Author: Michael Levshakof

John F.C. Johnson named 2022 AFN Citizen of the Year

The following is a transcript of the comments John shared in accepting AFN’s Citizen of the Year Award:

I am very honored to receive this award from the AFN board of Directors.

My father Fred Johnson was a commercial fisherman from Prince William Sound (PWS) and a World War II army combat veteran who left Cordova at the age of 18 to serve in the South Pacific. His two older brothers also wanted to join the army and see the world, but they were mad when they were sent to the nearby military base in Whittier.

My grandmother Mary Chimovitski was born in the Suqpiaq village of Nuchek on Hinchinbrook Island in PWS. This is the location of a Russian trading post called Fort Saint Constantine and Helen which was built in the late 1790s. We have also operated the Nuchek Spirit Camp for cultural and subsistence activities for the last 28 years. And NO, we are not giving Alaska back to Vladimir Putin!

My wife Elenore Carltikoff is from the Athabaskan village of Nondalton. Her father Nickoli told us when we got married to not worry about having hard times, because he raised 16 kids with a dog team of 20 dogs and a good rifle. My wife says she wants more than 20 dogs!

My wife’s parents did not know the meaning of the great depression, their subsistence lifestyle did not change much, money was always short. They predicted that someday there would be a great hardship for those living in the big cities who could not live off the land.

Success in what we do, does not happen by magic, but with the help of many others that share the same vision.

My wife’s five brothers also helped me by going on remote trips in the Chugach Region to locate and document our historic and prehistoric subsistence sites that were selected under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) some 50 years ago. They also helped in the numerous repatriation of our ancestors back to their place of origin from museums from around the world.

I am also happy that my good friend Gordon Pullar, who has passed away this year, is also being honored today for the Citizen of the year award. He was a great leader in repatriations prior to the passage of the Native American Graves Repatriation Act.

Gordon and I both strongly believed that all human remains needed to go back home and be treated with dignity, honor, and respect. Gordon was a humble and quiet man who saw the problems and found the solution to get the job done. We both saw the need to:

    • Protect and build our culture with the great traditional knowledge and land that our ancestors have left us. Our history and subsistence of way of life is more important than any dollar in a bank.
    • We also saw the need for Alaska Natives as a whole to come up with a unified regional plan to bring the rest of our ancestor’s home from museums that are labeled as “Cultural Unidentifiable from Alaska”. These ancient ancestors need our help to make it home. If we do nothing, then don’t expect others to do it for you.
    • Not everyone gets the opportunity to make positive changes that have a lasting effect. If you see an opportunity, then you must grab that golden ring and build your foundation with truth and justice that no one can tear down. Your future depends on many things, but mostly on you.

The preservation of our heritage with the ownership of historic lands are important to our growth and survival. These historic sites are not just something from the past but are the keys to our future. Most of the elders that help identify these heritage sites have passed on, but their efforts will have a lasting and significant impact on the generations to follow. It has been a long journey, but it is worth every step that we make.

 

Chugach shareholders, descendants and family members proudly joined John on stage for is acceptance speech and for a group photo.

Chugach Chairman Sheri Buretta submitted the following letter to the AFN award committee to ask that John be considered for this prestigious award:

I would like to nominate John F.C. Johnson, our Vice President of Cultural Resources, for the 2022 Citizen Award, recognizing his contributions, strong commitment, dedication and service to the Alaska Native Community and Rural Alaska. John’s work on behalf of the Chugach people for the last five decades, and the work he has done for Indigenous Peoples throughout Alaska, the United States, and Canada has undoubtedly improved the lives of our people for generations to come.

John Johnson is a Sugpiag Native who can trace his lineage back to the last chief of Nuchek. This village was once the cultural center of Prince William Sound (PWS) and the Chugach people, and thanks to John’s guiding hand, this site has once again risen to its former prominence with the establishment of Nuuciq Spirit Camp (NSC).

