Nurturing Athabascan Unity and Sovereignty Across Alaska: The Tanana Chiefs Conference

Nurturing Athabascan Unity and Sovereignty Across Alaska: The Tanana Chiefs Conference, is an article about the Tanana Chiefs Conference (TCC) that is a nonprofit organization that works on a $72.7 million and 1,151 employees to try and meet the needs of vastly different tribes from western Alaska to the Canadian border. The TCC has many different programs that address many of the problems that the people from these regions face daily. The TCC was founded as a result of the historical meetings which occurred in the early 1900's between the various ancestral leaders who gathered in Tanana, Alaska, to trade and resolve issues that were relevant to the times and region. Approximately 40 percent of the TCC's employees work in the villages with the people that they are there to help. One of the things that TCC is doing is creating a task force and a one-year plan for encouraging local control over federal dollars and activities. This is there decentralization process and TCC is trying to "strike a balance between decentralization to have delivery of services locally (and) while increasing self-government efforts in a cooperative spirit through tribal and corporate planning. It makes business sense and builds unity for a strong advocating voice." The first obstacle TCC is facing is making large-scale healthcare improvements at the statewide level, while the member tribes want to see more local control in the midst of changing times.

The TCC has set some goals for themselves, so they can better serve the tribal people that they represent. While looking in at TCC it was decided by administration officers that the different departments should look "outside the walls" and form relationships with other seemingly unrelated TCC departments. With changes suck as this TCC will maximize training, and also overall success. In 2002 TCC hosted a "visioning conference" titled "Our Vision for the Future Through Our Children's Eyes". During this conference all aspects of the Athabascan way of life were discussed, trying to express to the children how important there past is to there future. Since the conference there have been several other activities directed towards the children that have taken place. To try and help build more interest in government/ tribal youth courts at the village level within the local youth.

The Alaska Federation of Natives (AFN) funded a five-year project for TCC to meet five objectives under the Wellness Program: 1) support villages' policies on alcohol regulation, 2) enhance the Village Public Safety Office, 3) support restorative justice programs, 4) support sobriety efforts, and 5) support services/ programs that result in the reduction of alcohol abuse and self-destructive behavior. These efforts united community members and focused on the healthy ways of living while combating substance abuse that is rampant throughout Alaska. Another group that is mentioned is the Athabascan Self-Sufficiency Assistance Partnership (ASAP) that is a temporary assistance program for needy families. TCC's Family Services also holds annual job fairs, more than 70 employers were seeking potential employees at the job fair. There have also been other activities set-up by the ASAP including having the village elders included in the most recent job fair offering ideas/ suggestions towards family routine, using time, wisely, ensuring family success and preserving culture. As a result of the previous years "job fair" The ASAP caseload has dramatically reduced, with the lowest number of cases occurring in mid-2002, just after the first conference.

Alaska Natives