Mission, Goals & Values

Land Acknowledgement

The Nanook Diversity & Action Center and its staff acknowledges the Alaska Native nations upon whose unceded traditional lands we are located. Our offices and facilities are located on Troth Yeddha, a sacred site of the Lower Tanana Dene people. We acknowledge and honor the ancestral & present land stewardship and place-based knowledge of the peoples of these territories.

 

The Nanook Diversity and Action Center (NDAC) provides a welcoming space, educational programming, and opportunities to transform social concerns into action.

Mission

• Promote inclusion, social justice, and cultural pluralism by providing educational programs that honor and support diverse and intersectional identities.
• Promote a campus culture of wellness through the use of Green Dot Bystander Intervention, QPR Suicide Prevention, and other prevention strategies.

Goals

• Increase student awareness and appreciation for other identities and cultures
• Encourage healthy relationships, lifestyles, and social norms
• Empower students to express themselves and advocate for positive change

Values

We believe all people have the right to live free of violence, discrimination, and the fear of violence. We recognize that intimate partner violence, harassment, discrimination, and hate crimes are not isolated incidents, but rather individual expressions of a cultural attitude that tolerates violence and hate. We understand that these behaviors demonstrate issues of power, control, and inequality; and we believe that the folks targeted by these behaviors are not to be blamed for the violence and discrimination perpetrated against them.

NDAC’s philosophy to address these pervasive social problems is informed by multidisciplinary research and data. We seek to increase awareness of these issues and establish positive community norms. We accomplish our goals through student-led efforts such as educational programming and staff-led training. In these efforts we address that barriers exist for all people. We challenge our community members to consider how they might overcome or work around these barriers to support a community free of discrimination, harassment, and violence.