The camp took its first fledgling steps as a small gathering of Sugpiaq Natives, led by John, who initially slept in tents on the sacred ground that was once home to their ancestors. Now more than two-and-a-half decades later, the camp has grown to accommodate a large dining hall and more than 50 permanent living quarters, with John orchestrating the construction of nearly every dwelling and, more often than not, cutting the wood and swinging the hammer that made each structure possible.

Every summer, Chugach Natives and Eyak, Athabaskan and Tlingit Indians from all over our region come together for NSC to learn all aspects of the Native cultural that has been handed down to our people for more than 5,000 years. Attendees learn Sugt’stun, the language spoken by the Sugpiaq. Eyak language classes also take place. They take part in and learn subsistence hunting and gathering skills. Many are involved in the construction of traditional Native kayaks, an art that has been revived over the decades that NSC has been established. All take part in numerous craft projects and immerse themselves in the Chugach Indian culture that grows stronger and stronger with each camp gathering.

On June 23, 2022, Chugach will celebrate its 50th anniversary. Beyond NSC, John has worked for the corporation, in one capacity or another, or served on the Chugach Board of Directors for more than 47 of those 50 years. He began working for Chugach as a logger on projects that cleared the way for the Trans Alaska Pipeline. He then went on to work for many of our subsidiaries that laid the foundation for Chugach’s 50 years of success. During six years on the Chugach Board, he worked with others to build upon that success. As our Vice President of Cultural Resources, he has restored the cultural center of our people, and his continued efforts have secured culturally significant lands through federal conveyances that were selected during the passing of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act.

Throughout his storied career, John has been particularly adept at identifying and working through the process of having cultural 14(h)(1) sites conveyed to Chugach. In fact, he has earned the nickname “Indiana Johnson” as a result of his adventures around our region to identify and document cultural sites. To date, Chugach has had 92 14(h)(1) sites conveyed and twelve more sites are pending and will be conveyed very soon. John’s research and tireless efforts to locate and work with the federal agencies to have these sites conveyed is an example of his dedication to lands ownership and stewardship of these heritage sites to protect and preserve in perpetuity for generations to come.

John’s passion for protection and preservation of culture extends to the invaluable work to research and ensure artifacts are repatriated to their traditional homelands on behalf of tribes across Alaska and the nation. He served on the Smithsonian’s Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) Review Committee in Washington, D.C. for six years where he assisted with the evaluation and implementation of NAGPRA between tribes nationwide and museums. As pursuant to NAGPRA, John traveled to museums in Russia, England, Germany, Denmark, and Spain to evaluate collections, and during these visits and after consultation with museum representatives, he secured the return of funerary objects and Native remains appropriated during the colonial era of our nation’s history.

Similar to his efforts to build and establish NSC, John served as one of the original founding Board of Directors for the Alaska Native Heritage Center and helped to create what has become the largest cultural gathering site in Alaska. He has served as a committee member for the Alaska Historical Records Commission. He served as the President of Keepers of the Treasure, which was a statewide organization that assists in repatriation efforts. He served as the Co-Chairman for Vitus Bering’s 250th anniversary discovery of Alaska, and was the first to raise the American flag in Kamchatka during the Russian ceremony of this historic occasion. He has also served on the board for the PWS Tourism Committee and the PWS Regional Citizen Advisory Committee which oversees and helps to ensure the safe transportation of oil through the Sugpiaq’s ancestral waters of PWS.

Closer to home, John has also served as the Chairman of the Chugach Heritage Foundation, which has made NSC and cultural events like our annual Russian New Year celebration possible, and has funded more than 1,200 scholarships for Chugach shareholders and descendants and allowed them to pursue their higher education and vocational goals.

It is not an exaggeration to say that without Mr. Johnson, Chugach would not be where we are today. The Chugach people and the entire Alaska Native community have benefitted, beyond measure, from his tireless efforts, his wisdom and knowledge, and his dedication. John has brought a wealth of experience, passion, and commitment to every role he has served in to preserve and advance the Indigenous cultures in Alaska and beyond.

