Nov. 1, 2021

Dear UAF students, faculty and staff,

November is Native American Heritage Month. This month gives us the unique opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate the continuing contributions of Alaska Native and other Indigenous peoples to the UAF community, our state and the nation.  

I write this from the Troth Yeddha’ Campus, which is located on the ancestral lands of the Dena people of the lower Tanana River. Wherever we are in Alaska, all of us live and work upon lands that were stewarded for thousands of years by Alaska Native peoples. 

We have a responsibility to understand the history of our state and incorporate that knowledge into our thinking, teaching and learning at UAF. That is an area where the university can lead through research and scholarship, and through a culture of diversity, equity and inclusion.

I encourage you to participate in heritage month activities wherever you are, and to continue to celebrate the diversity of our communities and our university. Strengthening UAF’s position as a global leader in Alaska Native and Indigenous programs is one of UAF’s six strategic goals. We are committed to achieving that goal by building on the successes of the past and making strategic investments to increase Alaska Native success moving forward.  

Thanks for choosing UAF.

— Dan White, chancellor