Tis Peterman to retire from SEITC

The Southeast Alaska Indiginous Transboundary Commission has been led by Wrangellite Tis Peterman since 2017. Before that, Peterman was part of the group that put the organization together back in 2014, representing the Wrangell Cooperative Association. SEITC has worked to raise awareness of the risks transboundary mining represents to Southeast Alaskan waters since their founding. The organization will be continuing this mission without Peterman moving forward, however, as she intends to retire next month.

"I've been there for almost three years," Peterman said. "This COVID virus got me thinking I'm of an age where I want to spend more time with my kids."

Peterman said she can recall the first meeting of SEITC back in 2014, held on Prince of Wales. Peterman said before that meeting, she had no idea the dangers that mining operations across the border in Canada could pose to rivers that flowed into Southeast Alaska, and she wanted to do her part to raise awareness and fight to keep Alaskan waters safe.

"It was a real eye opener," Peterman said. "I couldn't believe what was happening at the headwaters of all these rivers."

SEITC has been part of several events and collaborations over the years. The organization itself is a consortium of 15 tribal nations across the region, aimed at the goal of protecting waterways that are important to native culture and way of living. They have been part of several town hall-style discussions in Wrangell and elsewhere to discuss the issue of transboundary mining. They have also partnered with other conservation organizations such as Salmon Beyond Borders to try and create a unified response to the issues at hand. Some of Peterman's biggest highlights of her time with SEITC, however, are international summits they hosted in 2018 and 2019.

Tribal nations from Alaska, Canada, and the lower 48 were present at these summits, she said. There were 25 indigenous leaders present at the 2018 summit, she said, and 34 at the next summit in 2019. All these groups have a shared interests, she said. They all want clean water and salmon. Considering the fact that her great-grandmother came from upriver to marry her great-grandfather, Peterman added that through her time at SEITC she got to meet several potential family members.

"Along the way I've learned that first nations and tribes have more in common than otherwise," Peterman said.

SEITC will be directed by Fred Olsen Jr. moving forward. Peterman said she is staying on in a contractor role for another month to help the transition. After that, she intends to spend her time traveling and visiting family once the COVID-19 pandemic has passed. She has spent so much of her time working on different projects and as part of different organizations, she said it was time for her to dedicate time to things she really wants to do.

"It's been a heck of an experience," Peterman said. "I don't want any more deadlines in my life."