It would be impossible to speak to a career that has spanned nearly five decades in a single letter, so I would welcome any opportunity to speak about John F.C. Johnson – beloved Elder, Native statesman and valued member of our Chugach family – and talk to his long list of qualifications and how his contributions have improved the lives of Alaska Native people.

Sincerely,

Sheri Buretta
Chairman of the Board ​

 

A video of John receiving the AFN Citizen Award can be found on Chugach’s Facebook page:

Congratulations to Chugach’s 2022 Elected Board Directors

Congratulations to Julie Kitka and David Totemoff on being reelected to the board, and congratulations to newly elected Board of Director Anna Hoover.

The Chugach board, the executive management team and all of the Chugach shareholders thank Josh Nadell for his time on the board and for his contributions to Chugach’s success. The election results and annual meeting prize winners can be found on the Shareholder Portal.

12 Months Of Giving: Step Aside AKRFW! There’s A New Race In Town!

Diana’s commitment to the AMR prompted her to submit this charity in Chugach’s 12 Months of Giving, and based on the passion of her submission, the AMR has been selected as the July winner for the 12 Months campaign.

“I’m so excited that the Alaska Men’s Run was selected!,” Diana expressed. “I’ve been organizing an AMR team for the past five years after a very close friend was diagnosed with prostate cancer. Our team name was originally Team Hal, and then it was Team Hal & Mike, and now it is Team Mike, Hal & Pals as, unfortunately, we have had to add more and more names as more men have been diagnosed with prostate or testicular cancer.”

The AMR is one of the oldest charitable activities within Alaska, raising funds and awareness by using the race entry fees to fund educational activities, health awareness, promote early detection of prostate and testicular cancer, and provide financial aid to men with these cancers. All proceeds stay in Alaska.

Thank you, Diana, for submitting AMR in the 12 Months of Giving campaign, and thank you to AMR for all that they do to help fight and create awareness about prostate and testicular cancer. AMR will receive July’s $1,000 donations from Chugach. To learn more about AMR and the great work they do, click here.

 

And The March Winner Of Chugach’s 12 Months Of Giving Is…

HOA’s mission is to help individuals and families prepare for and live well with serious, life-limiting illness, end of life and grief. Their Resource Center provides medical equipment, advanced directive documents, books and dementia-care items. In addition, their programs provide nursing, social work, volunteer support, and bereavement counselling to support those struggling with a death loss. All services are completely free of charge.

“I’m excited this awesome charity was chosen by Chugach for a donation in the 12 Months of Giving campaign,” Little said. “I became familiar with HOA after a friend’s relative began to show signs of rapid-onset dementia. HOA provided her much needed support and empowered her to navigate care for her relative during a stressful situation. What motivated me to nominate them was their Care for the Carer Campaign, and their dedication to provide education and resources to those experiencing difficult medical and family situations, and who may not otherwise know where to turn for help.”

Sunday Fawaz, HOA Social Work Clinician, expressed her gratitude for the donation. “HOA so appreciates being chosen as a recipient of Chugach’s 12 Months of Giving program. Your investment will cover a portion of the costs for this year’s Care for the Carer Campaign, which provides free caregiver boxes filled with support and resources for anyone who is a caregiver for someone with a life-limiting illness,” Fawaz said. “The goal is to bring support and resources into the homes of our fellow Alaskans who have taken on the tremendous task of being a caregiver. Many of the difficulties and stress of caregiving have been amplified during the pandemic and recognizing unpaid caregivers is essential.”

Thank you to Niki Little for submitting Hospice of Anchorage in the 12 Months of Giving campaign, and thank you to Fawaz and HOA for all that they do to ease the passing of loved ones in our community. Hospice will receive the third of 12 $1,000 donations from Chugach, and nine other organizations will also receive donations based on nominations made by Chugach employees in the months ahead.

To learn more about HOA and the great work they do, click here and individual donations to this charity can be made here. Chugach Employees can nominate an organization that is near and dear to their heart by simply going to 12months.chugach.com and taking a few minutes to describe how this organization is making a difference and building community.

