2020 Statewide Elders & Youth Conference

Asirqamek Apruciluta (Sugt’stun), Asisqamek Aprut’liluta (Alutiiq)

“We Are Making a Good Path”

*VIRTUAL GATHERING*

First Alaskans Institute’s 37th Annual Elders & Youth Conference (Elders & Youth) theme, “Asirqamek Apruciluta” (Sugt’stun, Chugach), “Asisqamek Aprut’liluta” (Alutiiq) assures us that we are moving in the right direction – physically in our real world today and symbolically in life. Its translation into English, “We Are Making a Good Path,” exemplifies our ancestral responsibilities to protect our peoples and communities, including through this time of COVID-19. From the beginning of this current pandemic, our Elders have informed the critical decision-making of Tribes, communities, families, and individuals by sharing the brilliance of our peoples’ ways of persevering and thriving throughout history. This theme exemplifies our commitment to protect our ways of life, celebrates our diversity and the many beautiful ways we are good relatives to one another. To select this year’s language at the conclusion of Elders & Youth last year, FAI drew from a basket the language of the Sugpiaq peoples: (Sugt’stun)/Alutiiq, which includes both Chugach and Koniag dialects.

Registration

We are thrilled to announce that registration for Elders & Youth will be free this year thanks to the generosity of our sponsors! We encourage schools and communities to partner with us and register as many participants as they’d like. For schools, please consider participation in the conference as school attendance and as part of virtual school offerings for the students of Alaska during this time of COVID-19. This free registration and warm invitation is our way of holding up our communities during this time, and ensure connection, learning, relationship-building, and understanding of our rich and diverse Alaska Native cultures is fostered and shared across the state. We encourage early bird registration by Thursday, September 24, which will help secure a spot in the conference, allow us to plan accordingly for the technical side of hosting this virtual statewide conference, as well as help ensure there is enough time and materials to send out for the relevant Living & Loving Our Cultures workshops (space will be limited in some sessions by request of the instructors). Registration will continue through the start of the Elders & Youth Conference though some sessions and items may not be available.

LEARN MORE AND REGISTER HERE