Tlingit Haida plans education, cultural campuses in Juneau

Plans to build a 12-acre tribal education campus and a 457-acre cultural immersion park in Juneau were unveiled at the 89th annual tribal assembly of the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska.

The projects combine efforts to reclaim tribal land, expand traditional cultural and educational activities and provide support to students in a state education system that "is failing our students," said Tlingit and Haida President Richard Chalyee Éesh Peterson in his speech to the assembly on April 17 at the Elizabeth Peratrovich Hall.

Fundraising for the projects is expected to take three to four years, with construction beginning soon after. Peterson did not disclose cost estimates for the projects.

The educational campus will be built on a hillside behind Fred Meyer, just south of the Juneau airport. The cultural park is planned for near Tee Harbor, about 18 road miles north of downtown Juneau.

Peterson said the projects are part of the tribes' "landback" efforts that have expanded their holdings by nearly 750 acres recently, which itself was part of his overall theme of economic and other tribal growth during his past decade as president and looking ahead to future years.

The theme of this year's three-day assembly, attended by 118 delegates and many other participants, is "Rooted in Tradition, Growing a Sustainable Future."

The education campus will include current tribal programs such as Tlingit and Haida Head Start, Haa Yoo X'atángi Kúdi (HYXK) language immersion program, and Little Eagles and Ravens Nest (LEARN) child care program, Peterson said.

"We're trying to build a village, to bring land back," he said. "This isn't just a social movement. It's our way of life. It's bringing the lands that were traditionally ours, and taking them and making them ours again, and giving our people the space to thrive."

Education spaces will offer K-12 and tribal college programs, ranging from traditional classroom instruction to hands-on activities such as greenhouses. The campus is located on 42 acres of tribal land, so Peterson said there is room for expansion as well as features such as a network of trails.

The initial plans also include an events center with a 2,000-seat basketball court, concert space, activity rooms and other facilities.

"This is going to be a place that we can gather, that we can do our things from Celebration to Gold Medal (annual basketball tournament). We hope this will be the home to those events and more," Peterson said.

He asked the delegates to approve naming the events center after a longtime state lawmaker from Angoon who died in 2021.

"There's one person who keeps coming into my mind when I see this picture," Peterson said, showing a slide of the events center. "And I would ask now for unanimous consent to call this the Sen. Albert Kookesh Gymnasium."

The audience roared their approval with applause.

There are also plans to establish campuses in other communities, Peterson said.

"Everywhere we have a Head Start now we hope to build an early education campus in all the communities," he said, showing a slide with conceptual designs for such centers in Klawock and Craig.

In addition to tribal education programs implemented over the years, Tlingit and Haida has also sought a broader public influence including making Native language classes mandatory in the state's K-12 education system.

"We have a system failing our students and we have to do something," he said. "And that's really what this is all about."

Another major announcement was the cultural immersion park. Peterson said the tribal organization paid $6.5 million to buy the 457 acres of land near Tee Harbor. Part of the deal includes leasing about 20 acres to Allen Marine Tours for a dock and bunkhouses.

"We're going to build a village site for our communities," he said, describing it in similar language as the education campus. "Again, we want a place where language is thriving, our arts are thriving."

Peterson said one of his goals is funding many of the cultural programs using revenues from tourism businesses. He noted the tribes' ongoing expansion into that industry including the purchase of a hotel and other property in downtown Juneau.

Tlingit and Haida has also made notable achievements during the past year, Peterson said. "In the 10 years that I've been here we've gone from 190 employees to just over 600. ... Today we have over 70% tribal citizen hire and, if you add other Alaska Natives and Native Americans, we're at 80%."