Announcing the 2024 Alaska Native Culture Grant Awardees
“Norton Sound Health Corporation (NSHC) will use the ACT Alaska Native Culture Grant to support Camp Mamittuq, a 5-day, 4-night camp for up to 15 high school students, held at NSHC’s Camp Nuuk, 20 miles from Nome. The camp, hosted by NSHC’s IÑUA program and Tribal Training and Development, focuses on teaching students to identify and use traditional medicinal plants, passing on vital cultural knowledge from Tribal Healers and local experts.”
“The Native Village of Eyak will use the Culture Grant to promote cultural connection and mental wellbeing for Alaska youth by empowering them to use their skills to prepare traditional recipes. Using this grant, the Village will host 10 weeks of cooking club. Each child will get a bag of flora harvested by the foraging club, directions on the recipe and any materials the recipe calls for. The cooking club then gets together and demonstrates how to prepare the dish.”
“Uŋalaqłiq Iñuutchak will use the Culture Grant to work closely with the existing Unalakleet Crafters Group to create decorative regalia for the Youth dancers. The Youth will learn traditional skills for beading and skin and fur sewing. In addition to the decorative items, Youth will also hand-craft small gifts to be given to Elders and adults during the dance festivals. Gift-giving reinforces the traditional Alaska Native values of inclusion and sharing with others. ”
For Alaska Native youth, promoting access to cultural activities helps strengthen two of the strongest protective factors associated with youth mental wellbeing: a connection to one’s culture and community and the presence of a caring adult outside of one’s immediate family.
Promoting protective factors can also be fun! From traditional foods cooking classes to Alaska Native dance groups, organizations across Alaska are finding exciting ways to promote mental wellbeing, strengthen youths’ cultural connectedness, and build healthy relationships.
This is especially important today. Alaska’s high school students report rising levels of sadness and hopelessness, and Alaska’s teen suicide rate is increasing. There is also a growing racial/ethnic disparity in the data; American Indian/Alaska Native youth experience mental health challenges at disproportionate rates.
To promote mental wellbeing and increase protective factors for youth, with the help of Saltchuk, Alaska Children’s Trust created a grant to support work that engages Alaska Native youth in cultural activities. In 2023 and 2024, this grant helped communities and organizations across the state provide activities that:
• Engage youth in subsistence activities;
• Teach traditional arts and crafts;
• Promote Native language learning;
• Expose youth to Native history, spiritual beliefs, and cultural values.
We are thrilled to announce the recipients of our 2024 Alaska Native Culture Grants. You can read more about each 2024 grantee project by clicking on it’s pin in our interactive grant map, available here.
2024 Alaska Native Culture Grant Recipients
William Tyson Elementary School Indigenous Education Program
Native Village of Tetlin
Friends of ANCCS INC
Village of Solomon
Mentasta Traditional Council
Native Village of Napaimute
Native Village of Koyuk
Tongass School of Arts and Sciences
Akiak Native Community
Atux̂ Forever Restoring Attuans' Freedom
Young Native Fiddlers, Inc.
VOA Alaska
Native Village of Kiana
Cook Inlet Tribal Council
Norton Sound Health Corporation
Native Village of Port Lions
Native Village of Unalakleet
Council of Athabascan Tribal Government Behavioral Health
Salamatof Tribal Association
Boys & Girls Clubs of Southcentral Alaska
King Island Native Community
Alaska Center for Resource Families
Goldbelt Heritage Foundation
Dot Lake Village
Native Village of Eyak