Doyon donates to Troth Yeddha' Legacy project

November 25, 2015

Doyon Limited has donated $250,000 to the Troth Yeddha’ Legacy project at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

The Fairbanks-based Alaska Native corporation announced the gift last month at the Alaska Federation of Natives conference in Anchorage. The two-phase Troth Yeddha’ Legacy initiative will develop a park and build an indigenous studies center on the Fairbanks campus.

Doyon CEO and President Aaron Schutt, who also serves as a co-chair of the Troth Yeddha’ Legacy initiative committee, said the project represents an opportunity to create a lasting bridge between Alaska Native cultures and higher education.

“This center honors leaders who help keep indigenous practices alive,” Schutt said. “This initiative aims to do more than just build on the past. It will build on a legacy of leadership as students learn and study important subjects and bring them together in this center.”

The park lies between the University of Alaska Museum of the North and the Reichardt Building. The indigenous studies center will be built in the park. The location is historically significant, on a ridge where Athabascan people traditionally gathered to harvest nearby wild potato roots called "troth."

The late Chief Peter John of Minto said in 1994 that the university's education mission thus carries on a legacy established by those early gatherings at Troth Yeddha'.

The first phase of the project includes a campaign to raise $5 million to develop the Troth Yeddha’ Park with artwork, exhibits and indigenous plants. With the Doyon contribution, UAF has raised about $520,000 toward park construction.

The initiative also includes a $20 million campaign for an indigenous studies center at the site. The center would house classrooms, labs, a library, and gathering and performing spaces.

Along with Schutt, co-chairs of the fundraising initiative include Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. President Tom Barrett and Doyon board Treasurer Miranda Wright, a retired professor and director emeritus of the UAF Department of Alaska Native Studies and Rural Development.

ON THE WEB: https://uaf.edu/trothyeddha