Youth Programming
The Alaska Native Heritage Center believes that providing programming for and empowering youth is an important investment in the future generations who will steward and promote Alaska Native culture and tradition. Since opening its doors in 1999, ANHC has offered youth-centered programming from pre-K through post-secondary school. ANHC continues to explore new and exciting ways to engage and inspire youth year-round. Some of our current programs include:
School Visits
Our School Visits introduce Alaska Native cultures and traditions through presentations, activities, and film for students during school site visits. Our staff can customize these visits to include an introduction to Alaska Native cultures, village site tours, educational films, dancing and drumming, storytelling, string stories, Native games, and art projects.
Cultural Tourism Summer Internship
Our Cultural Tourism Summer Internship Program provides meaningful employment to Alaska Native youth while connecting them to their cultural heritage. Through the program, interns earn opportunities to learn from Master Artists, participate in subsistence activities, and gain valuable communication and public speaking skills as tour guide leads.
Culture Boxes
Our Culture Boxes are grounded in the mission and vision that all people deserve access to their culture, no matter where they are. We provide at-home Culture Boxes to youth across the country to provide materials and support for creativity and connection to Alaska’s Indigenous cultures and stories through culturally relevant, age-appropriate activities.
TIAMUNA
Through Tiamuna, which means “Future” in Iñupiaq, Alaska Native and American Indian K-12 students can enhance their cultural enrichment and educational opportunities with their families. Learn more at tiamuna.org
For more information, please contact Veronica Boerger at (907) 330-8066.
WAASK Fab Lab
WAASK means explore in Tsimshian. In partnership with the Alaska Native Cultural Charter School, our WAASK Fab Lab blends the use of traditional Alaska Native art, design, and traditions with modern technology to create personal protective devices.
For more information, please contact Paul Asicksik at (907) 330-8015.
Ilakucaraq
Ilakucaraq (pronounced Ee-la-cou-jaw-ga-ck) means “being together” in Yugtun, the language of the Yup’ik people of Southwest Alaska.
IP youth program participants will build confidence in their cultural identities while forming a supportive community with other Alaska Native youth from around the state. Understanding culture as a source of strength can help students navigate high school and find success in post-secondary opportunities and beyond.
Key program components include:
- Personal reflections
- Positive self- and cultural identity formation
- Cross-cultural experiences
- Peer-to-peer learning and discussions
- Elder and culture bearer teachings
- Art and storytelling
IP is a partnership between the Alaska Humanities Forum, Alaska Native Heritage Center, and Mt. Edgecumbe High School.
Our Ilakucaraq Project (I.P.) has a free educational, fun travel opportunity for Alaska Native youth statewide beginning in June 2022!!
Applications are now being accepted for the 1st Year 2022-2023 IP Cohort Immersion Program! Please click on the link below to learn more about how 8th grade to 11th grade Alaska Native students can apply to join the 1st Cohort group, that will travel to Yakutat, Bethel, and Kodiak this summer.
The main purpose of the IP Cohort program is to provide Alaska Native youth with opportunities to strengthen their connection to their cultural heritage, share their cultures and network with other Alaska Native Youth statewide.
Learn more about the program and apply today! https://www.akhf.org/ip_cohorts
For more information, please contact Alice Hisamoto at (907) 802-0250.
Tin Hoozoonh
The Tin Hoozoonh (The Trail is Good, Koyukon) Program offers a unique apprenticeship experience combining on-the-job training with professional and cultural development opportunities. The goal of Tin Hoozoonh is to increase educational work opportunities while instilling a strong sense of cultural and professional strength for participants through workshops and apprenticeship placements across various departments at the Alaska Native Heritage Center.
For more information, please contact Caroline Wiseman at (907) 201-9605.
Lach’qu Sukdu
The Alaska Native Heritage Center is developing Lach’qu Sukdu (True Story, Dena’ina), a robust research program on the history of government- and church-run boarding schools in Alaska and the continued impacts on our people and communities. We are working to provide accurate retellings of this history while centering Indigenous knowledge, communities, and values.
For more information, please contact Benjamin Jacuk at (907) 201-2640.
Healing & The Arts
Unguwat: Resilience and Connection
Unguwat means “coming together for a purpose” in Sugpiaq. Our Unguwat: Resilience & Connections Program provides wellness-centered experiences for young adults ages 18-24 within the village of Anchorage to combat suicide and substance misuse amongst Alaska Natives and American Indians.
For more information, please contact the Unguwat Program Manager at (907) 330-8051.
Utuqqanaamiñ Project
Through Utuqqanaatmiñ, an Inupiat word meaning “from our elders,” ANHC partners with the Alaska Art Alliance to support adults struggling with addiction and homelessness while connecting them to their full selves to build self-determined futures.
For more information, please contact Leon Kinneeveauk at (907) 570-4148.
Eglertuq
The Eglertuq (To Be in Motion, Yup’ik) Program uses a traditional healing approach to address social determinants of health within communities of Alaska Native/Native American women. Eglertuq has established a network of culture bearers and community organizations to provide culturally supportive services through renewed interest in cultural art and practices.
For more information, please contact Sean Williams at (907) 201-7284.
