Alaska Federation of Natives - Alaska Native Center for Excellence

Alaska Federation of Natives
1577 C Street, Suite 300
Anchorage, AK 99501
Phone 907.274.3611
Fax 907.276.7989

Julie Kitka
President

State Senator Albert Kookesh
Co-Chair
Sealaska Corporation

Tim Towarak
Co-Chair
Bering Straits Native Corporation

©Jose Azel Aurora/IPNSTOCK

The Alaska Native Center for Excellence focuses on how change occurs and why new ideas encounter resistance. It shows how high impact strategies run by top-notch people who have demonstrated both the capacity and the determination to affect change can make a difference. Nurturing innovation and risk-taking are a part of our long history of survival as indigenous people. Through our actions, we prove the power of ideas. We change our perceptions of the problems we face, and as we do, we gain control over these situations. The Center is dedicated to developing a stronger commitment to action – a commitment to proactive engagement rather than letting our people be trapped by events.

With our partners, we are working to improve our ability to respond and learn from each other and create conditions that allow the Alaska Native people to develop a two-pronged economic strategy that includes both public sector reform and private sector development.

Our overall goals serve as critical guidelines for our work:

Poverty-reduction
Innovation
Ownership
Ability to replicate and leverage
Learning and knowledge-sharing
Economic development

The following questions, though few in number, are critical to the success of our work.

Are we focused on growth, particularly private sector growth that can generate jobs?
Are we linking economic development with poverty reduction strategies?
Are we focused on accountability and results?
Are we sharing information, best practices, lessons learned and success stories?