Second Charity Selected In Chugach Giving Campaign

Pletnikoff went on the explain the difference this partnership makes in the lives of children who are battling severe health issues. “One child fighting cancer was given a weekend stay at Denali Lodge to watch the Northern Lights. Another child wanted to ride with a musher in the Iditarod, and donations allowed this child to ride in a sled during the traditional start of the race in downtown Anchorage. Donations have even allowed children and their families to go to Disney Land.”

Pletnikoff had one word to describe her motivation for submitting the CMN for consideration in the 12 Months of Giving. “Miracle says it all. The safe travel, housing, and doctor appointments they provide for children and parents is the true definition of a miracle.”

Learning about Dee’s submission during the corporation’s recent board meetings, Chugach Director David Totemoff was inspired to step forward and make a personal donation of $500. Totemoff’s generosity increased the February donations for the 12 Months of Giving campaign to $1,500.

Across North America, more than 10 million children annually receive support in hospitals in the CMN. Since 1983, more than $7 billion has been raised for CMN, most of it $1 at a time during fundraising campaigns or, thanks to Dee and Chugach’s 12 Months of Giving and David Totemoff, $1,000 and $500 at a time. To learn more about this nonprofit’s mission to save and improve the lives of children and how to support this organization, click here.

As we enter March, we are calling on all of our employees, wherever you may work, to submit a charity in the 12 Months of Chugach Giving campaign and tell us how this organization is making a difference and building community. Making a submission only takes a few minutes, and your submission could secure a $1,000 donation for your favorite cause.

Ashley Christensen Takes On New Role At Chugach

“Ashley’s experience working for CGS in various progressive roles, including project management and internal customer service, over the past five years, combined with her earlier experience working for Chugach as an intern and marketing coordinator provides a great backdrop that has prepared her to take on this new role,” Hickel said. “She will be working collaboratively with the Chugach team and our regional partners to identify and implement socio-economic programs and initiatives for our communities and shareholders.”

The launch of this new mentorship role under Hickel is very timely. “With the recent passing of the Biden Infrastructure Law, now is a critical time to access resources to help improve infrastructure and bring benefits to our region, where much of the infrastructure is aging and in need of repair or replacement,” Hickel stated. “This will be one of the major areas that Ashley and I focus on.”

Christensen is excited for the opportunity to learn from Josie and the corporate team. “Chugach’s land and regional initiatives have always interested me,” Christensen said. “Whenever I’ve heard about these projects, I’ve felt this desire to be more directly engaged. Working in this new role now affords me that hands-on engagement, and I am eager to roll up my sleeves and support the team.”

“One of the great things about working for Chugach as a shareholder is, no matter what division you work with, there is personal satisfaction in making a difference for the generations to come,” Christensen continued. “Working for CGS has been personally fulfilling in a number of ways, but it also came down to being a part of our profit centers successes, so my nieces and nephews, the generations to come, are afforded the same support and opportunities I received. Being able to switch gears and support our Community Value Centers provides me with new opportunities to directly impact Chugach’s support to our region.”

Christensen reflects fondly back on her time with CGS. “My tenure with CGS has been one for the books, and I am blessed to have learned from the best government contracting team, so this transition is truly bittersweet. While I’m staying within the Chugach family, I will miss the day-to-day interactions with my CGS teammates, mentors, and friends. I am forever grateful for the opportunities I’ve had and look forward to what the future has in store. Adding Josie to my list of incredible mentors is the icing on the cake!”

Hickel was equally enthusiastic about working with the new Community Development Program Director. “I am excited to welcome Ashley into this new role, and am very much looking forward to working with her to maximize opportunities for the Chugach region and people,” Hickel said.

Chugach CARES Act Funding Improves Region’s Food Security

After a supreme court decision reaffirmed that Alaska Native Corporations are federally recognized tribal entities, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) funding was finally released and made available to the Alaska Native community in August 2021. Now, a mere six months later, the seeds of that funding are starting to bear fruit, or rather it’s starting to bear spinach and basil and the potential for other nutritious greens.​​​​​​​

“With the CARES Act funding that the CRRC received from Chugach, we focused heavily on food security in the Chugach region,” said Willow Hetrick, CRRC Executive Director. “One of our goals with the funds was to make each of the communities we support less reliant on outside support and turn instead to the store outside their door.”

