For Immediate Release
October 6, 2021
Contact: Angela Łot’oydaatlno Gonzalez, [email protected], (907) 677-1700
2021 INDIGENOUS STEWARDSHIP FELLOWS SELECTED
Dgheyey Kaq’; Dena’inaq ełnen’aq’ qilan (Anchorage, Alaska; lands of the Dena’ina) – First Alaskans Institute (FAI) is pleased to introduce our 2021 Indigenous Stewardship Fellows, Anthony Khakhootee Lindoff(Tlingit/Haida) and Shawaan Ch’aak’tí Jackson-Gamble (Tsaagweidi). They will conduct groundwork that helps strengthen and embolden Alaska Native stewardship of Alaska waters, with an emphasis on the Pacific Ocean and all interconnected water and land systems.
Khakhootee is Tlingit, Kaagwaantaan from the Gooch Hit (Wolf House), and Haida. His parents are Jo Lindoff of Hoonah and Robert Carle of Hydaburg. Khakhootee was raised by his mother in Hoonah in our ways of life on the lands and waters. He received his bachelor’s degree in International Business from Fort Lewis College in 2008, and began his career in economic development with Sealaska, then with Goldbelt Corp. Since 2013, he has served as a board member for Huna Totem Corporation and served as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Huna Heritage Foundation for the past six years. Khakhootee is also the owner of Kaawu Shellfish Co., an oyster farm in Xutsgheeyi, located outside Hoonah. He is a passionate hunter and fisherman. He and his wife, Hannah, are learning Tlingit from their three children, who are enrolled in Tlingit language programs. Khakhootee is a 2012 alum of the FAI First Nations Futures Program and a participant of the FAI Community Doers Gathering held in 2014.Ch’aak’tí belongs to the Tsaagweidi Clan (Killer Whale) Xaay Hít (Yellow Cedar House) of Kéex’ Kwáan (Kake). He was raised in Kake and Sitka by his parents, Dawn Jackson and Tom Gamble, respectively. His maternal grandparents are Mike and Edna Jackson, and paternal grandparents are the late Anita Wright and Art Gamble. He is both Tlingit and Haida. Ch’aak’tí graduated with honors with a bachelors in Native Environmental Science degree from Northwest Indian College. He is passionate about protecting and managing lands, waters, animal relatives and resources for future generations. He enjoys hunting, fishing, and gathering with family and friends, exploring his homelands, sewing seal and sea otter, and working in the smokehouse. Ch’aak’tí was the 2019-2020 Central Council of Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska (Tlingit & Haida) Emerging Leader and 2019 AFN Southeast Regional Village Alternate. He currently serves as the Tlingit & Haida Youth Commission Advisory Committee Chair, he is an FAI Statewide Elders & Youth Conference alum where he also had two statewide resolutions pass, and is a 2021 FAI Public Policy Fellowship alum having served in the Office of Representative Dan Ortiz.
“Alaska Natives have an intertwined relationship with the world around us since creation. Over the recent few hundred years we have seen our ways of life threatened and eroded by ongoing colonialist policy and racial inequity at the local, state, and federal levels. We are thankful to have brought on board two dedicated Fellows who will focus on restoring the reciprocal balance of caring for our homelands and interconnectivity with the world around us,” says ‘Wáahlaal Gíidaak Barbara Blake (Haida/Tlingit/Ahtna), Alaska Native Policy Center Director.
In their roles, the Fellows will work to build and foster Indigenous ways of life and knowing through Indigenous stewardship. They will work across Indigenous nations, sectors, organizations, and other partners to build relationships and develop, strengthen, add to and enhance organizing entities or structures that harness Indigenous political and/or racial status opportunities to advance Native ways of life, and ensure Native peoples are leading through our stewardship, voice, and political power. They will advocate, educate and outreach about Indigenous stewardship and mechanisms to enhance these opportunities, as well as coordinate with and amplify the work of the many other Native people and organizations doing this work across our homelands.
We are partnering with other organizations and institutions to support this Fellowship and look forward to when we can publicly acknowledge their support. We also welcome other partners who are committed to Indigenous leadership over our homelands to join with us. You may contact [email protected] for further information.
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About First Alaskans Institute (FAI): At FAI we know we are responsible for carrying more than 10,000 years of ancestral knowledge into the future with rigor, humor, resilience, vigilance, and love. We are a statewide Alaska Native non-profit whose vision is “Progress for the next 10,000 years…” To learn more visit our website at www.firstalaskans.org, contact us at 907-677-1700 or email [email protected].
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