Alaska Humanities Forum

A warm congratulations to Juneau’s X?’unei Lance Twitchell, who won an Emmy last weekend for Outstanding Writing for a Preschool Animated Series, for the Molly of Denali “Not a Mascot” episode. This episode follows 10-year-old Molly as she helps a competing school basketball team, the Sitka War Chiefs, find a new mascot. Twitchell shares the award with the show’s head writer Raye Lankford, and everyone who works on the show. “It takes so many hands to do something like this,” he said upon his return to Juneau earlier this week. Hear from Twitchell about his time working on the show, the inspiration for the episode, and his own work in language revitalization in his interview with KTOO last week: https://loom.ly/azuVNLI See clips of the “Not a Mascot” episode here: https://loom.ly/vWuKmFQ.

Join us tonight at 5:30 PM for the Leadership Anchorage Open House at the Alaska Humanities Forum office (421 W 1st Ave, Suite 200)! For over 25 years, Leadership Anchorage has helped emerging leaders grow, connect, and make an impact. As LA 2025 participant Marvin Johnson shares, “Each module has pushed me to grow in ways I hadn’t considered before. Another great impact has been the exponential growth in my personal and career network across Anchorage.” Meet alumni, current participants, and program staff, and see how LA can shape your leadership journey. We’ll see you there!

Alaska’s nonprofit sector, which includes more than 5,600 nonprofits and almost 40,000 workers, generates $4 billion in the state each year. “We have no county system of government, so nonprofits fill the roles that governments would play in any other state,” said The Foraker Group president and CEO Laurie Wolf in 2021. “They provide direct services—they are the utility company, the telephone company, the fire department, the libraries in many communities across Alaska… While many Alaskans think that it’s private industry or government doing the work, nonprofits are actually the backbone of the state.” Learn more about the economic impacts of nonprofits in your region at https://loom.ly/Kjo60dw.

Lots of laughter, song, and deep care for students were on display earlier this month at the C3 (Cross-Cultural Competence) cohort gathering in Dillingham. Fourteen new-to-Alaska teachers from eight communities in the Bristol Bay region met in-person for the first time and quickly bonded over shared joys and challenges of teaching in rural Alaska. Teachers reflected on their own personal cultures and how to make their classrooms more culturally responsive and trauma-informed. They also learned more about the region and Yup'ik culture by participating in Beaver Round-Up activities, visiting the Sam Fox museum and learning how to introduce themselves in Yup'ik with Robyn Chaney, and making yo-yos with Deanna Baier. Thank you to our partners that helped make this gathering possible: Bristol Bay Foundation, Southwest Region School District, Dillingham City School District, LAKE AND PENINSULA BOROUGH SCHOOL DISTRICT, and Bristol Bay Borough School District.

Applications are open for Leadership Anchorage! Join Alaska’s premier leadership program and connect with a diverse network of changemakers. Over nine months, you’ll engage in sessions, projects, mentorship, and access to community leaders. Peri Qancuk Sanders shares, “Leadership isn’t about titles—it’s about showing up, learning, and growing in ways that serve our people. This program challenges me to think critically about leadership and growth in ways I didn’t expect but absolutely needed.” Apply by April 4th! https://loom.ly/4QWbbaQ

The Alaska Humanities Forum is looking for two co-course instructors to teach a Multicultural Studies class for 15 teachers enrolled in our C3 (Cross-Cultural Competence) program for educators. The right candidate(s) will have lived experience in the Northwest Arctic region, as well as in-depth knowledge about Indigenous ways of knowing and being. Read more in the request for proposals, and contact Julie Rowland at [email protected] with any questions! Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

Share Your Thoughts About Alaska Studies Today! On May 29th-30th, the Alaska Humanities Forum will host the Alaska Studies Educator Summit, bringing together 40 educators who are invested in strengthening the high school Alaska Studies class. To inform this gathering, we are conducting a community-wide survey to understand the current state of teaching Alaska Studies, identify ways to better support educators, and bring more voices and experiences into the Summit. The survey contains 10 questions and should take approximately 15 minutes to complete. All information you provide will remain strictly confidential. The survey closes on March 31st. Share your thoughts through the survey today: https://loom.ly/H93AwxY Or visit the Summit webpage to learn more: https://loom.ly/9Icvm6M

Support the Alaska Humanities Forum with Pick.Click.Give! PFD applications are ending soon! When you apply, remember to choose the Alaska Humanities Forum as one of your Pick.Click.Give. recipients. Last year, 52 generous donors helped raise $3,800 — every contribution makes a difference! Thank you for supporting programs that connect and strengthen communities across Alaska.

Each Forum Board of Directors meeting opens with a Board member sharing a land acknowledgement. At our last meeting, Board member Jayson Owens was asked to create and share an acknowledgement. "I often find these things to be performative," he says. "Frequently, they seem awkward and out-of-context. As I sat with the invitation, it occurred to me that the only way to do this with integrity was to be vulnerable. Vulnerability is what I find most often missing in modern communication. However, I find the Alaska Humanities Forum Board meetings to be one of the most thoughtful and intentional community events that I attend. So it seemed the perfect place to be vulnerable." Read Jayson's land acknowledgement poem on our blog: https://loom.ly/Fn3s54o

Mentorship is a cornerstone of Leadership Anchorage, and it was in recognition of this that we introduced the Leadership Anchorage Mentor Award last year. The inaugural winner, Amana Mbise (right), mentored LA26 participant Ahmed Hassan (left) two years ago. Amana sat down with the Forum's Polly Carr to talk about his experience as an LA mentor, including challenges, high points, and initial doubts. "Your questions and doubts about mentoring are valid, but you are not alone," he says, in hopes that others will step up into LA mentorship roles. "You are just as good and adequate as the seasoned mentors. Your perspective and your contribution matter! If you haven’t done it before and are considering mentoring, remember, we have heard from others and now we need to hear from YOU." Nominations are open now through April 4 for this year's LA Mentor Award. Nominate your mentor (from any past cohort year) here: https://loom.ly/vo8xgPw