In this case, ‘the store outside their door’ translates into hydroponics cabinets that can be shipped to villages and produce 20–30 pieces of fresh produce every week, all while operating with a minimal amount of labor. “With these cabinets, tribes will be able to grow anything they wish – lettuce, arugula, dill, peppers, green beans, kale, oregano, thyme and parsley to name a few – but it is best to start out with the easier produce like lettuce and arugula,” Hetrick said. “We’re growing spinach and basil in Anchorage to test the equipment and establish best practices.”

“In total, we purchased seven cabinets and growing equipment for each community. One of these units will reside at the Alutiiq Pride Marine Institute in Seward, so we can train our staff and maintenance contractors to install, operate and maintain the units on behalf of the communities that will call them home. The goal is to end the reliance on outside help.” Once in place, the cabinets will provide a means of circumventing supply chain disruptions and give each community a self-sustaining bounty of greens grown directly on site. In addition, a turnkey, 40-foot connex with six hydroponics systems inside was purchased for the Qutekcak Native Tribe to provide for elder food boxes while at the same time providing for potential economic opportunity for the Tribe or a Tribal member.

Eventually, cabinets will be positioned in Nanwalek, Port Graham, Chenega, Tatitlek, Valdez, Cordova and Seward. This project was made possible by a COVID-19 relief grant that Chugach made available to CRRC. “A team of Chugach employees worked tirelessly to allocate the funds to the regional non-profits and quickly mobilized a grant application portal to facilitate this process,” Hetrick said. “When applying for the funds, we consulted Chugach’s COVID-19 Community Needs Assessment Data Analysis conducted in the Chugach region.”

This analysis allowed for a comprehensive assessment of the major community services and programs that have been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. “Looking at the data, we were able to determine there were extensive interruptions in services; reductions in social gatherings and monthly potlucks which typically provided important sources of nutrition; cancellations of all community learning and cultural classes, luncheons, elder-ride sharing and shopping; access to community shower and laundry facilities; school closures; and a reduction of council services down to essential services.”

From this data, Hetrick and the team at CRRC identified one of the largest threats to the well-being and health of the isolated communities in the Chugach region, an issue that was already prevalent in the remote communities of the Chugach region before COVID-19 but that was only made worse by the pandemic. “Food shortage is always a concern in remote communities, because there are already limited food sourcing capabilities.”

Hetrick and the CRRC team were presented with a number of challenges in bringing their project together to address food shortage. Ultimately, it came down to willing suppliers who went above and beyond to make the purchase of the cabinets and connex and the growing equipment and supplies possible. “There were instances when I thought it wouldn’t happen given the incredibly difficult timeline imposed by Treasury to obligate the funds coupled with global supply chain issues and the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays,” Hetrick said. “But our suppliers worked with us to make sure we could complete our mission to enable the tribes to be more food secure and have uninterrupted access to healthy foods even during the longest and darkest winter months.”

Hetrick and the entire CRRC team were thankful to Chugach for making the CARES Act funding available. “It’s not often that a non-profit like CRRC is given access to millions of dollars to spend in a matter of weeks,” Hetrick remarked. “In a normal setting, we are competing for years for grant money. With the support from Chugach, we were able to get more than five years of work completed in six months. With Chugach’s support, we have grown as an organization, and most importantly, the tribes are going to benefit immensely when the hydroponics systems arrive in their communities.”

Josie Hickel, Chugach’s Executive Vice President of ANCSA and Community Affairs, was excited to see the CARES Act funding start to make a positive difference in the Chugach region. “When you live in an urban area, fruits and vegetables can be purchased right down the street at your local grocery store. But a lot of our communities don’t have this luxury, so it is incredibility rewarding to see the CARES Act funding that Chugach made available to CRRC spent in such an innovative manner and in a way that has the potential to provide permanent and steady access to healthy food for our shareholders in our remote villages and communities.”

