It will be a homecoming when the Alaska Native Brotherhood and Alaska Native Sisterhood hold their Grand Camp Oct. 1-4 in Wrangell.

Wrangell’s history with the ANS goes back to the beginning. The organization was founded by Wrangell women in 1915, following on the formation of the ANB in Sitka in 1912.

The 2025 Grand Camp will be held at the Nolan Center.

This is the organizations’ first in-person gathering in six years, due to COVID-19 social distancing shutdowns and its aftereffects. While there have been meetings via Zoom, there is a real sense of anticipation in coming together once again in person.

Wrangell last hosted the Grand Camp in 2015, for the 100th anniversary celebration of the Alaska Native Sisterhood.

One of the first Grand Camps was held in Wrangell in 1916.

The ANB and ANS worked toward equal rights and citizenship for Alaska Natives, and played a major role in initiating the land claims that resulted in the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971. The organizations’ stated mission is to improve the lives of Native people and their families.

The Grand Camp brings together representatives from 23 local camps, located throughout Southeast Alaska as well as in Washington state and Oregon.

Sandy Churchill, who is president of the Wrangell Camp and the Grand Camp, said she hopes to have 60 to 100 people attend.

The Grand Camp mixes business with cultural celebration and connection. The agenda includes a welcome from Mayor Patty Gilbert and video messages from U.S. Sens. Dan Sullivan and Lisa Murkowski and U.S. Rep. Nick Begich.

Churchill said the keynote speaker, Sarah Dybdahl (Aanshawatk’i, of the Taakw.aaneidi clan), recently elected the first woman president of the Sealaska Corp. board of directors, will make an in-person presentation Friday, Oct. 3, at 1:35 p.m.

Along with standard meeting agenda items of reports, budgets and elections, several issues including subsistence, children’s education, recent instances of mistreatment of tribal members by state police, and missing and murdered Indigenous women will be topics for discussion and resolutions.

Churchill reflected on the overall mission of ANB and ANS: “It is a way of connecting, a model of service and leadership.” She noted there are different generational perspectives, and it is a challenge to balance the desire for tradition with needs to adapt with the times. “The most important thing is that we don’t lose ourselves, whatever we do.”

The Oct. 2 session will end on a poignant note — a memorial service to remember those who have died in the past year. As each name is read by the representative camp, a candle is extinguished and the name is placed on the roll of honor.

A celebration of tradition and culture is planned for Friday evening, Oct. 3. Representatives are encouraged to wear vests, moccasins and hats for the gathering, which will include dinner and dancing. Traditional foods like moose, deer, fish and herring eggs are on the menu, and there will be a variety of fundraising activities. There is an entrance fee of $10 for elders and children under 12, and $15 for others.

“Hosting is a big job, and it’s an expensive event,” Churchill said, “so I want to thank everyone for their support.”

All business and work sessions are open to those who are interested. For more information, contact Churchill at 907-305-0888.