Dena'ina Knowledge Center

It is impossible to easily quantify how many Dena'ina People have lost connection with their culture. I was born and raised in my Traditional lands with culture being at the forefront of my family values. As an adult, I was saddened by how many others were not taught our culture. The demands of a Western work schedule and a society based on capitalism did not allow many the ability to schedule work and school around harvest times. Many "modern" families did not have close connections with elders. These reasons for the fracture in our culture stem from historical trauma and colonization. Our People have some of the highest rates of suicide, substance abuse, domestic violence, and significant physical health disparities in the Nation. This stems from boarding school, prohibition on our Traditional practices, introduction to alcohol and violence, racist hunting laws, and the introduction of processed foods. When we lost connection with our Traditional ways, we lost our health. 

There is no centralized place to go and learn Traditional harvesting and processing. We have no place where our knowledge is accessible. There are some websites that will have a small bit of the language. There are a few youtube tutorials on some plants. There are some elders who hold various nuggets of information. The knowlege is scattered across the internet, community and State of Alaska. 

The Dena'ina Knowledge Center will be where people come to relearn our ways. We will have indepth tutorials on how to process and preserve medicine, plants, animals. Each video will have Dena'ina language and stories woven into them. The DKC will have calendars of what seasons are good for harvesting each plant and animal. We will have recommendations on where to go, and how to harvest in a way that aligns with our traditional values. 

The DKC will encourage connection by having a sign-up list for community outings. If someone wants to join a devil's club harvest outing, they can sign up and get email notifications on when and where the harvest will take place.  It is our goal to create community and well as preserve our practices. 

The DKC will a section on how to practice stewardship of the lands. We will teach others the importance of caring for our home. 

The DKC will have a link to the nutritional data of the moose, fish, seal, birds and berries that are featured in the videos. 

The DKC will ask the users of the website to do pre and post-surveys. We would like to obtain tangible evidence that participating in cultural activities increases family connectedness,  pride in ones sense of self, and mental well-being. 

The Kenaitze Indian Tribe currently has approximately 1,800 members. The Kenai Peninsula has a population of 59,767. The number of visitors to the Peninsula is around 400,000. 

There is nothing like this available to our People. This will provide easy to understand step by step visual and audio instruction. 

This will directly benefit the Kenaitze Indian Tribe, and the larger Dena'ina population in Alaska. I am enrolled Tribal member and have been teaching my cultural knowledge to the youth of our Tribe for 20 years. I realize that not every person that wants to come on a harvest trip with me, have the availability to do so. I want to provide a way for my community to still be able to access this knowledge when they are not able to join me. I have spoken with approximately 20 other Tribal members regarding this proposal and they have all expressed excitement over it. I regularly attend Tribal functions, I am very involved and engaged in my Tribal community. 

I am an enrolled Tribal member with Kenaitze Indian Tribe. I have served on Tribal Council as Vice-chair. I have been the chair of the Elders and Traditional Healing committees. I have hosted approximately 10 culture camps for youth. I have written a curriculum on Tribal teachings for ages 10 to 20. I regularly take youth, Tribal members and community members on harvest outings. I am active in local facebook harvest groups and share information and tips for people interested in harvesting. 

I do require financial backing in order to complete this project. I am hoping to connect with other Indigenous leaders to see what has worked well in their communities, what lessons were learned and to share knowledge of my culture and hopes for moving cultural harvest lessons online. I also will need support in building and promoting the website. I have very limited knowledge on how to build and maintain a webpage. 

Audre Hickey is a Tribal member. She has served on Tribal Council, a position she was elected to by her fellow Tribal members. She has also been employed by her Tribe the majority of the last 20 years. 

I will include AK Native elders, youth and Tribal members. I will ensure that some videos have Indigiqueer representation as well. 

I will measure participation via a voluntary pre and post-survey. I will provide them with cultural teachings. These will be provided free of charge. It is against our cultural values to charge people for traditional knowledge. 

I believe the initial expense will be the upfront investment of my time and labor. I intend to spend one year documenting the seasons/cycles of harvest. The maintenance after the initial year will be including to monitor the sign up lists for harvest outings. 

I have not received any Western (monetary) funding to do this. However, my elders have invested in me over the past 40 years by sharing their knowledge and stories. I believe that investment is more valuable and sustainable than any grant could ever be.