The Chugach Regional Resource Commission (CRRC) is an inter-tribal fish and wildlife commission certified by the Internal Revenue Service as a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization. Member Tribes of the Chugach Region include the Tatitlek Village IRA Council, Native Village of Eyak (Cordova), Port Graham Village Council, Nanwalek IRA Council, Chenega Bay IRA Council, Qutekcak Native Tribe (Seward), and the Valdez Native Tribe. There are approximately 1,000 tribal members living in these communities. These people, known as Alutiiq, Sugpiaq, and Eyak, are southcentral coastal people of Alaska. The seven Tribes of CRRC are located in Prince William Sound and Lower Cook Inlet, a remote region limited in travel to small aircraft, charter aircraft and boat travel, with seasonal Alaska marine highway service.

CRRC sees itself as a leader in Tribal Natural Resource issues in Alaska and especially in Southcentral Alaska. Our organization was integrally involved in the research, monitoring, and restoration projects resulting from the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill, working with all Tribes in the oil spilled area. We have since expanded our programs to include playing a leading role in the management of the subsistence harvest of migratory birds, shellfish aquaculture and ocean acidification research, tribal natural resource education, climate change, and food sovereignty.

Chugach Challenge Raises $10,000 For Food Bank

Every year, nearly 100,000 of our fellow Alaskans – including children, seniors, veterans and the working poor – can’t always be sure of their next meal. Whether it’s an unexpected loss of a job, unexpected medical bills or other unforeseen setbacks, many of our neighbors find they don’t have enough for groceries and other basic necessities.

This winter, thanks to your generosity, the Food Bank of Alaska will have a greater impact and be able to lower the number of people who have to contend with food insecurity. The Food Bank of Alaska accepts food donations year round in Anchorage at 2192 Viking Drive, and monetary donation can always be made at: https://foodbankofalaska.org/donate-2/.

Thanks again for your contributions and for helping to make a difference in the lives of the people who go the Food Bank for assistance.

Chugach Champion Raises Nearly $25,000 For Covenant House

“November 18th was a moving night at Covenant House’s Great Alaska Sleep Out, and I spent the next day full of emotions after the long night in the cold,” Osborne recalled. “I’m appreciative of the Covenant House staff for all they do to protect our youth, and to support the sleepers on the -16 degree night. I was honored to help support their efforts, and I was even more humbled to speak with the brave Covenant House youth about their journeys.”

Osborne went on to touch on the important aspect of awareness that Sleep Out champions. “I’m concerned to hear about the human trafficking of Alaska’s youth and, that of 10 cities studied across the country, Anchorage ranked among the worst. I’m saddened that this is a hidden part of our city and that our young people are preyed upon, but I’m hopeful that, with the support of so many in our community, we can shine a light on this dark part of our community and in doing so provide more opportunities to the youth who seek shelter at Covenant House.”

Osborne set her Sleep Out fundraising goal at $10,000. Through her family and friends and through her co-worker’s contributions, Osborne blew past her goal and raised nearly $25,000 for Covenant House Alaska. “I’m very grateful to all of you and to Chugach Alaska Corporation for supporting my night out in the cold and for the contributions you made that will make it easier for Covenant House to provide a safe place and essential services to youth in our community.”

The mission of Covenant House Alaska is to protect and safeguard all children with absolute respect and unconditional love. Since 1988, Covenant House Alaska has met this mission and served more than 30,000 at-risk youth experiencing homelessness. Melanie Osborne’s Sleep Out donation page remains active and can be viewed by clicking here.

Chugach Shareholder Vaccination Incentive

Entries are open until December 1, 2021. Scan the QR code provided below to enter or click here to go to entry form. You do not need to submit proof of vaccination to enter, but please note that verifying proof of vaccination will be required for the prize to be claimed. The drawing will take place the month of December 2021. To find a COVID-19 vaccine distribution location near you, text your ZIP code to 438829 or call 1-800-232-0233.