The Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska recently launched a new foundation. Its main goal right now is to fundraise for a new education campus in Juneau.
The tribe announced the formation of the Tlingit & Haida Foundation last month. Jamie Gomez is the executive director of the nonprofit.
“The mission is, we strengthen tribal communities through resources that advance education, wellness and self-determination,” she said. “It really covers almost all the programs and a lot of the work that we do at the tribe.”
Gomez said the nonprofit’s first major goal is to help fund the tribe’s proposed tribal education campus in the Mendenhall Valley. Tlingit and Haida President Chalyee Éesh Richard Peterson announced plans to develop the campus during the 89th Annual Tribal Assembly in 2024.
The 12-acre tribal education campus — slated to be located behind Fred Meyer — would serve students from early childhood into college. The tribe says its goal is to improve education outcomes for Alaska Native students by providing culturally relevant, place-based lessons.
In total, the campus is expected to cost $90 million. Gomez said the tribe plans to develop it in phases. She said the tribe likely won’t break ground on the project for at least a few years.
“The foundation is going to be a big part of trying to help find funding to support the education campus,” she said. “Those in Juneau and the community know supporting our youth and future generations is really important to us, but there’s a lot of funding to be raised there.”
Other tribes in Alaska also have nonprofit arms, like Cook Inlet Tribal Council, which serves tribal members in communities from Chickaloon to Seldovia.
Gomez said the Tlingit & Haida Foundation plans to connect with the Juneau community in the coming months to share more information about the nonprofit and the education campus.
