participants: 31 registered, plus a few who joined informally throughout the day

Kinds of organizations participants are from: College (Tribal), University, School District, Native Association, Land Department, Museum, Cultural Heritage Center, Tribal Council, Library, Cultural Foundation, Tribal Nation.

Number of items inventoried: 256 (218 Chickaloon, 38 APIA)

Formats of items inventoried: Compact Audio cassette, ¼ inch audio tape reel, film strip, 8mm film, VHS, VHS-C, Data tape, DAT, DVCAM,

Content of items inventoried: event documentation (Pow Wows, dances, concerts, parties), oral histories, interviews, language lessons.

Number of items digitized: N/A

Other Activities during workshop: film inspection demonstration, audio digitization demonstration, video digitization demonstration.