Indigenous Excellence
Alaska is a place of abundance. We are rich in resources; from the diverse Alaska Native peoples with 10,000 plus years of stewardship, knowledge, culture, and language passed down from our Elders to the gifts of berries and salmon from the land. At the University of Alaska, Indigenous leaders are building on this abundance to advance innovative research, build community-centered projects, and create a place of belonging for all Alaskans.
At the Troth Yeddha' Indigenous Studies Center, leaders, students, scientists, and community members will finally have a place to gather together and continue to make the University of Alaska a hub for Indigenous excellence. We envision creating the Center for the Co-Production of Knowledge to advance Indigenous knowledge and change the way research is conducted on a global scale through increased access, equity, inclusion and diversity.
Tia Tidwell is an Assistant Professor of DANSRD. She belongs to the Nunamiut people of Anaktuvuk Pass and currently resides in Fairbanks. Tia holds a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degree in English Literature from the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
James Isabell had to rethink his life after an all-terrain vehicle crash crushed his leg. He couldn’t walk for nine months.
Jenessa Oviok’s nephew was born with a hole in his heart. Watching him face that challenge, while she wasn’t able to help, helped her decide on a career. “That’s why I want to be a doctor,” she said.
Joe Bifelt saw firsthand how a cultural connection could transform school for young people in his home village of Huslia. A dog mushing program started by his late grandfather, legendary racer George Attla, changed his relationship with the high school teachers in his senior year.
Like other painters, Ruth Nashookpuk uses canvas as a foundation. But when she’s done, Nashookpuk can lace up her work and apply it to her other passion: basketball.
When it came to choose where to go to college, Bax Bond followed in his mother's footsteps.
Andrew Akelkok, a high school student in Dillingham, studies energy at UAF's Bristol Bay Campus in hopes of finding better sources for rural villages.
A sawed-off 6-foot bow section of a concrete canoe stands upright in a Duckering Building hall, part of a display about engineering at UAF. Look closely, and you’ll see a subtle image of a harpoon pressed into the boat’s floor.
It’s a detail that reveals much about Caitlynn Hanna, a civil engineering graduate who helped design and build the canoe.